Another Mule Day, and the Feed

Yep, still trying to restock the pantry after running low on a lot of things last month, including allergy pills. This will be a 2 ruck and bike panniers day according to Mrs. the Poet, and I’ll need to bring the tie-downs for lashing external cargo to the rack that’s too big to carry in a ruck. Apparently there is a big sale on toilet paper in the mega-pack and Mrs. the Poet doesn’t want to miss out on this bargain. I feel sorry for Blue, and a little concerned for my legs. Mrs. the Poet will be tasked with bringing home things that need to not be squished, like bread and some of the produce. Blue will be tasked with bringing home the really heavy stuff and also things too big to stuff into a ruck, I get whatever fits into my ruck. If we get volume-limited Mrs. the Poet gets the light stuff Blue and I can’t carry. Whee!

More on the soap-opera that has become the Pinkybike wreck investigation in CA. Police Reopen Cyclist Crash as Possible Aggravated Assault At this point I’m thinking the driver or passenger in the Lexus is either in LAPD or highly connected with LAPD.

Another cyclist hit in the same town where the idiot in the Escalade drove over the curb and hit 3 cyclists on the sidewalk, this time with fewer victims and much less damage. Cyclist, 11, injured by car in Concord This is a case of a driver not looking where the car was going but only watching for possible threats from the street. As a cyclist there is no way to avoid a wreck like this and still be able to use the roads, SBR to prevent along with significant penalty for hitting a cyclist/pedestrian, like loss of the vehicle.

Speaking of that other wreck LEO are checking the cellphone records of the driver. Police check cell records in fatal Concord crash

A driver knows they’re boned by the evidence in CA. Soquel horse trainer pleads no contest in the 2011 death of a cyclist The victim’s BAC% should have been ruled inadmissible in the case. He wasn’t hit because he was drunk, he was hit-and-run because the driver did not bother to not hit him.

More on the idiot cyclist that killed a pedestrian in SF. Traffic Video Allegedly Contradicts Cyclist’s Story In Deadly S.F. Pedestrian Collision Since this video is not available to be viewed (even if I could not view it with this computer) and does not show the light in question I reserve judgement about the timing of the wreck, but those that have seen it say the cyclist was not laying the bike down to avoid the wreck. But they say that it does show the pedestrians were also not in compliance with the portion of the applicable CA code that requires peds to not enter the crosswalk until all vehicles already in the intersection have cleared it, so lots of blame to (apparently) go around here, but still DON’T HIT THE PEDESTRIANS! Of the 3 deaths in bike/ped wrecks in SF in the last 2 years 2 were pedestrians and one was a cyclist, so out of self-preservation if nothing else DON’T HIT THE PEDESTRIANS! More SF officials announce efforts to reduce traffic fatalities

Hit-and-run in PA. Perry County teen hit by pickup while riding his bike The wreck was described as being near an intersection but not actually in the intersection and the cyclist was not riding salmon, so hit-from-behind protocols to avoid. SBR to prevent. The narrative sounds like rednecks out to scare the cyclist by a buzz job that got too close, possibly a random assault of a cyclist in response to the recently activated 4-foot passing law in PA.

A drunk driver kills in Paradise. Bike rider dies after collision in Hilo Wednesday morning (April 11) and Hilo bicyclist killed by suspected drunken driver More 20-year-old bicyclist killed in Hilo hit-and-run and Man, 20, dies in hit-and-run collision in Hilo another one Fatal bike vs. vehicle crash in Hilo OK the facts of this case are a hit-from-behind by a drunk driver that was exceeding the speed limit (as proven by the utility pole that was taken out by the vehicle)… Now how the heck you’re supposed to avoid something like this on a narrow residential street is utterly beyond me. But SBR to prevent, maybe.

A driver person in a car hits 3 cyclists from behind in TN and no charges are filed. Father Struck, Killed During Family Bicycle Ride WTF? There were 5 people riding legally on the road and the driver only missed 2 of them and because he might have had the sun in his eyes the driver gets a pass? And TN has a 3-foot passing law that hitting a cyclist is proof that you didn’t give 3 feet. TANJ!

And in SC a driver is arrested almost a year to the day after he killed a cyclist. Inman Man Charged In 2011 Deadly Hit-And-Run Accident Not enough information about the wreck to tell how to avoid it, but putting this idiot behind bars for a long time might let everyone avoid another wreck, at least with him. SBR would prevent wrecks like this.

And in NYC more lazy investigation by NYPD before the victim’s body is even cold. [UPDATE] SUV Driver Kills 18-Year-Old Bronx Cyclist, “No Criminality Suspected” The investigation hasn’t even been completed before the driver is exonerated by NYPD (Never Yet Prosecuted a Driver).

LifeStyle from Houston. Watch the road: Friday is Bike to Work Day in Houston You couldn’t pay me enough to ride a bike in Houston, and this from a giy that has more than 12K miles commuting in Dallas County.

LifeStyle from Oz. What got you on a bike? What got me on a bike was taking off the training wheels.

Infrastructure! from Seattle. Judge tosses out bicyclists’ lawsuit over SLU streetcar tracks OK under WA state laws the right lane is now obstructed and unusable for cycling because of the streetcar, so bikes may now legally take the left lane in that stretch of road… And the city really should post signs alerting drivers to that.

Infrastructure from S.F. CA. Traffic School For Cyclists On The Way, Says SFPD At least now cyclists have a way to avoid those ridiculous fines.

More Infrastructure. Five Things Drivers Need to Understand About Sharing the Road with Cyclists We know this, but drivers are for the most part clueless about it.

