Back in the saddle, and the Feed

That’s a figurative saddle, not a bike saddle. Not much bike riding going on in this burg. I mean sure it’s physically small and flat, but there is also not a whole heck of a lot here. You literally have one grocery store, one coffeehouse, one gas station/C-store, but TWO restaurants. And better bring a credit card or lots of cash at the restaurants because neither one is cheap. I haven’t been by the coffeehouse when they are open so I don’t know what their prices look like, but the C-store is typical NY prices (high).

Up first is the story with the most links, a 13 YO killed in a practice ride wreck. Teen cyclist killed while riding in Story County and Ames student killed in bicycle and SUV collision also 13-YEAR OLD TIMOTHY JENKS, MEMBER OF AMES CYCLONES AQUATIC CLUB, KILLED IN BICYCLING COLLISION As I post this all the reports are consistent that the cyclist touched wheels and lost control while riding a double paceline just as the weapon vehicle was passing the peloton. If only there was a safe place for young cyclists to learn the art of riding in pacelines without the danger of getting run over by a light armored vehicle if you make a mistake. Or IOW this is mostly an infrastructure problem, not a cyclist or motorist problem.

Next up sorta close to where I am now, with two links. Police identify cyclist who was injured in Syracuse crash and Cyclist injured in downtown Syracuse crash remains in critical condition OK the way this reads now the driver of the truck just pulled away from the construction site while the cyclist was crossing legally in front of him, destroying the tricycle and nearly the cyclist riding it. The truck and truck driver were both undamaged [sarcasm]thank [$DEITY][/sarcasm]. This is mostly an infrastructure wreck, as the cyclist at this point appears to have been in the intersection legally, not violating any traffic controls and the truck driver just could not see him there under the nose of the truck when he pulled into the intersection. Intersection protocols generally only work when you aren’t getting hit from the side by the front of the vehicle.

Another train v cyclist wreck. Cyclist injured after running into MAX train Another cyclist hits the side of the train, so it’s not like he didn’t see it. Perhaps another brake failure? Otherwise the usual methods for avoiding getting hit by trains apply.

Possible buzz job in CA. Cyclist Injured on Highway 116 near Sebastopol Not a whole lot of information from LEO on this wreck… And since I can’t see any pictures of the wrecked bike I can’t say anything solid from that, either.

Another train v bike wreck in CA this time. Downey bike rider killed in collision with Metro Blue Line Once again, trains are easy to see and hear, particularly the type of trains that hit this cyclist. Other than that I really don’t know how to avoid getting hit with a train. I mean, they are big and colorful and extremely noisy and they can only be found where there are existing train tracks and there are usually crossing guards, or at least warning lights.

A MO cyclist is killed but LEO think they have the killer. Suspect surrenders in hit-and-run death of cyclist in St. Louis Nothing on the mode so no way to say if any of the protocols would have helped or if this was an infrastructure problem, or if the guy was just an idiot that hit a cyclist and left him to die sorta on purpose. And moving to the comments we find that this was the cyclist killed last week by street racers running a 4 way stop at high speed while the cyclist rolled through the stop at a very slow speed.

I am seriously having problems understanding this narrative from the UK. Cyclist injured in tractor overtaking incident Parsing it as best I can the driver was going to pass both the cyclist and the tractor the cyclist was following in a single maneuver, but failed to clear either one before there was oncoming traffic on the other side of the road and pulled back in on top of the cyclist, then left the scene.

Another one of those things you just can’t avoid as a cyclist. Swindon cyclist stabbed to death in ‘vicious’ attack A cyclist-hater (or more than one) waited in the dark on this cycle path to waylay a cyclist. Not known at this time if the attack was on a particular cyclist or if this cyclist was chosen at random.

Now this is just too much. Cyclist Verbally Abused Following Accident You get hit by a car, are not at fault for the wreck and random people feel the need and the right to berate you for causing traffic delays? Where does this fool get off?

Our Daily Ted. Morning Links: Streetsblog scores at the LA press awards; West Hill’s bike shop gutted in weekend fire Ted is much too modest as he contributed to the report that won the award, and you can see his name at the bottom of the list of shared winners.

Infrastructure! news from the most deadliest state in the US to walk or ride a bike. Hit-and-run drivers can no longer slide The law is going into effect finally, that makes hit-and-run functionally equivalent to DUI manslaughter or homicide. So the only thing running does is make LEO look for you, which can cause them to get angry because you made them do actual police work. This is not usually conducive to a calm and peaceful arrest and initial detainment.

Infrastructure from the Great White North. Ottawa is still not safe enough for cyclists Nothing I can add to this.

With statistics like these you would think someone would be on the case to improve conditions. A cyclist hit every 3 days Not as bad as NYC, but still considering the size of the city way higher than it should be.

Sports medicine leads to quicker recovery from motor vehicle wrecks. Geometry helps injured Palmer Township cyclist get back on the road This should be a standard approach, not the exception.

And those were all the fresh links I could find today. Get ’em while they are fresh!

Billed @€0.02, Opus

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What I’m doing on my Summer Vacation on a Wreck-Free Sunday

I’m just east of the Hudson river in a tiny burg called Pine Plains this week and the next two weeks. Tiny and mostly isolated (no cell service on my carrier for miles around the town and dozens of miles east) but they do have the Internet here. There is a Wi-Fi hotspot down the road that operates on a limited schedule, and where I’m staying has ethernet broadband (but only one socket) so I can get Internet here when the owner is not using it or I can make sure I have a full charge on the laptop battery and wander down to the park and get Wi-Fi when it’s on. Later there should be a Sprint Cup race on the tube and then after that we will have a big dinner.

