Still fighting the pollen, and the Feed

The pollen still hangs on, and so do my allergies, but at a reduced level. I only had one eye glued partially shut this morning and I was able to get it open without having to pry the lids apart with my fingers, so progress. I still sound like I have been gargling with Drano when I first get up but the voice clears up by the end of my first cup of coffee. And today is going to be especially fun as I have to haul 2 busted flat panel monitors to the recycler about 3 miles from the house. There is an electronics recycler located in the Batteries Plus store over in the part of Firewheel “Mall” next to Lavon Highway that I can get to easily on Blue, but I can only haul one monitor at a time because of the need to use the straps and tie the monitor to the rack on the back so two trips.

Up first is a report on a MI wreck with several links. Authorities: Bike rider dies in Ottawa Co. crash and Man Killed Riding Bike At Night also Bicyclist killed in Monday night crash in Olive Township This is literally another blind driver syndrome, as the driver claimed to have been glare-blinded by an oncoming car’s headlights and unable to see anything on the road even after she hit the cyclist. Ordinarily I would make a comment about the driver just not paying attention, except that I have had a similar experience out riding my bike as a driver refused to dim their lights and left me unable to even see the lines on the road for several seconds. The problem is people are installing high-power bulbs in their headlights that were not made to control that much light and the “spill light” is enough to make a driver (or bike rider) glare blind even after the car has passed. I don’t see any way of fixing this situation, because the bulbs are approved for street use, the headlights are designed to physically accept the bulbs, and all the bits are legal, they just don’t work together for anyone not in the car they are installed on. This is a problem that needs to be addressed at the Federal level, because they are the ones approving the bulbs for street use, and there are headlights designed to control that much light output and put it on the road instead of other drivers’ eyes. There really isn’t anything a cyclist can do to avoid getting caught in a situation like this, because the cyclist is also going to be glare-blind after the hot-rodded headlights go by and won’t be able to do anything except try to stay on the road and not ride in front of vehicles that were passing before the other vehicle passed. The only thing that could prevent a similar wreck would be physically separated bike infrastructure with a barrier to keep motor vehicles driven by blind drivers away from cyclists.

Up the road in OK another “blind driver” kills a cyclist. UPDATE: Bicycle rider dies after collision on 71st near Highway 75 This road runs not too far from WoaB World HQ, and continues through OK and on north through KS and NE. At this time investigators don’t know how many cars hit the cyclist after the initial impact with the white car that knocked him from his bike, but it could be a case of multiple hit-and-run by a depraved population. Remember this is the same state that produced Tasha Borland who killed two cyclists without remorse because they were in the same area as she was trying to drive (on the shoulder of the road), and there were several hundred comments that supported her in various fora and comments sections.

A CA cyclist hits a median and then gets run over. Bike rider dies after falling in Watt traffic lane There is more to this than the report lets on, like what caused the cyclist to hit the median in the first place. More Cyclist hit, killed by car in North Highlands

The Mounties did it again. UPDATED BREAKING NEWS: Man charged after cyclist killed in hit-and-run accident Now it’s up to the prosecutors to do their jobs and put this criminal killer away for life plus 40 years. Interesting note, one of the comments was about a similar vehicle that harassed cyclists previous to the wreck.

A wreck in Oz. Cyclist dead after being hit by truck on Bunya Highway at Murgon At the time of the posting the investigation of the wreck had not been completed enough to release the direction of travel for the vehicles involved.

LifeStyle from TX. Supporters raise money for Austin cyclist hospitalized after hit and run Speaking as someone who has navigated the maze that is the TX Hit-and-run compensation system, he will need this. And someone with an intact brain to do the navigating for him. I will never understand how someone who is brain damaged can manage the paperwork to “prove” that he was in fact hit and damaged by a motor vehicle that did not stop for the operator to render aid as required by law. I missed out on most of what I could have gotten because I had no way to find out about it.

And those are all the links about bicycles and cycling that gave me fits. You don’t want to see the rest of the links.

Billed @$0.02, Opus

Call for speakers, March 31 2013

Assuming the Mayans were wrong and the world does not end 12/21/2012, a spot will be open for a speaker at my church for evening service the last Sunday in March, our traditional “April Fools” service. In the past we have done a service where children called in the elements as Yakko, Wakko, and Dot with Hello Nurse called in North by an adult, grandmotherly type. Other times previous we have had a full Coffee Service where the goddess Caffeina was invoked and various aspects of coffee represented the quarters. We have also invited artists from web comics to speak at one of these services, including Randall Millholland, Jennie Breeden, Thomas Overbeck, and an artist that does not wish to be named as having been to our church because we were boring and didn’t sacrifice a baby. I don’t know what he was expecting we may be Pagan but we’re also UU (one of the first Institutional Members of CUUPS the Covenant of Universalist Unitarian Pagans). Our church has a history that extends back to the late 1960s.

But what I’m trying to say is that we have a history of inviting outside speakers who are not religious speakers, and offer them a chance to speak on their take on the First Principle Of UU, The inherent worth and dignity of all men people. Randy went at it from a wildly obtuse angle as anyone who has read his comic knows, and Overbeck hit it out of the park with his speech. I still rank that as one of the best outside services we have ever had, even counting the professional religious speakers. The bar has been set very high, but there is no need to use that to measure yourself because we are measuring from the First Principle, the inherent worth and dignity of all people. Even the guy that got mad because we didn’t kill babies managed to get a piece of the ball with his speech.