And those are all the links that gave me fits today.

Billed @$0.02, Opus

Today is Super Mule Day, and the Feed

Mrs. the Poet has instructed me to lash our rucks to Blue as payday has arrived and we need to restock our pantry with non-perishable foods. This means that Blue will be loaded to the creaking and groaning point, ditto my back, and Mrs. the Poet shall be tasked with whatever Blue and I can’t carry. Since one of my X-mas/Solstice gifts was a set of tie-downs for externally carried cargo on Blue we have been able to carry large bags of stuff that would not fit in the buckets or the ruck previously. Actually to be precise I can load one large bag of non-refrigerated food per trip, in addition to what fits in the buckets and ruck. Also I am working on new kitty-litter bucket panniers that are removable, meaning I don’t have to ride up to the back door and back the bike up to it. I could just remove the buckets from the bike and carry them into the house where they could be unloaded at leisure. And I could leave them at home on trips that won’t require cargo capacity. This would make such trips a little quicker as the current setup is about as aerodynamic as a cab-over semi with no trailer fairing. Also, I will be able to make the new panniers more weather-tight as I won’t have to drill through the inner shell of the bucket to install the mounting hardware. I have learned much since my first attempt at making kitty-litter buckets work as cargo capacity.

Up first, Albany CA residents ask if the 25 MPH speed limit on an arterial that runs through a residential neighborhood will ever be enforced. You Ask: Do Police Enforce Speeding on Buchanan? This was a street that saw a cyclist killed a few weeks ago that was partially blamed on the driver of the weapon vehicle speeding. The description of the road makes it sound like a good candidate for speed-sensitive road mines what with drivers routinely driving in excess of double the posted limit. I have been working on a compact unit that would be about 1m long, with a shaped charge that would disable the vehicle without damaging the pavement road surface (changed to account for the heavy increase in non-US readers I have gotten recently, outside of the US pavement is a thing, a sidewalk, rather than a surface).

First wreck report is from the most deadliest state in the US to walk or ride a bike. Injured cyclist cited for not having lights Another ninja cyclist, part of the reason why FL leads the nation in cyclist deaths. This does not excuse the drivers that hit pedestrians at night because they have badly-aimed or otherwise ill-functioning headlights, but really reflectors are cheap, easy to get and install and make the back of the bike really shine even with bad headlights on the weapon vehicle. I have a couple of square feet of reflective materials on the back of Blue, and as soon as I finish building the charger I’ll have a blindingly bright taillight with a rechargeable battery. More Milton bicyclist hurt in accident

A wreck in San Diego has LEO puzzled as the initial impact location of the cyclist remains unknown after the cyclist was hit 3 times (this is a similar wreck to the salmon cyclist a while back on the same street, but this cyclist was riding with traffic). Witnesses Sought in Fatal Hit-and-Run Bike Accident You notice that in this wreck the cyclist ended up in the correct location and the initial vehicle to hit the cyclist left the scene and has not been located unlike the salmon cyclist wreck where the same make vehicle remained at the scene and the driver rendered aid to the cyclist. All the same 2 wrecks in a short space of time and on the same street gives me a bad feeling. (cue the Lucasfilm logo and Star Wars theme). The same number of vehicles that hit the cyclist is another striking parallel.

A SWSS wreck in far south TX. Victoria woman hurt when pickup hits her bike The only witness that was still conscious to make a report was the driver of the weapon vehicle, so until otherwise verified, this is a hit-from-behind wreck, use the appropriate protocols to avoid, and SBR would prevent a wreck like this.

A WI wreck with independent witnesses for a 11YO boy crossing against the light. Bicyclist, 11, in serious condition after crash Yeah, crossing with the light would most likely prevent this, and SBR would have no impact at all as the 11YO would still have to wait on the light.

A youth in ME is hit walking his bike on the side of the road in a school zone. Boy hit by car back at home The mother in this one is seriously over-reacting, the kid was walking when he was hit by a car that went off the road in a school zone at more than the posted speed limit. Seriously woman, the kid was 100% innocent in this wreck, and the bike made 0% difference in the wreck. This would be like forbidding him to carry a backpack because he had one on when he was abducted by aliens, as if wearing a backpack (or riding a bike) had anything to do with the situation. Unless the driver targeted him because of the bike, of course.

More on the CO wreck initially reported as a “booby trap”. Police: Injured cyclist not the victim of a ‘booby trap’ I still can’t wrap my mind around why the fisherman would have had to be fishing across a bike path, the narrative doesn’t make sense, but glad to know it was not a deliberate attempt to cause injury.

LifeStyle in TX. Cycling notebook: Bike-to-work days roll out this spring Bike to work in Houston, sponsored by the Kevorkian bike club and the organ donors league. Juuust kidding folks, riding to work in Houston is no more dangerous than riding to work in many cities around the world, like Khandahar or Beirut or even Baghdad.

And those are all the links that gave me fits today.

Billed @$0.02, Opus

The tax check is deposited, and the Feed

I had to make an early trip to the bank today to deposit the tax return check. The hoops I had to jump through were ridiculous. First, something I expected was I couldn’t deposit the check in two accounts, mine and Mrs. the Poet’s. What I wasn’t expecting was that I couldn’t deposit the check into Mrs. the Poet’s checking account, even though I am a co-signer on the account. Another thing I wasn’t expecting was the check had to clear to be spendable. Apparently there is a lot of counterfeiting of IRS checks going on… And before I can transfer my part of the return into my account, the check has to clear first. So, still p’ at the moment, waiting to be upgraded to po’.

