Making baguettes, writing about bike wrecks and trying to find a ride to rehearsal

I’m making bread, creating a post, and trying to chase down a ride to rehearsal tonight for the SolstiCelebration. I only got a notice about the rehearsal late last night with almost no time to arrange a ride that could haul Gigi down to the Cathedral of Hope. And I’m doing this all at the same time, of course.

Once again almost all of the links are from outside the US, with most from the UK and Enn Zed, and only a total of 7 links even from the North American continent. Very few of the US and Canadian links are about specific wrecks, except for the ones about jurisprudence of course.

Up first because it’s a gripping story, the only person in North America that can make TTTWLAMWAMD look relatively good as a driver, Michael Bryant goes to court yesterday. Bryant case back in court Monday I’m hoping Mr. Bryant doesn’t get long to work at his new job, linked here yesterday, before he has to spend a lengthy stretch of time behind bars as a guest of the Crown. For those who have been living in a cave without newspapers or Internet access Bryant is accused of being the driver recorded on several security cameras hitting a cyclist from behind and knocking him from his bike, only to have the cyclist get back up to “discuss” the matter. Bryant then proceeded to run into the cyclist and drive on the wrong side of the street and up on to the sidewalk, hitting trees and lamp poles and eventually putting the cyclist against a mailbox that was bolted to the sidewalk where the cyclist, Darcy Sheppard, died from massive blunt trauma.

Also above the 49^th parallel is this story of a serial motor vehicle offender that killed a cyclist a few years back with a stolen vehicle stealing another vehicle and leading police on a high speed chase. Accused in high-speed chase was driver in fatal crash The excuse given for the first theft, the one that killed the cyclist, was lame to the extreme, “he stole the truck because he didn’t feel like walking“. Well he won’t be doing much walking in prison, but I think making him hike there wearing shackles and under armed guard, in public with maybe TV coverage, will remind him that driving a motor vehicle is a privilege that he will never ever get to enjoy for the rest of his life.

Another report on charges being brought against the killer of a UK LEO while he was riding a bicycle. Man charged over death of cyclist Jim Fleming on A413 Not as much information in this article as there was in yesterday’s.

And a cyclist is injured in, I think, the north of England. Cyclist hurt in Sticklepath road accident Again the UK media laws prevented any actual information about the wreck from being given, but the fact that at one point it was necessary to perform CPR on the cyclist indicates that this was a pretty bad crash.

A similar wreck in the south of England. Teenager injured in Southsea Again nothing useful, but the cyclist was removed from the scene on a backboard, indicating a possible spinal injury.

A road “defect” that has injured cyclists before the public transit that requires it can even be put into service in Scotland. Edinburgh tram lines throw cyclists off track Bless the Beeb for bringing this case of infrastructure for one group imperiling another.

More on UK infrastructure. The Mayor needs short term transport targets to keep him on track Boris has great long-term goals, but nothing in the short term that will take London there.

And in a story to rival Dutch police giving helmets and hugs, UK police give out HiViz vests to cyclists wearing dark clothing. Cyclists in dark clothing stopped by Hampshire police – and given free hi-viz gear While this is nice, why are they stopping legal cyclists over this issue?

From Enn Zed, more about the woman that turned in to a group of cyclists after running a stop sign. Sentence delay as police assess cyclist’s injuries Yes, it will be a while until they can communicate with the worst of the victims to determine how this female waste of human skin can be properly punished.

Back to North America for the first of the infrastructure articles, a woman in Canadia finds a way to keep cyclists and pedestrians from winding up under a snow plow. N.L. woman making snow removal safer Jeanette Holman-Price began lobbying for side guards, which run from the front wheel to the rear wheel, to be placed on trucks after her daughter was killed in 2006 by a snow-removal truck in Montreal. This is one of those things that is dangerous but has to be done or even more people are in danger, so they are always looking for things to make it less dangerous.

And back in the US a cyclist speaks about riding in the streets of Philly. Injured cyclist stresses bike safety After being hit by a car while biking, student Robert Stillwagon says he’ll keep riding as safely as possible. Yeah, how about doing something about the reasons why cyclists sometimes ride on the sidewalks, instead of punishing everyone for the transgressions of a tiny minority?

In CA they are starting to recognize that education has a place in cyclist safety. It’s time to stop killing cyclists I love the thought, I would like to see something behind it. The LAC defensive cycling course is a great start. This is another article that it would be a good idea not to read the comments.

