People are really stupid sometimes, I’m a member of that group, and the Feed

I’m not real sure how I did it, but I dislocated my jaw last night during a yawning session that caught me as I was getting ready for bed. Now I can’t chew anything at all without serious pain on the right side of my face. I’m still trying to figure out what happened, but a quick Google search reassured me that while not common, the situation isn’t exactly rare either. Unfortunately none of the links I checked explained how one dislocates the jaw during a yawn, and knowing what I did is the first step in not doing it again. And as this really hurts if I try to actually do things with my mouth like eating and drinking and talking, you know all those things we take for granted about mouths when they are working. Opening my mouth is not the problem any more, so I’m halfway recovered. And I can close it enough to drink coffee so I won’t go on a murderous rampage through my neighborhood because I need my caffeine. But solid food is on the “possible but painful” list right now so it looks like I’m going to be losing some weight shortly… my desires in the event being superfluous.

We had another day of not many wrecks and lots of infrastructure links. I could grow to like days like this. Today was actually mostly fun to filter the links. I don’t get that very often.

Speaking of fun links to filter. Double-parked trucks in bike lane hit by NYPD ticket blitz You have to remember the NYP was the media outlet that was worried terrorists on bicycles were going to pedal bike bombs on the bike lanes, instead of what has already happened several times, truck bombs in the street and parking garages.

Synopsis of a cyclist’s murder by DUI. Cyclist killed on Round Bottom Road Dead teacher killed by a drunk driver with multiple DUI convictions spaced just far enough apart to not get permanently banned from driving. This is why the vehicles that DUI are caught driving need to be crushed. And I’m strongly tempted to say “no exceptions” but I’m willing to allow reported stolen cars found with a drunk behind the wheel to be returned to their owners, if the vehicles are reported as stolen before they are found with the drunk driver and the owner is not the one driving.

SWCC wreck in LA. Bicyclist killed in Bywater accident Wednesday night As you can see from the Street View of the intersection there were good slight lines at the scene and an excellent refuge area. I looked at the video in hopes of seeing either the weapon vehicle or the bike but neither one was shown. So until I can get some real information about this wreck all I can say is it appears that intersection protocols are applicable to reduce injury or avoid the wreck, and infrastructure would prevent it.

A CT wreck in a residential area. Van vs. Bicyclist Sends Rider to Hospital Near as I can tell from looking at the bike only the cyclist ran the stop sign. Intersection protocols to avoid and as this would be shared space in the Dutch model, reduce the speed limits and make it shared space.

A bunch of links to this NYC wreck. Bike Rider Says He Flipped Over Bike, Lost Ability to Taste and Smell and Old man sues Citi Bike, NYC for $15M after crash also Citi Bike Allegedly Destroys Cyclist’s Sense Of Taste, Smell The last link shows a picture of the wreck scene as it currently exists with the tire bumper painted blaze orange.

A killer driver (accused killer) has a court date in South Africa. Taxi driver accused of running down cyclist Stander in court

More infrastructure. PHOTO: POLICE CRUISER IN THE BIKE LANE There’s nothing around except traffic as this is the backside of a superblock, so why is the LEO parked in the bike lane?

America’s Copenhagen is facing money problems for building new bike infrastructure. Special report: How Portland stopped building neighborhood greenways Maintaining the existing or building new, there ain’t no money for bikes. And that’s a shame.

Still in Portland a bike/ped bridge is having issues. Gibbs Street Pedestrian Bridge elevator woes continue While this is annoying to the bike set, there’s another group with wheels that finds the elevator outages more than just inconvenient, that’s the ADA people in wheelchairs.

A PA PD tries using e-assist bikes to replace cruisers in the downtown area. Upper Dublin Police Department rolls out electric bike pilot program The main advantage of these for PD work is their stealth capabilities as the noisemaker can be turned off or removed to make the bike as silent as rubber tires can make them.

A contest for the new Schwinn navigation system. Ride Schwinn Like the page and enter the contest with your FB login…

BikingInLA has something important to report, and I agree. Two of SoCal’s best bike advocates are finalists for national Advocate of the Year award

More on that Dutch bike highway getting replaced because it is no longer “good enough”. Cycling infrastructure is cheaper to build than not to build, part two. Features “old, inferior” infrastructure Like I said the first time I saw this, this is about 100 times better than anything in the Beautiful Suburbs of Hell, but not good enough for the Dutch.

And what would you do to reduce traffic speeds near your house? Extreme guerrilla traffic calming I like the backhoe idea, except I would leave 3-foot strips for bicycles and pedestrians to use.

And those were all the links about bicycles that caught my eye today.

