Hoping my ancient computer doesn’t crash, a huge Feed

Well, I went to the lab rat keeper’s place again. I’m still alive, and I still have a pulse that’s slightly faster than a corpse’s after I drink my 3rd cup of coffee for the morning, no telling what it would be without coffee. I was advised again to get a medic alert bracelet or dog tags to let people I’m not dead if I’m found unconscious in the street before I get my morning coffee. The bad news is I gained 3.2 pounds since last month. The funny part is I have 2 sets of clothes now, one set of pants and shirts for “fat days” and another for “skinny days” and the “fat” clothes I can get over my thighs but when I stand up they fall off, the “skinny” clothes are a fight to get on over my thighs but when I get them on they don’t fall off Also I can now see the entire upper lobe of my rectus abdominus clearly now including the striation between the upper lobe and the middle lobe. I still have some more fat to lose yet, but I have lost a bunch already.

Up first is a story with multiple reports about a cyclist killed by a police car. Cyclist killed in collision with SDPD car in University City and Collision with police car kills bicyclist also SDPD calls fatal collision with bicyclist an ‘unfortunate accident’ and finally Police car headed to call hits and kills bicyclist Notice that aside from the comments there is nothing in the reports that wasn’t cleared by the killer’s employers the police department. The claim that the police officer was driving under the speed limit would be laughable if the consequences hadn’t been so dire. I mean when was the last time you saw a driver doing the speed limit, much less under the speed limit?

More on that drunk cyclist who crashed into a tree while riding on the sidewalk. Bike Crash Victim Seriously Hurt and Santa Rosa cyclist remains in critical condition OK there are a number of things that could have prevented this wreck. Not riding drunk is the first and foremost, not riding on the sidewalk second, and third is wearing a helmet when you ride. If you prevent the crash you don’t need the helmet, but you can’t always prevent the wreck so wear the helmet. Ideally you do everything you can to prevent the wreck first then protect yourself from getting hurt in the wreck.

I keep posting about not riding on the sidewalk, this is why. Cyclist Injured In Traffic Crash See, drivers don’t expect you when you’re riding on the sidewalk and do things like pull in front of you when you’re crossing the road even after you’ve already started across, with life-threatening consequences in this case. Ride in the street with the rest of the vehicles…

A recurring theme today seems to be cops killing cyclists. Bicyclist struck, killed by Bladensburg police vehicle Again the ridiculous claim that the cop was driving under the speed limit. But apparently the cyclist deserves some of the blame for not watching out for other vehicles on the road, and now he’s dead. Again, watch out for other vehicles when you pull out from parking lots and driveways.

Not your normal bike wreck, by a long shot. Police arrest Boise man after they watch him mug a bicyclist Downtown early Saturday Can you get any more stupid than this? He tries to steal the guy’s bicycle, in front of a bunch of cops. At least that’s one more anti-bike nut taken off the streets.

And another kid is killed just going for a bike ride near Newark DE. 13-year-old cyclist killed near Newark Nothing much about the wreck except that the cyclist was killed by cardiac arrest, apparently caused by blunt trauma to the chest if the rest of the report means what I think it means.

A memorial is planned for the cyclist killed by a transit bus in NY state. Memorial planned for cyclist killed by bus This was one of the good guys for transportational cycling, and I’m sorry his voice was silenced. but, his death will also speak volumes as even a cyclist of his vast experience was not able to navigate the traffic on that street because of poor design, that he pointed out almost a decade ago but that still hasn’t been changed.

A point that hinges on bicycle safety, pedestrian safety. The 10 most dangerous American cities for pedestrians and Pedestrians beware: Study ranks Orlando worst in nation for pedestrians and from one of the best cities, where things are still pretty bad Taking a walk shouldn’t be a contact sport And finally Path to good health, less pollution is the sidewalk: report Studies have shown a positive correlation between pedestrian safety figures and cyclist safety figures, safer pedestrians make for safer cyclists and vice versa. It’s interesting to note that the 4 worst cities are all in FL, the state that kills the most cyclists in spite of not having the most cyclists to kill.

