Last post before I go camping, and the Feed

I dearly love the kudos from the Biking in LA blog (linked in my sidebar), but Gigi wasn’t hand made. I just did a little fabrication to replace parts that are no longer made, like the extended stem to fit the 1 1/8″ threaded steer tube on the fork. And the entire lighting system, brackets for the fenders, the front bracket for the rack… After I finish this blog post I start making bread for a camping trip this weekend, with the weekend starting tonight. I’m going to go dance naked in the moonlight with the Sumers on their land south of Dallas a ways, and there is no Internet access from the camping area. Not that I would want any. As much as I love this blog, there are times when I need to take a break. I’m human and there is only so much blood and guts and outright stupidity I can take before I want to chuck everything and move to Key West. I understand that they are looking for a catherder in the Conch Republic…

One of the reasons I want to leave the whole mess behind is reports like this. Cops: Madison bicyclist dragged for 30 feet under SUV Driver pulls up next to a cyclist at a traffic light and makes a right turn over the top of the cyclist, and there are no tickets given. What is wrong with this statement? And this is another one where you don’t want to read the comments. My mind was pre-exploded and even I had difficulty dealing with some of the things people were putting in the comments. As for avoiding this wreck for yourself, well the driver pulled up next to a stopped cyclist and then turned over the top of her, when a cyclist is most vulnerable. When you’re not moving there’s not much you can do to avoid a wreck with a moving vehicle when the driver doesn’t see you or is ignoring you. The best thing to do is be aggressive in your lane position. Don’t stop next to the curb but move out 3 to 5 feet from the curb so that drivers can see you and not run you over. Unfortunately this puts you in the Darcy Sheppard zone where drivers will hit you from behind because you’re “in the way”.

Another wreck that has me puzzled as to what is going through the minds of LEO when they fail to arrest someone who kills with a motor vehicle. Bike rider rear-ended by SUV, killed The driver went off the road and hit another vehicle from behind, and not even a ticket? TANJ!

From St. Louis MO comes the news that bicycle safety is a 2-way street. Bicycle safety is a two-way street Interesting that EVERY bicycle safety story has helmets prominent in the report, but very little is mentioned about actually moving into another lane to pass a cyclist like any other vehicle. While I advocate for helmet wearing, I have never seen the helmet that can keep cars from running into you. Passing in a separate lane on the other hand has always worked to prevent collisions.

An article about a MI RoS. Ride honors fallen cyclists I will be at the Mother Ride next week in Dallas, just look for my full-face helmet after the ride and say “hi”.

And that was the whole Feed, minus the motorcycle wrecks and injured bull riders.

Billed @$0.02, Opus