Still here, and the Feed

Yes, I know I have used that headline before. Yesterday’s trip to the LBS had me riding in 99°F temperatures with heat indexes over 100. I was drinking a lot of water and I still came home dehydrated after only a 10 mile bike ride (and a lot of time on the train avoiding traffic and what would have been about a 25 mile ride in the 99°F heat with only one water bottle).

Up first was another hard decision today, but I think the updates on Sam Abate after his wreck are the most deserving. Update on injured cyclist Sam Abate and the really good news Cyclist seriously injured in hit-and-run crash gets ready to leave hospital Sam is one of the few people in the world to get hurt on a bicycle worse than I was and still survive as something more than a rutabega, so I hope you’ll join me in wishing him a speedy and complete recovery.

Still in AZ we have another pickup truck related act of violence against a cyclist. Bicyclist critically injured, hit-and-run driver sought This appears to be a hit-from-behind wreck, use the appropriate protocol to avoid. Handcuffing the driver to the wheel of his beloved murder machine and then sending the pickup through a car shredder would take care of future wrecks at least for that driver and vehicle.

Hopscotching around the country to OH, the driver accused of killing a cyclist in a hit-and-run wreck is finally formally charged in the attack. Driver cited in cyclist’s 2010 death The interesting part is the tampering with evidence charge, which I think should always accompany a hit-and-run charge because leaving the scene and hiding out destroys any evidence of intoxication or drug impairment.

Back out west in CA, an update on a “solo” bicycle crash witnessed by a driver watching her rear view mirror. Update: Cyclist severely injured in solo accident And for those of you who still think the woman watching her rear view had nothing to do with her having buzzed the cyclist, I have a bridge I want to sell.

A cyclist is hit while on a group tour in AL, no charges filed. Cyclist killed in accident on DeKalb County highway Viewing pictures of the crime scene it appears the cyclist was hit from behind on the hard shoulder from what little I can see of the debris field. Not knowing where the deceased cyclist was in the pack I can’t post with any certainty about intention on the part of the driver, but I would certainly place a subpoena on his computer and match it against anti-cyclist comments on the Internet.

From NYC a cyclist killed by a car was running a red light. Cops Say Teen Cyclist Killed Was Riding Against The Light OK, assuming this report was accurate (NYPD has a history of blaming cyclists in wrecks where it could be proven were not the fault of the cyclist) then the simplest thing to do would be not run the red light. One thing that can be stated categorically, somebody ran that red light because it was a light controlled intersection and there were 2 vehicles that were coming from right angles in collision. If the driver ran the red light then to avoid you have to have a high SA and be aware of drivers doing stupid things like running red lights and be ready to avoid the wreck if possible, this would be an advanced version of the intersection protocols.

Up in the Great White North a lawsuit is being filed over a cyclist that was left-hooked. Lawsuit filed on behalf of brain-injured cyclist The driver is trying to claim that the wreck was the cyclist’s fault because he wasn’t wearing a helmet. I have a counter for that, would the defense be willing to get hit in the head by a baseball or cricket bat while wearing a bicycle helmet? The energy would be only a tiny fraction of getting hit with a car so if a helmet would protect against a wreck with a car, surely getting hit with a baseball bat would not even be an issue. I didn’t think so either.

In LifeStyle, the guy that weas hit by an SUV rolling over on a bike path is remembered. Cyclist Killed by SUV Remembered This was a really nice guy, who didn’t deserve to get hit by a WMD while riding on a bike path.

And finally a Mum from Oz created an international movement on Facebook. Padbury mum’s web campaign goes global Much as the Ride of Silence started out as a local tribute to killed and injured cyclists but became an international event because of the Internet, so did Black Armband Day.

And that’s all I have today.

Billed @$0.02, Opus