Darcy Sheppard is getting a Ghost Bike. “Ghost bike” memorial placed on Bloor St. for Darcy Allan Sheppard, cyclist killed in August Just for the record I really don’t want a ghost bike, but if I get killed riding my bike there better damn well be a white painted bicycle where I got hit or I’m going to haunt someone until there is a Ghost Bike. So Ghost Bike, or real ghost riding a bicycle. Y’all better hope I die in my sleep from old age. I never had the chance to meet Darcy, he might have been a real SOB. But nobody deserves to die the way he was killed by a driver trying to smear him off the side of his car.

Another blameless wreck in Jolly Olde. Cyclist suffers head injury in collision with car in Purley I hope the cyclist recovers, and that the real story comes out so I can tell you what to do to keep safe in a similar situation.

And shades of TTTWLAMWAMD, someone semi-famous in Jolly Olde is handed down a severe sentence for using his vehicle to injure a cyclist. Former showjumper Christopher Robertson jailed for injuring cyclist From what I understand felons have a hard time getting a driver’s license in the UK, especially if the crime they committed used a car as a weapon…

Media stirring poo in DC against cyclists. WTOP Report Provokes Anger Among Area Cyclists I wonder if this station is a Faux News outlet?

And a bike ride for a veteran. Group bikes in honor of Canton man killed in Afghanistan Thank you veterans.

And that’s it for today. I was wondering if this computer would continue to run as it crashed twice trying to compose this report, once while filtering the Feed and a second time while composing the post, fortunately after I had saved so nothing was lost. If you happen to have a computer that works good and you’re either local or willing to ship, leave a comment.

Billed @$.02, Opus

After a break for me, more bike wrecks for you

I really should take more days off from this blog, the serenity of not reading about dead and injured cyclists was so nice. So show of hands, how many would object to my going to a 6 day a week update schedule? This isn’t like a web comic where I can build up a buffer for days off, I have to do these on the day they get posted. That means I have to read the day’s Feed, filter it, and then come up with cogent commentary about the reports I read, every day I make a post.

Up first because it’s stupid, a cyclist crashed trying to avoid a car that cut her off and the car ran over her head. Helmet saves Oregon rider Crediting a few ounces of styrofoam with saving a life when the head gets run over is stupid. The only way this could have actually been of help is if the shell was strong enough to either support the wheel on its own or to distribute the forces evenly around the skull. The average bicycle helmet can’t do that.

Is there something in the water in Greensboro? Cyclist Seriously Injured in Accident Of course Faux news is going to try to blame the cyclist, but LEO is saying “Not so fast, the car might have been at fault here.” All I know is the car was in front of the bicycle moving to the side. Whether this was because the bike ran the red or the car left-crossed the cyclist is not known at this point.

A cyclist that might have been drunk was riding too fast on the sidewalk and hits a tree. Santa Rosa bike crash critically injures man Do I really have to tell you what to do or not do to avoid this kind of wreck?

What is it with the Carolinas and bike wrecks? Bicyclist hit, killed in Dunn Nothing about the actual wreck, but as this was a hit-and-run on an Interstate highway access road it was probably a hit-from-behind. And the driver was probably drunk. Prepare the kittens!

More on the NY cyclist hit by a transit bus. Man killed by Bee-Line bus was bicycling advocate Still nothing on the mode of the wreck, other than the cyclist was crossing the road. Nothing mentioned about running a light or stop sign for either vehicle Very strange…

An unidentified cyclist runs a red light in CA. Unidentified cyclist dies in crash And other than that there’s nothing I can tell you.

Lots of anger about the Boise wreck that killed Kevin Pavlis. Boy will face charges in accident that killed cyclist Kevin Pavlis Anger is being displayed by both sides in this battle, but I don’t see what the car drivers have to be angry about. Nobody driving a car has even been injured in any of the fatalities this year in Boise. Bicyclists have sustained all the injury and death, the only thing that drivers have lost has been a few minutes of time waiting for a safe place while passing a cyclist.

A bike wreck where they aren’t even sure if there was another vehicle involved in Jolly Olde. Teenage cyclist injured Typical UK media report, long on useless details but short on the 5W’s.

Another one of those reports with no real news in them (have I mentioned how much I hate UK media laws, this post?). Cyclist injured after collision in Exeter Same as it ever was.

