In case you were wondering Francis/es is the name for the new cargo bike, named for Donald O’Connor’s costar in a series of comedy movies in the ’50s. The is/es is because this bike has not expressed an identifiable gender to which the spelling can be corrected for. So until the bike expresses a preference it gets its name spelled is/es. And yes I’m being silly, a bit, but I spend too much time around people who define their gender differently internally than the world had externally to not be sensitive to the same thing with the bike. Just because it has a step-through frame aka “girl’s bike” does not mean the bike is feminine. It might be, but don’t forget that it also has a quarter-ton load capacity, so roughly me and 300 pounds of stuff. That’s not “girly” or “princess” by any stretch of the imagination.
Anyway getting off the name of the bike, I have been adding things that are needed to make the bike useful on a daily basis, like lights and a computer (a rear fender too, but that looks like it’s coming much later). The computer I bought has one major problem, and that’s a mounting kit that lacks reach. Seriously the mounting kit will mount to the left side of the stem and maybe get as far down the fork of a 700c wheel to get to where the spokes cross on a cross-2 lacing pattern. This is not going to work on the new bike, where the cable has to go down the handlebar steer tube, at least a foot and a half if not 2 feet, under the cargo box which is a shade over 2 feet again, back up the frame to the fork steer tube so at least a foot more, then down the fork for another foot of cable. The distance is slightly shorter to the rear wheel, but not by much. Maybe only 4 feet to the rear wheel instead of 6 to the front wheel. The cable on the mounting kit that comes with the computer would make it about halfway down the handlebar steer tube. So either I need to find a rear wheel mounting kit for this computer (Cateye Velo 7) or spend more money on another computer.
Up first is not a bike wreck, but almost was (moped instead of a pedal bike), just a long day’s ride south of WoaB World HQ in the Beautiful Suburbs of Hell. 2 Dead After Suspected Drunk Driver Crashes Into SXSW Crowd [Updated] and Car Crashes Into SXSW Crowd In Austin; 2 Fatalities Reported OK the updated report says one of the deceased was riding a bicycle, so now it is a bike wreck. No earthly clue how to avoid this and the infrastructure was clearly marked as non-car with reflective barriers and everything, so that didn’t help either.
Another DWI brings a rarer than hen’s teeth murder charge in NYC. Murder Charge For Suspected DWI Driver Who Killed M14 Bus Driver
Bike on bike insanity in CA. Seriously, don’t be a two-wheeled Jerry Browning jerk, and your Morning Links And a lot of decent links to be found there.
Crazy drivers driving crazy in Bermuda. These drivers don’t care about life
First of several infrastructure links from CA, is the SF transportation department spending more money on office supplies than bicycle infrastructure? Is the MTA Spending More on Post-Its Than Bike Projects?
A problem that is especially bad for cyclists but crosses all modes of road users gets significant attention in CA. Bill Suspending Hit-and-Run Drivers’ Licenses Passes Assembly Committee Left off that headline is the word “unanimously”. As I wrote, everybody is a potential victim of a hit-and-run driver.
Navigating the legal infrastructure in OR for recovering your losses when your bike is damaged or totaled, in two parts. Get legal with Ray Thomas: How to fight for your property damage claim (Part 1) and Get legal with Ray Thomas: How to fight for your property damage claim (Part 2)
Another “fun” time in OR. Bicycle that tumbled off car and fell onto Interstate 5 spurs $49,000 suit That settles it, next time I put my bike on a bike rack I’m using extra tiedowns.
A national Infrastructure! story. State DOTs Let Roads Fall Apart While Splurging on Highway Expansion You can’t have any more roads until you take care of the ones you already have…
More infrastructure from NYC in this last link. Hoylman: State could be roadblock to safer streets The Lege won’t allow automated camera enforcement, and there just aren’t enough cops to protect the streets without interfering with the important job of doing stop and frisk on brown people… 😛
And those are the links I found today that gave me fits, that were transportation related. Transportation safety is not a bicycles-vs-cars thing, it’s a human rights thing, the right to travel freely and safely.
Billed @€0.02, Opus
Witch on a Bicycle 