Up first, NJ moms try to come up with reasons for kids to wear helmets besides “I told you to.” Bayonne-based fohawx! makes wearing bicycle helmets cool OK, if this will convince kids that wearing helmets is “cool” enough to keep their little noggins intact until they reach majority then I say “more power to them”. But I think this will be a short-lived fad, that will play out after a year or maybe 2 and we’ll be right back to draconian measures to prevent child brain damage from bicycle wrecks and continue to ignore the larger problem of children dying from motor vehicle wrecks and childhood obesity rates exceeding 30%, setting them up for early deaths from heart disease and diabetes…

Our first wreck link is actually the outcome of a wreck. Victim’s family outraged after guilty plea in hit-and-run case The plea was so watered down that the driver will probably be back out of prison before Christmas, and that’s because so much of the evidence was tainted by the act of the hit-and-run that any conviction other than for the hit-and-run could not be proven. So, again hit-and-run proves to be a good legal strategy from the defense’s point of view. The relatives of the deceased are lobbying for hit-and-run to be made a major felony, with the lesser included offense of destruction of evidence in cases where DUI is suspected but can’t be proven because the driver was not caught in time to test for impairment.

A possibly drunk cyclist hit in CA, again. CYCLIST INJURED IN EL CAJON Don’t ride drunk, don’t even ride a little tipsy, because even if you are not legally drunk you will be blamed for the vehicle that hits you.

That CO wreck initially thought to be a booby trap is now thought to be a fishing accident. Police: Injured cyclist not the victim of a ‘booby trap’ Something is still “fishy” about this story though, like why was the guy fishing across a bike path?

The smelly ball of stinky goo that is NYPD investigations of traffic wrecks just keeps getting bigger and stinkier and just as sticky. Councilman Brad Lander joins bike suit against NYPD When the boss’s boss gets involved in a suit against you on the side against you, you know you are in it big. This will cost NYPD dearly and may cause a serious revamp of the way the NYPD is organized, because it isn’t just cyclists that are getting short shrift from NYPD, it’s anyone hurt that wasn’t riding in a car at the time of the wreck. People are getting tired of major injury wrecks being treated like fenderbenders, when felony charges could and should be brought against drivers for criminal violations in these wrecks. And charges are not being brought because the wrecks are not investigated leaving prosecutors with no solid evidence to prosecute. And it’s not just criminal proceedings that are being affected, compensation for victims is being lost in civil courts because determination of fault is being based on the driver’s statement while the victims are being carted away unconscious or dead and unable to make their side of the story known, while physical evidence is ignored and uncollected even in fatal cases with felony charges possible against drivers. TANJ! More NYPD May Be Forced To Investigate Serious Car-On-Bike Crashes

A cyclist is hit in Canuckistan and there is question about who ran the red light. Vancouver cyclist in critical condition after collision with car The cyclist was at an intersection with a separate signal phase for bicycles and pedestrians, and it is believed possible that either operator could have run the red to cause this wreck.

Not an actual wreck but an assault on a cyclist has lead to felony charges against a pedestrian. Edmonton man admits to deadly 2008 attack on cyclist The man knocked the cyclist off his bike, then proceeded to kick and stomp him until he was unconscious and dying.

Legal Infrastructure! in ID fails as their 3-foot passing law bites the dust in this session of the legislature. No Boost for Bike Safety in Idaho Maybe they can introduce a new bill in the next session.

More infrastructure news from ND via DC. Bicycle group warns riders to steer clear of North Dakota’s oil patch due to dangerous traffic It’s sad that such an historic bike route is being abandoned because of heavy truck traffic, and increasing numbers of rednecks who can’t drive. More Cyclists warned to steer clear of ND’s oil patch

Another infrastructure report from Rapid City SD. Report On Risk To RC Pedestrians, Bicyclists So what I think I’m reading here is that Rapid City has an urban density that attracts cyclists and pedestrians, but most of the drivers come from the wide open spaces outside the city and don’t know how to drive around, you know, people that aren’t in cars.

And LifeStyle from the most deadliest state in the US to walk or ride a bike 6 years running. Wrigley remembered at Inaugural Velo Fest This blog in no way endorses the political views expressed on that linked site.

And those are all the links that gave me fits today, now I’m waiting on my $500M lottery ticket to pay off. I figure it has to eventually, in spite of the odds. Hey! I died once and came back, I got luck just oozing out of me.

Billed @$0.02, Opus

Got my tax return check, and the Feed

The tax return showed up in the mailbox yesterday instead of the Debit card account I had set up so I could buy things on the Internet as well as spend my money IRL. The IRS said in so many words that when they tried to make the deposit there was no account there to deposit into, so basically all the money I put in there previously and allowed to go to the “maintenance fees” has vanished, leaving me with nothing. And now I’m back to trying to find a way to buy the things I want that I can only get online, without exposing every penny I have to hackers and just plain thieves. Thanks for nothing PayPower .

Up first, an update on the wreck in Eastern WA between the bicycle and the motorcycle. 2 killed in bicycle-motorcycle crash identified After looking at the Google Street View of the wreck location I noticed that the cyclist’s view to the south where the motorcycle was coming from was restricted by a tree that was almost in the road. I also noted that the cyclist was observed to have stopped at the stop sign and then was hit as he crossed the road that did not have a stop sign. The cyclist had a good enough sight line to see and avoid a vehicle moving at the posted speed limit for the area, and to cross the road in sufficient time to avoid getting hit by a vehicle that was beyond his sight line at the time he began crossing the road. The area is known for having speeding vehicles on that street, so I conclude that the motorcyclist was in fact speeding when he hit the bicyclist. Both victims are being tested to determine if chemical impairment may have been a factor.