And another case of ranting about the thing that is not a problem except in your mind, when other things you don’t worry about are much more dangerous. Daily Mail calls for prosecution of anti-social cyclists Cyclists kill almost nobody, drivers kill thousands, and the newspaper complains that drivers get thousands of tickets while cyclists get almost none. Hmm, I think I see a pattern here…

From Oz I’m not sure if this is the same woman killed I reported on before or if these 3 are 3 new people killed in a different part of Australia. Deadly 24 hours claim three more lives Don’t hit the pedestrians! Especially don’t kill little old ladies out walking their grandkids in strollers. It’s really a bad idea folks.

And finally is another memorial ride for more cyclists that were killed and injured which couldn’t wait for the Ride of Silence in the spring. Killed and injured bicyclists remembered at Mesa ride Sometimes you have to get the word out that drivers are getting careless and killing cyclists.

And that’s all I have today.

Billed @$.02, Opus

Another breathless Feed

Again today we have a Feed deprived of air. I dunno why, just is that way. So without further adieu…

The only new wreck was a kid that ran in front of a bicycle race in TX. Child injured during Bear Downs This is more a matter of poor crowd control at an event than traffic problems, but still, watch out for kids in the street when you ride in areas where such can be found.

Update on the man injured in UT when a closed race course wasn’t closed. Mesa cyclist recovers after nearly fatal accident in August I covered this wreck back when it happened when participants in a bike race were expecting a particularly dangerous part of the course to be closed to all traffic until the race passed found themselves mixed with 2 way traffic at high speeds on a narrow and twisty road. Some of the traffic that wasn’t supposed to even be there got upset that there were bicycles on “their” road and brake-checked the cyclists causing the wrecks. The man that was the subject of this article was the most seriously injured of the victims.

And speaking of brake-checking drivers, much of the Feed today was commentary on TTTWLAMWAMD and his conviction for assault with a deadly weapon, 5 other felonies and a misdemeanor. Justice Served? was Bob Mionske’s take on the situation with Roy Exum: Rage Rides A Bicycle the opinion of an E TN newspaper, notice the blame in the headline is assigned to bicycles instead of the people driving the deadly WMDs used as transportation.

And what I hope will be the last thing I have to write about the sleeping deputy hitting 3 cyclists on the other side of the road head on at high speed last year. $800,000 for dad of bicyclist killed in crash Actually there’s one more suit to be settled as the surviving victim seeks damages for medical bills, loss of income, and pain and suffering.

An idiot attacks a cyclist for leaving the scene when the victim was removed. Tewkesbury dad attacked cyclist with wrench The cyclist left when the little girl was removed from the scene to a nearby house, the idiot with the tire iron showed up because he thought it had been a hit-and-run and tried to kill the cyclist. The cyclist in this case did leave his contact information and thought the pedestrian victim had been removed to her home, which is not a hit-and-run. Had this been a real hit-and-run the idiot with the tire iron would not have known where to find the cyclist. Logic is just lost on some people. Hopefully the girl’s mother has more native intelligence than her father, leaving some hope for her.

And the story that has been the rage in the UK cycling world for the week, 2^nd quarter 2009 KSI stats on cyclists made an alarming jump over the year. Cyclist deaths and injuries increase as more people take to the road and Sharp rise in UK cycling casualties I can’t say anything about the statistics except that KSI is not the same as deaths because it includes cyclists that survive their injuries. From what I understand the KSI was instituted because the rising standards of trauma care has resulted in many more victims surviving their wrecks than had been the case previously, skewing later numbers because timely medical care rather than severity of the wreck had become the determining factor in fatality rates. Now most of the victims of fatal wrecks either died at the scene or during transport, with very few dieing once they get to the hospital. The KSI statistic is people that would have died given mid-1950s state-of-the-art care, more or less.

And that’s all I have today. Reminder, no updates the next 2 Sundays as I will be otherwise engaged.

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 large Feed with little actual bicycle content

Yes we had another massive filtering session today as there were many articles about bike wrecks, where after almost a page of reading it stated the vehicle was a motorcycle and not a bicycle. Sometimes I had to interpret this as I decided regular bicycles don’t have pillion riders, or if they do the article will state the vehicle was a bicycle rather than a motorcycle. And just for the record there was one wreck that killed 3 and injured one in a single vehicle wreck of a motorcycle that I had to read just out of morbid curiosity about if there were that many people on the one motorcycle or did he hit a bunch of pedestrians or what that turned out to be 4 people riding a 125 cc class scooter with 2 on the seat and 2 more on the floorboard. It’s no wonder he crashed.