Even though I won’t get any chance to build it I’m still working out ways of building the Sprint T Bucket. I think that is one of the drawbacks to being a follower of Hephaestus: you either build things or you plan to build things and constantly refine your plans until either build it or can’t improve it any further and have to start planning something else. Anywho, I was trying to figure out how to make the car lower to lower the center of gravity so I decided to abandon the triangulated 4-bar to move all the suspension links out from under the passenger compartment. That created a whole other packaging issue in that the front mount for the 4-bar would have to be outside the body instead of under it. Meaning the frame would also have to move outside the body and yet maintain triangulation around the passenger compartment. I figured out 2 ways of doing that. One way would be to use channel and sheet metal to move the frame connection to the lower mount out from the side of the frame under the body to beside the body and then run two diagonals from the rear rollover hoop to the upper side of the front mount for the 4-bar. Triangulation would be maintained but the frame would be slightly heavier. Plan two involves moving the uprights on the front hoop out to match the rear hoop so that most of the actual frame is on the outside of the car like some Supermodified racers. This keeps the weight the same as the triangulated 4-bar and slightly increases the torsional stiffness, which is a desired trait. Esthetically I’m not real “sold” on either idea because I think the suspension links should be completely hidden inside and under the body, but it solves so many other issues that I think I might be able to live with it. For one thing I could mount a small step on the top of the front mount and drastically reduce the step-over height for getting into the car.

Another solution that had occurred to me was to drop one of the top links and go with what is called a 3-link rear suspension because that would get the suspension out from under butts and not require major changes to the external appearance of the car, plus the 3-link is a thoroughly “scienced” design that is well-understood and easily tuned. The downside is when combined with the low ride height and 24″ tall body of the T-Model Ford body there would be no luggage space forward of the rear axle because of the height required to make the rear mount of the upper link work out (the lowest ready-made mount I could find on the Internets yesterday was just over 9″ above axle centerline, with most being between 11″ and 14″). So that solution was discarded because I have to be able to carry things in the trunk and the trunk space would essentially end at the back side of the rear axle, leaving only whatever space was left over the safety fuel cell behind the axle.

Getting away from the triangulated 4-bar caused a minor secondary issue of locating the rear axle laterally as the triangulated lower links performed that function and defined the rear roll center at the intersection of the extension of the links, or somewhere in the vicinity of the axle mounts when there was no intersection. So I’m either going to install a Panhard rod (track bar in NASCAR terminology) or some kind of Watt’s link. There are advantages and disadvantages to both with the tradeoffs being opposites, so to say. The Panhard rod has the advantages of being simpler to design and build, and less likely to puncture the fuel tank in a rear end wreck, the disadvantages are the rear axle will move slightly from side to side as it goes through its travel. Flip those over for the Watt’s link: more complicated and more likely to puncture the fuel tank, but keeps the axle in the same centerline as it travels. Keeping the axle on the centerline gives the exact same handling in left and right turns, but with the limited amount of travel on the bucket combined with running the Panhard rod from the top of the bottom frame rail to a bracket that just clears the frame rail when the axle droops there should be little detectable variation in handling between left and right turns.

And I’m getting told I need to wash up for dinner since I was out in the sun moving furniture closing down a yard sale and got all sweaty and dinner will be ready in half an hour. So Y’all be careful out there, and I will resume sorta normal posting starting tomorrow.

PSA, Opus

Finally have Internet access

I still haven’t been able to find wi-fi where I’m staying here in NY, but I managed to find a network cable and get wired access. I only had about 1K new emails waiting in various inboxes…

Can’t post more I still have about 500 unread e-mails left to go and I’ll have to let the owner back on the Internet again soon…

PSA, Opus

Just a tiny bandwidth to work with, so no Feed today.

I’m sitting next to Mrs. the Poet blogging on a moving bus. I have done this before, but this time there are so many other people using laptops and tablets on board that there is almost no bandwidth available. In fact the compose page for creating this blog post took forever to load and I keep losing connection when the system tries to autosave my progress. the wi-fi in the terminals is even worse if you can believe that. Of the two stations I have tried to log on at, one would not let me connect and he other the sign-up page timed out…

Getting ready to go had some amusing moments. I had to go to the local haircutting establishment because I was very shaggy and while I was getting my hair cut the stylist asked if I was busy that evening, which sounded a bit like she was asking for a date. When I told her I was preparing to take a trip to NY she got very interested. We conversed some including some on the changing terminology of haircutting (what we used to call a “high and tight” is now a “military taper” for instance, and what used to be “military taper” is now a “low taper”) then when we got done with my hair I went to pay and it happened again, I got another unsolicited senior discount. Apparently she likes older men?

The trip so far has been a struggle to get sleep against an army of crying babies. The babies were winning for a while but exhaustion has a way of overcoming that after a while. Eventually you will get some sleep, no matter what.

We had a pleasant surprise in Nashville. First when we asked for condiments for our packaged sandwiches instead of little packets we were given single-serving Serv-a-paks of mustard and mayo. Second pleasant surprise was those packaged sandwiches were pretty good and tasty. We were hoping for edible, tasty was beyond our expectations.

The AC on this trip has been interesting so far. The big thing has been too much AC either overall or on particular body parts. Right now, for instance, everything is fine except my right knee, which is in the direct blast from the AC vent for this row of seats and is turning blue…

And it turns out I do have enough bandwidth for a couple of links today. for instance, did you know that when you have more bicycles on the roads you get fewer car wrecks? More bicyclists on road means fewer collisions, study shows Gee, whodathunkit? more bikes = fewer car wrecks, specifically wrecks with bicycles, but fewer wrecks overall as well. 5 guess it turns out that when you have a finite number of vehicle operators and you swap out light armored vehicles for vehicles that totally expose the operator to all impacts those operators start having fewer impacts.

And now there is a new kind of warning device that falls between the traditional bell and the new standard of alerting drivers the air horn. Ring MyBell The programmable light and sound show can be customized to your environment to alert pedestrians and drivers alike.