And closer to WoaB World HQ in the beautiful suburbs of Hell, LEO have found and arrested the drinver in the hit-and-run fatality of a cyclist. Arrest Made in Brownlee Fatal Hit & Run Cyclist had no chance of avoiding this one, usual rants about hit-and-run drivers, I hope he’s allergic to kittens etc… Congratulations are due to the LEO involved in this investigation.

A 15 YO in NJ is hit when he went from riding normally to salmon, crossing in front of a moving vehicle. Fanwood Driver Crashes into 15-year-old Bike Rider Ordinarily I would discount a report like this, but they claim that several outside witnesses saw the youth change sides of the street just before he was hit. Obviously the way to avoid a wreck like this is to 1) not be a 15 YO boy, and 2) not to suddenly ride into traffic from the other side of the street…

Near my old stomping grounds in TN they solved another hit-and-run killing of a cyclist. UPDATED: 2 bikers hit by trucks within a week The rider that died in this wreck was riding salmon but the driver left the scene claiming that she thought she had hit a deer. In the second wreck mentioned the driver took the cyclist and bike away from the wreck and neither has been heard from since…

A possibly drunk cyclist runs into a car in CA. Bicyclist Seriously Injured In Accident This was another wreck that had more than one outside witness, and another one where there was a suspicion of alcohol use by the cyclist, who is expected to survive. I hate drunk cyclists almost as much as I hate drunk drivers, but still well below hit-and-run drivers.

Elsewhere in CA two cyclists run into each other, minor injury reported. From the Police Log: Cyclist Injured in Crash, Petty Theft Reported There was nothing in the report that could be used to tell you how to avoid the wreck, I just included it because it was a rare report of a cyclist injury wreck on the road that did not involve a motor vehicle.

A cyclist is severely injured by a booby trap across a bike path in CO. Bicyclist seriously injured by booby trap I could not believe this act of terrorism was not even being investigated by LEO. Had someone done anything of a similar level of lethality on a street or highway, there would have been “20 cop cars with all kinds of cop equipment, and helicopters taking pictures from every angle, the northern approach, the southern approach, the eastern approach…” (thanks to Arlo Guthrie for that memorable quote from Alice’s Restaurant). I think it is interesting that when I opened the comments section the 2 comments that were already there were invisible as was the ability to add comments.

Another link to the death of a cyclist at the wheels of a drunk driver in NC. Ohio Bicyclist Dies From Crash Injuries I have said all I can or care to say about that wreck in this blog.

Cyclists in Oz are in open revolution about bike helmets. Bike-riding girls ditch helmets

Infrastructure! in Las Vegas. Bicycling takes off in Las Vegas. Are you ready to pedal? In spite of the terrible infrastructure conditions in Sin City, people are riding bikes for exercise and transportation. The comments at the bottom of the article indicate just how far we have to go yet to make Vegas a bike-friendly city.

And while I’m stuck in the house unable to do the BikeMS because as Mrs. the Poet says “We be P’” as in too poor to buy a vowel (we used to be just po’ too poor to afford the last 2 letters in the word “poor”, now we’re p’) riders in IA plan on their ride for MS. Bike ride allows cyclists to cuise cornfields while supporting multiple sclerosis research I’m so jealous…

And those are all the links that gave me fits this morning.

Billed @$0.02, Opus

I finally got to mow the lawn, and the Feed

The planets finally got in proper alignment, or whatever it was because the lawnmower started on the second pull yesterday and on a single pull every other time I had to re-start it, after doing nothing more than putting fresh gas in the tank and letting the thing sit for a few days while the yard became walkable (barely) for me again. So the lawn is mowed and I have enough gas to do it again in a week or 2 as needed, assuming cooperation with the weather. Tonight I’m going to pedal my bike Blue over to the church for our bi-weekly game of Dungeons and Dragons 3.5. I have enough bonus points on my normal attack of Eldritch Blast that I can usually get some damage as this particular magic attack completely bypasses whatever armor the victim is wearing and attacks as if the victim was nude, with pretty devastating effect. This is especially true since I’m now getting 2d6 of damage. Also I have gained the feat of Rapid Fire which allows me to use the attack twice per round with a -2 from my regular bonuses to attack. This makes my character very effective in a fight now, and I’m taking out almost as many NPC as the barbarian in our party while taking much less damage (which is good as I have only 16 HP compared to his 42). The Eldritch Lesser Pantsing blast is still being approved by the DM (who thinks it might be a little advanced for my level character).

The big story today is update on the wreck I had an initial report on yesterday of a cyclist hit in MS. Pass cyclist killed in Bay St. Louis Now we know this was a SWSS wreck, great… Pass woman hit, killed on morning bike ride and Cyclist Killed In Bay St. Louis and Cyclist killed in Bay St. Louis I was looking at the crime scene pictures and there is no shoulder on that road for the cyclist to have swerved from. For the narrative to have been true the cyclist would have had to been riding in the ditch, not on the paved surface at all. Another thing I noticed was the cyclist was hit from the left front according to the damage to the bike. That could have been tumble damage after the impact with the cyclist’s body. This is a very confusing wreck.