Up first because it has been in the Feed every day for days now, more on the MN man killed riding his bicycle in Blaine. Cyclist killed in crash with car in Blaine A little more is known now as we know at least the ages of the driver and the cyclist. There is still suspicion that the driver may have been impaired by alcohol but the test hasn’t come back yet. Nothing on the mode of the wreck yet, but it appears to have been at an intersection, which means the cyclist should have been using intersection protocol to avoid the wreck. Of course with a drunk driver you can be doing everything right and still get hit.

Nearer to my home, a Longview cyclist is injured in a hit-and-run. Police investigating hit-and-run wrecks Since this wreck was in TX had the driver been sober and stayed at the scene the cyclist would have probably been at fault, but since hit-and-run is a felony then it doesn’t matter, the driver becomes at fault. Had the cyclist died from the wreck then the driver could have been charged with Capital Murder and been eligible for the death penalty under a clause in the TX laws that makes a death that takes place as the result of a felony Capital Murder even if that death was an accident and not deliberate. Fortunately for the victim there will be no murder charges in this case.

Still in TX but a little further away is a wreck where the victim did die. Crash with pickup in SW Harris kills bicyclist well they know the make and model of the vehicular weapon, why no ID on the killer? I’m going to classify this as a SWCC until I get more information on the wreck.

Our first wreck from Jolly Olde has a broken collarbone. Cyclist injured in Burnham-On-Sea town centre accident I don’t see how they could have put a roundabout in that intersection, from the pictures it looks like a T-junction, unless the houses are in the middle of the traffic circle. Anyway, intersection protocol with extra attention to vehicles entering the roundabout as they “don’t see” bicycles until they hit them.

Also in Jolly Olde is a cyclist hitting a guard rail for some unknown reason. Cyclist hurt after crashing into Coventry ring road barrier This may have been a cyclist run off the road, or it may have been a case of no brakes in the wet or other traction issue. Because of UK media laws we won’t know about it for several months at least and most likely it will never make the news when adjudicated.

We think we in the US have it rough, in Lebanon they use heavy weapons besides their cars against cyclists. Cycling revolutionaries take to streets for ‘critical’ ride One of the few places where Kevlar is more suitable cycling gear than spandex.

More on not getting killed on a bike in SC. Motorists, cyclists urged to coexist How about “Motorists required to coexist with cyclists, it’s the law” or is that too subtle?

And finally an article about injured soldiers and Marines training for Paralympics competition after partially returning from Iraq and Afghanistan. Champions in training Not trying to be funny here, just making the point that just because a soldier is alive when he comes back doesn’t mean he came all the way back, they leave pieces of themselves on the battlefield, sometimes literally as in limbs and bits, sometimes pieces of their minds. Support your local Veterans.

And that’s the whole mess. And for those asking, the ritual last night had a few glitches in that the original priestess was laid up with the flu (hopefully not H1N1) and we had to dragoon a replacement at the last minute who did a wonderful job. Kudos to all the other participants.

Billed @$.02, Opus

Strange referral, and the Feed

I had a couple of strange referrals today. For some reason Facebook has a click on their home page that directs people to my blog. I’m not on Facebook so I have not a clue why there would be something for people to click on that directs them here. Facebook users, could you post a comment and help me out here?

Up first is a wreck where a cyclist crossing the road was hit by a car. BRIEF: Cyclist killed in crash with car in Blaine and Bike Rider Killed In Blaine While Crossing Street And that is pretty much all I know about it at this point. Nothing on if there was a signal light, who had which signal if there was a light, stop signs, nothing.

And after what must qualify as one of the slowest lab analysis in human history, charges have been filed against the Boise teenager that left crossed a cyclist in the bike lane. Officials promise justice for cyclist Kevin Pavlis They promise justice, but because the killer was a minor we will never know about it even extending to the name of the killer…

And the man that claimed to not see a 6 foot tall driver in an orange bunny costume and her brightly lit pedicab gets a trip to jail. Man convicted in orange rabbit pedicab hit-and-run Apparently hitting someone while digging for your cell phone is OK but hit-and-run is still illegal. From this and previous reports on the wreck there wasn’t anything the pedicab operator could have done to avoid the wreck since the driver wasn’t watching and didn’t slow down.