And the suggested topic isn’t even a hard and fast requirement, Jenny Breeden spoke about growing up as a UU and becoming an artist because of that. Her speech was only tangentially connected to the First Principle, that because she had Inherent Worth and Dignity she was able to make bad awwrrt while learning to make good art and become an internationally famous web comic artist.

So, the requirements are the ability to get yourself to the Beautiful Suburbs of Hell in time for a 1930 Sunday service (there may be a 1100 service made available if that’s all you can make, and we have morning services again by then) and we need to know if you have any food restrictions because there will be a potluck dinner. We used to have our speakers come at A-kon, but we stopped that because it was interfering with their merchandising and costing them money (sorry Jennie) so now we are extending the invitation for the AF service.

More history from the first service in April, back when the time change to Daylight Savings was the first Sunday in April, we did a Reverse Service. At the time we had a set Welcoming Song, and a Dismissal Song that started and ended every service, well on the time change day we did those songs on the opposite ends of the service and deliberately let the service run long… so the Welcoming Song went off a few minutes earlier than “normal” except because of the time change it was almost an hour later. Yes I planned that service. We have had Cartoon Services on several first Sunday in April or last Sunday in March services, my favorite one was a showing of the Lum’s Springtime Special Urusei Yatsura, in Japanese. Trying to explain why there was a girl wearing a bikini flying around shooting lightning at one particular male character was worthy of a separate article all by itself. Not to mention why it was a tiger striped bikini and the girl had nubs of horns sticking out of her head. Another one of my services. In fact I have done most of the first Sunday in April or last Sunday in March services since the turn of the century for our church, it’s one of the few “traditions” we have. I didn’t present last year, but I wrote and coordinated the service. This year the brain damage has gotten worse, hence why I’m calling for outside assistance this year. If you would like you can provide a theme for calling the elements and deities (and even specify the deities, if you provide a wiki link) I will write the quarter calls and invocation of the deities.

If you want to be in the program you can contact me through this blog or via my e-mail, it’s on the blog somewhere.

PSA, Opus

Allergies getting better and worse at the same time, and the Feed

Now about that headline, some of my symptoms have abated, like the dry throat in the morning and the stopped up nose that causes it, and some have gotten way worse, like the eyelids glued shut by dried secretions from my “watery” eyes. I literally had to pry my eyelids open to be able to sorta see this morning, and it hurt to do so (just the once per eye though). I’m still taking the allergy pills at night, 2 before bed, and one every 4 hours during the day. I have felt much worse than this though, and I still manage to ride my bike without much problem so while it’s not ideal it’s survivable for the long term.

Up first by virtue of proximity to WoaB World HQ in the Beautiful Suburbs of Hell, a cyclist is hit during broad daylight in Austin TX. Car hits bicyclist on MLK Boulevard Nothing about the mode except noting that it was in an intersection, also the physical evidence on the bike shows a sideways impact from the front of the bike, possibly from the left of the bike. Intersection wreck, use the protocols to avoid and get the infrastructure right to prevent. And from some of the comments on this link there possibly should be a ticket issued for not passing with 3 feet of clearance (this may have been a right hook).

A cyclist in OR is hit and LEO can’t tell which one ran the red light. Salem man injured in bike-vs-van crash One thing is certain from looking at the scene in Google Street View is that one of them ran the red, and there are bike lanes on both streets so the driver should have known to be looking for bicycles if the van was the vehicle that ran the red. Intersection protocols to avoid, and get the infrastructure right to prevent. And especially don’t run red lights when there are other vehicles coming on the cross street.

A cyclist riding between the KS and MO sides of KC is hit avoiding a glass strewn bike trail. Cyclist Injured While Crossing HOA Bridge This is an area that needs frequent cleaning and also making throwing glass bottles the same as placing caltrops on the motor vehicle side of the wall. I place most of the blame on this wreck on the infrastructure maintenance and also suggest that hit-from-behind protocols be used to avoid a wreck like this when the segregated infrastructure is not usable by bicycles.

More on the hit-and-run death of a cyclist in KY. One killed in hit and run crash on Grade Lane As before hit-from-behind protocols to avoid and get the infrastructure right to prevent. The reports from yesterday indicated that there are few routes to take that can avoid this road and still get to the same locations near either end, making this wreck one that screams for infrastructure to keep the fast motor vehicles away from the slower moving bicycles.

From LA a cyclist is hit 4 feet from the road. Local teen hit, killed while riding bike The article looks rather silly for blaming the teen for not having a reflector on a bike that was hit 4 feet from the road. I mean how far off the road do you have to be to not get blamed for being hit?

From Oz a cyclist is just one of many killed this week. Bike-fall death caps horror week on roads Apparently the cyclist got tangled up during a group ride and fell, breaking major bones that eventually led to his demise. I can’t tell you how to avoid a wreck like this except to allow following room and sufficient lateral space when riding in a group, which is kinda useless if you are trying to practice riding in a peloton under close conditions. Even the required-by-Australian-law helmet did not protect this cyclist.