Another lawmaker that “gets” it. Paulin drafting a safe-passing bill for cyclers Three feet is nice, but making hitting a vulnerable user a crime with some bite is required to really protect cyclists and pedestrians. That and LEO that do their jobs and actually enforce the laws as written, not as they think they should be.

A specialty license plate helps fund bicycle safety education in KY. Specialty license plate helps fund bike safety classes This is another article that I strongly caution against reading the comments. My mind is pre-exploded and safe from the words of idiots, I can’t assume the same about yours.

And finally someone here on WordPress read a book about bicyles and really liked it. My Favorite Books of the Year The one about bicycles was first on his list.

And that’s all I have today, I have to go finish baking the bread and other things.

Billed @$.02, Opus

Dec. 4 Feed Pt. 2, the rest of the world

OK I’m back from my church duties and ready to finish this mess and go to bed. I have been at this off and on since 11:45 AM and it is now 2 minutes after midnight. Between baking bread and sustaining the body, and my church duties, and this blog I have been going constantly for over 13 hours now. {yawn}

I think this is supposed to be a hit-and run in Jolly Olde, but it sounds more like a nightmare. Cyclist injured in non-stop crash Yes that does remind me of one of my nightmares, the crash that never ends, bouncing off the cars and the road until I wake up, the sheets a tangle and covered in sweat. But since this is a typical UK media wreck report, aside from that bit of horror poetry there isn’t anything aside from names and places. Well there was the note that the suspect vehicle was a white van and would be missing the passenger side rear view mirror, so be on the lookout for a vehicle fitting that description.

A incident more than a wreck, someone assaulted a cyclist on a bike path. Cyclist is pushed off bike by man PC Ryan Townsend from Bromsgrove Police appealed for any witnesses or anyone with any information to contact him and said: “Fortunately the woman’s injuries were not too serious but we need to identify the male who pushed her from her bike.” So if the person described in the article is familiar, and you’re somewhere near the scene of the crime, call the PC. Just don’t call PC Macintosh, he has some serious identity issues.

Another UK bike wreck that is a bit worse than most. Cyclist critically injured in smash Yowch, a head on crash between a White Van and a cyclist. LEO are looking for witnesses, the van driver was hysterical at the scene and incoherent and of course the cyclist was not doing too well either. Again if you know anything, contact number is in the article. Do your civic duty and get the cyclist off the hook.

Several reports on the critical PR infrastructure building being done by the UK cycling community. Us Cyclists aren’t a menace, we’re freedom fighters and ‘Blinkered motorists make roads unsafe for cyclists’ also UK cyclists in more danger than foreign counterparts Keep up the pressure, people. Illegitimi non carborundum!

Sometimes they can’t even decide who is the intended target of an informational PSA. Highway Code TV ad to target cyclists says Minister… oh no it isn’t says Driver Standards Agency Get back to me when you figure that one out, lads, will you?

In Oz they can’t figure out where to put cyclists… Hidden injury toll sparks call to segregate cyclists And the most infuriating thing about it is the idiots in the comments section that blech and moan about how much of a hazard cyclists are to motor vehicles, and how they should be taxed to construct the bike lanes, and never even realize that if drivers weren’t hitting the cyclists they wouldn’t need segregated infrastructure.

On the same subject but from a different perspective, still in Oz. `Not enough bike paths’ The complaints are typical, drivers expect cyclists to ride in the paths, but the paths don’t go anywhere useful.

Infrastructure in the US is similar to the UK and Oz. Southwest Florida’s Deadly Streets Again drivers complain that cyclists don’t use the paths that don’t go anywhere useful, and cyclists are caught between the rock and the hard place.

So what do the experts (?) recommend? Helmet Use Proven Life-Saver That’s right, don’t do anything about the infrastructure or bad drivers, make people wear helmets instead.

Finally, so I don’t blow a fuse, an article about something to let you get where you need to go without getting all sweaty or driving a car. Currie’s electric beach-cruiser bicycle is priced right, goes the distance I keep telling you guys about my working on e-assist bikes for the “slow”, well here’s one that you can buy without having to tinker on it or weld brackets in or program the uController after you build your own motor and controller (I do that, but then I’m brain damaged, so I think it’s fun). I do this for fun, you can do it for transportation. And you can even get some of that nasty “e” word if you want.

And that’s it, finally.