A pair of reports on the wreck near Toronto reported on here ealier this week. Memorial in Cambridge for cyclist killed And UPDATE – Cyclist killed I fail to see where sidewalks would have made any difference in this wreck, but bad infrastructure is bad infrastructure even if it’s not our (bicyclist) infrastructure.

Apparently somebody has decided that it’s OK to have huge blind spots on big trucks because it would cost too much to fix…Cyclist Death Ruled “Accidental” Why is not being able to see an “accident” and not a defective vehicle?

A motorcycle/bicycle wreck in India puts the motorcycle rider in jail. Biker held for Shivranjini mishap A little confused as to who hit whom, but the guy on the bicycle came out the worst for it.

A loudmouth in Oz changes her tune after making a massively untrue statement on Australian national TV earlier this week. Going berko over a bisycho Yes, she did say that cyclists had no legal place on the roads earlier this week, which is contrary to the laws of every civilized nation which includes Australia, and now she’s back-pedaling so hard if she was actually riding a bicycle the tire would be smoking.

SC cyclists try to remind drivers that cars are not the only thing on the road. Cyclists urge motorists to share the road “People aren’t watching,” Connelly said. “We’re not getting any respect out there. We do have a right to the road. We’re considered a part of traffic, and drivers don’t seem to understand that.” He said it better than I could.

Same song, different verse in CA. Bikes and cars: Can we share the road? Between 1998 and 2008, for example, bike commuting in Marin County increased 66% as bicycle crashes declined 34%. The best practice is to get as many bikes on the roads as possible.

Still in LA is an article on cyclist safety that is highly car-head. Bicyclists should stay on the defensive to stay safe Watch out for cars, but don’t give up the road to them.

And that’s it for tonight, have a spooooky Halloweeeeen [evil chuckle].

Billed @$.02, Opus

Same stink, similar “stuff”, different day, the Feed

We had another stinky Feed today, stunk up by the thing that walks like a man with a medical degree. Well he had some help, but truth be told he did most of the stinking up all by himself.

Shoving that putrid pile out of the way as quickly as possible. Doctor denies trying to injure cyclists And VeloNews’ reporter had this take LA road-rage defendant says he stopped to try to take a picture I wonder what the penalty for perjury is in CA? Right up until the trial he was saying the cyclists deserved it, but now that he’s facing the music he denies he was trying to hurt anybody. So that makes him a two-faced thing that walks like a man with a medical degree. His title grows while his reputation shrinks. Again when he is found guilty of assault with a deadly weapon (or whatever the charges are against him) I hope that he is forbidden from ever owning or driving a car or other motor vehicle again for the rest of his miserable life.

Still in the state of CA. Bicyclist Injured in Collision at Market and Ellis Streets this Morning Actually that would be yesterday because of the time lag involved. Nothing much known about this one, maybe a car, probably a car, but maybe not. If there was a car involved the driver stayed at the scene because nobody notified the hit-and-run investigators about the wreck.

Apparently the only way to get charged with a crime when you hit a cyclist is to be on something at the time of the wreck that can be found with a blood test. East Tennessee man charged with vehicular homicide in bicyclist’s death and from MS Man charged in death of bicyclist from Netherlands The MS report is another on the cyclotourist killed on the NTP bike route this spring. But seriously, is the death of a cyclist only meaningful if the killer was drunk or on drugs? Or does the feeling that the killer could be the cop or the prosecuting attorney because everybody drives like that make only deaths with chemical impairment prosecutable? I don’t know the answer, I’m just glad that impaired killers are prosecuted. I would like to have all killers prosecuted, but at the moment that’s just not possible. Until we get prosecutors that can identify with the cyclists over their killers we are up the unsanitary tributary without visible means of locomotion.

Another cyclist is hit in the most dangerous state in the US to ride a bicycle. Bicyclist hospitalized after struck by SUV in Fort Pierce Another one of those driverless vehicles hits a cyclist and nobody says anything? And this one had 4 people sitting in it while it drove around all by itself.

Another right hook crash that is getting blamed on the cyclist… Cyclist killed by city water vehicle “Based on witness statements, the bike pulled into the path of the vehicle,” Guitron said. Yeah, and I bet all the witnesses were either on the truck that killed the cyclist, or employees of the city which would have been liable for the death… TANJ!