OK it’s getting dark now, so I guess this is a good stopping point for this Live Blog of A Boring Bus Trip.

PSA, Opus

Busy as the proverbial one-armed wallpaper hanger, and the Feed

We’re leaving tonight for NY taking a 2 day ride on the Dawgbus. As a result I expect to be out of communications until I hit a bus station, and I don’t expect to see the inside one of those long enough to establish communications with the blog and still get the things I need to get done at the station for life support done. We here at Casa de El Poeta have been taking the Dawgbus on long trips since before there was a Casa de El Poeta, so we are experienced in the ins and outs of dealing with transfers and tracking luggage and whatnot. One of the hardest things about long trips with few or no layovers is life support. They have toilets on the bus, but no food or drink you didn’t carry on with you. So one of the things that has to be done when you hit the station is hydration, buying a cold drink (at 3 times the going rate at a C-store or vending machine away from a bus station) is usually a must.

Anyway, we are packing clothes for the trip, electronics are being sorted into the go bag, and last-minute preparations (getting a haircut for one) are being taken care of. Which is making Mrs. the Poet and me run around like the proverbial chickens.

Up first is a UK wreck, where the driver in a hit-and-run tried to eliminate the witnesses. Gee, you would think hitting the cyclist might have been on purpose. Man who went to check on injured cyclist is hurt as police seek aggressive driver following Ilminster incident The deliberate assault with a motor vehicle on the witness/person giving comfort after the initial hit-and-run make me strongly suspect the driver hitting the cyclist was no more an “accident” than the assault on the witness. Take it from me when someone targets you with their vehicle it is very hard to avoid getting hit. What makes me angry about this one is that the initial assault will be treated like “an accident” and little to no punishment will be levied, but the second assault will be treated as an assault with a deadly weapon because there can be no doubt about the deliberateness of the second attack.

Update on the GA cyclist assaulted with an SUV earlier this month. Injured cyclist’s family, girlfriend remain hopeful The red Nitro should still be damaged, or there would have been a report from a body shop by now. BOLO to my readers who are local to the wreck in suburban Atlanta.

Speaking of assault with a motor vehicle, this double hit-from-behind is either an assault or a driver that has zero competence behind the wheel. Onawa, Iowa, cyclist killed in collision with vehicle; another injured I mean how do you “pass” 2 cyclists so closely that one os dead and the other is critically injured in a ditch?

And what is up with ABQ lately? Two more cyclists hurt in accidents It almost looks like someone was trying to get all the cyclists off the streets, this makes 6 dead or injured since the beginning of June. The wreck with the drunk driver reads like another deliberate assault fueled by alcohol, the garbage truck incident was not covered well enough to allow analysis to avoid. Both wrecks could be prevented by getting the infrastructure “up to Dutch”. Of course part of that is getting the local LEO extremely competent and knowledgable…

Since we are bouncing all over the place, here’s a wreck in MO. Cyclist killed in St. Louis hit-and-run is ID’d; police find car suspected in case and Victim identified in fatal hit and run in north St. Louis also Bicyclist killed in hit-and-run Hit from behind by street racers, and the bike was utterly destroyed. I could not see a single component of the bike that was undamaged. This is another one of those wrecks that the closing speed of the weapon vehicle makes avoiding the wreck impossible, and segregated infrastructure the only way to prevent the wreck. Unfortunately there doesn’t seem to be any way of getting stoopid people out from behind the wheel with the current licensing system.

Speaking of Stoopid Drivers, here is an AL wreck where a driver makes a right turn directly into a cyclist crossing with the light. Cyclist injured in Monday accident in Gulf Shores identified I have never seen a wreck that better illustrated “looking but not seeing” than this one. There were 2 cyclists riding single file and crossing with the green and the driver went right into the trailing cyclist. Completely and utterly blind to the existence of the cyclist in front of the car. I would say intersection protocols but nope, not going to help in a wreck like this. I have to say the only way to prevent a wreck like this even with infrastructure “up to Dutch” would be somehow preventing this particular driver from getting access to a motor vehicle, much less a license to drive one. Even a segregated cycle track with separate signal phases for bicycles are helpless in the face of a blind driver making a right on red.

OK this wreck is just bizarre. Bicyclist killed in crash at 15th, Market OK I’m going to go with the “child’s bike” on this one as a BMX style bike, but the rest of the report of the middle-aged man riding against traffic and pulling into the intersection against a red light he couldn’t see because there was no signal for wrong-way traffic…

Another strange wreck report, this time from GA. Cyclist hit, killed on Peach Orchard Road SWSS by a cyclist riding against traffic? I would really have to see the wreckage of the bike to make a call on this one. First I would have to say that if the salmon accusation was accurate then ride with traffic and apply hit-from-behind protocols to avoid, and get the infrastructure “up to Dutch” to prevent.

A buzz job in IN. 1 injured in Elkhart truck, bicycle crash The truck passed the bicycle and the cyclist wrecked after hitting the curb, yeah that’s pretty much one of the definitions of a buzz job. The only reason the cyclist wasn’t run off the road was because he wrecked on the curb first. The curb made hit-from-behind protocols unusable (or maybe that was why he wrecked against the curb, trying to go off the road as his escape route), so that only leaves getting the infrastructure “up to Dutch” as the viable method to prevent the wreck.

A limited-information wreck in MA. Cyclist injured in Provincetown crash Cyclist wearing a helmet seriously injured in a wreck no involving a motor vehicle? And that’s it?

Another CA cyclist is killed in a wreck. Man hit on bicycle in Monterey dies Other than the ages of the operators involved there ain’t a whole bunch of information on this wreck.