Infrastructure! news from LA. Let’s fight this tragic trend The overall death rate has gone down but the rates for people not in cars has skyrocketed, 45% in the case of bicyclist deaths. The obvious answer is that cars have gotten safer but LA drivers have not, instead of killing themselves and maybe one or two others the bad drivers are surviving but killing people not in cars.

And those are all the links about bicycles that gave me fits. There were lots more links that gave me fits but they weren’t about bicycles, so you won’t see them in this blog.

Billed @$0.02, Opus

No post yesterday because Church Fair! and the Feed

I was working our church harvest festival (Redneck Pagan Fall Festival) and spent all day wearing an old bike helmet with a pair of deer antlers duct taped to it as part of a ring-toss game. One of the things we had was a contest to name things that could not be “fixed” with duct tape and zip-ties good enough to get you home, given a large enough supply of “tools”. Basically the only things that couldn’t be “fixed” that way would be things that operated at too high a temperature for the “tools” to survive, like an exhaust pipe, coolant line to a nuclear reactor (“you are in a nuclear submarine…”) or other such thing, and even then the repair might still hold if you weren’t too far from home, and there was enough duct tape available. So I was spending all day doing this, came home just long enough to get a bite to eat and roll back out for evening services which was a long one because this was when the “twice a year” pagans come out to communal circles. The other six Sabbats can be done properly by a solitary at home, but Samhain (pronounced “SOW en”) and Beltain (pronounced “BELL tane”) are both Sabbats that need to be celebrated with other people. Samhain is a remembrance of the dead, while Beltain is a celebration of the renewal of life. Both of those are much easier to do with others of like mind. Hence the rather large gatherings near the end of October and the first of May. Samhain also marks the end of the Celtic year, making November the 1^st the Witches’ New Year.

Up first, after a car runs you down on the sidewalk, it’s not a good idea to go punch it out. Police: Bicyclist arrested after punching car I know (oh believe me, I KNOW!) that after having a near-death experience with a car that adrenaline levels spike to panic-attack levels and the fight-or-flight response is kicked way high and your first instinct is to attack what almost killed you.

From cycling’s Mecca in the US, they can’t decide if a cyclist was hit pushing a bike, or a pedestrian was hit near a bike that he had no connection with. Man dies after Hawthorne Bridge crash Whatever the mode of transportation that victim was using, he was apparently on the sidewalk when he was hit. From what little I know of the area the sidewalks on this bridge leave much to be desired in the way of room and make even a person walking without a bike feel very vulnerable. Since I have no idea how to keep from getting hit while walking on a sidewalk I have to say that this is strictly an infrastructure question.

A hit-and-run in CA. Hit-and-run vehicle injures cyclist; Redlands police seek public’s help Another reason to have wearable ID like RoadID or a dogtag with your name, phone number, and address stamped on it (blood type is good also) because LEO still don’t know who the victim was. Hit-from-behind, use the protocols to avoid and get the infrastructure right, so that a wreck like this is physically impossible, to prevent. If you can’t make the wreck physically impossible then make the criminality of hit-and-run so costly for drivers that running becomes a worse option than staying.

Another hit-and-run, this one in KY. Police looking for suspects after cyclist killed by hit-and-run driver Given that what people said in the comments about the road was true that there were few roads that could be used to bypass the area, the cyclist probably did not have much choice in which route was to be taken to avoid this calamity. Use the hit-from-behind protocols to avoid, and fix the infrastructure to prevent. Interesting comments that as I write this mostly blame either the driver for being drunk and leaving the scene to avoid DUI Homicide charges or the infrastructure and the people that built it for not making any space for anything except motor vehicles.

A SWSS wreck in OH. Van Wert woman killed while riding her bicycle and VW woman dies in bike-car crash Nothing useful about the wreck, the cyclist just pulled in front of a speeding SUV like she was trying to kill herself. And once again the driver gets let off for murder because the victim was riding a bicycle and the killer was driving a motor vehicle. Since the wreck was not actually in the intersection but “near” it, I have to assume the driver was not paying attention to the cyclist’s presence on the road until after the impact. Hit-from-behind and intersection protocols to avoid, and get the infrastructure right to prevent. Notice that neither report has the lane position or direction of travel of the weapon vehicle.

From the Great White North a cyclist is killed. Teenager killed after being struck by vehicle while riding bike in Innisfil and Teen cyclist killed on IBR Since LEO won’t say the cyclists were not using lights or reflectors at the time of the wreck it’s usually a pretty good bet that they were. Hit from behind, use the protocols to avoid and get the infrastructure right to prevent. A good start would be making it automatic that anyone hitting multiple cyclists in a single wreck charged with assault with a deadly weapon or attempted murder.

A really rare case in the UK. Driver who mowed down teen cyclist sees jail sentence doubled Wow, just nothing else but Wow! Three and a half years for driving more than 40 MPH over the limit in a residential area and killing a cyclist, after the initial 18 month sentence was appealed.