Billed @€0.02, Opus

Stocking up while we can on Mule Day, and the Feed

I just got back from the grocery run, and as we had the son and his car we left the cargo bike in the garage and grabbed the coupons to stock up on certain things. One thing I stocked up on was a screaming deal on Gatorade quarts that was lower than the store brand sports drink with the coupon. Another thing was a screaming deal on tortilla chips so I got a couple pounds of those, too. Add produce deals that we took advantage of to the extent that we could consume the produce faster than it would spoil. Basically we had the back of my son’s car packed with food items and the pantry and freezer are likewise packed now that we got all the stuff home and put away. About the only thing we didn’t stock up on was Ramen. I still get that mostly when we do a FSM service at church and hand out packages of the dime a piece cheapy stuff. That quarter a package stuff is just sooo extravagant for our tastes. 😛

Again today we had very few actual wrecks in the Feed and lots of infrastructure and human interest stuff. After years of reading about dismembered bodies and worse, I kinda like infrastructure that doesn’t get people killed every day. So, let’s get to it.

The only real wreck to report is from South Africa. Cyclist killed in Carletonville Not much there only a description of a SWCC wreck with only half an intersection given.

A trucking company trying to derail a cyclist’s injury suit gets slapped down for failing to act in a timely manner. Suit by gravely injured cyclist against trucking co. remanded to Phila. Common Pleas Court Classic delaying tactic is to move the jurisdiction of a lawsuit at the last moment, only they went a little beyond the last moment on this one.

A lawsuit in Jolly Olde over a killer (almost) pothole. Injured cyclist, 72, to take legal action against Devon County Council after hitting pothole on Exeter road Yep in the UK the government is responsible for maintaining the roads, to the point that if they fail you can sue for damages.

This is kinda crazy and spooky from NYC. 2013’s Cycling Injuries In NYC, Mapped I generally don’t get the injury reports from NYC because there are so many of them, as shown by this map of just last year’s injury wrecks. There are thousands of them, approximately 4000 in fact. This is the corresponding fatality map.

One of the biggest problems with bike lanes in NYC is people using them as parking. Cops Cracking Down On Double Parked Drivers On UWS This helps.

More on Jolly Olde and their bike infrastructure problems. London Will Spend $500 Million To Make Cycling Safer The little I have seen of the proposed “infrastructure” I would describe as a band-aid on a sucking chest wound. Still prioritizing motor vehicle traffic over bicycle safety, only not as bad as before. Which is hardly what could be considered a ringing endorsement.

On the other hand, bike infrastructure I would literally kill for is dumped as no longer suitable for the purpose in the land where they do these things right, and make them more right later when they know more. This Awesome Protected Bikeway Isn’t Good Enough for the Dutch Yeah, that makes the local “bicycle highway” look like a bad joke.

Speaking of infrastructure, a cheap and easy way to separate bike tracks from motor vehicle traffic while allowing crossing for emergency purposes. Recycled plastic doodads make instant divided bike lanes

Legal infrastructure changes in CA. Legislation: Vulnerable user law for California We passed a near-identical bill in TX, only to see it get vetoed by Gov. Goodhair….

Still in CA. Morning headlines: Another day, another three Times bike opinion pieces — and this time, they get it right

Poking fun at helmet Nazis in the Anglophone countries. When in Rome, or, “Darling! Avert Your Eyes!” The school run at a Dutch middle school causes some people apoplexy, because all those heads arriving via bicycles and not a helmet in sight.

New e-assist bikes are hitting the market. Optibike Launches New E-bike Models

And a place where e-assist bikes will be displayed. Interbike and OR to launch e-bike and outdoor tech media event Compare different models of e-assist on the same course under the same weather? Brilliant! (I’ll have that Guinness now).

Last link, for when you can’t stand to not use something bicycle-related to eat with. Bicycle pizza cutter lets you bring your love of bikes to the table

And that was what got my interest today, with a minimum of dead bodies.

Billed @€0.02, Opus

Ever try to get enthusiastic about a dry hole, and the Feed

OK I opened the Feed folder and there was maybe 2 usable links in there, and I opened one and it had nothing to do with bicycles at all (only a little about motorcycles) and the other one was so ludicrous it just inspired hair pulling rather than anything useful. Even my other sources were not useful today because that one link kept coming up over and over. I think you’ll figure out which one that is.

Up first from OR a right hook wreck slowly winds its way to a final conclusion in the “justice” system. Jury decision expected today in Kathryn Rickson wrongful death lawsuit I read so many of these I forget which one this is, so I don’t remember if this was the right hook by a truck that passed well to the left and cut back suddenly, the right hook where the truck slowed down and moved to the left but didn’t start signalling the turn until the cyclist was already past the back of the trailer, the right hook where the truck stopped and signaled but couldn’t see out the right side because the cab was slightly turned to the right pointing the mirrors at the side of the trailer, or the right hook where the truck was already turning and the cyclist passed on the right because they couldn’t see the turn signals for all the dirt on them. More Trucking co. settles in cyclist wrongful death lawsuit

First link from BikingInLA today is mostly politics. Your morning links: Neighborhood Council elections, and somewhat questionable bike editorials And also stuff about the local LA media being unable to see things from outside a car or other motor vehicle.

Good advice for finding a lawyer, after a motor vehicle finds you… The Bike Accident Lawyer You Choose Can Make Or Break Your Case

And I think I saw this wreck earlier or a very similar one. LA rider killed in solo fall earlier this month; 5th cycling fatality in Los Angeles already this year I may be paranoid but I always say unless someone sees the cyclist wreck without assistance assume a motor vehicle was involved. By far the most dangerous thing on the roads is the motor vehicle.