Billed @$.02, Opus

Need more bidders

I mentioned a while back that I was donating 4 loaves of home made yeast bread to Earth Rhythms for the Winter SolstiCelebration. Well bidding is stalled at $12 for the batch, which is only $3 a loaf. The current winning bidder appears to have an automatic bid raising going on. The Buy Now price is $25, so to push the bidding past that I suggest bidding at either $23 or $24. Since I don’t get anything from this except a warm fuzzy I don’t care about the bid for myself, I just want Amy Martin’s organization to get as much as possible for the SolstiCelebrations both Winter and Summer versions. So bid high and bid often to get hand made yumminess from your favorite bicycle blogger. Delivery made to the DFW local area only to ensure freshness…

PSA (really it is a Public Service Announcement) Opus

Bicycle zombies take over the news, people still getting killed by cars, the Feed

Yes, “zombies” are all the rage now, and have spread from the UK to the US. In the meantime cars are still killing people at a rate of nearly 110 people a day in the US, and nobody is saying anything about that (except me and a few other bicycle fanatics). I feel a rant coming on, and I don’t think it is going to be pretty.

Up first is another report on the waste of human skin that had 20 beers before going out and driving into 2 cyclists, killing one. Driver who downed 20 beers, killed cyclist gets 25-40 years in prison This is the guy that in a previously linked report the victim’s mother gave him a Bible and said he was going to heaven. I hope she’s wrong about that, because if there was ever a guy that deserved to suffer, this is the guy. Interesting that the previous reports said the disgusting piece of filth got 45 years determinate sentence, but this report has him as serving 25-40. I wonder who’s right.

In other court news the driver that dragged a cyclist 860 feet under her car while the man was screaming and beating on the car (that part was new information), is facing undisclosed criminal charges in the case. Driver of car that dragged bicyclist in Natick to face criminal charge The complaint was filed Nov. 25 in Framingham District Court against Lorraine Peterson, 61, of 359 Berlin Road, though police redacted the specific charge. Apparently public records are not public for certain people.

More on the wreck that killed the driver while only slightly injuring the cyclist he hit. Vehicle crashes kill 4, injure 5 Not a good day to have been driving a car, or riding a bicycle for that matter. If I’m reading the report right the vehicle hit the cyclist on the north side of the street and then crossed the road to hit a tree on the south side of the street. That ain’t normal. Hitting a cyclist isn’t what I would call “normal” but the circumstances of the wreck speak to me of a person who was dieing before they hit the cyclist, and the tree just finished the job. This sounds like a stroke or heart attack in progress when he left the road the first time and grazed the cyclist and then tried to stay on the road and pulled left on the wheel, then died. I know that’s an awful lot to pull from a tiny report…

Another hit-and-run in LA CA. Cyclist struck in West Hollywood hit-and-run Not much to go on in this report, but it appears to be a typical right hook wreck, good that the cyclist survived.

In Scotland a cyclist has a run in with a bus and survives. Cyclist in serious condition after accident with bus and from the Beeb Cyclist injured in bus accident It’s good to know that you won’t get hurt driving a bus into a woman riding a bicycle [/sarcasm]. For those who live on my side of the pond, it appears the woman was trying to turn across traffic when she got hit. They drive on the wrong side of the roads in Scotland so you have to turn right to cross traffic, not left.

Someone driving a silver Mercedes is going to have a rough time of it when he gets caught. Cyclist seriously injured in hit-and-run As per usual in UK wreck reports I can’t say anything about how to avoid a similar wreck, other then to always be alert, this cyclist being able to say make and color may very well result in the miscreant being brought to justice.

And what seems obvious as the nose on your face is debated in the UK. Cyclists are not a menace, Spectator debate decides In the end the argument was mass times velocity, would you rather get hit by 200 pounds going 20 MPH, or 4000 pounds going 35 and up? In the overall scheme of things it was like getting hit in a rugby game versus getting hit by an artillery shell. Every once in a while someone will die in a rugby game, but not often, but get hit by a car and you stand a good chance of dying or being permanently injured.

A cyclist is injured in a left hook wreck in Oz. Cyclist injured after collision with car I noticed the cyclist got a few licks in on the car as he was hit, tearing off the passenger side mirror and crumpling the hood a bit and only sustaining minor injuries in the process. As they say “Good on ya!” for returning fire in the face of the enemy

Still trying to figure out if the guy that hit a cyclist in South Africa was just stupid or culpable. Cops hunt for evidence in cyclist death Hit from behind in the cycle lane, and there’s a question of culpability? Did these guys get their training from AZ LEO?