A cyclist in Oz survives a hit-and-run assault with a deadly weapon. Hit-run rider left for dead Hit-from-behind, use the protocols to avoid and get the infrastructure right to prevent. More Hit-run cyclist left for dead

LifeStyle from TX, and did you see that picture of the cyclists? Injured cyclist’s allies to drivers: Pay attention In many areas there is no way to avoid riding on frontage roads if you want to get places. They build the destinations on the frontage roads so you have to ride the frontage roads to go there. Also these highways are like walls or rivers that have been plopped down in the middle of existing road networks with no way to get around them.

LifeStyle in CA. Thousands attend memorial for 2 cyclists killed in accidents and Memorial Ride Draws 1,200 Cyclists

And to close, this is the second time in a month that this has happened in the UK. Cyclist killed after stopping to exchange details The first time was about 2 weeks ago, but the bike wasn’t stolen in that one. This time someone came up and stole the dead man’s bike. In the first wreck the dead cyclist’s bike was destroyed when he was hit by the second vehicle, and I can’t find the link for that one… More Sunderland cyclist killed and bike taken after crash

And those were all the links that gave me fits and were about bicycles. There were lots more links that gave me fits, but they weren’t about bicycles.

Billed @$0.02, Opus

Role playing got moved, and the Feed

The role playing game has been moved to a new location because I was the only church member still playing in the game, which means the RPG is no longer a covenant group that allows outside people to attend as outreach but an outside group with one guy from church attending, This means the Role Playing game has to pay building rental of $40 a game night now to continue at the church. So we are moving to one player’s house which is a little further away than the church is for me, a 12 mile round trip as opposed to the 7 mile trip before. I just have to find a good route, especially for the return which may be well after midnight on a Saturday/early Sunday morning. We will see how the ride goes tonight.

It amazes me sometimes just what people think about cycling and the distances involved. Bicyclist killed while riding near Frankenmuth had logged more than 1,000 bike miles this year That’s less than 100 miles a month, or roughly half to 2/3 of what I do. Anyway, hit from behind wreck, use the protocols to avoid and get the infrastructure right to prevent, with a major part of that infrastructure being that hitting a slow-moving vehicle from behind should be a crime, not an “oops”.

Ninja cyclist killed by a driver going too fast for conditions in IL. Teen on bicycle struck, killed by pickup Notice that it wasn’t the cyclist riding salmon in this wreck that was hit, but the one riding in the correct lane that “swerved” and was hit. The driver actually saw the cyclists “when a southbound pickup truck crested a small hill and saw them, Marks said” but was going too fast to stop or avoid them as “the bicyclist in the southbound lane pulled directly into the truck’s path.” Or in other words the cyclist that was directly in front of the driver was still in front of the driver when he was hit by the weapon vehicle. Hit-from-behind protocols to avoid, and get the infrastructure right to prevent. More Funeral arrangements final for teen killed in bike crash

Update on the condition of the MD cyclist hit by a school bus. Cyclist Struck By School Bus Identified, Still in Critical Condition I have noticed that LEO have still not managed to blame the cyclist for this wreck, which makes me think that something else was up. Looking at the wreck scene in Google Street View shows a rural intersection with a stop sign on the cyclist’s street and a through road for the school bus. This really bothers me, because the only way for the cyclist to not be at fault in this wreck would be for the school bus to have hit him when he was waiting at the stop sign. Anyway, still an intersection, use the intersection protocols to avoid, and I’m not real sure as to what infrastructure changes would have prevented this wreck. There’s just so little to go on until LEO comes out with their report, and the fact that they still haven’t made a preliminary report 4 days later just makes me think something is “rotten in the state of Denmark”.

More on a story that was just breaking yesterday from Albuquerque. Home Arrest For Bike Death and Cyclists push tougher law for fatalities The maximum she could get for killing the cyclist was 90 days and $300, while for passing a bad check you can get 10 years. TANJ!

Infrastructure! news from the Great White North. Roads with streetcar tracks three times more dangerous for cyclists: study All of a sudden cyclists are getting wrecked on the streetcar tracks, which means something has changed. It’s either the bikes are more susceptible to getting caught in the tracks, somehow cyclists have forgotten how to negotiate streetcar tracks, or drivers are acting in such a way as to force cyclists into the streetcar tracks at the wrong angle to avoid getting caught in the tracks. Actually I think that all three statements are true to some degree.

LifeStyle in CA. Bike ride for injured veterans makes stop in Ventura Glad to see my fellow vets out improving themselves and the environment in one simple step.

LifeStyle, and a Ghost Bike in WI. Bob Avery: Ghost bike a reminder to drive attentively

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

Billed @$0.02, Opus

California cyclist says the state can just die because that’s what Brown told cyclists, and I have coffee. Also the Feed

That was a very long headline, which I guess means the caffeine is starting to take hold. The first thing Mrs. the Poet brought home after the check cleared was coffee fixings so I could have my coffee and she could have her cuppa tea. I feel almost human now. My head still hurts but that is the grass pollen that has kicked up today because of all the wind. I still feel like my eyes will pop out of my head and roll around on the desk or floor if I blink wrong, and that is with the allergy medicine I’m allowed to take with my BP meds. Just imagine what it would feel like without, on second thought don’t imagine what I would feel like without medication. The thought is too gruesome to bear.