Moving to Canuckistan, this driver is about to get hosed after the cyclist he hit dies a lingering death in hospital. Hit and run charges upgraded after victim succumbs to injuries And there was so much Stoopid being spread in the comments that the comments were closed… Wow!

And the town that saw 5 cyclists nearly killed in a single wreck/assault with a deadly weapon 4 years ago sees another cyclist hurt. Cyclist injured when struck by a car in Kanata Saturday morning And we get another person who believes in the power of the majik foam hat in preventing injury to things not even covered by the hat…

Update on the wreck where the driver was let off because the speed limit sign was in the wrong place when the cyclist was hit waking the bike through the crosswalk. I miss Jaye every day: Partner of cyclist killed in crash plans to sue driver Her wife is suing the driver that was almost double the speed limit when he killed the cyclist. And the infrastructure hasn’t been corrected either as the wife was nearly hit while placing flowers at the site.

The wheels of justice grind exceedingly slow in Enn Zed. Truckie who hit cyclist in court The cyclist was plainly visible with lights and reflective garments which kind of puts the earlier coroner’s recommendations that all cyclists wear hi-viz in proper perspective. (It only works in court to get more money out of the driver that hits you, not to actually prevent a wreck.)

Our Daily Ted. Morning Links: The risks of biking in the Valley, Pippa makes it all the way, and a road rager attacks rescuer

Lifestyle as the relatives of a cyclist killed back when this blog was still young transfer the reward money for the arrest of the killer driver to a dog park memorial for the cyclist. Family of cyclist killed in hit-and-run donates reward fund for Capitola dog park This is poetic, because the cyclist’s dog survived the wreck and waited with the body until it was discovered when people went to investigate the barking dog.

And those were all the links that gave me fits today. No giggles.

Billed @€0.02, Opus

Formula One is interesting this year, and a road course race in Sprint Cup, on a Wreck-Free Sunday

I was watching the F1 race from Austria early this afternoon, and Red Bull driver Sebastian Vettel is just snakebit, his luck is so bad. Today was his 3rd DNF in 8 races this year. Last year it practically took an Act of Gawd to keep the Red Bull team off the top two steps of the podium, the difference between last year and this year is just so stark. And Williams’ performance change this year is also astonishing, but in the other direction, as they put both their cars on the front row in qualifying. And then Mercedes was battling the limits of reliability in their braking systems while watching other cars literally blowing up their brakes (I didn’t catch who, but there was a carbon brake disk that caught fire and shattered taking out the car). Anywho, it ended up being a Mercedes 1-2 finish again, at least the 6th time this year, maybe the 7th.

I didn’t catch where anyone else finished in the F1 race because I switched over to the Sonoma Sprint Cup race. Road course races are the big equalizer between the big and little teams in Sprint Cup, and A.J. Almendinger demonstrated that by winning the pole. The race is a long way from done at the moment, and there have been a few wrecks that have significantly altered the flow of the race with leading cars or cars that had been leading and working back to the front after a pit stop. And Marcos Ambrose somehow keeps coming to the head of the field to fight for the lead. And Carl Edwards survived the carnage to win the race, but I missed seeing if he did the trademark backflip.

Yesterday’s RPG session was a bit different than usual. Instead of playing a D&D 3.5 campaign we went to a 1st edition Palladium game called Beyond the Supernatural set in Modern Day Earth with a twist. My character is Godwin Smythe, heir to and CEO of the 4th largest logistics company in the world, Possible Evil Twin, and Natural Adept Mage. My stats with this character are Pure Awesome, with mental stats in the super-human range and high (near-Olympic level) physical strength and endurance. So far the most my character has done is survive someone blowing up the bar where he was slumming to enjoy a quiet beer with “normal” people, then using healing spells to keep the other PC from attracting attention from authority, then healing a PC to keep him from dying. Then I got arrested as a terrorist suspect for being in the bar when it was blown up and not getting killed. How they got from “one of four people not killed in explosion” to “terrorist suspect” just shows the kind of convoluted conspiracy theory thinking that was normal for that game setting.

And I have to go to evening service now, so I’ll see y’all tomorrow.

PSA, Opus

I get a night off and the Feed

I have no social obligations today so I will be able to find and filter as many links as possible before my Mental Hygiene day tomorrow (you have no idea how mind-cleansing it feels to be someone else for a day, even just in a game). Either of the Sparrows (Jr. or Sr.) or my high-level Warmage Red Feather allow me to “leave myself” for a while and “solve problems” that are outside my usual life experience (particularly Red Feather, who is 13th level and employed as part of a team of trouble-shooters for a group that helps maintain order against the constant opening of portals to other worlds and planes, with monsters that sometimes wander through and cause disruption either intentional or otherwise). Red Feather is mainly an armored mage who can get up close to a battle and deliver massive firepower (with 39 spell slots available per day) from a spellbook of more than 200 spells (last session he went toe to toe with a Red Dragon and walked away untouched while the dragon beat a hasty retreat).

Up first is an update on a South TX hit-and-run. Man pleads not guilty in Edinburg cyclist’s fatal hit-and-run Wow, a $1 Million bond for killing a cyclist…

Either a buzz job or a drunk cyclist, or both, in OK. Rider injured near Roland It was speculated by LEO on the scene that a semi that was in front of the weapon vehicle may have sucked the cyclist off the bike lane and into the traffic lane in front of the weapon vehicle. Or he may have been drunk. Assuming the first part is true there is nothing the cyclist could have done to avoid this wreck, getting sucked or blown out of your lane is way outside anything a cyclist can deal with by him or her self. Alcohol consumption on the other hand is something a cyclist can do something about.

Out in CA someone assaulted a cyclist and was charged with attempted murder. Three arrested in attack on cyclist in Santa Ana Um, I don’t think this is something most cyclists have anything to worry about, unless you are or were a member of a street gang and still live in your old ‘hood.