One of the few actual wrecks in today’s links is this one from Sweden. Cops finger wild boar in cyclist’s mystery death And actually the blame should be on the man’s dog that dragged him down a mountainside when the dog detected a boar nearby and took off in pursuit while tied to the bicycle’s handlebars.

A folding e-scooter based on bike parts that might be a future part of transportation. URB-E: The world’s most compact e-vehicle. I don’t see it as a short-term possibility, but with a little changing of local regulations in certain areas(>cough<NYC>cough<) I think it might be a long-term solution to bad land use planning and poor mass transit.

Is the future of bicycle infrastructure literally over our heads? Are elevated bicycle highways the future of transportation?

Planning agencies are starting to learn that using peak growth figures from more than 20 years ago to plan for future growth is kinda stupid. As Driving Continues to Stagnate, Some States Finally Start to Adjust Now if we could get NCTCOG on the same page instead of lost in the ’70s…

Some places (not in the US) are planning for cargo bikes much like US cities planned for SUVs. Cargo Bike Parking Design – The Copenhagenize Bar by Cyclehoop

Last link is from PA and is about teaching women the basics of bike maintenance and repair so they don’t get stuck someplace bad. Pink Mechanic

And those were all the links that gave me fits and had some relation to bicycles, no matter how loosely.

Billed @€0.02, Opus

Interesting trip to the chiropractor, and the Feed

Well, it’s 2100 and I’m just starting the post because I spent all day going to the chiropractor. The good news first, they are gradually getting my spine back in line after the wreck and I’m having fewer backaches and they are less intense than they used to be (the first year after the wreck they could get so bad I would fall down from the pain, and I have pulled my own teeth without anesthetic). Now I sometimes have to take a little lie down and get my back straight in a fore-aft axis, but it’s something I do because it makes things hurt less later, not because it hurts too much to continue now. I have the lifted shoes and slippers (making the lifted slipper made a huge difference in my pain level) and my physique is getting less lop-sided as my spine gets straight.

Now the bad news, the lipoma on the back of my neck has gotten so big that it interferes with my range of motion both in twisting motions and in being able to tilt my head back. Right now I can only get a few degrees tilted back before the back of my skull hits the lipoma and can’t go any further. The intern told me the lipoma looks bigger to her than it did 2 weeks ago so there is something for concern there but it is far from time to panic. I just have to remember to ask the lab rat keeper about it the next time I see him which will be the 2nd week in May.

Up first was a difficult decision tonight, but I think the “winner” is this link. Dear Urban Diplomat: my cyclist husband risks his life by purposely ramming into cars. How do I get him to stop? Can you say “Male-derived bovine excrement”? Having survived getting hit 6 times since 2001 I can say I studiously avoid contact with motor vehicles at nearly all costs (aside from actually getting off the roads because then the terrorists win). Seriously did nobody fact check this before publishing? Because a guy on a bicycle hitting motor vehicles repeatedly is going to get hurt on a regular basis, not to mention getting charged with vandalism.

I think I posted a different link to this yesterday, but the guy that got hit and then dumped behind a dumpster in FL last year has died. Cyclist Dies Two Months Following Hit & Run This just changed from assault to murder, the intent can be proved by the dumping of the body rather than calling 911. Give him the bumper! Death by bumper! (apparently this is the only “acceptable” way to kill people in the US nowadays).

Updates on an OH hit-and-run. Hit and run victim identified as Cincinnati Country Day teacher and Suspected drunk driver in court for killing bicycle rider I could not believe the number of DUI this man had been convicted of, which just goes to show that there should never be a time span limitation to revoke a license for multiple DUI. This driver just kept doing it and avoiding getting caught until he finally killed someone. Another candidate for the bumper.

More death in the new #2 killer of cyclists in the US, FL. One killed in cyclist accident on Ben Hill Griffin Parkway The narrative on this wreck was very confused with no mention of which way either vehicle was going prior to the wreck, only that the weapon vehicle crossed the entire highway and hit a light pole in the median depositing the body of he cyclist there. I think there might have been an intersection that figured into the wreck somehow, but as near as I can figure from the narrative the cyclist was struck near the shoulder as the driver of the weapon vehicle was driving on a different road then crossed the two lanes on the east side of the road and ended up on the shoulder of the west side of the highway. Or hit on the shoulder went across the highway to the median then returned to the shoulder leaving the body of the cyclist in the median.

Ted Rogers has a frightening but safe encounter in LA. Today’s post, in which I frighten a distracted driver, and serve up some hearty breakfast links I didn’t say who got frightened, did I?

A little lifestyle in CA. Tour de Ed: Bike ride Sunday from Chico to Durham raises fund for injured cyclists and safety education Go Ed! Where he’s riding there are no cars or traffic signals and the pedestrians all have overpasses. And probably wings.