And in spite of the relative dangers for cycling under the influence the fine is the same as DUI. Cycling under the influence? In Sacramento, it can cost you $570 Around 17,000 people died last year because of drunk drivers, but less than a dozen were killed by all cyclists, drunk or sober. But to be fair they have to stop the drunk cyclists just like they do the drunk drivers.

A memorial was held for the cyclist killed in NC. Memorial Service Held Tonight For Killed Cyclist I don’t see why they don’t just arrest the owner of the vehicle that hit him, which they found this week. Had a gun been used to kill him the registered owner of the gun would have been responsible for the death unless he could prove that the gun had been in someone else’s possession at the time of the killing, why not the same standard for death by WMD with nice seats and A/C?

From Jolly Olde, a cyclist wins the door prise and wants to share the bounty with the driver of the vehicle, who drove off without leaving contact information. Appeal after cyclist injured in accident Yep it’s pretty low to injure a cyclist by flinging a door in his path and then leaving the scene.

Someone else knows the right thing to do, still in the UK here. Oaklands College student praised for helping injured cyclist Yep kudos from the Witch on a Bicycle blog for doing the right thing. Keep up the good work.

A cyclist in Oz is hurt in a wreck. Cyclist seriously injured after highway collision Apparently the driver didn’t see the cyclist until just before impact, from what I have been able to determine. Now whether this was because of the path of the cyclist, lighting conditions, or driver inattentiveness is unknown as the cyclist’s path prior to the impact with the car is not known at this time (not known publicly). So, continue to ride like drivers are blind and stupid, because mostly they are.

They finally charged the driver that ran into a pack of cyclists after she ran a stop sign in Enn Zed. Charge after allegedly driving into cyclists I hate to tell them but somebody ran into those cyclists and whoever did it was driving the car she was in. Unless it was another one of those DARPA cars that was joyriding around with someone in the passenger seat, that kinda makes the only person that was in the car that hit the cyclists the one that was responsible for the wreck. Alleged doesn’t enter into it.

And an INFRASTRUCTURE article, from TX. Avid proponents of walkability want to ‘get there from here’ I thought it was a Federal law, and a TX law that all new or rebuilt roads in TX were supposed to be walkable and bikeable. I have a PDF dated 2002 that states as much, that under a law that went into effect in 2001 all TX roads and highways that get state funds must have walking and cycling facilities, except those roads that are prohibited for walkers and cyclists. Silly me actually expecting government to obey their own laws…

And that’s it for today. I have a lot on my plate this time of year so the next few days my be a little spotty on the new posts.

Billed @$.02, Opus

Not much in the Feed was bicycle related

The filtering process on the Feed went pretty quickly after ignoring all the reports about who was riding which motorcycle next season after someone else was injured in an off-track wreck. It seems like about half the SuperBike field is laid up from off-track or testing wrecks which require extended recuperation periods. I’m angry about the off-track wrecks, as every one reported was either a left cross or a right hook, something we riding bicycles can relate to. Testing I’m not angry about as crashing during testing is just one of the hazards of the sport, but I do still feel sympathy for the injured riders, all of them. Aaaand, back to the meat grinder.

Up first is VeloNews’ report on the trial of the thing that walks like a man with a medical degree. Dr. Thompson takes the stand in his trial on assault charges. I think my description of the defendant pretty much covers my opinion of this trial. Again let me state I wish that the punishment include a permanent ban on his ever owning or driving a motor vehicle again ever in his lifetime, and after. When he dies he can walk to the graveyard.

Much of wasn’t motorcycle related was either from Jolly Olde, or lifestyle, like this report from KS. Scout finds new life for old bikes I’m thorouoghly in favor of reusing or recycling old bikes. One of my favorites is to recycle a BMX bike into an adult SWB recumbent by welding a boom to the head tube and changing the rear to a multispeed hub. My favorite trick is to leave the cranks in place and cut off the crank arms and use the chainwheel as an idler. It’s very cool and also ensures a stable chainline to the rear wheel. One of these days I’ll post on my stable of Trashbikes, recycled recumbents.

A ride similar to the Ride of Silence to honor riders who gave all just to ride a bike. Ride pays tribute to those injured or killed in bicycling accidents Why should riding a bicycle have to be a death defying act of heroism? Why can’t it just be transportation?

