I will freely admit I am old. Not as old as some people think, but still “up there” in years. I’m 55 about to be 56 in a few weeks, and I have Seen Things. I saw That Other Armstrong walk on the moon with Buzz Aldrin. I saw Robert Kennedy shot on the TV news by Sirhan Sirhan. I saw JFK laid to rest in Arlington. And I saw protests against racial discrimination and institutional poverty in the Deep South disrupted by goons wearing cop badges. It has frequently been said that for a middle-class white dude to understand what it feels like to be a minority all you need to do is throw him on a bicycle and give him a destination across town, which I understand viscerally (hey, in just a couple of weeks I’m going to celebrate surviving someone trying to kill me for my mode of transport, so I deeply understand). But I have never seen cyclists get the kind of treatment the people in Ferguson are getting on a daily basis from people they pay to “protect” them. Seriously if I was living in Ferguson MO right now I would be suing for return of taxes on the grounds of not getting what I paid for. The “riots” I have seen on the videos coming out of there seem to be mostly the PD or people dressed like the PD except in camo and wearing masks running amok in residential areas, shooting up property and setting fires with burning tear gas grenades. What little PD violence I have seen against group rides like Critical Mass pales in comparison. I mean people are getting shot in Ferguson.
This is what normally happens when cyclists protest, from a half-day ride to the east of WoaB World HQ in the Beautiful Suburbs of Hell. Riders Up: 200-plus cyclists show support for riders injured on roadways and Hundreds gather for Vigilance ride to remember injured, killed cyclists I wonder how they got the precise number of riders for the first link (213).
A cyclist was killed in SC and the criminal case drags on. 2 years later, family still waiting for trial to begin in cyclist’s death It seems quite cut-and-dried to me, but then I have been hit several times on my bike and have not been at fault yet. I wonder what could be “more important” than putting someone on trial for killing another human being? Bounced checks?
More on the cyclist left-hooked in NYC. Livery Cab Driver Arrested After Bicyclist Killed In East Harlem and Bicycle rider killed in East Harlem by cab whose driver allegedly had suspended license: police sources Driver still unlicensed, still uninsured, still breathing, all of which are no longer applicable in the case of the victim. This report has made it plain that there was nothing the cyclist could have done to avoid this wreck as the driver pulled alongside and turned (left) right over him.
Still in NYC here’s an update with a little more information about a deadly wreck last week. Cyclist struck and killed by ambulette in Flushing Wednesday He either left-crossed himself, or the car passed him right after the turn and did not leave enough room. I’m still not getting good information about the geometry of this wreck.
More about the SF cyclist killed by a driver running from police who weren’t chasing him. Zachary Watson: Cyclist Hit by Driver Fleeing Cops Dies and Cyclist And Exploratorium Employee Zach Watson, Struck By Driver Of Stolen Minivan, Has Died The victim was not riding his bike when hit but was in the process of locking it up. So a completely unavoidable wreck for the cyclist and one that no kind of infrastructure upgrade could reasonably prevent.
Another CA bike wreck that as I compose this is low-information. Cyclist seriously injured in collision in Chula Vista As I read the report at the moment all I really know is the cyclist was seriously injured in an intersection wreck. So intersection protocols apply at the moment, and infrastructure would probably (95% confidence factor) prevent this wreck.
A young (6YO) cyclist is killed in MN. UPDATE: Authorities Continue to Investigate Fatal Van Versus Bike Crash The driver is invoking the Drivers Get Out Of Jail Free card (I didn’t see him) but it is unknown what factor that will play in this wreck. The location is in a residential area of single-family houses so the driver should have been looking for kids coming from driveways as there is no other place to ride a bike except driveways and the street. Notice the complete lack of accommodation for anything other than motor vehicles in what should be a street for kids to run wild, with no through traffic.
Another link to that wreck in Enn Zed, but no more information (yet). A cyclist was seriously injured when her bicycle was hit by a truck near Napier The narrative now reads as a hit-from-behind wreck so I’m assuming applying the protocols could at least minimize the damages. Getting the infrastructure “up to Dutch” would prevent the conflict that resulted in the wreck from ever happening.
Our Daily Ted. Morning Links: What DTLA can learn from NYC, guilty plea in Fallbrook hit-and-run, new distracted driving app
Infrastructure! news from Bicycling Magazine. Roundabouts Versus Stop Signs
How to get bike parking at your local store. The Story of the ShurSave Bike Racks This assumes that management actually has fucks to give about customers who arrive by bike, unlike my local store who still haven’t installed a bike rack in spite of another customer’s bike besides mine getting stolen because there is literally nothing solid that bikes are allowed to lock up to. We have trees and the handicapped parking signs that are physically available, with one off-limits because it is bad form in TX to lock to a tree and invite someone to cut down the tree to steal the bike, and the other off-limits because locking to the handicapped parking sign blocks access to the handicapped spaces.
Lifestyle from the NYT. My Life in Bicycles
More e-assist bike news. E-bikes face uphill climb As one wag pointed out in the comments, climbing is the play to strength for an assist bike.
And those were all the links I could find pertaining to the subject matter of this blog, today.
