Still battling plant sex, and the Feed

I could almost see this morning when I woke up, and was able to get around the house without bumping in to things after I took a pill. Then this afternoon I bought Mrs. the Poet a monthly bus pass riding my bike to get to the store, and it was an unnerving trip. I still haven’t made the raised stem so that I can sit up straight and see forward without having to crane my neck, so I can’t wear my helmet. That means I don’t have any rear view mirrors and my neck issues extend to the point I can’t turn my head far enough to see behind me without them. So completely blind with only my ears to supplement my SA in a 180° arc, that’s what I call nervous as a long-tailed cat in a room full of grannies in rocking chairs.

Update on the AL wreck I reported on earlier with only the information that the cyclist “hit the car”. “Facebook post from a friend of the cyclist in Birmingham, AL:

From Chris Shelton: Hi all, I wanted to let the group be aware that Brian Toone ran into a car that pulled out in front of him going down one of the steepest grades in Birmingham this afternoon. He has concussion with no memory of accident I am told and many fractures to his jaw and of course lacerations etc, broken shoulder blade on right side, and swollen left leg. Going to feel it tomorrow, so be thinking about him and we wish all the best and speedy recovery.” Ouch. I am sure they are going to find some way of blaming the cyclist for this wreck.

Another wreck where the cyclist was cut off by someone pulling out directly in front of him, this time in GA. Cyclist injured in Athens wreck Again, there ain’t much you can do about these except go limp to reduce joint and muscle trauma. That is exactly opposite of most people’s panic reactions, so good luck with that. Also get the infrastructure “up to Dutch” to prevent, because that’s something else the Dutch have solved with their infrastructure, driveways across bike lanes/paths. I spent some time searching David Hembrow’s site but that article seems to have been removed or made otherwise unsearchable, but take my word for it there was a very interesting article on driveways across bike paths and how the Dutch deal with them there once upon a time.

First link from NY. Cops: Vehicle hits bicyclist on Hempstead Tpke. Intersection wreck with absolutely zero information. Getting the infrastructure right will prevent another wreck by keeping the bike and the car separated in time and space.

Second NY link. Man arrested for hit-and-run in Clarkstown Intersection wreck again with zero further information. Once again this wreck would never have happened with infrastructure “up to Dutch”.

Ted has a fatal wreck. Update: Dana Point bike rider killed in suspected DUI collision Drunk drivers that kill need to spend time in prison, or be killed. And their cars need to be crushed and recycled.

A gaggle of links to the Montreal cyclist killed in an underpass. Cyclist on Bixi killed by truck on St. Denis St and Gazette Midday: Beaulieu runs for the Bloc; cyclist’s death sparks calls for change also Cyclists demand safety upgrades for ‘tunnels of death’ and this Tributes being organized in the wake of cyclist’s death I think it’s pretty obvious from the videos and the cyclists’ comments that much of the blame is on the infrastructure going from a wide outside lane to two narrow lanes with poor lighting so that drivers don’t have enough time for their eyes to adapt and then they’re back in full daylight with bicycles becoming invisible in the gloom. And to add injury to insult the sidewalks are blocked so that cyclists can’t use them to get away from the dangerous street.

This wreck in Oz is so horrific that it would be an insult to the cyclist to not mention it. Cyclist seriously injured after being hit and trapped under a truck in St Peters The Oz equivalent of a right hook swapped because they still haven’t learned to drive on the right side of the street. A huge part of the problem is placing the cycle lane on the side of the street without any physical barrier to keep trucks from wandering into it nor separate signalization to keep the bikes away from the trucks when the trucks are moving.

A little levity in Our Daily Ted. Morning Links: Turns out most bike riders don’t run red lights after all, and TdF winner LeMond fixes le flat You need to watch both of the flat fixing videos. How to Fix a Flat: with Lance Armstrong

And those were all the links that gave me fits and giggles. Damned few giggles, but more than last time.

Billed @€0.02, Opus