Seattle is highly pissed that killing a cyclist carries a lower fine than running a red light or littering. The Morning News: Did You Know You Can Hit and Kill a Cyclist and Get Off with a $175 Ticket? and Driver who hit, killed teenage cyclist fined just $175 The cyclist was crossing the street legally and waited for traffic in both directions to stop before crossing in the crosswalk, and the driver of the weapon vehicle didn’t stop despite there being a vehicle stopped at the marked crosswalk and hit the cyclist as he came from the front of the stopped vehicle into the lane of the weapon vehicle. Near as I can tell the cyclist was 101% in compliance with both the letter and spirit of the law and common sense. Even the intersection protocols would absolve the cyclist of any blame in this wreck, while the segregated infrastructure only helps as much as people driving in motor vehicles comply with the laws. A little more backup from the DA would help on this one, there is a WA law that is specific to wrecks like this that allows prison or jail terms for killing people walking or riding a bicycle. That $175 ticket is just lame and feeble.

Update on another WA wreck, now with make of weapon vehicle. New clues in bicyclist hit-run: Police know what kind of car they’re looking for Well, that’s good to know.

Schadenfreude in OR as a douche diesel driver is arrested for assault. Truck driver does ‘rollin’ coal’ on riders, and one of them is a bike cop This has happened to me several times, and I was tickled mauve to read this article…

Another OR driver violates the basic speed law. Bicyclist seriously injured in morning crash east of Philomath The cyclist was taking the lane because the shoulder was too narrow to fit his tadpole trike. The driver was just flat going too fast to be able to avoid hitting the cyclist. First and foremost the infrastructure was sub-standard if the trike couldn’t fit, second the driver breaking right instead of passing to the left negates the hit-from-behind protocols

Dang, they have been having a bad 2 weeks in ID…Cyclist hurt, driver ticketed in Emerald Street crash Left cross in the bike lane, and the driver given a ticket on the spot. Major kudos to the LEO responsible for issuing the ticket.

A very strange wreck in NYC. Bicyclist condition improving; injured in crash in Clove Lakes Park (with photos) The cyclist ran off the path and into a parked truck? And at the time of the report nothing from the cyclist. Reports from the comments section to the effect the park was off-limits to bicycles, and poorly signed to that effect such that the cyclist could have entered the park and never encountered any notice that he was violating the law. Which still doesn’t explain how he ran into the truck.

A GA wreck with two weapon vehicles and nobody to tell the bicycle side of the story. Teen cyclist struck, killed in two-car accident Given the high level of detail about the cyclist’s path prior to the wreck, it seems likely that he had just left either his home, or was returning to his home, at the time of the wreck. The second impact was pure pinball off the first and into the second vehicle. To avoid use ALL the intersection protocols, especially the bit about obeying traffic controls. Since this was a residential area with a 45 MPH highway running through it it would take massive changes to the infrastructure to prevent a wreck like this.

Update on another GA wreck. Atlanta cyclist still critical, Georgia bikers less safe than most I really hope he recovers at least somewhat, enough to engage in a meaningful life again. Police are still trying to find the driver that assaulted him.

More information from an AZ wreck earlier this week (previously linked to in Tucson Velo). Bicyclist killed in early morning crash; man arrested and charged This was a cyclist hit from behind in the bike lane in an area that did not allow for an escape route when the weapon vehicle entered the bike lane. The specifics are still the same, American style infrastructure works only as far as drivers respect it, and as the driver in this case did not respect even the motor vehicle infrastructure that dominates the landscape in Tucson respecting bicycle infrastructure is a bit outside the expectations.

More on the NM cyclist hit by a train report. Photos released of items worn by bicyclist killed by train I noticed that there was no music player or earbuds in the rider’s things, blowing “cyclist could not hear the train over his iPod” theory out of the water. Which now makes the “Why?” question all the harder to answer.

Another NM cyclist is hit-and-run by a drunk driver. Cyclist injured in hit-and-run crash Intersection wreck, but given the state of the driver it’s not known if protocols would have been of use in avoiding or mitigating injury. Also because of the inebriated state of the driver the only infrastructure that would have made a difference would be grade-separated and barrier protected.

Another NM cyclist is hit by/with a garbage truck. Cyclist seriously injured in crash with garbage truck The bike was too damaged to tell which direction the cyclist was hit, and the narrative didn’t provide any clues either. Also as many wrecks between pedestrians bicycles and motor vehicles as they reported infrastructure is a major consideration.

And we can’t seem to get away from NM today with all the wrecks this week. 4 metro bicyclists hurt or killed so far in June

A wreck in the RAAM. Race Across America cyclist injured in accident The cyclist was hit by her follow vehicle when the follow vehicle was hit from behind by a semi, not the combination that cyclists usually have to deal with. And really if the semi could not get slowed down for the follow vehicle, the cyclist would have taken the hit from the semi unprotected and at speed…

LEO hits a cyclist in WI, and aside from the word that the LEO hit the cyclist, it’s a blackout. Cyclist injured in wreck involving Madison police cruiser Nothing to see here, move along…

I apologize for the anti-immigrant tone of the article about this wreck in CT. Indian man who killed a cyclist in New York, was in the country illegally All that about the driver, and nothing about the wreck, and next to nothing about the victim, so INFRASTRUCTURE!

In ME another cyclist gets blown off the road by a semi. Cyclist badly injured in Fryeburg accident OK there is nothing a cyclist can do when the wake from the truck literally blows you off the road. Infrastructure that keeps fast semi trucks away from slow cyclists wold be the only thing that could prevent another wreck like this.

This article and the statistic in the headline just make my blood run cold. 100 cyclists injured in Vancouver every month during peak season That’s 3 a day on average during the summer.