Another not-so-jolly report from Jolly Olde. Appeal after cyclist threatened in Leicester park Yes, someone pulled a knife on a cyclist after a minor bump. I would ask what is this world coming too, except I already know. When impeding a motor vehicle is considered an act worthy of killing the one not in the motor vehicle (which was not the case in this report) then I start looking for the handcart we are in. There must be some way for the sane amongst us to find a way out of this situation. Getting killed or injured just because you are in a different mode of transportation than someone else is beyond stupid, beyond insanity, just beyond everything that makes us a civilized society.

Someone throws a brick at a cyclist. Cyclist injured by flying object See the above paragraph for directions in how to find the handcart and how to get out of it.

Finally, a wreck, in the UK. Cyclist injured after collision with van Typical UK wreck report, long on meaningless details but dreadfully short on useful information.

From Oz comes a mixed infrastructure/lifestyle report. Cars and bikes ‘in harmony’ I fail to see how moving bicycles completely away from cars and placing them on a low speed path that instead of cars is clogged with oblivious pedestrians and pets is creating “harmony” with cars. It brings to mind a certain Brit named Nigel after giving away Czechoslovakia to Hitler. Something about “peace in our time” that was less than 3 years from the invasion of Poland.

And that’s everything bicycle in the Feed. More later.

Billed @$.02, Opus

Computer problems, and the Feed

My computer’s power supply is in the process of dying, it stays running if you get it to run, but getting it cranked up is a hit or miss affair. After reading some of the articles in the Feed I almost wish it had stayed busted.

Up first because it’s closest is a kid killed in Edinburg TX. Edinburg teen killed riding bike late at night It took until just before I posted this link for someone to notice that the bike riders were riding the wrong way when they got hit. I know my readers don’t do that, except when they can’t get through otherwise or if they have to backtrack out of a one-way section of road, but how often does something like that happen? Don’t be a salmon.

BikingInLA has a man in the courtroom in the trial of the thing that walks like a man with a medical degree. Evil on trial: UPDATE — Christopher Thompson takes the stand I hope the prosecuting attorney gives him a new one on the stand. Maybe two new ones.

More reports on the man arrested for the death of a Dutch cycle tourist. Man indicted in death of cyclist from Netherlands and Man charged in cyclist’s death Great, stoned on opiates and driving a car. Not any better than drunk, just different impairing substances. Bring on the bicycle chain floggers.

They found the truck in the NC hit-and-run crime, driver to follow. Troopers seize damaged SUV and Editorial: A careless and shameless act And the lawyer’s take on the wreck Hit and Run Driver Kills Bicycle Rider in Guilford County, North Carolina Again I advise against reading the comments unless you already have brain damage and can’t get hurt any worse by stupid people.

Another reason not to run red lights, drivers think they mean “go like hell” instead of “proceed when clear”. Decatur Central Student Killed in Bicycle/Semi Accident But I really can’t blame the truck driver in this wreck, it appears that the truck was already moving well before the cyclist ran the red and ran into the truck. Again, don’t run red lights, unless you think death or serious injury are fun.

And they just don’t take us witches seriously at the ME’s office. Bicyclist died of traumatic head injury, M.E. rules Nobody saw the truck I guess.

Great, the law firm that employed that pedestrian killed by a hit-and-run cyclist is out for blood. Caesar Rivise law firm wants justice in death of beloved longtime employee Why couldn’t they get this worked up over someone getting killed riding a bicycle? And don’t hit the pedestrians, they are on the same side as us cyclists, the bad guys drive cars.

From Jolly Olde, an MP gets a burr up his butt and the police catch a bad case of stupids too. Police launch crackdown on cyclists Just because a cyclist can see where they are going on a well-lit street, does not necessarily mean that they are fully visible to motorists approaching with their headlights on. Yep, car drivers are blind as well as stupid. Just because you’re in the headlights doesn’t mean they will see you. They will run into you but they will claim to never have seen you. That’s why I always use the Honkin’ Huge Taillight^tm when I ride at night. Look like a motor vehicle and avoid that “run down” feeling.

Boris makes more noise about making London safer for cyclists. Newton unsure about London Olympics The article about making London safe is down the column from the headline article.

The rest of the post tonight comes from Oz, AKA the Land Down Undah.

And speaking of having a case of the stupids, some cyclists have near fatal cases. Cyclists not given free ride by police Aside from the helmet laws most traffic laws make sense to follow if only because it makes your actions more predictable so that drivers can better avoid hitting you. That’s the main reason why I say to not run red lights, as it makes where you will be on the road unpredictable and drivers don’t expect to see a bicycle crossing their path when they have the green light, as an example.