And the “bicycle zombies” meme makes its way to these shores. ‘iPod zombies’ blamed for UK road deaths Note that in this article from the people that actually make the iPod, using one on any vehicle that one is in control of is not a good idea. Bicycles because you might get hit by a car you didn’t hear, cars because they distract you from your environment, and you already have way too many distractions while driving a car anyway.

An opinion about the ruckus over the recent pedestrian deaths by bicycle in the City of Brotherly Love. Road Rage at Philly Newspapers Why are Ronnie and Stu whipping up fear when cars and trucks pose a bigger threat? Because they don’t like bicycles in their streets, and making then out to be a danger to pedestrians arouses fears that they can use to get them legislated away from their city…

On the same subject but from a different direction. Registering bicycles will not prevent any accidents If there was just some way we could easily identify cars so that when the hit someone and drive off the owner could be brought to justice… and pedestrians they just wander around like they own the place, we need some way of identifying pedestrians too…

I hope NY has a better time of it than TX when they pass their 3 foot passing law. NYS Assemblymember to Introduce Safe Passage Law for Cyclists This is desperately needed legal infrastructure for cyclists and pedestrians.

And SF finally gets to build bicycle infrastructure again. Eyes On the Street: SF Gets Its First New Bike Lane in Three Years The paint was barely dry before people started using the new bike lane, who had been trying to ride vehicularly but because of driver attitudes were not having a good go of it.

And that’s all I have today, but there will be a rant later, I still haven’t figured out how I’m going to phrase it yet.

Billed @$.02, Opus

Good news for a change

An occasional commenter on this blog went missing in Portland OR this week. As I’m not entirely an unfeeling bastard yet, let us all celebrate that Aaron has found his way back home. Aaron Tarfman returns home after thoughtful sojourn And thanks for reminding me that I haven’t sunk to the unfeeling bastard stage yet. There are days when I wonder, but I guess wondering if I’m becoming an unfeeling bastard is the best sign that I’m not.

In other news I started my winter workouts yesterday, and today I feel like I have lead noodles in place of where my legs used to be. I build up strength during the winter and endurance during the summer, and right now I don’t have a whole lotta strength. My quads and glutes are killing me

Billed @$.02, Opus

More strange referrals, and a normal Feed

Of course “normal” is subjective, much of the stuff I get in my Feed has little or nothing to do with what is “normal” otherwise it wouldn’t be in my Feed.

Up first because it so definitvely illustrates how not normal “normal” is around here, a man in OR is hit by 2 drunk drivers and there is a possibility he was hit before that by another driver. Fatal Bike Crash in North Portland Last Night and AHS grad killed in Portland Yes, both of the drivers that were seen to have hit him were drunk, and there is some difference of opinion about how he ended up in the road where he got hit. This is another one of those that I can’t tell you what to do to avoid a similar situation because the whole situation is so bizarre as to defy understanding.

Just down the road a bit from that wreck we find this wreck. Bike rider injured in Gresham accident Apparently 3 drivers saw him and stopped while he crossed the street, but one didn’t and hit him. Again this is one of those wrecks that can’t be avoided by the cyclist because it depends on the other driver(s) obeying the law. The cyclist was obeying the law by using a crosswalk as permitted under OR laws, and the other 3 drivers were obeying the laws by yielding to someone in a crosswalk who had waited for traffic to yield, and then comes this last yahoo with no brains at all and just runs over the guy in the crosswalk. I say this calls for at least a one year loss of driver’s privileges with a mandatory written and road test for at least 5 years after the privilege is conditionally restored, with a permanent loss if he fails either test at any time. I would also put a zero wrong limit on the written test, miss any and you fail, forever.

More lawyer blather on the Greenville SC rider killed in vehicular assault. Update: Arrest Made for Greensboro Cyclist’s Hit-and-Run Death Again, why would they catch this person just to let them go? If someone had been shooting people at random on the freeway, would they have just let him go after paying a small bond, or would they lock him up and wait until trial to determine if he was innocent to protect society?

And another pedestrian is injured by a cyclist, fault not determined yet. Pedestrian hospitalized after being struck by bicyclist At this time, the mode of the wreck and even the location of the pedestrian are in dispute. The only thing that isn’t in dispute is the cyclist was not drunk or on drugs at the time of the wreck, which means that the cyclist hung around long enough to get tested.

Treehugger has a report on how cyclists get killed, and amazingly enough 70% of cyclists are following the law when they were hit. How To Get Killed On A Bicycle Of that 30% who were breaking the law, an unknown number would not have made any difference because they were already squarely in front of the driver when they were hit because the driver was looking in another direction than where they were going.