Infrastructure! news from NYC. NYPD: 1,191 Pedestrians and Cyclists Injured, 13 Killed in Traffic in January NYC come for the sidewalk hot dog vendors, stay for the vehicular murder and mayhem. Or go home in a box, they’re easy, y’know?

And I feel the need to Google the recipe for a drink called “fudge bomb”. Crankier At this point I “know” that it is probably alcoholic, contains possibly lethal amounts of chocolate, and is very sweet. Possibly based on Jaegermeister. Chocolate and cinnamon, reminds me of my mother’s fudge recipe…

And those are all the links that gave me fits tonight…

Billed @€0.02, Opus

Computer is working in fits and spurts, and the Feed

The meaning behind the headline today is quite simple: I have so many links on the Feed window that my computer is running out of resources to deal with them all (damn Flash ads). I have run into this problem before but not with a computer this new (less than a year) or this resource intensive (2 GB memory and 320 GB storage with more than 250 GB of the storage empty). It’s annoying that I can’t have as many open tabs on this computer as I used to have on a P III with only 1 GB of memory and 10 GB of storage with most of that used. I mean, doesn’t anyone at Google know how to implement virtual memory any more? Because I checked and there’s not even a spot in the resources allocation chart for virtual memory. I know it’s slower than actual RAM, but it beats the Hell out of a system that crashes when you try to open too many tabs and is physically maxed out for RAM. Of course if news sites would quit putting ads with flash video and a flash banner ad on the same pages as the news is loading in a flash video that would help a whole bunch, too. (Can you tell I don’t particularly like Flash?)

Up first I’m going with a whole group of idiot cyclists in UT. Bicyclist Seriously Injured after Eight Attempt to Illegally Bicycle Through Zion Tunnel and Cyclist hurt in dark Zion National Park tunnel The stupid part was not that they were cycling illegally in the tunnel, I’m of the opinion that since you can’t get from one side of the park to the other without traversing the tunnel it can’t be illegal. No what was stupid is they rode into the pitch black tunnel on mountain bikes that did not have any headlights or taillights to light their way so they didn’t run into the sides of the tunnel and so that drivers could see them before they ran up on them. Also, since the tunnel has curves that block the view of drivers the speed limit really should be reduced to maybe 15 MPH to keep people from getting run over should they break down in the tunnel. Not hitting cyclists would just be a bonus.

A good story from PA. Cyclist thought to be hurt on Ohio River Boulevard turns out to be OK The cyclist appears to have slid on bad pavement conditions just as the truck passed him and was unaware of the furor he started by falling. Still it was a good thing that LEO took the incident seriously because there are documented cases of this happening and people getting killed.

And a bad story from MI. GRPD: Cyclist injured in hit-and-run crash Apparently an intersection wreck, so I suppose intersection protocols might have been useful, but getting the infrastructure right would prevent the wreck.

Update on a CO hit-and-run that we have been covering since a day after it happened. Woman charged in fatal hit-and-run to appear in court March 28

Still in CO someone takes a less nuanced method of killing a cyclist. Police Investigating Shooting That Injured Cyclist If Leno was still on this would make the “Stupid Criminals” feature. They were in the perfect weapon to kill the cyclist without any repercussions and then they stuck a shotgun out the window…

An OH family is much more forgiving than I would be. Family of cyclist killed in traffic collision seeks lesser charge for driver The cyclist was killed in a left cross wreck because the driver “failed to see” the cyclist before turning left. Unless substantial penalties are held against this driver I don’t see how people are ever going to “learn to see” cyclists.

But in the same state as the very forgiving family, another family has to deal with a death by motor vehicle. Person killed in Union Township hit-and-run crash Hit from behind and the driver abandoned the weapon vehicle a few miles from the crime scene. Either the driver had a confederate in the crime or lives somewhere near where the vehicle was abandoned, if the first there is a possibility (albeit a very remote one) that this was a deliberate killing. I mean who plans on switching vehicles after a wreck when they don’t plan on having the wreck in the first place? The driver’s U-turn after the wreck is also suspicious. Anyway, hit-from-behind protocols to avoid or to mitigate the damages, and get the infrastructure right to prevent.

Another hit-and-run in NY. Police: Bicyclist seriously injured in hit-and-run on South Salina Street in Syracuse Intersection wreck with may have been an oblivious or otherwise distracted driver from the narrative so the protocols are mooted, but getting the infrastructure right is almost guaranteed to prevent a similar wreck by segregating the cyclist from motor vehicles in both time and space.

A GA cyclist is killed by a blind driver and the cyclist gets blamed for it. Teen cyclist hit and killed by car in Athens More LEO who seem unaware of the Basic Speed Law. Lights and/or reflectors might have helped, but if the driver was paying that little attention to the road it is entirely likely that the cyclist could have been lit up like a Christmas tree and the driver still would have hit him. Hit-from-behind protocols to avoid or to mitigate the damages, and get the infrastructure right to prevent.

A CA teen may have been riding a bike when he was hit, but LEO are no longer saying that. Teenager hit by car, badly injured As of this posting LEO are only saying the driver was in a car going south, the victim’s mode of transit has been purged from the report. Gigi saw it before I did and it was edited after she read it.

