A marathon trip to get a new coffeemaker, and the Feed

Well maybe not a marathon, but more than a half-marathon. Because the Beautiful Suburbs of Hell are designed to an automobile-centric transportation mode things are not very close together. I had to make a trip downtown to the bank to get the money, and then ride to the store on the fringes of town to get a coffeemaker, and then back to Casa de El Poeta. That’s about 16.5 miles, plus or minus. Throw in winds that were over 15 MPH steady with gusts of 25 and you have an exhausting trip on a bike that is aero-limited to about 15 MPH in still air on a level road. With the tailwind it was another story as I held a steady cruise of 18-19 MPH on the bike route that kinda sorta went in the direction of the store on the outskirts of town. I kept that up for miles.

The other thing that I found out while I was out is that the local shoe repair place can put the lift on my short-side shoe for $36 plus the cost of the shoe that I have to buy (my shoes are disintegrating as I walk they are so old). So a trip to the shoe store Saturday, then a trip to the shoe repair guy on Monday and I’ll be walking better by Friday.

A deadly crash in Upstate NY. 13-year-old killed on bike in Sylvan Beach, man arrested for hit-and-run DWI Hit-from-behind wreck, I don’t know that the protocols would have been effective against a drunk driver. Infrastructure might have prevented the wreck by physically separating homicidal drunks with WMDs away from fragile human bodies. The thing I really liked about the article was that someone of authority made the statement that if the kid was wearing a helmet was moot when he got hit by 6000 pounds of speeding motor vehicle.

An update on the cyclist killed by the garbage truck in S.F. CA. Garbage Truck Accident Causes San Francisco Bicycle Death Note that this narrative has the cyclist getting right-hooked rather than running into the truck.

A cyclist is hit from behind in WA. Cyclist seriously injured in crash with car LEO are still trying to figure out how a driver could hit another vehicle in the lane in front of him… Hit-from-behind protocols to avoid, and get the infrastructure right to prevent. As part of that infrastructure make hitting a vulnerable user from behind an automatic loss of vehicle if the victim survives, and a permanent loss of license on top of any other penalty if the victim dies.

A cyclist is injured after hitting a pothole in the Great White North. CYCLIST INJURED Umm, yeah, having both hands on the handlebars when you hit a pothole is not just a good idea, it could save your life.

The laughable sentence given a serial cyclist killer in the UK is being actively appealed. Driver who killed cyclist Audrey Fyfe to have sentence reviewed and Cyclist killer Gary McCourt: Crown to appeal against ‘lenient’ sentence also Driver who killed Edinburgh cyclist faces appeal last link Crown to appeal ‘unduly lenient’ sentence of driver who killed cyclist The original sentence is 2 1/2 months of community service and a 5 year driving ban.

Infrastructure! from NV. Bicycle riders, safety advocates trumpet awareness of new ‘3-foot law’ And I’m sorry, but a law passed in 2011 is not “new” in 2013.

And I’m just at a loss for words about this article. Cop Talk: Bike safety starts with helmet Well, no, it doesn’t. It begins with keeping motor vehicles from hitting people on bicycles.

Last link, DIY active transportation infrastructure in CA. Calif. man suspected of painting crosswalk Sure, arrest the guy that does your job for you and makes you look bad.

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

Billed @€0.02, Opus

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Where am I going and why am I in this handbasket? and the Feed

I have been looking for repair parts for my coffeemaker, and coming up short. The weak link in coffeemakers appears to be the heating unit or the controls for the heating unit, but none of that stuff appears to be available online. I see listings for the part for commercial units where that one part alone is several times the cost of a home coffeemaker, but when there is a listing for the heating unit for a home coffeemaker the part is not available any longer. How are we supposed to fix them if we can’t get parts? At this point I wouldn’t even complain about repair parts that were a significant percentage of the retail cost of the coffeemaker if it would keep the damn things out of landfills. But at this point unless you have the skills and the data to manufacture a replacement unit on your own that coffeemaker is destined to become landfill. And that annoys me.

A GA cyclist is hit by a stop sign-running driver. Teen cyclist hit by car on Athens street Driver ignoring anything smaller than a Mini again, no cars, so no need to stop. Intersection protocols to avoid or at least avoid injury, and infrastructure to prevent. I’m not 100% certain on the infrastructure as the driver did ignore the as-built infrastructure that told her to wait for other vehicles to proceed before proceeding herself.

Infrastructure article from NM. Bike rider sues Santa Fe after railroad accident Ruts and grooves that parallel direction of travel or intersect at very low angles are dangerous to single-track vehicle travel, becoming more dangerous as the tire width decreases or rut/groove width increases. I have crashed from hitting a rut at the wrong angle and having the front wheel unable to change direction.

And that’s it, all the Feed that I didn’t put up yesterday.

Billed @€0.02, Opus

Running way late again after visiting the Lab Rat Keeper, and the Feed

Well it was a long day today. I rose at 0700 instead of the usual 0900 (because I’m normally up until 0200 watching the Feed come in from Oz) and had a cup of tea instead of my usual half-gallon of coffee because I still haven’t figured out how to break into the disabled coffeemaker and repair it, mostly because it has those stupid tamper-resistant screws holding it together and I can’t locate the right driver to remove them. So I have been going through caffeine withdrawal since Monday, with a massive headache that started on Tuesday and was still going strong this morning. So going through withdrawal and short 2 hours sleep, and I’m apparently the only person in the world that quitting caffeine causes an increase in resting heart rate and blood pressure. Not by much, but enough to disturb my doctor.

On another medical front, I now have an explanation for my muscle aches that never seem to get better while new ones pop up all the time. I have low testosterone. This also explains why my nails have suddenly gotten softer, my hair stopped growing and other things that have recently failed to function to design specs. Basically all the things I have noticed going wrong were the result of that one hormone level being out of whack. Whodathunkit? Now the question is “why?” What caused my testosterone levels to drop suddenly and so far?

Update on that kid getting hit in TN. @White=[C] Boy killed on bike was Jacob Billings This outlet is saying the mode of wreck is not known, and that LEO will release what happened later. So, now I’m confuzzled about if the kid crossed the centerline or not. Still no matter what really happened, this remains a difficult wreck to avoid if the cyclist was forced to cross the centerline or if the cyclist was riding on the correct side of the road for his direction of travel.

A MA cyclist gets hit. Newton native dies in Amherst bicycle accident The mode of wreck wasn’t elaborated upon, but since it involves a turning truck it could only be an intersection wreck, either a left cross or a right hook. From what I’m gathering from the article the driver is getting all the blame for this wreck and there was nothing the cyclist was doing wrong, so I’m hesitant about advising intersection protocols to avoid, as it seems the wreck was not one a mere human cyclist could have avoided. Getting the infrastructure right to prevent I can get 100% behind, on the other hand.

An IL cyclist is seriously injured by a driver that may have been impaired by marijuana. Joliet 8-year-old seriously injured riding bike, driver faces pot charges Th story is behind a paywall, so that’s all I know about it.

A MI cyclist shows how not to do it when merging into the turn lane. Bicyclist injured after hitting car Hit-from-behind wreck, the protocols would definitely have made the cyclist able to avoid this wreck, and getting the infrastructure right would have prevented it.

A strange wreck in the Great White North. Cyclist injured by transport truck on Huron Church You have to admit, just from the headline that is one mighty strange wreck. The actual wreck is much more mundane than that as a SWCT (Single Witness Crossing Truck) runs a red light with a cyclist in the intersection and “brushes” the cyclist with the back tires. Getting “brushed” by 20+ tons of truck makes this a lucky-to-survive wreck. Intersection protocols would not have helped in this wreck, and unless it was completely grade separated standard north american bicycle infrastructure would not have worked either. Notice the LEO attempting to absolve the red-light-running driver of blame for the hit-and-run by claiming the driver may not have known he hit the cyclist. I’m sorry but “not knowing” you hit someone is not an excuse, but another charge to be filed. I guess that would be “driving while stupid”, which is a felony… or it would be if I was king.

Also from Canickistan drivers are mowing down vulnerable users so fast they don’t even get separate articles anymore. Cyclist, pedestrian seriously injured in separate collisions along 118th Avenue and Cyclist and pedestrian injured in two separate collisions near Rexall Place Intersection wreck, at this point they haven’t decided which one was running the red and are not blaming the cyclist immediately. So anyway, intersection wreck, use intersection protocols to avoid, and get the infrastructure right to prevent.

Another article on the deadly doofus who got a gentle caress on the wrist instead of the severe legal beatdown he deserved. 5,000 want driver who killed two cyclists re-sentenced My electronic signature is on there also, but not counted among the 5K because I’m not a subject of the crown, making my sig “unofficial”.

Another strange wreck, this time in Oz. Boys injured after Prospect motorised bike accident The wreck was caused by the passenger riding on the handlebars sticking his foot in the spokes of the front wheel, something that could have happened with or without the motor. The only safe way to take a passenger is to put them on the back on a seat made for that purpose (like an Xtracycle) or ride them on the pegs standing up, assuming you have grinding pegs bolted to the back of the bike. Or buy a tandem bike with the extra seat and pedals and stop taking freeloaders… 😉

What can only be called an act of automotive terrorism, a driver in Enn Zed drives into a bicycle safety class for kids. Driver runs into cycle safety class The kid was waiting at a stop sign for crossing traffic to clear when he was hit from behind by a driver that LEO are waiting to charge until the toxicology tests are done. If they don’t find any intoxicants I suggest attempted murder and terrorism charges, because there is no way a sober driver could have missed seeing the HiViz on the adults leading the class, so if he was sober he must have done it on purpose. Whaddaya know, I finally found a situation that a drunk driver would get charged less severely than a sober one.

Last link is about an 11 YO telling the truth about cars. 11-Year-Old Says, “When You Drive, The Earth Smokes” Children are adversely effected by cars even when they don’t get hit by one…

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

Billed @€0.02, Opus

Running way late with a deadline, and the Feed

Last night was another visit with the widow women so she can cry on my shoulder night, that ran until very late and resulted in not waking up until after 1300. Breakfast was “interesting”, with corn, mashed potatoes, and chicken stuffing with a little bit of chicken in it. Different in flavors from what I normally have by about the same in nutrition as far as calories, fat and carbs.

One thing I’m still slightly buzzing about is the new welder I got. The arc welder I had before and still have is about 40 years old and replacement parts are becoming hard to find, an old Sears Craftsman 70 amp transformer unit that weights slightly less than my last car, but at least it runs on 110V AC, standard house current. Well the new 90 amp wire welder does that too, but the plus side is the flux is contained inside the wire instead of the outside of the stick electrodes. This is good because it means my welding consumables stay fresh longer and I end up throwing less away. When you pay $20 for a pound of high-tensile electrodes that can be used to weld 4130 steel safely, and you end up throwing most of the pound away because the flux has gone bad, well that kinda burns. This welder the flux will last as long as the wire stays intact and dry. I can get the same kind of wires as I used to buy as sticks, and the welder will go as thick as 3/16″ steel without overloading (but I can only run a bead for 15 seconds at a time). This will make building the frame of the car, or customer bikes much easier.

An elderly man is killed cycling in NYC. Elderly cyclist dead after SUV collision in Brooklyn The NY Post has not been a reliable reporter of wrecks involving bicycles in many years, in this one they changed the age of the cyclist between the opening and closing paragraphs from 74 to 88. Cyclist, 74, is killed by car in Bensonhurst also 74-Year-Old Cyclist Killed In Bensonhurst Cyclist Struck, Killed By Car In Brooklyn last link Shameless: Daily News Tries Linking Death of Senior Cyclist to Bike-Share Intersection wreck, use the protocols to avoid and get the infrastructure right to prevent. “No criminality suspected” means they need to look harder next time.

A wreck that does not make sense from the information given in the narrative. Boy on bike killed in DeKalb traffic accident I can see the kid crossing the centerline and getting hit by the SUV, but how did he get hit by the second vehicle? Unless he did what I did in my wreck and went way over the top of the first weapon vehicle. Anyway, not much about avoiding this wreck except not crossing the centerline, and getting the infrastructure right to prevent.

From Canuckistan more on the driver getting sent away for a long time after killing a cyclist. Man sentenced to 4 1/2 years for killing cyclist The one thing I’m very happy about is the 12 year driving ban that doesn’t start until after he gets out of prison. I may not be reading the article correctly but I think it also implies that the ban doesn’t start until all the sentence is complete if he gets parole. So that would mean 16 1/2 years of road that are safe from this drug addict and drunk (actually I think “and drunk” is redundant because a drunk is just addicted to a different drug).

A wreck in Oz. 11-year-old Vic boy dies in school crash Since this wreck was at an intersection that had a crossing guard the wreck itself is a bit suspicious. Get the infrastructure right including what minimal instruction should be needed to cross the street, to prevent.

Last link, because I’m a nerd Who will be Miss Nerd America? I gave up on looking for a nerd girl, and just went looking for a woman who could tolerate my nerdiness. These “girls” seem a bit more than what I would have been looking for back when I was looking.

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

Billed @€0.02, Opus

Happy Memorial Day, Art Contest ends Saturday, and another sparse Feed

It’s a major holiday here in the States, remembering our war dead. It’s derived from Decoration Day, a Southern tradition when they decorated the graves of Confederate soldiers that died during the War of Secession, to use the old Southern term for the Civil War. After WWI the practice was extended nationwide to all soldiers killed during wartime, and during the Cold War it was extended to all military veterans regardless of how they died.

Just a reminder the art contest is coming to an end this Saturday at midnight CDT and I will announce the winner this Sunday. There are two memes emerging in the contest that look interesting, one that assumes the ink will run in the scar and depends on that for artistic effect, the other ignores the actual scar and works with it as negative space inside whatever design the artist is rendering.

The Big Story today is a cyclist in far West Canuckistan being knocked from an MUP in front of a bus with fatal results. Bike To Work Week organizer hopes for caution, not discouragement after cyclist’s death and Cyclist killed in crash with bus on Stanley Park Causeway more Cyclist struck and killed by bus Not done yet Cyclist dies after fatal collision with West Vancouver transit bus more Police looking for answers in death of cyclist on Stanley Park causeway also Transit bus that struck cyclist was full, police say still more Make causeway safer, cycling advocates urge Last link to this story Passenger describes ‘horror’ of B.C. bus collision with cyclist Links that aren’t there any more (the URL is still active but the original story is gone) hypothesized the cyclist may have been pushed into traffic by pedestrians. Just about every report mentioned the interaction with the pedestrians just prior to the wreck. I’m going to go with the “MUP is too narrow for bikes and pedestrians to share” crowd and place the majority of the blame on the inadequate infrastructure with partial blame on the cyclist. Amazing as it may sound I’m not going to blame the bus driver in this wreck, he or she was just in the wrong place at the wrong time when a cyclist ended up in the road in front of the bus making for an “accident” for the bus driver. Infrastructure would be the only way to prevent a wreck like this.

A young CA cyclist is killed. 12-year-old boy on bike dies in collision with Fresh & Easy truck The truck was pulling from a parking lot when it hit the cyclist, probably because the driver was not looking for cyclists. Not confirmed was speculation that the cyclist was riding salmon on the sidewalk. Intersection protocols to avoid with better driving training to prevent.

Another hit-and-run in AZ. Phoenix police look for suspect, pickup truck after bicyclist hit and killed A salmon cyclist does not imply permission to execute the cyclist, nor to leave the scene of the crime. I can’t begin to enumerate all the wrong in this wreck. Cyclist wrong, driver wrong, infrastructure wrong, there is plenty of wrong to go around.

Last link what kind of a country would we be if we stopped people from wearing thong shorts and a cape while riding their scooters? Police: ‘Thong Cape Scooter Man’ not breaking law Such attire is not entirely out of the ordinary in Austin TX, but it’s probably a bit chillier in WI.

And those are all the links that gave me fits today. Remember the art contest ends Saturday!

Billed @€0.02, Opus

Blogging during a brief gap in the racing on Wreck-Free Sunday

Right now I’m in the one-hour gap between Monaco and Indy with the pre-race show for Indy playing in my background. I have been burning up the sketchbook trying to come up with something automotive that would be acceptable for both Mrs. the Poet as a passenger, and myself as a driver. I don’t know if I mentioned it, but a big factor in not repairing my car when it quit running back in 1995 was that driving had become a job that was no longer fun. I hadn’t been racing in about 4 years before the car expired from a chunk of metal debris breaking the crankshaft. My work schedule had me spending most of my time behind the wheel half asleep, and even when I was fully awake the combination of traffic and my econobox did not inspire trying too hard to stay awake. The car was competent but not exciting. I want exciting and competent. I want acceleration, handling, and brakes that make my eyeballs put dots on the inside of my glasses. I want wind in my face and the smells of my surroundings. In other words I want a car with all the sensory inputs of a race car and a bicycle. Mrs. the Poet wants a mobility appliance since she doesn’t drive. For her lateral acceleration is just uncomfortable when it isn’t terrifying, and she prefers her eyeballs remaining entirely within her face. She also doesn’t want to wear a helmet and a waterproof jacket when she’s riding in a car. Otherwise she’s a pretty decent wife. Just don’t ask her about the time I took her for a ride in the 2-seat car at Malibu GP…

PSA, Opus

Got rained on again last night, and the Feed

It’s a good thing I’m a grumpy OLD bike blogger and not a sweet young thing like Mrs. the Poet, because I would have melted in the rain last night. I went to drumming with the forecast calling or the line of T-storms to remain well to the west coming no further east than the western suburbs of Ft. Worth about 40 miles away. We had showers on and off most of the night. I asked someone with a smart phone and access to weather radar to help me plot a departure time, and I left with a small shower that was just south of Seagoville and wending slowly north. That shower was still working it’s way through Mesquite when a T-storm popped up over Garland caused by the instability disturbed by the shower. Anyway short story is that on my 3.6 mile return trip I was hit by heavy rains starting about a mile or so from the house, and I got home drenched. It’s a good thing I’m (mostly) waterproof.

Up first because it was the first link in the Feed, a cyclist was hit by a school bus in CA. Bicyclist Injured In Crash With School Bus In San Jose OK it was only technically a bus because it was being used to transport school children otherwise it would be called a Maxi-Van. Still hurts to get hit by one, and LEO are sitting on the details of this story. Later links School Bus Strikes, Injures Elderly Cyclist and School Bus Seriously Injures Elderly Bicyclist in Saratoga

Another wreck in a GA town I used to live in. Bicyclist killed on Peach Orchard Road early Friday Hit from behind so the protocols apply including lights and reflectors to avoid, and get the infrastructure right to prevent.

Update on the child cyclist killed in AR. Truck hits, kills child riding bike The driver was medically impaired by diabetes and should not have been driving, and has been charged because of that. I’m not happy that he killed, I am happy that he’s not going to get away with it without prosecution.

A cyclist is killed in NC and LEO are sitting on the details. Elderly bicyclist struck and killed in Leland Nothing about the mode or exact location. Just a wreck near an intersection, with the operator of the weapon vehicle not injured.

Update on a wreck in IN (I love that pun). Police arrest driver in crash that killed Lafayette cyclist Nothing new about the wreck, but the slime that killed the cyclist will be staying as a “guest of the state” for a while. Now this is new Death of bicyclist after being struck by SUV highlights concerns about courtesy, safety

An update on the wreck that killed Darcy Allen Sheppard. Father of Cyclist Killed in Confrontation with Michael Bryant Calls for Review For those with short memories, Darcy was struck from behind at a stop light and knocked down which understandably caused him to be “annoyed” and he went to the driver’s side of the car to “discuss” the incident (translation: Darcy was royally pissed off and went to rip the driver a new one), whereupon the driver (Michael Bryant) proceeded to wipe him off the side of the car with street furniture including the mailbox that killed Sheppard. The failure to prosecute Bryant has been a scandal in some circles.

Closure and a rare custodial sentence in the UK for a cyclist’s killer. Driver who killed cyclist jailed for four years The fact that his driving ban starts while he’s in prison means the public is not as protected from him as we could be (not that I have anything to worry about from him here in the Beautiful Suburbs of Hell). More Driver jailed over hit and run that killed teenage cyclist

A bit of educational infrastructure in the UK. Driving schools announce ‘cyclist awareness’ plans Drivers that actually know what the laws really are for cycling instead of making up laws in their heads that cyclists then “break” because they are not the real actual laws but are sometimes the opposite of the real laws, that would be good.

Last link, how to buy e-assist for your bike (or a complete e-assist bike) for under $1K US. Cheap Electric Bikes Guide (~$1,000 and Less) A good quality older bike can be converted to e-assist and then used as a car substitute for about US$1K with premium components that will last for a long time and have good warranty coverage if something goes wrong.

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

Billed @€0.02, Opus

Drumming night, and the Feed

Tonight is the regularly-scheduled night of the month to drum and dance around the fire at my church, something I look forward to with great anticipation. I have been involved with percussion in one form or another since childhood, getting my first set of bongo drums at 11, playing the bass drum in marching band and snare in orchestra. I have also been a (poor) dancer almost as long, having my first dance class as a senior in HS, and belly dance for men in my 30s and 50s. I am a creature of rhythm even if I can’t spell it on the first try, ever. (I keep trying to put the voiced short “i” in the written word.) I can’t explain it so I just revel in it…

Up first on a happy note, semi-famous bike blogger Bikeyface has a new bike that she gushes about here LEFT BANK BIKE I’m sure Gigi is as happy for her about this as I am, wherever Gigi is now.

Big story, what is being described by some as a right hook and by others as the cyclist failing to use brakes, with lots of links. Cyclist dies in SF garbage-truck crash and Bicyclist dies after striking garbage truck in the Mission also Cyclist killed in San Francisco garbage truck crash More Clayton Cyclist Hit and Killed By Garbage Truck in San Francisco and Bicyclist killed in collision with San Francisco garbage truck was 21-year-old from Clayton not done yet Cyclist in fatal S.F. crash identified nearly there Bicyclist killed in Mission District identified as Clayton resident Last link Dylan Mitchell Identified as Cyclist Killed by Recology Truck Earlier reports that have since been deleted had the cyclist impacting the truck just in front of the rear wheels on the right side and being trapped in the rear wheels and dragged for almost a block. Now they are just saying “back” of the truck and not explaining how hitting the back of a garbage truck results in massive blunt trauma and crushing injuries, or how a cyclist can be dragged almost a block after hitting the back of the truck. Anyway, right hook, intersection protocols to avoid and infrastructure corrected to prevent. The truck was signalling a right turn but there is some question if the cyclist was in a position to see that signal.

Another story with more than one link is a hit-and-run in AZ. Suspect arrested in Tucson hit-and-run death and UPDATED II: CYCLIST KILLED IN HIT-AND-RUN CRASH; SUSPECT IN CUSTODY last link Sun Tran driver killed while cycling to work Intersection wreck, but at this point it does not appear that intersection protocols would have helped avoid the wreck in any way as the drunk driver appears to have ignored a traffic control when he hit the cyclist. This also strongly implies that any at-grade infrastructure that relied on traffic controls to maintain separation would have been equally unlikely to prevent this wreck and the only thing that could have would be grade separated with a barrier infrastructure which would have been unlikely in this location. I mean there aren’t even any sidewalks for the nearby residences, bike infrastructure would be secondary after pedestrian infrastructure.

An AR cyclist is hit. 7-year-old girl struck and killed while riding her bike Nothing about the mode of the wreck except listing the location as “near” an intersection, so going with intersection protocols to avoid, and getting the infrastructure right to prevent. As the wreck was in a residential area “getting the infrastructure right” would consist of making sure cars were moving at a safe speed and that intersections had good sight lines so that children on bikes could be seen.