In Oz another cyclist is hit by a bus, at the same corner that a different cyclist was hit with a truck. Cyclist killed in crash with bus at Mount Druitt The narrative is consistent with a left hook wreck, intersection protocols to avoid and for [$deity]’s sake fix that infrastructure before anyone else is killed.

Our Daily Ted, yay! Morning Links: A shameful plea for money, bike corrals hit contested streets and the worst bike injury ever Uhh, that bike injury link? Don’t click if you’re a squeamish person, or a male…

A CO Ghost Bike link. Ghost Bike is memorial to bicyclist killed on RRC Rd.

And this NY media outlet must be a monthly, because that’s how late they are on this RoS article. A mutual respect on the road

More lifestyle from another country inside the US. REMEMBER THE REMOVAL CHEROKEE BIKE RIDERS COMPLETE 950-MILE JOURNEY

UT attempts to use a series of moving billboards on the sides of semi trailers to advertize the new passing law. ‘Moving billboards’ on Utah roads promote cyclist safety

L.A. CA is trying to figure out what is going to happen with the changing world, the transition to a post-fossil fuel future. Bicycle and Pedestrian Commission discusses future of cycling

Oz is also dealing with a changing world, poorly. Surging Canberra cycling injuries twice the national average, new report reveals

And that’s it until Sunday’s non-bike post.

Billed @€0.02, Opus

Grocery day will be very light, and the Feed

Since Mrs. the Poet and I will be leaving Monday night we only have to get about half the groceries we normally do, because they won’t stay good until we get back. So, no produce except maybe a small bag of lettuce, only a single loaf of bread if any, no dairy at all. And lots of snacks we can put in our carry-on luggage so we don’t have to buy the over-priced “food” they sell in the bus stations. It’s bad enough we will be buying drinks priced 3 times what they cost at the local C-store on the corner, especially when our caloric needs will be so low.

Up first is an update on the Milt Olin wreck in CA. Family of cyclist fatally struck by sheriff’s car files claim against Los Angeles County This story has stunk to high heaven ever since it first broke, and the stench has just been getting worse every day, first with the refusal to hand the investigation over to the CHP to at least give the appearance of impartiality, second when an investigation that should have been wrapped in a week took more than 5 months to be delivered to the DA, and third when the DA refused to allow any part of that report to be released to the public. The facts of the case are quire damning to the driver, the cyclist was hit from behind while riding in the marked bike lane by a cruiser going over the speed limit without lights and siren. The pictures I have seen from the crime scene show the one skid mark left by the victim’s back tire at impact and skid marks after the impact (unless the picture was somehow reversed, but then the question would have to be why did the driver stop using the brakes right before impact?), and the impact was several feet from the lane marker.

A buzz job in OR. Cyclist injured in vehicle accident near Sandy and Man injured after being clipped by rear-view mirror on Highway 26 The crime scene pictures show one of those awful rumble stripped shoulders that turn what could be a nice place to ride when it’s clean into something that can kill you with a second’s inattention. This means the rider was forced to ride in the traffic lane but he did not take the lane to make himself more visible. This is (or should be, I haven’t read the protocols page in a while) the first thing to avoiding getting hit from behind, riding where you can be seen in the lane. This also gives you more room to move to the right to dodge wayward motor vehicles that are getting too close.

A wreck in AZ that LEO are wrongly blaming on the cyclist not crossing the street in the crosswalk. Peoria accident leaves teen cyclist injured Since the basic report is so flawed other than noting that this was an intersection wreck so intersection protocols should apply I got nothing, except INFRASTRUCTURE! Oh, and trained LEO.

Still in AZ another cyclist is squished. UPDATE X2:CYCLIST KILLED ON SPEEDWAY; DRIVER ARRESTED ON SECOND DEGREE MURDER When I first filtered this report the driver hadn’t even been caught yet, much less charged with murder. Hit from behind in the bike lane seems to be popular today, use the protocols to avoid, particularly the “have an escape route” part. And if that bike lane had been built to Dutch standards the weapon vehicle would never have gotten near him in the first place.

A PA blotter report on a left cross. Sentinel police log for June 19 I think I actually had this wreck in the blog last week sometime. Intersection wreck so protocols and infrastructure. Kudos to LEO for immediately handing out tickets to the driver for violating the right of way and failing to signal.

Another report on that CA hit-and-run I had a skimpy link to yesterday. Cyclist killed in Sacramento hit and run Nothing new, just another link.

OK this is just not right, with two links. P.E.I. man granted day parole two years after killing Alberta cyclist and Drunk driver who killed Edmonton woman gets day parole Apparently “day parole” is like “work release” in the US. Get out, go to work, and be back in your cell by a certain time every day.

Our Daily Ted. Morning Links: CABO opposes protected bikeway bill; Brit driver kills 5-year old, then says shit happens

Someone else noticed a major change to the legal infrastructure. Jury Awards “Precedent-Setting” $2.4 Million to Doored Cyclist With the added information I am also wondering how they figured the cyclist was 21% at fault for getting hit by the car door when she was getting physically forced into the door zone. Maybe because she was there to get hit?

Actual on-the-ground testing of that pseudo-Dutch intersection treatment. Portlander’s ‘protected intersection’ concept gets first on-street demo (in Minneapolis) The reports that 8 YO were able to use the infrastructure properly first time without instructions to move as they desired on their bikes is really good news.

The good kind of infrastructure article. Buying a bike? Now you can use Twitter to find out if it’s stolen property

Busting up and preventing bike theft in NY. Bicyclist follows accused bike thieves, leads to arrest of three Syracuse teenagers

If you live in Chuck this is an even better kind of lifestyle link. Chucktown BikeDown Cheap alcohol, but don’t over do it because if you get to all of the venues you have a chance at winning a pretty cool bike.