Nothing about the wreck in this update on a report linked here earlier. Burnham-On-Sea cyclist’s injuries more serious than originally thought I’m sorry that the woman was hurt badly (when is it ever good to be hurt?) but I really wish that UK media laws would allow for more information about the actual wreck.

In Portland OR an Episcopal church creates a shrine to a pre-Roman mountain Goddess that was made a Catholic saint of bicyclists, is that ecumenical or what? OREGON: Portland church dedicates shrine, space to Our Lady of the Cyclists The Lady Ghisallo’s original name has been lost to posterity, but Her followers still remember Her Spirit and honor Her.

The LA Times still doesn’t get it. Cyclists and motorists on collision course The majority of traffic laws were written for cars and don’t really apply to bicycles, but the writer expects cyclists to obey them anyway,

Philadelphia is having a hard time getting out of the car-head psychology and into complete streets. Bikers, walkers, drivers: Can’t they all get along? First, do something so that it isn’t like a jungle out there with everybody fighting for space either on the street or on the sidewalk, make a space for everybody somewhere. Then when there are spaces for everybody where those spaces intersect you will get more cooperation between users.

Some concern about the increase in the number of cyclists killed and/or injured in the UK this year. Sharp rise in number of cyclists killed on roads

Some shop owners have a hard time separating problems with infrastructure from the general downturn in the economy. Bike lane’s killed shop, says owner I loved Vancouver BC back in 1968, but I haven’t been back since then but people are people wherever you go, and some are going to blame changes they don’t like on things going wrong even if the two have nothing to do with each other.

And we finish up with a lifestyle report from Philly. Freewheelers Old people on bicycles, you gotta love it, especially since I’m (becoming) an old guy on a bicycle.

And that’s all I got today. Just a note I will not be doing posts for the next 2 Sundays, as I will be doing a non-computer gig Sunday nights. This gig is not open to the public, so don’t be looking for me, or Gigi

Billed @$.02, Opus

Another light Feed today

The conviction of the thing that walks like a man with a medical degree has sucked all the air out of the bicycle stories today. The usual “bicycle hit in middle of street, rider at fault” reporting has lost a lot of its credibility after the conviction on 2 counts of assault with a deadly weapon and many of the reports are coming back with no details aside from the collision.

Getting to the good news first are more reports on the conviction, starting with the USAToday writer eating crow after his diatribe from last week in favor of the TTTWLAMWAMD. Bicycle justice: Doctor convicted of causing road-rage accident that injured two bicyclists Notice it’s still an “accident” not an assault Second Edition Cycling News, Tuesday, November 3, 2009 For these guys the conviction was small potatoes, and placed well down the list of cycling news. I still can’t find any joy that Dr. Thompson is going to prison, I mean I feel some vindication, but I’m not happy about it. You would think that after all the times I got run off the road or hit I would be doing cartwheels over someone getting caught and punished for the deed, but even if I still had the ability to do them I don’t feel like that. The curse of being a thinking being with morals and scruples.

In other convictions, (I love typing that) a MI man that had been putting away a lot of beer gets a minimum of 20 years sentence for killing a cyclist. 20 beers nets 20 years for driver who killed teen cyclist That must have been some really cheap watered down beer for him to consume that much and only have a 0.18% BAC. That might have been a factor in the lack of judgment in getting behind the wheel with a BAC more than twice the legal limit, besides the impaired judgment that comes with BAC over .08%. As for how to avoid this wreck, you can’t and still use the roads. The driver ran a red light and hit the back end of a group ride crossing the road in front of him, making not being there the only way to avoid getting hit by a drunk driver running a red light. If you start to follow that path, you might as well stay in bed with the covers over your head. and that still won’t protect you from drunk drivers as the Queens man who was hit in his 2nd floor bedroom by a drunk driving a Lexus SUV can testify. I’m going to let you Google that one because I don’t have a valid URL for that article.

This must have been the most excitement in Anoka MN in quite a while, here it is over a week later and they’re still talking about it. Bike rider killed in Blaine identified As of this report this is a SWCC wreck, but at least we know the name of the cyclist.

Another hit-from-behind wreck in CA. Truck rear-ends bicycle, kills rider The lack of information forthcoming from LEO is a bad indication to me that something is being covered up.

