And we’re back with the rest of the Feed

Sorry about having to break things up like that but I had to leave the computer for an unknown amount of time and rather than make everyone wait until I could finish the post I just went with what I had.

Next item on the agenda is a report on the remembrance for a cyclist killed by a hit-and-run driver that was thankfully caught quickly. Vigil honors hit-and-run victim I’m glad they caught the scum that hit-and-ran, also delighted that serious charges are being brought against him. I’m not happy that the media is till calling this an “accident”. It was an assault with a deadly weapon, and the charges reflect that. As for avoiding, this seems to be a hit-from-behind wreck and hit-from-behind protocol would seem to be in order.

In SF CA a cyclist runs a red light and gets hit. Cyclist Injured After Collision With Car At Duboce And Mission To avoid, don’t run red lights, duhhh! Seriously, don’t run red lights unless the light is broken and does not detect bicycles. If the light cycles for other users (left turn lanes, opposite side of the street gets the green but you don’t) then treat the light like a stop sign and proceed when clear. Call the responsible agency and let them know that the light failed to change for your legal road vehicle, and that you want it fixed. If fixing the light requires placing the bicycle directly over the sensor, then there should be a pavement marking showing the proper placement of the bike at the intersection.

They didn’t get him on killing a cyclist with his garbage truck, but they got him for being in the country illegally, by golly. Driver sentenced in killing of cyclist That headline is a little mis-leading Driver in crash that killed cyclist sentenced for illegal re-entry Good to see where priorities lie in this case, ignore the fact that the guy turned right over a cyclist, which killed her, but nail him for immigration violations. Now I get that both are illegal, but one resulted in someone else not getting a job, and the other resulted in a dead human being. I ask, which should be punished more harshly? Either way he’s deported after serving the sentence. I’m just concerned about the message this sends to drivers.

Comments about comments about the recent crackdown on cyclists in NYC. Brooklyn Paper Op-Ed on Bike Law Enforcement Has False Claims and Fictional Cyclists Things are getting overheated up there in NYC. I suggest everybody go have a nice bike ride and relax.

A RoS in Oz the commemorate a fallen comrade cyclist. Cyclists hold Ride of Silence in memory of road victims

And that’s all the good links I have for bicycle news. More as news happens.

Billed @$0.02, Opus

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Before shopping to build a bicycle headlight, the Feed

Yes, I’m building another bicycle headlight, and yes, PVC plumbing parts are involved along with a 12V SLA battery, but this time instead of buying an MR16 LED bulb from the local hardware store I’m using a lens I had hanging around looking for a project and 90 16000mcd white LEDs and a honking huge chunk of PVC sewer pipe (4″ Sch 40) with fittings. If the lumen calculator and the rating of the LEDs are both correct, I should have on the order of 200 or so lumens in a tightly controlled beam with a sharp upper cut off, from a housing about twice as long as its diameter. Fun times.

Up first is a SWSS death of a teen age cyclist in CT. Teen Cyclist Struck, Killed Notice that the driver wasn’t blamed even though the wreck was a hit-and-run. In other words the cyclist was on the edge of the cleared road and was passed unsafely by the weapon car, which hit and killed him and then fled the scene, but it was the cyclist’s fault really for being in front of the car?

In MD a drunk driver that killed a cyclist was sentenced to 8 years plus 5 more probation, which means he will serve the entire 8 years. Driver sentenced in June accident that killed cyclist There was a lot of anti-cyclist bias in the courtroom, fortunately none behind the bench or the prosecutor’s table. The fact that the driver was a former college football player with a large fan base did nothing to sway the judge to excessive leniency. Also, please send kudos to the reporter for the article.

I have to cut this post short, muggle business calls. More later today.

Opus