Next wreck a firefighter commuting to work is hit and killed. Firefighter Dies Riding Bike To Work and Aurora firefighter killed in bicycle accident Comments were shut off for that link Aurora firefighter dies after being hit by vehicle and Aurora firefighter hit, killed while on way to work still more Aurora firefighter dies after bicycle accident and Aurora Firefighter Dies After Getting Stuck By Car While Riding Bike and Aurora Firefighter On Bike Killed In Accident last link Aurora firefighter hit, killed while on way to work I flagged several comments on the links that allowed comments that blamed the cyclist for being there to get hit instead of the driver that ran the red light and hit him. There was even one that blamed Obama for the wreck… I blame the driver that could not see that there was a red light in his direction of travel and hit a human in a school crossing. There would be no way to avoid a wreck like this even with SBR, as you can’t fix stupid. And driving blind and hitting someone while running a red light qualifies as “stupid”.

A CT woman is hit in a crosswalk with her bike. Bicyclist hospitalized after being hit by car on River Road I don’t see what the cyclist could have done to prevent this as she was already in the crossing when the other vehicle made a left turn into her right of way. And as this was an intersection between a SBR and regular roads there wasn’t anything that changing the infrastructure would have done about this wreck. The only thing that could have prevented this wreck would be for the driver to watch where they drive and make sure the way is clear before making a turn.

Update on the condition of the ID cyclist hit in NC this week. Cyclist still listed in critical condition I managed to look up the wreck site in Google Maps Street View, and this was not a road that falls under the types of roads where bikes would be banned, it is a surface street with a median and uncontrolled intersections. IOW the cyclist had a right to be there. and it was 100% the drunk driver’s fault for leaving the road to hit him.

A strange bike wreck in the Great White North. Cyclist, 20, dies after falling into Lake Ontario near Yonge St. At this point LEO know he was riding a bike, and somehow ended up face down in the lake. What happened between those 2 events is unknown. His Bici bike was found undamaged near the body.

There have been a lot of cyclists hit-and-run in Oz recently. Cyclists left ‘like roadkill’ With all the casualties cyclists are getting a little edgy there. More Vicious cycle

Same song, different city, still in Oz. Cyclist injured in hit-run crash This one was in Adelaide instead of Canberra, but it’s still a hit-and-run against a cyclist that could have ended up dead.

LifeStyle in NYC. “Unnamed” Ghost Bike Memorial To Be Installed Outside 90th Precinct Station In Williamsburg Sunday Would that this would be the last Ghost Bike needed in the entire city…

Infrastructure! news from DC. Drivers, Cyclists and Walkers: Keep Those Heads Up, Eyes Open and Ears Clear, Please Try to stay alert out there people, especially the people guiding the WMD that can kill dozens at a single strike.

And those are all the links that gave me fits while composing this.

Billed @$0.02, Opus

Gearing up for a fund raiser, and the Feed

Greetings, as I compose this my church is getting ready for a fund raising auction with a Steampunk/Circus theme One of the things I’ll be doing for this is creating baked goods, specifically sweet bread for breakfast toast of various flavors. My breads are quite popular and can fetch a heavy price at auction, and normally sell for $5 a loaf as fast as I can bake them. I haven’t been able to bake any for about a year now because the oven in my stove blew up. Long story… Also as part of the presentation I will be portraying a circus strongman with the tights and bare chest performing feats of strength. I think I shall raid the aluminum recycling bin for raw materials and fold “paper” airplanes out of the material from the cans, demonstrating strength with control after I use the grip strength of one hand to rip apart a can. That is actually easier than it sounds, what I do is grab the can with the top in my right palm and then use my fingers to fold the top over the side of the can by pushing the side under the top. This creates a stress about halfway down the side of the can that creates a tear in the metal. This still requires a great deal of grip strength but if you have the grip it really isn’t that hard. It’s more a function of finger length than grip strength, and my fingers are just barely long enough to do it.

Up first is a wreck from NC with 2 lots of links. Cyclist Killed In Hit-And-Run Crash and Cyclist Killed In Hit And Run In Davidson County From the comments it seems the rider was an “All The Gear. All The Time” rider who was always decked out in HiViz reflective wear and was doing everything a cyclist can do to prevent the wreck that killed him. Additional links trace the story as it developed. Highway Patrol Seeks Leads On Hit-And-Run Death and Man Charged in Fatal Hit-and-run that Killed Cyclist More Man turns himself in for fatal hit and run another one Man Surrenders In Fatal Hit-And-Run even more Man Charged In Hit And Run Death Of Richard Clay Wise yet another link Lexington man charged in fatal hit-and-run involving bicyclist Interesting thing is when I did a search for additional links I got 3 links about the investigating agency (NCHP) being investigated for misconduct in allowing DUI and other serious traffic offences to get off with a verbal warning. I get the feeling that as a result they will throw not just the book, but the book and several legal dictionaries plus a few Wikipedia articles at the driver that killed the cyclist.

Out in CA a drunk driver admits to killing a cyclist without admitting guilt. Drunk driver pleads no contest for ’09 crash that killed cyclist The good part is that the charges are serious enough to warrant a long prison sentence. The bad part is that under CA law the judge can give community service for all the charges. I hope that since the plea was “no contest” rather than “guilty” the judge decides to forgo community service for prison, but sentencing won’t be until December.

A LA cyclist is killed because the driver of a semi tractor could not see the cyclist stopped in front of him. Man hit, killed by truck at scrap yard Not much to say here except to be aware of your surroundings with good SA, the truck sitting behind you might pull away at any time.

