I had to fork over almost $300 getting my taxes done (because I don’t know how to handle the long form needed to report my part of the income from the trust my parent’s left after they died). And getting back from the preparer’s office was a major pain, because the bus was delayed over 20 minutes in rush hour traffic. Mrs. the Poet and I were standing on the side of the road for over 30 minutes waiting for the bus after we got done doing our taxes. The good news is we are getting over $1k back this year.
Tomorrow I will be making another trip to the bank to get my money out for the bike parts I need to repair Blue, which will be another all-day affair. Fortunately Tuesdays are slow days for links, so I should be getting the post out before midnight tomorrow.
Up first is some good news on an old wreck from Portland. Serious injury crash near Ladds Circle (photos) – Updated You might need to do a search for it but there is a comment from the victim in this wreck, which considering the extent of his injuries back in 2010 is nothing short of a miracle.
Another stab at the 3-feet to pass law that Gov. Goodhair vetoed in 2009. New road rules in Texas? Watch out for bicyclists Perry vetoed the law because he did not want to create a new class of protected road user. I wonder who paid for that veto? And I wonder if Greg Abbott will get a similar payment to similarly veto this bill.
The bike share program in SA is not doing well. San Antonio Bike-Share Threatens to Close Without Major Sponsor Apparently like a bus company in the US, you can’t run a bike share without outside funding, either selling advertising or getting Gov’t money.
Our Daily Ted has a disturbing opening link today. Morning Links: Cyclist hit by two cars in Beverly Hills, cobbles of Paris-Roubaix, and Orlando Bloom’s bike shorts
More mis-information promulgated from the GHSA “report”. Disturbing Statistics Regarding Bicycle Fatalities Again they go with the “65% not wearing helmets!!1!!11!one!” breathless meme, disregarding the fact that even the cyclists who died from head trauma would also have died had there been some kind of magic hat that prevented all head trauma. In other words people who get hit riding with a helmet will still die when hit by a motor vehicle, and most will still die from head trauma, but even if they didn’t there would have been other fatal injuries in the wreck. I swear, this is almost as hard to kill as “Benghazi!!!” is from the wingnut right.
The probably drunk driver doing over 70 MPH in a 35 zone when he hit and killed a young couple and their unborn baby in a cab will spend a significant portion of the remainder of his life behind bars. Hit-And-Run Driver Who Killed Williamsburg Family Gets 25 to Life Now if there was only a way to do the same thing for drivers that kill cyclists, or pedestrians walking on the sidewalks…
We are never going to get reasonable sentences for killer drivers as long as people keep doing this: Family asks for leniency in cyclist’s death
After that I needed something lighter to clear my head, so here is a guy riding a skateboard in a taco costume into traffic. Video: Drunk, Skateboarding Taco Careens Into Car In Williamsburg This is funny because the guy was stupid and did not get hurt. Acceptably funny at any rate because the guy didn’t get hurt.
There are good, decent people in the world. Off-duty anaesthetist ‘helps save life of cyclist’ after crash with Land Rover in Barnes Good idea to do basic life support when someone gets hit by an SUV. Even better idea when that’s your day job.
Sometimes it’s hard to keep up with all the cyclists getting killed in Jolly Olde. Cyclist killed in London was royal designer Apparently this person’s employer was germane to the story?
More on the suggestion that when an HGV runs over someone on a bicycle they are liable unless they can prove the cyclist was breaking the law in the UK. When lorries hit cyclists the driver should have to prove they are not liable says Green Party leader This is the law in many Northern European countries, why not the UK? Or the US?
Why is it so hard to keep bike lanes in street plans after the professionals put them in? Cyclists fight for dedicated lanes while Darebin Council back-pedals on proposed junction master plan This happens all over the Anglophone world, traffic professionals put bike lanes into street plans because they are needed to keep cyclists safe and traffic flowing, and politicians pull them out because cars damnit!
Are you a Big Guy (or Gal)? Are you having problems keeping your bike running because things keep breaking like wheels, forks, and frames? The Heavyweight Guide to Bike-Buying I had that problem back in 2001, but I found out that was because the fork was made for a 100-150 pound kid who would ride maybe 500 miles on the bike and throw it away after 3 years, and I was riding at a 5000 mile/an pace before the bike was hit with a truck. Seriously, don’t trust the suspension forks on a BSO to last past the end of the block.
And I’m finally out of links.
Billed @€0.02, Opus the Poet
Witch on a Bicycle 