It appears that Australian cars are even more deadly than US cars as shown by the graph that goes with this article. Cut speed to let our cyclists live Their near-zero survivor speed is 60 km/hr, but the “knee” speed is about the same as US statistics, roughly 30 MPH (50 km/hr) with an initial rise at 20 MPH (30 km/hr). I didn’t even bother to try reading the nearly 500 comments that went with the article at the time I made this post.

And letter to the editor about a proposal to make bicycles have license plates. Identifying cyclists will not cure road rage apparently this was precipitated by a bus driver nearly hitting a cyclist, who then was able to catch the bus in traffic, get on the bus and beat the tar out of the bur driver for nearly killing the cyclist. This is not something I would recommend but it is something I understand. and I bet this was the fastest extended sprint on the part of the cyclist in a long time if not ever.

And that’s all I have today, maybe I can do another one tomorrow, if the power supply holds up and doesn’t die.

Billed @$.02, Opus

Mass insanity, death, destruction, and a really cool bike, the Feed

See what happens when I take a Sunday off? People lose their minds. Actually people have lost their minds a long time ago, I just document the process when it comes to bicycles. I also found a really cool concept bike from Lexus (Toyota).

Up first because it affected a lot of people over on BikeJournal.com is multiple reports on a hit-and-run in NC. Motorist sought in death of cyclist and Summerfield Cyclist Killed in Hit-and-Run The U turn after the wreck indicates to me that this was pre-meditated, the driver was going to kill one of those annoying cyclists and teach them all a lesson. I don’t know that it would help much but you could use the hit-from-behind protocol to keep you from ending up the same way. The problem with the H-F-B protocol is it was designed to protect you from drivers that aren’t paying attention to where they are going, not from drivers that are trying to kill you.

Not much information at this point, but there was a bicycle fatality in AL. Wrecks claim at least three lives in Huntsville Saturday Other than the fact it was a hit-and-run I don’t know anything about this wreck.

More violence against cyclists in Boise. Police looking for two hit-and-run drivers Both riders appear to have been riding legally when hit, aside from this again I can’t say anything about the wrecks except I’m running low on rabid badgers and I still haven’t found a way to make people allergic to kittens. Perhaps we should just stick to flogging drivers who hit-and-run against cyclists with bicycle chains, the logistics are much easier. And if you don’t understand the badgers and kittens reference you really need to read some of the older posts in my blog.

And I really expected better than this from USAToday. Two-wheel troublemaking: Have motorists let bicyclists’ ‘rights’ go too far? Have bicyclists let motorists’ “rights” go too far? Drivers act like they own the roads and every piece of pavement around it. Oh, don’t read the comments unless you already have brain damage.

A scholarship has been created at the alma mater of a cyclist killed on the roads. Scholarship created to honor cyclist Mr. Novotny’s memory will live on long after the reason for his death has been forgotten.

Another Ghost Bike this time in Lawrence KS. Friends seek ghost bike memorial for hit-and-run victim People in Lawrence are so nice, most of them. It just makes the minority of fucktards so much more annoying and prominent.

Another one from the UK Black Bridge crash – cyclist seriously injured At least the driver hung around after the wreck, even if it was to complain about all the damned cyclists in his way. (J/K I don’t know if that was in fact why the driver stayed at the scene.)

Things are getting uncomfortable for politicians in Enn Zed. Politicians duck as cyclist’s widow targets drink-driving loophole I agree on this one, why should a repeat drunk driver get to drive again after being caught for the third time?

An interesting article about where cyclists get hit by cars in NZ. Danger lurks for cyclists One of the first things to do when faced with road deaths is to determine if this is an infrastructure issue or an attitude issue. The first step for that is mapping the wrecks, and investigating the sites where the most wrecks have happened.

Now that seriously cool e-assist bike with a carbon fiber frame and most of the structural and non-structural bits also make from CF composites. Eco Bikes: Lexus debuts carbon fiber pedal-assist electric bicycle at Tokyo Motor Show The e-assist bike for the rich. It was reported that this was a running bike at the show, with fully developed electronics and is ready to go into production at the drop of an oil barrel.

And that’s all I have today.

Billed @$.02, Opus