More lawyer blather about the NC hit-and-run by the woman in the Dodge Durango that killed the cyclist, only this lawyer is still using the story that the cyclist was hit from behind instead of the now known cross the road to hit head on before the U-turn vehicular assault. Guilford County Hit and Run Kills Greensboro, N.C. Man I guess stories like this are the reason I don’t feel happy about TTTWLAMWAMD getting convicted, it was just a drop in a bucket, and a very large bucket at that.

It turns out the cyclist hit by the bus in Hayward was a bike ninja. Two fatalities in separate Hayward accidents Lights might have helped the bus driver see the cyclist, but coming from where he came from there was no way any reflectors would have helped. From the description of the damages to the bus, a helmet would not have helped either. When you ride after dark have lights on front and rear because you won’t always be in the headlights for a motor vehicle to see you before the wreck. And don’t drink and ride.

Another ride for someone hit by a car, but nothing being done about the cars. Ride memorializes bike-car collision victims At least the transportation department is aware of the issues and is part of the ride for the injured cyclist, even if they aren’t doing anything about cyclists getting hit in the bike lanes at the moment. But I’m really being too harsh on the transportation department, as they don’t enforce the laws they just build the roads.

Things weren’t that different at the turn of the 20^th Century. Gossip of the Cyclers, and Other News of the Wheel The big difference was there were no cars killing pedestrians and cyclists wholesale, the main source of traffic fatalities was horse drawn conveyances, and we all know how smart horses are.

Lastly someone has found a good use for bicycle helmets. Bicycle helmet saves the day — on foot My colleague at examiner.com points out that pedestrians are more likely to get head injuries than bicyclists or motorcyclists and nobody makes a fuss that they don’t wear helmets, because pedestrian head injury is rare, almost as rare as bicycle head injury.

And that’s all I got today, more later.

Billed @$.02, Opus

More on the thing that walks like a man with a medical degree, and other news In The Feed

The last 2 days have generated more traffic to this blog than I have ever seen, what with Dr. Christopher Thompson (the thing that walks like a man with a medical degree) being convicted of all 7 counts against him and BikingInLA telling me about it so I could link to their breaking story. Well that wasn’t the only story breaking in LA yesterday about people using their vehicles as weapons against cyclists.

But the big news first (other than the Blog reports) is still the conviction of TTTWLAMWAMD of 6 felonies and one misdemeanor. E.R. Doc Guilty in Road Rage Attack on Cyclists and Physician accused of deliberately injuring two bicyclists is convicted and Dr. Thompson is found guilty of all counts in LA road rage trial. and comments here Mailbag: Road rage, getting along and Floyd Landis I hope that this is just the first of many prosecutions that have previously been ignored by LEO and prosecutors for assault with motor vehicles.

Lost in the hubbub of TTTWLAMWAMD’s conviction was this tidbit. Texting Driver Guilty in Death of 14-year-old Boy He was driving under the influence of 2 powerful prescription drugs, and texting at the time he killed a cyclist, and the defense tried to make this look like an unavoidable accident due to a medical condition. I have heard some mighty weak defenses in my day, but this one is less than a kitten.

They identified the bike ninja that was hit Sunday in Austin TX. Guns, drugs found during arrest; cyclist killed on Texas 71 identified Ignore the comments unless you already have brain damage…

In the other big story of the day they finally arrested and charged the driver of the SUV that hit a cyclist head on and then made a U turn to escape. Woman charged in hit-and-run death of David Sherman and Driver charged in fatal hit-and-run of bicyclist, released on bond I love it when they publish the booking pictures of drivers that hit cyclists, they invariably look like something the cat drug in and the kittens tried to bury. From the description of the wreck released by LEO it seems this was a deliberate action on the part of the driver to try to kill or hurt a cyclist, why was she given a bond at all unless the Durango was the only vehicle she had access to. I also love that the accused’s home address was given in the article. I’m not saying to do anything bad to the person or her home, but if you happen to have a dump truck load of male bovine digestive byproduct and you need a place to get rid of it…

And in what is almost positively a cut and paste from one news source to another we have the same article from 2 very different sources. Bicyclist struck and killed by AC Transit bus in Hayward and Bicyclist Struck And Killed By AC-Transit Bus In Hayward It could be they both did the cut and paste from a press release, not one copying the other. As to the wreck I can’t tell you who was doing what from this article. Or if the cyclist was lighted and reflectorized, but since the only lights mentioned were the defective streetlights I would say the cyclist had all the legally required lights etc.