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

Billed @€0.02, Opus

Surrounded by mayhem, gore, and death, and then I opened the Feed

Now that I have your attention, things have been a “little rough” lately outside the world of bicycle blogging. As in more than 2/3 of my news feed outside my bike news Feed was filled with pictures and verbal descriptions of atrocities in Africa and the Middle East. I also got a cat video of a kitten being cute, but that one cute video just doesn’t compensate for death and destruction in several pages of links. The problem is I am not an island and I can’t just get the news about bicycles, I have to accept the “other stuff” as well in order to get access to the bike links. Also this is part of the cost of being a good “citizen of the world” these days. You can’t do anything about evils you don’t know about, but I have not the slightest clue of what I’m supposed to do about some of this stuff where and who I am at the moment. Superman, or Green Lantern, or maybe Iron Man would have the abilities and resources to do something about it, but being Opus the Poet, Bicycle Blogger is only slightly north of squat when it comes to “doing something” about wars, and rape gangs terrorizing school girls.

Up first, a cute kitten. Kitten discovers mirror Ahh, much better.

First wreck, a cyclist runs into the side of a train crossing the bike path? Bicyclist dead after being struck by Rail Runner and Cyclist hit, killed by Railrunner train Crossing was not signalized and I don’t know which side of the street the cyclist was riding on to know if he could see the crossing lights and guards on the street. The street has a reputation for being “too dangerous” to ride on (heavy traffic moving at high speeds, the typical “ten over the limit” thing and nowhere to escape for the hit-from-behind protocols) so almost all cyclists are on the sparsely used sidewalks here. There has been speculation in a forum I can’t link to that there was some kind of brake failure on the bike right when it got to the crossing and that was why it went into the side of the second car of the train when the train was so obviously crossing the sidewalk. Speculation of mechanical failure aside most of the time avoiding getting hit by trains is easy, the trains don’t deviate from the tracks (during normal operation), are generally quite noisy even when the operator is not trying to alert you of their presence, and are large and usually colorful to boot. The “secret” is to not be on the tracks at the same time as the train, and generally that is easy to do. Why that did not happen here with the level of experience this cyclist is credited with I have no idea beyond the previously noted speculation.

Update on an old story. Driver who killed Richmond cyclist transferred to state prison I don’t see why the killer first of all got such a light sentence, and second of all why he was allowed to spend so much of what was supposed to be a state prison sentence at a county jail. And the bit about having to use a CPAP so he couldn’t go to prison is just so much… I can’t say that and keep the PG-13 rating of this blog. (I’m treading perilously close to losing that for a couple of F-bombs last month.)

Things have been busy over in Boise this week. Boise man pleads guilty in hit-and-run that killed cyclist Likely sentence is “not much” but the guilty plea will result in a felony record, so that’s something at least.

And one wreck almost taken care of, so I guess time for another? Cyclist seriously injured after being hit by truck in Boise Intersection wreck as the cyclist was t-boned, the driver says the cyclist was running a red light. I don’t know what the cyclist said, but he was reported to be conscious at the scene and deteriorated on the way to hospital. Intersection protocols to avoid including being aware of stale greens and staying out of intersections when you can’t clear them before the light goes red in your direction. And get the infrastructure “up to Dutch” to prevent, just like 95% of the rest of the wrecks I link to in my blog.

The scourge of the cycling world falls upon CA. Cyclist Injured In Hit-And-Run Crash In Sacramento Another hit-from-behind in the bike lane and the driver left the scene, again. The cyclist was already doing everything possible to avoid this wreck, but the sub-standard infrastructure failed her. The only thing that can be done is to get the infrastructure “up to Dutch” ASAP.

They caught the “bad guy” in this wreck just outside NYC. Suspect Arrested In Hit-And-Run That Injured Cyclist In Medford, L.I. Cyclist was hit from behind riding on the shoulder, I strongly suspect that this was the only through route to his destination. Not much if any place for the cyclist to go to execute the hit-from-behind protocols, which leaves getting the infrastructure “up to Dutch” as the only alternative to avoid or prevent this wreck.

This wreck in NC is yet to be solved as I compose this post. Cyclist struck, killed in hit-and-run on Barry Oak Road Nothing directly on the mode, but the narrative strongly suggests a hit-from-behind on the shoulder. Regardless, getting the infrastructure “up to Dutch” would prevent another wreck like this one.

Update on an OH wreck with an outcome that was about as good as could be expected. 3 years prison for East Dundee DUI hit-and-run that injured cyclist This was a very low-end sentence for a combined DUI and hit-and-run. The cyclist escaped death by fractions of an inch or a few degrees of angle, and the driver essentially skates. Well aside from the $11k fine and $2k court costs that have to be paid after leaving prison.

Not sure if this was “skitching” or if the cyclist was buzzed by the vehicle and then couldn’t let go after preventing the collision. Brockton bicyclist injured after grabbing onto back of tractor trailer, police said Either way the trick is to aim the bike away from the motor vehicle and let go as soon as there is room to get away safely. And need I say that with Dutch-style infrastructure the cyclist and the truck would never have had this kind of confrontation?

Why has the name of the driver of the weapon vehicle in this wreck been made a state secret? Vasquez: Why no charges in cyclist’s death?

A cyclist in Oz runs out of sidewalk and into traffic. Cyclist critically injured in crash at Tempe Intersection wreck, so use intersection protocols to avoid or to reduce injuries. Get the infrastructure “up to Dutch” to prevent. And really sidewalks are very poor bicycle infrastructure even after they are designated as such. Unless rebuilt specifically as bike infrastructure they are not safe for riding at typical commuting speeds (even “Dutch typical” of 12 MPH) and have poor sight lines especially at intersections.

Still in Oz, a report on a right cross (Aussie and UK version of the left cross because they drive and ride on the “wrong” side of the street). Lucky to be alive: Cyclist trapped under garbage truck in Surry Hills The cyclist was caught by a truck turning right across his direction of travel, so intersection protocols to avoid or reduce injuries and get the infrastructure “up to Dutch” to prevent.