That cyclist’s response to Gov. Brown was sent to BikingInLA and related in this post .

Our first wreck report, I was alerted to this by the mother of the victim 2 days ago but just got the link to work today. New Mexico man pleads guilty in Ringtown bicyclist’s death And by “pleading guilty” they didn’t mean accepting the state’s version of the story, the driver still insists the cyclist swerved in front of him instead of the weapon vehicle being more than a foot and a half in the shoulder where the cyclist was riding. A blood sample taken about 12 hours after the wreck showed no drugs or alcohol in the driver’s system, but he could have been over the limit drunk at the time of the wreck and still showed dry 12 hours later. Still waiting on the sentence which under the statute he was charged with can’t be much, but I’m hoping they throw the book at him and make him serve every day possible.

Another NM wreck “justice” story. Woman who hit, killed cyclist is sentenced The “maximum” the judge was allowed to administer was not very “maximum”, 90 days and $300. TANJ!

More from CA, as a teen cyclist is seriously injured on his way home from school. Teen bicyclist hit by car, seriously injured Looking at the geometry of the wreck from Google Maps, the cyclist had 2 lanes and a median to cross to get to where he was hit, with his vision obscured by the large bush planted in the median that prevented him from seeing cars entering the street at the traffic signal a short block away. He could have entered an empty street, and been completely unaware of the weapon vehicle and vice versa for the driver, until just before impact. I place blame on this one on the infrastructure, specifically that bush/small tree in the median. So either way this becomes an infrastructure fix to avoid and prevent.

Justice as the parents of a killed cyclist sue his killer. Santa Cruz: Cops and Courts: Oct. 25, 2012 The driver is denying the very charges he plead guilty to a few months ago in the criminal case. This one won’t take long to adjudicate as they admit the testimony from the criminal case.

A wreck in MA not too far from where I used to live in RI. Fall River police investigate bike crash that injured two girls The level of damage to the car and cyclists indicates a wreck at a high rate of speed, and two victims and nobody knowing about a second bike indicates an overloaded bike that may have exceeded the ability of the brakes to slow the bike (or they could have just not bothered to use the brakes because going fast is fun). Infrastructure to prevent, but I don’t know how to make kids not be kids so they can avoid a wreck like this, except perhaps education?

Update on a “red light running” MO cyclist death. Police: Bicyclist who died ran red light Now that I know the geometry of this wreck there is a high probability that the cyclist entered under a stale green or even as the amber phase began, as the truck driver started up when the light changed to green on his direction and the cyclist would have had to cross several lanes to get to where he was killed. More “Ghost Bike” Honors Springfield Cyclist Killed This Week

Real justice in the Great White North. Apology ‘means a lot,’ widow says after SUV driver pleads guilty in cyclist fatality The cyclist was hit from behind by a sleeping driver. The cyclist’s widow says she’s not looking for a stiff sentence and the prosecutor is only looking for the max fine and no jail time.

From Kenya comes the first serious sentence for the killing of a cyclist. Lorry driver to spend life in jail for causing cyclist’s death And by “serious” I mean on a par with other means of killing people.

LifeStyle from WV as one university comes to the aid of a student from another university. MUCC hosts spin-a-thon for injured local teen The teen in question was run over by a dump truck at Ohio State last month, and suffered devastating injuries as a result. Most of him will live but he lost a leg at the hip and will be a long time recovering to a “New Normal” which will be a long way from what he was before the wreck.

A “duh” infrastructure story. Study: Separated Bike Lanes Reduce Injury By 90% There not being much actual separated bike infrastructure in North America to study the data set is rather small but still the findings are significant.

What passes for legal infrastructure in NYC is crap at best, and this wasn’t “best”. NYPD Snafu Means No Justice for Bronx Cyclist Left to Die in the Street I don’t think that the point can be driven home too firmly that NYPD sucks at prosecuting drivers that kill. No matter what mode of transport the victim was using, even hit by a car while walking down the sidewalk, NYPD is like the honey badger: “honey badger don’t care”. And neither does NYPD.

Infrastructure from CA. Menlo Park Funds Bike Lane Improvements This road was one where a cyclist died after getting hit by with a semi truck a few years back. The improvements don’t go as far as where the cyclist was hit.

More infrastructure from the Great White North. Cyclist killed on Bronson Avenue, Street design comes into question in wake of Krista Johnson’s death No place to cross for a kilometer in the wrong direction, high speeds and a lack of space on the road, all combined in a “perfect storm” of boondoggle to kill this cyclist. To place this in context for my metric challenged readers the cyclist would have to ride a mile and a quarter just to get back to where sh was but on the correct side of the road for the direction she wanted to go.

And those are all the links that gave me fits that were bicycle-related. You don’t want to see the ones that gave me non bicycle-related fits.

Billed @$0.02, Opus

Not functioning here, and the Feed

Day 2 without coffee (vitamin C2) and from the looks of my veins sticking out I think I’m one of the few people whose blood pressure goes down when they consume caffeine rather than up. My daughter was right about the local water supply tasting like dirt it is so hard. And my home-made sports drink is highly dependent on sweetener to cover up the salts so that’s out as well. I’m still unable to determine if I’m a caffeine addict because I had all the withdrawal symptoms while I still had ready access to coffee, because of the pollen, and residual effects from the wreck.