Last report if from Jolly Olde where news reports are required by law to be missing 2 Ws and the H out of the standard news reporters 5Ws and an H. Cyclist injured after Toxteth collision And people wonder why I have a tag about UK news reports.

That’s all I have tonight.

Billed @$.02, Opus

Out spending my birthday money so I’m late with the Feed

Sorry this is so late today but I had to do some shopping and bus service isn’t all that great out on this side of Dallas County TX on a weekend. As I was shopping with my wife, and she doesn’t ride a bike, we had to use public transit, which even when we caught it right as the bus/train was pulling into the stop/station still took longer to do than it would have had I been riding Gigi to do this. And because of the schedule I couldn’t do the blog post before I left as there just wasn’t the time. So, that’s why I’m late today, that annoying thing called “having a life” so interferes with doing the work

Up first for no particular reason is a report on a serious wreck between a cyclist and a minivan that ended up with the cyclist’s head stuck in the side of the minivan. Bicyclist seriously injured in accident in SW Portland OK not an avoidable wreck on the cyclist’s part from the initial report, and the driver seems to be taking total blame for this one (so far, wait until the morning for an updated report).

The first of our FL reports on a rail trail wreck. Around the Region – Sept. 19 Yeah, stop signs. You have to stop at stop signs and look to make sure your way is clear with stop signs on rail trails, because the sight lines at intersections are frequently very bad.

Another article from FL, the deadliest state in the US to ride a bike. EDITORIAL: End the driver-cyclist wars There was some lies of omission rather than commission, they mentioned the impede traffic law without mentioning the fact that when the lane is sub-standard in width the bicycle gets the lane.

Something someone sent me not in the Feed, about a DUI that hit 3 cyclists while drunk, was arrested and then was caught drunk again. Iraq War Veteran Denied Bail in DUI Bicycle Crash in Baldwin County, Alabama Finally a judge that gets it right. Why does it take so long for LEO and judges to get it?

Another cyclist is hit-and-run. Bicyclist Critically Injured In Hit-And-Run Crash And some people wonder why I have such a deep loathing against hit-and-run drivers. Well let me tell you that being a victim of hit-and-run has very little to do with it, because I hated hit-and-run long before I was a victim of one. Drivers that don’t stop to render aid are selfish, and cowardly, and of generally low intelligence. As for this wreck I’m not sure if it was a hit-from-behind or a buzz job that got too close, but the same protocol applies to either one: mirror(s), escape route, and be ready to use the escape or bail from the bike and let the bike take the hit. Or you can be a real hero and fill the seat tube with C4 and nails and use a contact detonator that requires a shock of getting hit from behind to set it off. If you’re going to die anyway you might as well get a couple licks in in retaliation.

When both the victim and the driver are over twice the BAC levels needed to convict for drunk driving, who’s at fault? The guy that fell down, or the guy that ra him over with a truck? Coroner’s jury rules Champaign jail death a suicide you have to get a ways into the article to find the bike wreck. Bottom line is neither one needed to be out that night, but the guy driving the motor vehicle was still drunk when he ran over and killed the drunk that fell off a bicycle. A sober person would have been able to avoid the cyclist laying in the road, it’s as simple as that. To avoid, don’t ride a bicycle after drinking to excess. The ironic thing is the drunk riding a bicycle would have eventually sobered up faster than the drunk driving the motor vehicle as exercise causes the body to oxidize alcohol faster than just sitting.

From the description of the wreck scene we have another hit-from-behind wreck in AZ just outside Phoenix. Police identify bicyclist hit and killed by car in Phoenix From the pictures and other descriptions of the wreck this proves my theory about the bike disabling the vehicle in a wreck, but the rider never got the chance to bail from the bike. Preliminarily I’m going to say this was not a wreck that the cyclist could have avoided, but I’m also going to say that this was a wreck the driver of the car could have avoided with less speed and more attention. I’m not sure if the driver stopped first and the bike disabled the vehicle before he stopped but not enough to make him stop just then, or if the bike disabled the vehicle enough to make him stop. But the driver did stop for whatever reason.

More on the cyclist hit by a bus in Ottawa. Ottawa Police Want to Speak To Witnesses After Cyclist Killed and a study of the wreck site including some pictures of the sightlines Crossroads where cyclist killed known as puzzling, treacherous One design flaw was a lack of a curb cut where the bike path ended and the bike lane began in the street. Dropping off a curb on a road bike is something that requires attention unless you like buying new forks and rims on a regular basis, which distracts from the job of actually driving the bike without hitting anything or getting hit. Also the sight lines were hampered by trees between the bike path and the road the bike path ended on. Another issue was the “exit ramp” design that brought the bike path parallel to the sidewalk and tapering off to nothing leaving the cyclist to cross the sidewalk before entering the road.