Billed @€0.02, Opus
Witch on a Bicycle 
A post about minority relations, and the Feed
I will freely admit I am old. Not as old as some people think, but still “up there” in years. I’m 55 about to be 56 in a few weeks, and I have Seen Things. I saw That Other Armstrong walk on the moon with Buzz Aldrin. I saw Robert Kennedy shot on the TV news by Sirhan Sirhan. I saw JFK laid to rest in Arlington. And I saw protests against racial discrimination and institutional poverty in the Deep South disrupted by goons wearing cop badges. It has frequently been said that for a middle-class white dude to understand what it feels like to be a minority all you need to do is throw him on a bicycle and give him a destination across town, which I understand viscerally (hey, in just a couple of weeks I’m going to celebrate surviving someone trying to kill me for my mode of transport, so I deeply understand). But I have never seen cyclists get the kind of treatment the people in Ferguson are getting on a daily basis from people they pay to “protect” them. Seriously if I was living in Ferguson MO right now I would be suing for return of taxes on the grounds of not getting what I paid for. The “riots” I have seen on the videos coming out of there seem to be mostly the PD or people dressed like the PD except in camo and wearing masks running amok in residential areas, shooting up property and setting fires with burning tear gas grenades. What little PD violence I have seen against group rides like Critical Mass pales in comparison. I mean people are getting shot in Ferguson.
This is what normally happens when cyclists protest, from a half-day ride to the east of WoaB World HQ in the Beautiful Suburbs of Hell. Riders Up: 200-plus cyclists show support for riders injured on roadways and Hundreds gather for Vigilance ride to remember injured, killed cyclists I wonder how they got the precise number of riders for the first link (213).
A cyclist was killed in SC and the criminal case drags on. 2 years later, family still waiting for trial to begin in cyclist’s death It seems quite cut-and-dried to me, but then I have been hit several times on my bike and have not been at fault yet. I wonder what could be “more important” than putting someone on trial for killing another human being? Bounced checks?
More on the cyclist left-hooked in NYC. Livery Cab Driver Arrested After Bicyclist Killed In East Harlem and Bicycle rider killed in East Harlem by cab whose driver allegedly had suspended license: police sources Driver still unlicensed, still uninsured, still breathing, all of which are no longer applicable in the case of the victim. This report has made it plain that there was nothing the cyclist could have done to avoid this wreck as the driver pulled alongside and turned (left) right over him.
Still in NYC here’s an update with a little more information about a deadly wreck last week. Cyclist struck and killed by ambulette in Flushing Wednesday He either left-crossed himself, or the car passed him right after the turn and did not leave enough room. I’m still not getting good information about the geometry of this wreck.
More about the SF cyclist killed by a driver running from police who weren’t chasing him. Zachary Watson: Cyclist Hit by Driver Fleeing Cops Dies and Cyclist And Exploratorium Employee Zach Watson, Struck By Driver Of Stolen Minivan, Has Died The victim was not riding his bike when hit but was in the process of locking it up. So a completely unavoidable wreck for the cyclist and one that no kind of infrastructure upgrade could reasonably prevent.
Another CA bike wreck that as I compose this is low-information. Cyclist seriously injured in collision in Chula Vista As I read the report at the moment all I really know is the cyclist was seriously injured in an intersection wreck. So intersection protocols apply at the moment, and infrastructure would probably (95% confidence factor) prevent this wreck.
A young (6YO) cyclist is killed in MN. UPDATE: Authorities Continue to Investigate Fatal Van Versus Bike Crash The driver is invoking the Drivers Get Out Of Jail Free card (I didn’t see him) but it is unknown what factor that will play in this wreck. The location is in a residential area of single-family houses so the driver should have been looking for kids coming from driveways as there is no other place to ride a bike except driveways and the street. Notice the complete lack of accommodation for anything other than motor vehicles in what should be a street for kids to run wild, with no through traffic.
Another link to that wreck in Enn Zed, but no more information (yet). A cyclist was seriously injured when her bicycle was hit by a truck near Napier The narrative now reads as a hit-from-behind wreck so I’m assuming applying the protocols could at least minimize the damages. Getting the infrastructure “up to Dutch” would prevent the conflict that resulted in the wreck from ever happening.
Our Daily Ted. Morning Links: What DTLA can learn from NYC, guilty plea in Fallbrook hit-and-run, new distracted driving app
Infrastructure! news from Bicycling Magazine. Roundabouts Versus Stop Signs
How to get bike parking at your local store. The Story of the ShurSave Bike Racks This assumes that management actually has fucks to give about customers who arrive by bike, unlike my local store who still haven’t installed a bike rack in spite of another customer’s bike besides mine getting stolen because there is literally nothing solid that bikes are allowed to lock up to. We have trees and the handicapped parking signs that are physically available, with one off-limits because it is bad form in TX to lock to a tree and invite someone to cut down the tree to steal the bike, and the other off-limits because locking to the handicapped parking sign blocks access to the handicapped spaces.
Lifestyle from the NYT. My Life in Bicycles
More e-assist bike news. E-bikes face uphill climb As one wag pointed out in the comments, climbing is the play to strength for an assist bike.
And those were all the links I could find pertaining to the subject matter of this blog, today.
Billed @€0.02, Opus
Rate this:
Share this: