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