An OH cyclist was hit from behind by a van. Sandusky Co.: Man struck by van while riding bike OK after dark without lights, but why was the lack of helmet important? Are people still under the impression that Magick Foam Hats will prevent motor vehicles from hitting cyclists?

Near WoaB World HQ in the suburbs of Hell, a cyclist manages to get away with a few cuts and bruises after getting hit. Mustang versus bicycle accident leaves bike rider with minor injuries In this report who had the right of way was unreported, but the fact remains the cyclist was hit from the left which in the absence of traffic controls would indicate that he had the right of way over the car. I couldn’t get a hit on Google maps when I was composing this post, so just use intersection protocols and stay sharp out there to avoid a similar wreck.

A New York state cyclist is injured in a wreck with a Honda Accord. Cyclist Struck by Car on Montauk Highway From what I can tell the cyclist ignored a traffic control, or was too slow to make it more than halfway through the intersection before cross traffic had a green signal. Looking at the Google Street View of the site the cyclist looks to have been in the free right turn trying to get to the shopping center with the restaurant when he was hit, there is a traffic light and he was going from a large 4 lane highway that teed into a smaller but still 4 lane through highway. Or he could have been doing exactly what was stated in the report, trying to make a left turn from the westbound shoulder.

Hit-and-run update in Canuckistan. Police search for vehicle They know what kind of vehicle it was from the physical evidence, but the weapon vehicle has not been found yet. This was not the kind of wreck a cyclist could have avoided given the closing speeds involved because of the cyclist getting hit by a vehicle going the opposite direction. Assuming the cyclist wasn’t riding salmon this makes it much more likely that this was a deliberate attempt to kill the cyclist. More MAP: Saskatoon driver hits cyclist and speeds away and Police Seek Hit and Run Suspect

Moving to Oz, a senior cyclist is severely injured in a wreck. Elderly cyclist seriously injured in Lathlain crash Not much to go on here because of all the other wrecks competing for space, I hope the cyclist recovers from her broken bones.

Infrastructure! in Canuckistan. Cyclists and motorists have to be more aware of one another I certainly can’t argue with that, although I’m reasonably sure that cyclists on the road are quite aware of drivers (and their cars,trucks, and buses) around them.

Suing your Bicycle Repair Man? Cyclist Sues Halfords after Poor Repair causes Crash with Car

And we finish with a LifeStyle article. Bicycle Bash Aims to Educate, Entertain If they can convince another 5% of FL drivers that bicycles are legal road vehicles with a right to be in the lane, then they will have made a major impact on bicycle safety, otherwise it’s all just preaching to the choir.

And that’s all I have today, the rest were either UK or motorcycle wrecks.

Billed @$0.02, Opus

Getting ragged at about the cost of peanut butter, and the Feed

Mrs. the Poet has been having a continuing fit about the cost of the last jar of peanut butter we bought, which ended up costing us $11. Now that is almost a 3 month supply of the precious protein product, which works out to a touch over $3 a month. I think this is still a bargain especially considering how much of the stuff I eat, but the Mrs. still remembers what peanut butter cost just a few short months ago while we were still consuming last year’s crop of peanuts. This year with the drought across the southern US the two major areas of peanut production were hit hard. The Texas peanut crop was almost wiped out, and the Georgia crop was below average because of the lack of rainfall. Farmers were hurt, consumers are going to hurt, and the only ones making out are the brokers who pay a fixed price determined before planting and who get a price based on demand when selling. I wouldn’t be as bothered if the whole thing wasn’t rigged to make a few people rich when things like this happen. During good times the brokers make good money, but during bad times they make out like bandits while everybody else suffers.

Up first is what appears to be a left cross wreck in the NE part of the country. Florence cyclist injured crash The weapon vehicle was turning in front of the cyclist and the cyclist rolled over the hood, so most probably a left cross. Intersection protocols to avoid, assuming there was enough time to react.

Still in MA, a cyclist is hit from behind by a driver that failed to clear snow from her windshield. Police: Driver didn’t clear windshield before hitting bicyclist in Middleboro OK I don’t know what you can do about drivers who willingly drive partially blinded, but if you already ride like drivers can’t see you you should be golden. Something I found slightly amazing with this article is that of the 10 comments the first 9 blamed the driver for driving blind, and then one blamed the cyclist for being in the road.

A kid riding a bike in WI is hit by a car. Child hurt in car vs. bike crash Add the fact that the wreck happened in an intersection and you have all the information that we can use from the article. Kids sometimes do crazy things that make perfect sense to a kid and none at all to an adult. Drivers have to be extra aware of kids near and in residential areas. For you as an adult cyclist to avoid a similar wreck, assuming the kid wasn’t doing anything crazy in the street, use the intersection protocols linked at the top of my blog.

Moving to reactions about wrecks now, trouble brews in NYC as drivers get away with bloody murder. Outrage Grows Over Scarcity of Charges Against Drivers Who Kill Cyclists Kill a cyclist, get a consoling pat on the back, TANJ! more NYPD Explains Not Charging Driver Who Killed Cyclist: Accidents Happen

Another Ghost Bike, this time in the UK. A ‘ghost bike’ at the King’s Cross deadly junction for cyclists Too many cyclists have been killed on this particular stretch of road, I linked an article last week about possible corporate manslaughter charges being brought against the government agency responsible for it. Another link ‘My amazing friend would be happy with her ghost bike’

Speaking about bad infrastructure in the UK. First rider killed on Cycle Superhighway worked at Olympic site The “Cycle Superhighway” is a strip of blue paint that is anything from 1 to 1.5 meters wide on the side of the road with no separation from the cars and trucks using the road, which led directly to the death of the cyclist mentioned in this article as a truck apparently sideswiped him going through an intersection.