Still in CA they still haven’t finished investigating a dead cyclist’s wreck. Investigation continues in crash that killed Aptos cyclist I think the LEO heading this case does not believe the SWSS explanation. I think there also may be some information from sources outside the weapon vehicle that contradict the driver’s statement.

Also from CA is this from BikingInLA. The Times winds down their look at biking in the City of Angels, and the day’s best bike links I really like the comments to the LA Times link, so much angst from the poor, put-upon drivers who might have to change lanes to pass a cyclist, or slow down for a few seconds.

LEO in far West Canuckistan are looking for a hit-and-run driver. Victoria police looking for car after cyclist injured in hit-and-run The cyclist appears to have been hit from behind, so protocols to avoid and get the infrastructure right to prevent. And good LEO to enforce the safety of that infrastructure from entitled drivers who can’t stand to share an inch of pavement with a cyclist.

And last link is Infrastructure! news from Jolly Olde. Croydon council urged to make borough safer for cyclists Again, trying to pry scant inches from the drivers to give space to cyclists and pedestrians.

Those are all the links about bicycles that gave me fits today.

Billed @€0.02, Opus

I’m ALIVE! and Wreck-Free Sunday

The headline refers to the difficulty I had in learning to pilot the new bike. The bed does not have a lot of clearance so lean angles for cornering are not high and the steering does not have a lot of travel, especially to the left so catching the bike with steering is not easy. Then there was the whole “bending too far over to stay on the seat” business that had to be adjusted out. That required reversing the stem to reduce the reach in the horizontal plane, then raising it to the minimum insertion point to get the handlebars up where my knees didn’t hit them. Then I could ride the bike a little, but still not very well. The combination made for evil low-speed handling until I could get ahead of the curve, literally. The builders and I are working to get rid of the steering lock issue and to retrofit it to the other Clydes already on the road (both of them). It appears that the other Clyde on the road is not having these issues because it has a fairly powerful throttle-demand front hub motor assist to go with the pedal power applied to the rear wheel. This gets it out of the low-speed regime in a big hurry, maybe fast enough that the owner never noticed how bad the low-speed handling really was.

One reason the new bike is important is transitioning the campgrounds at the Council of Magickal Arts from golf carts to cargo bikes as the golf carts age out. They were used and not a lot of life left in them when the campgrounds were first built back around the turn of the century but we are coming up on the middle of the second decade of the century and those used carts are spending as much time getting repaired as they are running people and cargo around the festival site. Also the carts are not as aligned with the core values of the organization Council of Magickal Arts as using bicycles to move things around. Eventually they plan on moving to something else for moving stuff and the infirm around, my vision is cargo bikes and pedicabs with a large number of people using powering the units as their community service to help keep the festivals running smoothly.

But moving on from the new bike, today is the opening race of the NASCAR Sprint Cup season. As I type this the Daytona 500 is under a rain delay (again), so they are showing last year’s race on the station that is supposed to be carrying today’s race. The racing was good until the rains came, but now they are under a tornado warning and everybody is under the stands where it is somewhat safe until the weather blows over. And now they are saying there is about 10 minutes until coverage resumes. And it resumed watching the track driers out drying the track for about 20 minutes then went back to last year’s race replay. It looks like another 90 minutes until they get the track dry.

So, while I wait for the track to dry I’m going to muse about the modified BMX bike I’m working on for someone to ride during the festival this Spring. The idea is a crank forward bike that the rider can reach the ground to dab when things get yucky (technical term) while still having the crank far enough away from the seat that the rider gets full leg extension. I have a batch of square tubing to use to make the seat tube, and I’m going back to the metal supplier to get the right size to make the seat post. I’m even going to give my “secret” jig settings for building this bike from the modified BMX frame. The wheelbase is 42″, the bottom bracket is 19″ from the front axle and 3″ (center, 1 ¹⁵/₁₆” edge) above the axle, and a 45° seat tube angle. I’m preserving the head tube angle of the donor BMX bike to match the fork on the hardtail version, but the full suspension version will have a slack 70° headtube to go with the suspension fork I have. The real work will be the swingarm mounting points and shock mount points. Then I have to work the seat tube around those mounting points. For that bike about the only parts that will survive from the donor bike will be the down tube and the head tube.

OK they are saying that it will still be at least 60 minutes before the race resumes, so I’m going to stop trying to live blog the race and post the blog.

PSA, Opus

I’ll be spending my day off practicing riding my new bike, and the Feed

OK I have 8 hours with nothing scheduled to be done, nowhere to go and nothing to be done. I’m going to take my bike over to the cul-de-sac in front of my house and learn to get this thing rolling and riding in a straight line without having to dab every 5 feet so I can get the seat back up to a height that won’t hurt my knees when I pedal. I just have to get good enough to ride the bike the one mile each way to the grocery store right now, I can work on maintaining pace later. Just that one mile to and one mile from the store is all I need right now. Also still working on the other bike, the modified BMX frame that has been “stretched” for adult riding with the crank forward. I need to get material to use as the seat post on this bike as the stuff I was sold will not come close to meeting the need. Dangit!