Up first a cyclist is hit by a school bus in MD. News Nearby: Cyclist Hit by School Bus Near Route 28 Intersection No mode given but since the wreck was not actually in the intersection I’m going to go out on a limb and suggest the wreck was hit-from-behind. Use the protocols to avoid, and get the infrastructure right to prevent. Every time I read about someone getting hit by a school bus my mind goes to the guy for whom the first Ride of Silence was created. He was hit in the back of the head by a mirror hanging off the front corner of a school bus. More Montgomery County school bus crash leaves cyclist injured and Cyclist Badly Injured in School Bus Crash

A KY cyclist is unable to negotiate a bad intersection in heavy traffic. Accident on Midland Avenue kills bicyclist Intersection wreck, use the protocols to avoid, and get the infrastructure right to prevent. The cyclist was trying to get to either the sidewalk according to police, or to the lane of travel on the other side and just couldn’t get through the traffic, much like the FL wreck from earlier this week where not all the traffic had come to a stop.

Another KY wreck with a lot less information. Bicyclist hit, killed in east Springfield As of now the wreck was caused by a red light running cyclist. Intersection protocols to avoid and get the infrastructure right so that bicycles and semis aren’t trying to share the same space.

A CA cyclist was on the wrong side of the road. Santa Barbara Wrong Way Cyclist Hit, Battling Life Threaten Injuries The only question I have about this wreck is where the numbers start for designating lanes, because the wreck was in the “#2 lane”. Do they start at the center and go out, or at the shoulder and go in? I find this important because if the cyclist was hit near the center of the road it’s much harder to tell which was on the wrong side of the road than if the wreck was next to the shoulder. Whatever, don’t ride salmon and this wreck (probably) won’t happen to you. The cyclist is of the right age to have been taught the rules of the road back when cyclists were “pedestrians” and told to ride facing traffic. More Major Injury Traffic Collision

Still in CA the teen cyclist hit in the left turn lane has died without regaining consciousness. Arcadia teen struck by car while riding bike dies Still not believing how a kid waiting at a red light can get hit so badly,

A cyclist is left-crossed in GA. Bicyclist injured in accident with van Intersection protocols to avoid and get the infrastructure right to prevent. From the appearance of the bike the cyclist was a transportational cyclist as the bike had lights and fenders and a rack with a basket or milk crate on the back. This was an all-weather bike.

Update on one of the Kanata Five, a group of cyclists assaulted with a van as they rode in the bike lane back in 2009. Cyclist injured in Kanata thanks responders Recovered well enough to complete 13.1 miles on foot.

A right-cross wreck in Enn Zed. Motorists scramble to aid injured cyclist For once nobody blamed the cyclist for being there or slowing “traffic” and causing the wreck because drivers “must” do the speed limit, it was quite clearly the fault of the driver that turned in front of the cyclist. Intersection protocols to avoid, get the infrastructure right to prevent.

LifeStyle in TX as more is done for the cyclist hit-from-behind on an Interstate frontage road. Benefit ride to be held for injured cyclist

A Ghost bike in MO. “Ghost Bike” Memorial Planned for Cyclist Struck, Killed by Semi

Infrastructure news from MI. Bike-sharing may come to WSU Wayne State University is located inside Detroit MI.

And those are all the links that gave me fits on the subject of bicycles today.

Billed @$0.02, Opus

Out of coffee fixings means OUT OF COFFEE!! and the Feed

That’s right, I’m doing this post sans hot beverages of choice and second choice, because I need the same things for tea as I do for my coffee. I’M WORKING CAFFEINE-FREE HERE!! >shudder< I know why I'm in this pickle, the food budget was $0 last week and we had to ride on what was in the pantry. Then the pollen hit and I was chugging tea and coffee like my life depended on it (and for reals my voice did depend on it). I went through what would have been a ten day supply of milk, creamer, and sugar in less than 5 days. I still sounded like a frog, but an intelligible frog. And now we won't have any money for more until tomorrow so I'm sitting here without coffee, and will be for tomorrow's post also. Pray the Beautiful Suburbs of Hell survive through Friday when things will get back to "normal".

From the US Mecca for cyclists, a really stupid one gets hit/hurt. Bicyclist injured in collision with security patrol car near Rose Garden Arena That’s right, no lights or reflectors at night, riding salmon and running a red he couldn’t see because he was facing the wrong direction. A class-A Bozo. To avoid just do almost everything exactly opposite from this clown. To prevent get the infrastructure right, although I don’t think that would have actually done anything for this doofus.

A NJ youth suffers disfiguring injuries in a wreck with a commercial vehicle. Teen Bike Rider Suffered Non-Life-Threatening Injuries After Union Hill Accident First of all the fact that it was news that the driver remained at the scene is just sick. Second there was no mode of wreck or direction of travel given for either vehicle as the coverup investigation is still ongoing. Since the wreck was very close to an elementary school I would say this wreck was in a residential area that would be shared space for motor vehicles and bicycles under the Dutch system, so the most significant change to the infrastructure for this wreck would be a speed limit under 20 MPH and statutory laws that find the motor vehicle operator at fault for hitting a minor even when the minor was breaking the law, because minors don’t think straight and have diminished capacity. The only time a driver is not at fault for hitting a minor on foot or riding a bicycle is when the minor’s actions were such that the driver had no time to react to what the minor was doing.

