It has been hypothesised that I pay little to no attention to anything outside bicycles, that if it doesn’t involve bicycles I don’t pay attention to it because I haven’t commented here about Ferguson or Eric Garner or anything else. Well I do pay attention to the rest of the world, I just try to keep it out of this blog. But the attack on the Charlie Hebdo magazine in Paris is an attack on every journalist everywhere, even those of us who don’t say anything about Islam or anything in the area except for a narrow focus of interest. This attack was both brutal and chilling, but I don’t know what can be done as there is no central authority that can be censured by the rest of the world for this failure of Islam to have a sense of humor.
Up first, some people have very little sense of humor about bicycles, like this author that called for giving people $500 to pay for their fines to run over cyclists. Now he writes this article pile of dreck. Give bicyclists their own roads and this is one response WaPo’s Courtland Milloy: D.C. Cyclists Need ‘Trails Through Wooded Areas’ I really like the tone of this Tweet: “Courtland Milloy needs a job in transpo. He will build us miles of bike paths! Made of candy canes! Through D.C.’s lush and magical forests!” As was pointed out in one comment, all he wants to do is get cyclists off “his” streets. More Courtland Milloy wants to ban cars from local roads
Can government force you to buy something that does not exist to use the roads? Missouri Rep introduces bill to require bicyclists to hold insurance I think requiring drivers to equip their vehicles with a phlogiston converter would be an excellent idea (no I don’t, J/K)
More news from down south in Houston, where a law intended to protect cyclists and other vulnerable road users goes mainly ignored. Few citations issued under law protecting cyclists, pedestrians Maybe they should take the example of Austin’s PD and send uniformed officers on bike backed with motorcycle cops hidden around corners to do the actual pulling over/arrests for assaulting an officer. Because when APD did it some cops were passed close enough to get dirty from the dirt on the passing vehicle.
Another terrorist attack that somehow never gets treated the same as attacks on other groups. Tacks on Hawthorne Bridge cause multiple flats For those unfamiliar, the bike lane on this bridge is separated from the motor vehicle lane on a metal grid that is almost impossible to ride on and near certain death for a cyclist that falls off the bike path. Getting a puncture here is extremely dangerous.
Some people will sue for anything. Connecticut Man Sues Citi Bike For Failing To Make Him Wear A Helmet and Man seeks $60 million in damages over alleged Citi Bike injuries You might remember us here at WoaB covering this wreck back in the day because the rider ran into an unpainted parking bumper jutting into the bike lane. The results would be much the same as leaving an unmarked parking bumper in any other lane of travel, except more human damage and less vehicle damage.
There is a long-standing joke in TX about why OK does not have any beachfront property, which gets amply demonstrated in this link. Oklahoma City Weighs 3-Foot Passing Rule — For Cyclists, Not Drivers
Assuming you survive, here’s what you need to do in case of a hit-and-run (in OR). Get Legal with Ray Thomas: What you need to know about hit and run
Our Daily Ted. 73-year old handcyclist killed in Palm Desert collision on Monday; first SoCal bicycling death this year Days like this I really feel for Ted.
PGH decides to spend a few $ on bikes. This is out of a $76M budget. Pittsburgh sets aside capital money for cycling as part of 10-year plan That’s a smidgen over 2% for cyclists. I think we are worth at least 2%, don’t you?
You would think that a media outlet like Mother Jones would know better than to stoop to victim blaming. Mother Jones Rang in 2015 By Blaming Drunk People for Getting Hit By Cars
A bit of infrastructure news from Jolly Olde. Family of cyclist killed on Bow roundabout win compensation battle
And some legal infrastructure from the Emerald Isle. Road safety officer wants law on gap between cars and cyclists Yep, having a legally defined minimum between cyclists and deadly, deadly motor vehicles is a definite aid in finding fault when said motor vehicle splatters a cyclist.
More of that legal infrastructure from Oz. Queensland changes laws to favour cyclists
Still in Oz. Road accidents involving cyclists highlight intolerance: WA Police Assistant Commissioner
And last link, more gadgets to complicate your ride make your life better, CES 2015: Tech to help cyclists stay safe
And those were all the links I could find today.
Billed @€0.02, Opus the Poet
Witch on a Bicycle 