Another blind driver hits a cyclist in VA. Good Samaritans Lift SUV off of Cyclist Cyclist on the through street hit by a driver pulling away from a stop sign when “blinded” by the sun. This is an intersection wreck but the geometry moots using the protocols as the driver did not start moving until after the cyclist crossed in front of her but before clearing the vehicle. Seriously, if you can’t see don’t just plow ahead blindly in the hope that nothing is in front of you. Shield your eyes against the sun with your hand or something. The wreck was in a location that would be shared space at 12 MPH in the Dutch model so only minor physical infrastructure changes could be made. The biggest change under the Dutch model would be strict liability and the fact that the cyclist was already in front of the weapon vehicle would make this her fault anyway.

Next state over and not too far as the crow flies from that wreck we get another very similar wreck in MD. Cyclist Hit By Pickup Truck, Dragged Several Feet Anther intersection wreck with the cyclist already in front of the weapon vehicle and riding with the right of way when hit. The cyclist was on the through street

Good news in a CA wreck, the driver is in jail. Driver involved in Huntington Beach hit-and-run bicycle death in custody And they got him in time to test him for DUI and make the charges stick!

Still in CA an update on the Milton Olin wreck. Case involving cyclist death being turned over to D.A. I hope they charge this guy with something for leaving his lane and hitting a cyclist in the bike lane. I also hope they charge the guy that designed the bike lane with something also, because this was a highly-predictable event with only a stripe of paint separating the bike lane from 50-60 MPH traffic.

And STILL in CA. Another bike victim In San Bernardino; cyclist seriously injured in Chula Vista; and charges in October OC hit-and-run

Why didn’t I see this one earlier? Former sheriff employee killed in H.B. bicycle crash I remember now, the link was originally behind a paywall. Another cyclist hit by a drunk driving in the bike lane, which is pretty much a definition of “unavoidable”. If the drunk could pull into the bike lane that easy at a speed high enough to rip the tire from the rim after hitting the cyclist, then the infrastructure is sub-standard.

Aftermath to a bike/ped wreck as the cyclist is tried in absentia. Cyclist ordered to pay $226,000 to man he rode into on Burnaby trail “B.C. Supreme Court Justice Lauri Ann Fenlon found Ritchie, who did not appear in court for the two-day trial, to be negligent in the May 2007 accident.”

Lifestyle for a downed cyclist in the Windy City. Cyclist Killed by Alleged Drunken Driver to be Honored at Benefit Saturday I’m still trying to figure out the “alleged” part in this headline. He was sloshed when they pulled him from the weapon vehicle after it crashed into an immovable object after hitting the cyclist, so there’s no “alleged” about it, except that he hasn’t been found guilty in a court of law yet.

And those are all the links that gave me fits, or not, about bicycles today.

Billed @€0.02, Opus

Another Mule Day, and the Feed

Well I still haven’t gotten the hang of riding the new bike, so still getting the ride from the son from the store with the groceries today. The new bike steers oddly, to be mild about it. Turning left is limited by the tire hitting the tie rod connecting the remote steering to the fork, turning right is limited by the tie rod and steering arm on the fork approaching a straight line and not having any lever arm, but this is at a much higher steering angle than the left turn. I’m still constantly dabbing when trying to make a turn in less than the full width of the street, and that ain’t good. This is not a crank forward bike and in order to be able to reach the ground to dab without grounding the box I have to ride with the seat too low for my knees. This is what they call “adaption” to the bike, but I don’t know if I can do it at my age. I have been riding recumbents and crank forward bikes since I got back on a bike after the wreck, except for a few times to test a repair job and that one time to just see if I still could right after the wreck, and I have gotten used to putting my feet forward from the seat to find pedals.

Up first in this infrastructure-heavy post is another drunk hitting another cyclist from behind in a bike lane. Another drunken OC driver, another fatal hit-and-run; arraignment tomorrow in death of Pasadena cyclist As much as I hate drunk drivers, there is something else wrong here as well. Look at the speed limit of the street where this happened, and see the narrow bike lane adjacent to the street. Also witness the curb on the outside of the bike lane. This “design” would get the designer tossed in jail if not an insane asylum in the Netherlands, but in the US this is considered “good” bicycle infrastructure, even when it puts cyclists at risk from drunk or distracted drivers. The death rate for cyclists and pedestrians hit at this speed is roughly 85%.

From the former most deadliest and new #2 killer of cyclists we get a hit-from-behind wreck. Driver, bicyclist both cited after North Naples crash Another hit-from-behind in the bike lane by a person who legally should not have been driving. The cyclist’s lack of rear lighting contributed as did the lack of physical segregation from motor vehicle traffic by the infrastructure. Another bike lane painted on the wrong side of the curb on a 45 MPH speed limit highway.

A cyclist in far West Canuckistan is left crossed. Cyclist injured in vehicle-bike collision on Quadra Intersection wreck, protocols to avoid, get the infrastructure RIGHT to prevent.