Infrastructure! in the Great White North. Increase in fatalities prompts Ottawa to revamp road safety programs The single most important thing they could do would be to treat motor vehicle wrecks with vulnerable users the same as assault with a deadly weapon, and unlicensed drivers as possessing an illegal weapon. More Make our roads safer for cyclists

And that’s all the news that gives me fits today, now I get to go mow the lawn…

Billed @$0.02, Opus

Enhancing the kitty-litter bucket panniers, Wreck-Free Sunday

I really enjoy these Sunday posts with no dead or injured cyclists, unless you count the blood shed while working on my bike

I have been working on making the kitty-litter buckets look a little better and less like repurposed trash (which is what they are really). The labels on the buckets are pad-printed rather than being paper labels, which means I can’t just soak them off to get a clean looking bucket. I had to use wet-or-dry sandpaper to remove the labels, with a few drops of dishwashing soap in the water to keep the sanded off paint from sticking back to the surface. I got one of the buckets completely cleaned of the original paint before the fingers of my sanding hand got too pruny from the constant wet conditions, then I wiped the loose debris from the bucket and dried things out. I used the sponge pad from the headlight restoration kit and some metal and plastic polish I had left over from another project I did a while back to restore the gloss after the wet-or-dry sandpaper left the smooth but dull finish. The end result is a shiny lime green bucket pannier devoid of all graphics aside from the license plate on the back on one side of the bike. Now I have to recover for a while and tomorrow or the day after I’ll get the bowl of soapy water and go do the other side of the bike so I have matching sides and not uglify Blue too much.

When I’m riding in calm conditions the buckets don’t affect my speed too much, but the recent windy conditions have shown me that there is a slight penalty in drag. Maybe not as bad as I reported last week, but I can definitely feel the difference when the wind blows. I notice a very small difference in average speed on the church run, about 0.3 MPH on my average on the Cateye bike computer. The ability to just throw something into the panniers when I go out shopping has changed the way I do things already in just a couple of weeks that I have had the buckets mounted. I make more unplanned stops to pick up things that I need but didn’t make a planned trip to get earlier.

I need to get different bolts so they are a bit more sturdy than the current setup which doesn’t have any nuts on 2 of the bolts holding the buckets to the bike because I don’t have enough threads exposed to grab a nut. So I will make another trip to the hardware store for a couple of longer bolts and maybe a washer to get everything spread out over the inner surface of the pannier.

Can you tell I really like these panniers? Well I really like these panniers. I only spent a few buck for the hardware to mount them, the buckets were obtained on Freecycle, and all it took to make them a semi-permanent part of the bike was three tries at engineering the mount to the rack. At the time I started the Lifehacker article that used hanger hooks had not been published, I didn’t see that article until the day after I finished the MKIII version of my mount. That version has the advantage of being removable for dumping out any fluids that might accumulate in the bucket, my version has the advantage that it can’t be stolen without the use of several different tools.

Now go ride a bike, and have fun.

PSA, Opus

Coffee shortage, and the Feed

No, I’m not talking about the bad harvest that raised the wholesale cost of beans by an enormous level, I’m talking about the lack of coffee fixings here in Casa de Poet. I only have enough sugar and creamer for a single cup of coffee and the cats are hiding under the bed for some strange reason… Fall has finally arrived here in the Suburbs of Hell, we actually had 2 days in a row with the morning low under 60, and the high was under 80°F. As a result people around here have been grabbing their winter coats and hats. I kid you not, people treat these temperatures like people up north treat below freezing. Of course we also run around for months without really noticing, in temperatures that have people up north dropping like flies. Me, I’m an odd duck no matter where I go. I’m still wearing a pair of soccer shorts and not much else, but I did make one concession to the changing weather, I now have on a pair of wool ankle socks with my sandals when I go outside. Later when it starts getting really cold I have a pair of heavy insulated gloves for keeping my fingers warm. I didn’t need to wear quite so heavy a glove when I was younger, but then again I had a lot more “personal insulation” when I was younger.

A major theme in today’s Feed was people losing their minds and using the wrong weapons against cyclists they didn’t like. Bicyclist Shot and Killed While Riding Through Pico Rivera and Bicyclist Shot, Killed in Northeast D.C. This is either cyclist hate taken to extremes by very stupid people, or just very stupid people using the wrong weapon against people they have a personal beef with. Had they used a motor vehicle they could have claimed the cyclists rode off the sidewalk in front of them (SWSS) or just claimed to have never seen the cyclists (SMIDSY). I don’t know how you can avoid being shot while riding your bike, because shooting a person on a bike just makes no sense, both from a legal and logistical perspective. More Morning Roundup: No Access Edition

The brother of the Army doctor killed last year while riding in a pack of 15 that was hit from behind injuring 4 other riders (sorry about that construction) makes a public statement. Brother of killed cyclist releases statement For those with short memories, this was the driver that got 90 days for killing the doctor, and zilch for injuring the other 4 cyclists when he hit them from behind on a stretch of straight, flat road with good sight-lines. More Man who hit, killed bicyclist receives 90 days in jail OK this is unacceptable, all this murderer has lost is 45 successive weekends. He gets to keep his job, and he gets to sleep in his own home with his family 5 nights a week during his “incarceration”. I don’t know if his ban on driving is permanent or just until his “incarceration” is over. This was the point I was trying to make in the previous paragraph, killing a cyclist with a motor vehicle is no great crime, even with multiple witnesses.