First of our UK reports. Cyclist injured and aside from that we know he was hit on a road…

And the other report. Cyclist killed in lorry crash identified Another possible hit-from-behind or buzz job, but we won’t know until the coroner’s court is adjourned, and unless they send a reporter to the court we still won’t know.

I’ll just let the irony sink in from the headline, I don’t need to say anything else about this. Land Rover Las Vegas to give away free bike helmets Oooohhhh!

And a severe case of blaming the victim in this article, where the deceased cyclists were all in full compliance with the laws while the drivers were drunk, or distracted, or just flat out driving in the bike lane and mowing down whatever rider was there… Bicyclists must obey traffic laws for safety of all If there had been any major wrecks that involved running that particular stop sign I could see the crackdown, but the major cause of cyclists’ deaths in Tucson is passing too close by a motor vehicle…

And that’s it for tonight, time for beddy-bye. >YAWN<

Billed @$0.02, Opus

Someone is paying attention, and the Feed

OK yesterday’s blog post ne’ rant got some interesting visitors from DC, about my suggestion for dealing with hit-and-run drivers I suppose. I’m pretty sure it wasn’t for the quality of my writing I’m still not even nominated for a Bloggy and I wouldn’t even know what category I would fall under, aside from curmudgeon with a computer.

Up first because nobody got killed and also because it had multiple reports, a woman fell off her bike in heavy (bike) traffic during Cycle Oregon. Boise Woman Injured in Bicycle Crash During Cycle Oregon South of Grants Pass and Cycle Oregon rider from Idaho seriously injured in bike crash For those interested Cycle Oregon is a lot like RAGBRAI except without the Pork Chop Man and a lot less pie. And less beer also. I leave if those are good or bad things up to you. As this was a bike v bike wreck in heavy bike traffic the only advice I can give on how to avoid is to slow down in heavy traffic to minimum balance speed, and if you ride clipless have your dominant foot unclipped to be ready to dab.

In the same area of the country comes more reports on the teacher killed in a hit-and-run in Vancouver WA. Bicyclist dead in Vancouver hit-and-run Note the huge difference in the description of the suspect in that early report and the actual perp caught in this report. Vancouver high school mourns loss of popular teacher killed in hit-and-run; suspect arrested Yep he went from his 30s to 18 in one day. I can’t say how outraged I am about this wreck, at least in polite company. To avoid the same fate standard hit-from-behind protocol might help: Mirror(s), escape route, and willingness to either use the escape route or to bail off the bike and let it take the hit. The thing is I don’t know if the cyclist had enough time between the driver moving into the bike lane and the actual collision to do any of those things, as the bike lane was on a steep hill, and the speed limit in the area (35 MPH) is mostly ignored. The speed of the driver’s vehicle in this case is not known to any degree of certainty beyond that it was in excess of the 35 limit.

On the other side of the country a student on a bicycle is killed by a motor vehicle. Student’s Death a Reminder of Need for Caution Around Bicyclists There were apparently several new laws that went into effect as the students were leaving for the summer break that LEO are now enforcing, but that still doesn’t mean that cyclists have to be any less vigilant about their own safety. Making things that are a danger to cyclists against the law will help to get reparation when broken, but unless enforced vigilantly and thoroughly will not do a great deal to protect cyclists. laws are mostly an after the fact thing, like helmets.

Another distracted driver kills a cyclist, this time in OH. Pandora bicyclist killed in crash Dunlap looked away from the roadway momentarily and his vehicle drifted across the white edge line, hitting Watkins’ bicycle. See, even if you aren’t riding on the road, you can be killed by a car. Again standard hit-from-behind protocol might have helped in this case, but I’m not sure the cyclist would have had enough time to react.

Another UK wreck report with typical UK levels of detail as mandated by the government. Cyclist killed in crash with lorry The only thing I can say about this wreck is the description of the directions of travel make me suspect either a hit-from-behind, or a left hook (UK equivalent of the right hook).

Another waste of LEO time and resources to ticket kids not wearing helmets while ignoring driver behavior that kills cyclists. Students receive fines for biking without helmets

And to wrap up a nice story about kids and freedom and growing up. Learning to ride

I might have more later, but that’s all I have now.

Billed @$.02, Opus