A cyclist’s death leads to charges in the Great White North. Vernon cyclist death results in charges The cyclist was struck from behind by a person driving a vehicle in the bike lane at 70 km/hr (44MPH). Given the lack of space to maneuver and the curb to the right hit-from-behind protocols would have been not-very-useful, and the wreck was in bicycle infrastructure the driver was ignoring, so no chance of preventing either except for inventing some way of keeping drunk drivers from being able to start the vehicle…

And those are all the links that gave me fits today… and one that didn’t.

Billed @€0.02, Opus

The legs sticking out from under that circus tent are me, on Bike To Work Day

The folks over at Bike Friendly Garland helped run the Commuter Energizer Station at Downtown Garland Station for DART, and they had a photographer.

This picture was taken just before the lady tried to dump the case of bottles in my left pannier, and right after I got a cup of coffee. You can see Blue to my left, behind me in the picture.

PSA, Opus

Trying to figure it out, and the Feed

The Feed is still wonky in that what few actual bicycle reports I get are mostly from the UK, and the rest are not actually about bicycles but almost everything else, including a link to an article about women’s monthly cycles. I was getting too little a few months ago, now I’m getting too much, but I’m still not getting bicycles. Well, that’s why I put a human being in the loop to filter out the non-pertinent items.

Up first is a CA wreck that authorities are calling a single vehicle wreck. Cyclist Injured in Ralston Ave. Crash Given the evidence if there is a second vehicle involved it would be a Jerry Brown wreck, a car passing so close that it causes a cyclist to lose control without actually touching the cyclist. If the second vehicle managed to get that close without the cyclist knowing it was there (electric car or cyclist not exercising good situational awareness) then the startle reaction can cause a wreck all on its own. The other reasonable explanation is something on the road knocked the front tire out from under the cyclist, another good reason to exercise good situational awareness.

Also from CA a BMW makes a U-turn and cuts off a cyclist. Bicyclist injured after crashing into car Of course the person writing the article doesn’t subscribe to that hypothesis. Any way, about the only way to avoid a wreck like this is to use heightened situational awareness so that you are aware of the idiot turning in front of you and have time to react. Infrastructure that prevents idiots making U-turns from interfering with cyclists would be the only way to prevent this.

From NJ a sidewalk cyclist narrowly escapes serious injury or death. Bicycle rider escapes injury in Red Bank after brush with truck Truck driver is backing out blind over the sidewalk, sidewalk rider can’t see the truck. Truck driver leaves scene without leaving contact information. Every driveway is an intersection, use intersection protocols to avoid. Since this appears to be in a residential area the only infrastructure change to make would be making hitting a cyclist or pedestrian a crime, but hit-and-run is already a crime so I don’t know what making hitting a cyclist a crime would have done to prevent this wreck.

From West Canuckistan comes their annual warning that people will soon be changing from cars and buses to bicycles. Warming weather means more cyclists and a renewed focus on safety The sad part is people don’t notice that there are fewer cars on the roads, just more bicycles and they hate bicycles.

More about the idiot in the UK who hit a cyclist and then bragged about it on Twitter. Emma Way Arrested For Hit-And-Run After She Brags About It On Twitter Yep, stupidity can be painful, usually when stupid people are in cars around cyclists it’s painful for the cyclist, but this time the pain was shared. And with any luck the sharing can be more painful for the driver.

Also from the UK is a story about a wreck caused by the infrastructure. Injured cyclist’s warning over road pothole danger As I posted in the first paragraph road defects can cause wrecks which heightens the need to be totally aware of your surroundings.

A South African hit-and-run is solved. Hit-and-run driver held for cyclist’s death The cyclists were hit in an area of the road that cars were not supposed to be on, then the car left the scene. Not something a cyclist can prepare for except or that old standby situational awareness and hit-from-behind protocols.

A late RoS link. Local Cyclists Silently Commemorate A LIfe Lost on Rockland Roads

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

Billed @€0.02, Opus