Today is the day for bike/train wrecks. Major delays on Frankston line after train hits and kills cyclist Again, still in Oz, and nothing specific about the wreck aside from the kinds of vehicles involved, so standard advice about trains and how to avoid meeting with one unexpectedly applies.

A really low-information report from Enn Zed. Cyclist injured in accident I got more information about the traffic delays than I did the wreck, but it was in an intersection so those protocols would probably have been helpful in avoiding or reducing injury, and getting the infrastructure “up to Dutch” would have probably prevented the wreck.

Our Daily Ted is extremely good today. Morning Links: Cyclist critically injured in Laguna Beach; lawsuit filed against LA County, LASD in Milt Olin case I was wondering what the delay in the Olin wreck was after he was hit from behind while riding in the bike lane.

Infrastructure! news from VA after that SUV/bike wreck on a MUP crossing a Freeway. After crash, VDOT makes changes on bridge walkway As someone pointed out in the comments, it’s a pedestrian crossing, if the employee needed to be there that badly why couldn’t he walk?

More infrastructure from NYC. NYPD: 1,160 Pedestrians and Cyclists Injured, Nine Killed in Traffic in April When motor vehicles collide there is usually only property damage, when motor vehicles hit pedestrians or cyclists there is usually a trip in an ambulance or a coroner’s car Note the disparity in the statistics, in more than 16K wrecks, there were more than 33K drivers and passengers involved, but only 2847 were injured and only 12 died, for a fatality rate of 0.04% when rounded. Pedestrians died at a rate of 1% while cyclists died at a rate of 0.3%. Or to look at it another way in a city hat has a vehicle ownership rate around 45% there were almost as many pedestrians killed as everybody in motor vehicles, not counting cyclists, and NYC still devotes most of its public space to moving and stored vehicles. A tiny fraction of that space is devoted to moving pedestrians, but an even tinier fraction is set aside for cyclists who must fight for space with both pedestrians and motor vehicles to get around the city. The fact that so few cyclists are killed or injured is more a testament to the skill and road sense of cyclists as well as their pathetically small mode share than it is to the quality of the infrastructure.

Lifestyle article for the MD cyclist killed in KY after having a mechanical incident. Friends To Finish Miles For Cyclist Killed During Charity Journey

And after all that I need another kitty video. Most Hilarious Videos Of Cats 2014 – Best Funny Kitten Compilation

And those were all the links that gave me fits and giggles.

Billed @€0.02, Opus

Contemplating “things” and the Feed

I’m still in the “not happy” state of mind about the city coming into my yard and destroying part of my lawn furniture, then sending me a bill for the “service”. I don’t know what I can do about that besides dispute the bill. I guess I can demand that they replace the log bench that I spent so much time and effort on, but to be honest part of what made the one that was destroyed so good was that it was from the tree that it was sitting near. It was a part of the environment that was supposed to be there. It was also a really nice place to sit with a cup of coffee in the morning after everyone else had gone to work or school or daycare… I live in what is almost a ghost town between the hours of 0800 and 1430 Monday through Friday 9 months out of the year. That bench let me enjoy a feeling almost like being alone in a forest.

Up first is an update on a NM wreck. Bicyclist dies 8 days after hit-and-run crash Other reports that I can no longer link to say the bits of turn signal/marker light found at the scene are common to many makes of truck and are also sold in autoparts stores as generic replacement lights, I used to have the same kind of light on my old recumbent bike as they make very visible taillights. So good luck on finding that truck, they are going to need it.

Hit-and-run with a city bus in OR. After alleged bike-bus collision, TriMet driver tells man ‘You’re fine’ and drives off First, if you get hit and the driver leaves the scene, do not use Twitter until after you call 911 and state you had an “incident” and you need medical attention. Even if you do not hurt right at the moment, there might be injuries you just have not calmed down enough to feel yet. Since this was a right hook, intersection protocols to avoid or reduce injury, and get the infrastructure “up to Dutch” to prevent.

More on the wreck between a tandem and a single bike in Jolly Olde. Woman cyclist injured in tandem crash So, the wreck now appears to be the result of an unintentional buzz job by the male captain of the tandem, with the female stoker taking the brunt of the impact.

Our Daily Ted for Tuesday. Morning Links: Too many LA memorial rides, Fig4All is up for more debate, and Buzzfeed wants to scare you That Buzzfeed video is alternately scary stupid and just plain scary.

Infrastructure! news from right here in TX. Texas Police Now Ticketing Kids for “Cool Moves” Doing the right thing can be rewarding.

Infrastructure from NYC. DOT To Add Five More Miles Of Flushing Avenue Bike Lanes I have the sneaking feeling that they are using soft, fragile cyclists as traffic calming on a street that has a reputation for attracting speeders.

New infrastructure in America’s Copenhagen. New buffered bike lanes for Boones Ferry Road

Someone please, PLEASE! make this bill a law without watering it down. Lawmakers Consider Hit-and-Run Alerts Amber alerts I get once or sometimes twice a month, but the constant stream of these alerts would galvanize people into action to stop hit-and-run.

A bike that anyone can ride “no hands”. Jyrobike self-balances to keep kids on the straight and narrow Also teaches kids just to ride normally, but I would like to have one for my recumbent that I was never able to ride without at least one hand on the bars at all times because it would crash in a fraction of a second otherwise.

Lifestyle in the UK. Cyclists saddle up to raise £1m for heroes

A plethora of e-assist bicycles of varying levels of assist and styles of assist. In pictures: Charged Up e-bike show Some really neat and cool bikes there.

And those were all the links that gave me fits or giggles today. Fortunately for my mood I found more giggles than fits.

Billed @€0.02, Opus