A cyclist is hit by a motor vehicle in CT. Bicyclist Injured in South Windsor Crash The cyclist was not there to give his statement to police, so the 81 YO driver is the only story they heard… Assuming the driver’s story is accurate, to avoid just don’t cross against the light. Even if you are wearing a brand-new Hi-Viz jacket so drivers can see you.

More jurisprudence news from the Great White North as the trial of the man accused of running over 5 cyclists in the bike lane draws to the end of the evidentiary phase. Cyclists’ bodies ‘bouncing off, into and over’ accused’s van I don’t see how this could end up as anything except a conviction on all 10 counts. The driver admits to being behind the wheel when the wreck happened, the DNA evidence is conclusive as to the victim’s blood being the blood on the van when it was found, and they found bits of the victims inside the van including parts of helmets and jerseys. If the jury acquits this guy I shall have to go to Canada and kill him myself. Or, you know, give him an Atomic Wedgie. More Luangpackham’s Actions Didn’t Amount to Criminal Act: Lawyer and Man Accused of Hitting Cyclists Says He Fell Asleep at the Wheel

Still in Canada, a huge turnout as cyclists remember the door prize “winner” in a memorial ride. Update: Hundreds of cyclists ride in tribute to Danielle Naçu (with photos and video by the Citizen and BikeView) The size of the turnout reflects both the number of people who knew Danielle and the number of people that could have been victims of a similar wreck wanting to make their voices heard that the small fine the driver that doored Danielle is facing is not appropriate in the face of a death caused by the behavior that the fine is being charged for. Actions should have consequences that reflect the damage done, and a fine for killing a cyclist that is less than the fine for simply riding a bicycle on the sidewalk does not reflect the damages done. More Memorial Ride for Cyclist Killed on Queen Street

LifeStyle of the bicyclic. 10/22: Bicycle ride to pair injured soldiers, supporters WoaB strongly suggests you make this ride…

Infrastructure! news from Jolly Olde> TfL ‘failing’ to keep cyclists safe at King’s Cross A FoIA inquiry has disclosed that the government knew 3 years ago that their design for the area was potentially fatal to cyclists, and did nothing to change that. Under UK laws this makes the people that made this decision criminally liable for the deaths that resulted from their decisions. At a minimum I see people losing their jobs over this…

Remembering a cyclist killed in a hit-and-run in Seattle. Bicyclist killed in Seattle commute was also talented photographer Michael Wang was killed by a SUV driver that witnesses say never even slowed in the process of killing the cyclist. His talents as a photographer show his vision of the world.

And that’s all I have today… I am hopeful that the day will come that all I will have to post in this blog is the funny things my cats do and what a great ride I went on the day before, but until then, could someone set up a coffee IV for me?

Billed @$0.02, Opus

A slow trip camping, Wreck-Free Sunday

I’m back from my trip, a simple overnight on Blue, running the kitty-litter bucket panniers under load for the first time. The verdict on the panniers is when mounted properly they are very nice. Loose stuff inside the pannier will cause some drumming as expected, but there was no other noises from the converted kitty-litter buckets.

Now the trip, I had a little bit of a mix-up with the rally point in that I got there after the rally time but before everybody else, which had me worried a bit until the rest of the party showed up about a half-hour after the previously announced rally time because of a late start and slow average speeds. After lunch at the rally point I led to group through what was normally the calm back streets of Sachse and Wylie, well yesterday they weren’t so calm. I got passed by more cars yesterday than I normally get passed by in a week of trips through that area. It was insane the amount of traffic we had to deal with. It was actually more comfortable back out on TX78 with 3 lanes and all that traffic with the 50-55 MPH speed limits which meant the cars were passing at 60-70 MPH, but they all were moved over to the next lane.

About that average speed I mentioned earlier. It was SloOoOoOWwWwWwW! Basically I was the fastest rider in the group. My computer average at the end of the ride was 8.9 MPH, which included a 14 MPH average for the first 4 miles getting to the rally point. I spent the entire ride in the bottom 4 gears on my cassette and taking about 20 RPM off my normal 100 RPM cadence. The trikes I was riding with were heavy and had motor issues in that their riders were riding with one form of handicap or another, and I’m not talking about carrying extra weight, I’m talking a physical challenge. I’m not going to cause any embarrassment to the other riders by naming their physical challenges, I’ll just say that I was the healthiest rider on the ride with just the problems I have with my leg.

The camping was a slight disappointment as the flushies and showers were locked up except for one set of flushies about a half mile from where we were camped. So I had to do a cold-water washup at the camp site to stay clean. We ordered out for pizza because the park was still inside Wylie’s city limits, and it tasted much better than Domino’s usually tastes. I don’t know if riding made me hungry or if Domino’s media campaign about improving their pizza is actually true. I had some food of my own that I hauled in the panniers for breakfast, with coffee at a local fast-food outlet, then home.

I had one equipment failure that resulted in having to put my sleeping bag on the sag wagon out and everything that wouldn’t fit in my panniers on the way back. I use a rope to lash down my external cargo, that broke on the trip to the rally point and caused me to almost jettison my sleeping bag coming in to the rally point. I plan on getting more rope before the next trip and maybe building a extension on the back of the rack that will keep the stuff a little more under control and give me more lashing points to tie down the cargo.

I expect to be getting pictures from the ride in the next few days which I hope to be able to post in the blog so that Blue can get a little love like Gigi has.

Have a happy Sunday and a nice ride.

Opus