A UK wreck with slightly more information than usual. Family loses a loving father This appears to have been a hit-from-behind wreck partially caused by bad infrastructure design. I suggest not riding in the UK to avoid. If that is impossible because you live there then the normal hit-from-behind protocols modified to fit riding on the wrong side of the road.

Another link to that $DEITY-awful sentence for running a cyclist over from behind and not budging an inch from his lane. Argos lorry driver who killed Wearside cyclist walks free

Not even idyllic Enn Zed is immune from the dreaded hit-and-run zombie. Cyclist killed in hit-and-run Near as I can tell this is another hit-from-behind wreck, protocols to avoid and infrastructure to prevent. Heavy emphasis on the part LEO has to play in the infrastructure portion of this fix.

Infrastructure! news from SC. Ashley River bridge biking path hits skid “Oh, heavens we could never give up a single lane of pavement from our holy death machines!” “We can’t ride bicycles we’re ‘Mericans. And too fat.”

Portland sends a missive in the infrastructure debate. Portland designer/planner unveils ‘protected intersections for bicyclists’ This design is actually a couple of generations behind the current standards in the Netherlands. That makes it 30 years ahead of anything in the US. 😛

And West Canuckistan sees a problem that killed a cyclist and tries to fix it. Stanley Park causeway bike lane survey underway This was the area where a cyclist was thought to have been pushed off the shared path in front of a bus last year.

UK infrastructure is death-driven. Death of cyclist sparks calls to make ‘lethal’ Watlington Road near Garsington safer

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

Billed @€0.02, Opus

Well, moving on, and the Feed

I got a little mushy yesterday about Mrs. the Poet. If you were married to her for 36 years you would get mushy, too. But, today is another day and I have other challenges to meet. Like getting my new bike home from the builder’s shop when my legs won’t get it back and it won’t fit on the bus or train. That makes “borrowing” a truck the only alternative. I’m going to have to take a break in the middle of composing the post again to go get the bike today. Also trying to deal with the emotions of reading about people getting killed and maimed several times a day is wearing, but not as bad since I stopped reading the Feed over the weekend. It’s not the size of the dose that matters, but the frequency I get it. Taking a 2 day break lets me recharge enough to deal with it again without the flashbacks getting too intense. It doesn’t seem to have any effect on the random nerve glitches from the physical damage I took all those years ago. And it’s also good that I don’t have any use for alcohol as a drug because I would be constantly drunk to “forget” if booze did any good at that. Akk! Another run-on sentence. I must remember that commas are not periods, and that punctuation is my friend in understandable writing. And Squirrel!

Meanwhile my new bike is posing for commercials…

The copy for the ad says “The one in the back makes you fat and runs on money, the one in the front runs on fat and makes you money.”

Down the road a bit from WoaB World HQ in the Beautiful Suburbs of Hell, LEO are still actively searching for a hit-and-run driver. Search continues for Cedar Park hit-and-run driver They think the driver came back to steal the bike and pick up evidence, but he missed a bunch in the dark. He didn’t miss stealing the bike. I hope there is a special cell for this guy in the jail, that gets blisteringly hot in the summer and freezing cold in the winter with no bedding, just let him sleep in the floor. And then make him watch as his car is crushed and recycled into bicycles so he will have some transportation after he gets out of prison. See, I can be nice! I actually want this spawn of Satan to have a healthy way to get around after he has served his sentence.

A little further away some people are beating up on people riding bikes, apparently because they can. NOPD seeks bicycle beaters Seriously, there’s no rhyme nor reason other than they can get to the victims and beat them up. What can you do to protect yourself against that kind of animal?

From CA LAPD seriously drops the ball on a cyclist assaulted in a road rage case. No justice for a victim of road rage; hit-and-run victims urged join Damien Kevitt at Critical Mass next week They have pictures of the car and plate, the crushed bicycle and pictures of the tire tracks over the cyclist’s legs, what more do they need? A signed confession from the driver?

An incident that echoes back to the assaults in N’awlins. Man attacks cyclist for (lawfully) riding up Denny Way sidewalk Seriously, can’t ride in the street, you get assaulted, can’t ride on the sidewalk, you get assaulted, still get assaulted when you ride in the bike lane…

Another article about the idiot politician telling people not to ride bicycles or motorcycles in his city because drivers can’t read signs and can’t drive. “No One Who Lives in Our Community Should Ever Ride a Bike” – American Politician I want the torch and pitchfork concession when the angry mob marches on his house. I think someone else already has the tumbrel and guillotine concession.

Infrastructure! news from L.A. CA. Bike Friendly Business District Pedals for Eagle Rock

And at least one bikey person got ground down by the lack of decent bike infrastructure in L.A. The Problems With Riding A Bicycle In Los Angeles The Dutch standard is from 8 YO to 80, inclusive of all ages in between. That’s not the L.A. standard.