More from the most deadliest state in the US to walk or ride a bike for 8 years in a row on a cyclist killed trying to get across a road. Police confirm identity of man killed while riding bike in Bradenton The cyclist was trying to cross a road with an offset to the other road and a median and was hit in the turn lane because not all the traffic was stopped for the red light at the offset street.

I’m not exactly sure which Ladysmith this is, but I do know it is in the Great White North. Distracted cyclist hits, injures walker The cyclist was listening to an MP3 player while riding on the sidewalk, both no-nos under Canadian law and neither one considered “best practice” in any country. To avoid watch for pedestrians especially when you’re riding on a sidewalk, don’t ride on the sidewalk, don’t use music players or listening devices, and DON’T HIT THE PEDESTRIANS! Getting the infrastructure right would have prevented this wreck because every mode would have a safe, segregated place to be.

And we had a very light Feed today, those are all the bike links that gave me fits, since this is not a political blog I’m not posting the others.

Billed @$0.02, Opus

OOhh! my head, and the Feed

I’m taking the maximum allowed level of my allergy medication and I’m barely keeping ahead of the pollen. My head is so stopped up that I feel like my eyeballs are going to be rolling on the floor any second now, a symptom my allergy medicine can’t take care of so I just have to take a painkiller and tough it out. Add to that the post nasal drip and watery eyes, plus the Voice From The Gates of Hell I get from sleeping with my mouth open, and I look and sound like a member of the walking dead. I just smell better than they do. I have lost a full MPH off my average speed riding my bike because of not being able to breathe as deeply as I normally do, which mostly affects my getting off the line at stop signs and traffic lights. I don’t have the energy for that brisk acceleration like I normally do. Also I feel poopy 😛

Up first an article I was sent by a reader from just down the road in Houston. Hit-and-run driver smashes into cyclist returning home from work Almost as bad as my situation back in 2001, just trying to get to and from work when public transit is not running. She was hit from behind on the shoulder of the road by someone that didn’t even bother to make sure she was dead before leaving. Hit-from-behind protocols to avoid, but I honestly don’t think this was an avoidable wreck. Get the infrastructure right to prevent, including making hit-and-run an equivalent crime to attempted murder.

From AL, a cyclist suffers minor injuries from a right hook wreck. Cyclist suffers minor injuries after accident on Balmoral Drive Intersection protocols to avoid, get the infrastructure right to prevent. And in spite of what the officer on the scene said it is never the fault of the cyclist when this happens.

A NYC area cyclist was hit-and-run by a drunk driver who was caught. Cops: Deer Park man who hit cyclist was DWI Nothing on the mode of the wreck aside from one comment that the cyclist was riding against traffic without anything to back that up. Good that they caught the perp driver. They should throw the entire library at him and make an example out of him.

A wreck in CA that was rather unusual. Martinez: Wild turkeys cause bicycle crash, seriously injuring Benicia man, 51 Yep, you read that right, the guy was taken out by a turkey that came from the side of the road just as he passed the location…

Another CA bike wreck. Paradise boy injured in bike vs. vehicle collision The kid apparently rode out in front of the car just as it was going by. Intersection protocols to avoid, and get the infrastructure right to prevent.

Still in CA another young cyclist runs a stop sign and gets hit. Young bicyclist seriously injured in Poway Intersection protocols to avoid, and anther wreck that getting the infrastructure right would prevent the wreck from happening. As the intersection was in a residential area the infrastructure would be a very low speed limit combined with a responsibility for the driver of the (potential) weapon vehicle to not hit cyclists and pedestrians.

And still in CA the final word on a double homicide of a man and his daughter as they rode their bikes. Youth sentenced for killing 2 in crash Because he was convicted as a juvenile he will get out in less than 3 years on a 7 year sentence. Apparently this was the best the DA could do as there was no guarantee he would be convicted as an adult much less get a sentence as stiff as 3 years. This link earns special mention as the “Waste of Human Skin” tag for today’s post.

From the most deadliest state in the US to walk or ride a bike, 4 people are injured in a bicycle/motorcycle wreck. 4 injured in motorcycle/bike crash in Lehigh Acres OK 3 people injured riding 2 bicycles, and the motorcycle rider means that one of the bikes was carrying a passenger. Since the article did not mention anything the bicyclists were doing as illegal I take this to meant that the 3rd cyclist was riding on a cargo seat or other legal means on the bike. The motorcycle was not street-legal, however. Hit from behind protocols to avoid, but I don’t think infrastructure would have prevented the motorcycle rider from riding illegally. Maybe, but not likely.

Another wreck in the most deadliest state in the US to walk or ride a bicycle 8 years running. Bradenton man killed after being hit while riding bike across First Street East I took a look in the street view and the intersection did not match what was described in the narrative, the biggest thing being no traffic light at this intersection but the next one down. It does look like the cyclist was hit in the left turn lane, so apparently he was trying to continue on the offset street on the other side of the major highway down the middle of a residential area. First things first, there should not be a highway with 3 lanes in each direction in the middle of a residential area, whoever did that should be put in prison. Second even though traffic is “stopped” that doesn’t mean all traffic is stopped. Intersection protocols to avoid, and get the infrastructure right to prevent.

More links to that bicycle/motorcycle double fatality wreck in Philly. 2 dead after motorcycle, bike collide in Philly and Bicyclist killed by motorcycle in South Phila. Still nothing about who had the right of way as both witnesses are dead.

More trouble in PA. Bicyclist injured after hit-and-run in Middlesex Township Typical buzz job. No way for the cyclist to avoid and only getting the infrastructure right including denying sociopaths the privilege of a driver’s license will prevent a similar wreck.

Infrastructure! news from The Great White North. Cut Bronson speeds, let cyclists use sidewalk, councillor suggests after death on Bronson bridge Well I guess that’s better than nothing…

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

Billed @$0.02, Opus

Still having allergy problems, and the Feed

I’m still fighting the grass pollen from my yard and the neighbor’s. My yard because how else are you going to get the grass to re-establish if you don’t let it seed, and I think my neighbors are thinking the same thing. I took 2 of my allergy pills that I’m allowed to take with this blood pressure medication last night and managed to get some rest, but my voice is still 5 miles of dry creekbed this morning. I’m on my second cup of coffee now and I’m getting something approaching my normal timbre back, but as soon as I run out of coffee it starts getting gravelly and hoarse again. I have a slight conundrum, if I take the allergy pill I can breathe through my nose, but I have to go back to bed because I get so sleepy I can’t stand up. So I can either be comfortable and groggy, or uncomfortable and sort of alert. I think I’m going to come down on the side of breathing.

Up first a CA cyclist is hit from behind while making a left turn. Wait, WHAT!? Teen Cyclist Suffers ‘Extensive’ Injuries in Collision With Motorist Yep, the cyclist was making a left turn from the left turn lane and was hit from behind by another left-turning vehicle. I see no way that this could be in any way the cyclist’s fault. The driver was either blind (because even though it was at night the presence or lack of lights was not mentioned which means there were lights on the bike) or impatient to the extreme. There was nothing a cyclist could have done to avoid this wreck, and getting the infrastructure right will only work if there can be something done about impatient drivers running over cyclists because they are slower than the driver wants to go.

A PA wreck report that begins and ends with a motorcycle hitting a cyclist. Cyclist killed in S. Phila. crash That all of the middle part, too. No location or direction of travel for either vehicle is given. More 2 Dead After Motorcycle And Bicycle Collide In South Philly Finally a little meat on the bones of this story, the bicyclist was riding on the cross street from the motorcyclist, and the motorcycle centerpunched the bicyclist. Nothing on who had the right of way because both victims died without regaining consciousness. Looking at the Google Street View the cyclist was on a one way street crossing a traffic-calmed boulevard when he was hit. There were bike lanes in both directions on the street the cyclist was crossing. There was a comment with one article that the road being crossed had a 25 MPH limit, and that speed was not high enough to kill both cyclists, the motorcyclist had to have been speeding.

Another report on the left-crossed cyclist in KS. Cyclist injured in on-campus car accident Nothing new here except that there was no way the driver could have avoided knowing there was a wreck from this description of it.

Another report on the sentencing of a killer driver in the most deadliest state in the US to walk or ride a bike, for 8 years in a row now. Driver gets 7 years in hit-run death of USF cancer researcher The cyclist was working to cure cancer, the driver was a cancer.

More on the cyclist killed riding salmon in the bike lane up in the Great White North. Woman killed in car-bicycle collision ‘the real deal’ It seems I’m not the only one blaming the infrastructure for this wreck, people that live near the scene said the same thing about it being almost impossible to get from one side of the street to the other.

An almost unheard of trial result in Jolly Olde. Driver jailed after cyclist killed on country road in Leicestershire The driver tried to pass in a section that was not safe to pass because of oncoming traffic that was also exceeding the speed limit. When he couldn’t make the pass he pulled over and hit the cyclist, killing him.

A cyclist runs a red and gets hit in Oz. Cyclist seriously injured after colliding with vehicle Intersection protocols to avoid, and get the freaking infrastructure right to prevent.

Infrastructure! news from the most deadliest state in the US to walk or ride a bicycle. Sister of bike crash victim taking safety campaign to Sunrise

LifeStyle in TX. Friends Support Injured Bicyclist

And last link, it has now come forward that the cyclist shot in that mass murder in France was the first target, not the last. French Alps shootings: Cyclist shot BEFORE British family and THEY were witnesses, police believe and French cyclist ‘was prime target’ in Alps massacre also Cyclist was first Alps shooting victim more Was French cyclist the REAL target? Girl, seven, who survived Alps attack tells police he was killed before her family and from AlJazeera Cyclist ‘first to be shot’ in Alps attack Curiouser and curiouser, said Alice.

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

Billed @$0.02, Opus