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

Billed @€0.02, Opus

Wow! 36 years and no corpses, and the Feed

I’m sure that headline has more than a few of you scratching heads, maybe even your own. Well let me fill you in on some back story. Back before I was Opus the Poet, or any kind of poet (I was just starting to write fiction, poorly) I met this girl, and we got along pretty well and liked each other in a physical way. Since I was under 21 and living in Utah we did not have access to OTC BC. She could have gotten the pill, but since she was a Good Catholic girl she decided that we would use the rhythm method as her church instructed (nevermind the premarital aspect of the thing). Long story short her sense of rhythm was terrible and she skipped a beat, for 9 months. When she failed to show for our weekly date on Steak Night at the dorms I was worried about her, and got a call telling me I was a Daddy to explain why she missed our date. Then I finally got her to accept my proposal when I proposed to her in her hospital room where she was recovering from having the baby at home, in the middle of the night. Time skip 10 days later and we are getting hitched after finding someone to babysit. That was 36 years ago today. Everyone said it wouldn’t last, which is why I put in the “no corpses” bit in the headline. We haven’t killed each other yet, and probably won’t any time soon. We are going out for dinner tonight. I have a coupon for 2 free tacos and a $15 gift card for Jack in the Box, it’s so romantic… 😉

Up first an AZ hit-and-run driver is found and… let go? WTF! Hit and Run Crash Driver Found Noo, that is just so WORNG! It should have said something like “hit-and-run driver found and shot dead trying to escape” or “hit-and-run driver held without bail”. This was literally a drive-through murder, and they let the guy go? If anything ever said anything about the opinions of Yuma AZ LEO towards cyclists, this does. The guy ran once already, why wasn’t he declared a flight risk and held?

From the new #2 killer of cyclists comes a left cross wreck report. Cyclist seriously injured in collision with SUV on Siesta Intersection wreck, protocols to avoid or reduce damages, infrastructure to prevent, death to drivers who “can’t see” and hit cyclists… And I’m in a really bad mood today. I need to step away and get it together and get ready for my date tonight…

Some UK judges haven’t gotten the memo about blind drivers killing cyclists. Crook delivery driver who killed Cleadon cyclist on A66 near Stockton walks free from court The driver admits he wasn’t watching where he was going nor controlling his speed to conform to conditions, and killed a man because of that and still gets to go home to his family? TANJ!

A cyclist riding for a UK team goes down after hitting train tracks and gets run over by a bus. Belgian cyclist Kristof Goddaert killed after being involved in training accident No matter how good a rider you are you can still get bitten by train tracks, even without the train. Slow down and ride as perpendicular as possible across the tracks, both to the world and perpendicular to the direction of the tracks.

Why is this even an issue? Residents, cyclists support petition to save the Wellfleet “ghost bike” memorial As I posted to the article and the petition linked in the article ghost bikes are a constant reminder that poor infrastructure killed a person. As I have stated many times in this blog, almost every bike wreck could be prevented with good infrastructure. Deaths are expensive, and should be factored into the costs of bad infrastructure along with people suffering from health problems caused by sitting in cars all day long when most trips could be made by bike.

I’m back from my date and buying something Mrs. the Poet has been nagging me for since mid-November, a new broom and mop. We stopped at the Dollar Store and picked it up for her.

I’m wondering how much of this was hallucination and how much was “something” in the desert. After Nine-Hour Desert Bike Ride, A Guy Sees a Lizard Man Ordinarily I would just pass this off as an exhausted hallucination, but this is very similar to other sightings over the years.

Bicycle shows are moving up in the world. The only bicycle show to come second to Beyoncé? Most shows are lucky to get a mention in local press, much less be recommended right below a Beyoncé show.

Another e-assist bike hits the market with more attention to style than being a good bike. What Happens When Charm of Old School Design Meets High Tech Gizmos? Meet at Ariel Rider Ebikes! I admit they are good-looking bikes with good designs hiding the battery in the “gas tank” but I would be really interested in seeing their watts/mile figures on a course with lots of rolling hills that were just long enough that you couldn’t use momentum to get over them with minimal pedaling.

Industry news in e-assist bikes as German e-assist leader Bosch makes moves on the US market. New Sales Manager for Bosch eBike Systems These are bottom bracket systems that have to be built into the frame at manufacture, not added aftermarket.

Another gadget that will cost lots of money but not make much difference without a major change in laws and attitudes. This little green laser could save bicyclists’ lives As was pointed out in the article comments section unless drivers are actually looking for the green glow going by they aren’t going to see it on the ground in front of them, particularly if it’s hidden behind the front of the car.

An article that helps people deal with the built infrastructure, a more fleshed out version of the protocols to avoid wrecks. Guest post: Taking the lane — a CyclingSavvy instructor explains her objection to bike lanes The problem is there are very few “good” bike lanes in the US, most are somewhere between “bad” and “what homicidal idiot designed this monstrosity?”

Last link is a variation n an old way to steal a bike right under the noses of LEO. Bicycle is stolen from Nuneaton Railway Station in a ‘cruel but clever con’

And those are the links that gave me fits or not today… I hope you enjoyed them.

Billed @€0.02, Opus