Going back to my roots for a post

Longtime readers will know this blog was originally started as a bike safety news amalgamation site, but I had to stop because of all the blood and gore and stupidity. Well, I manage to avoid most of the blood and gore these days, but the stupid, teh stoopid it burns us.

Seriously, the people in charge of keeping cyclists from getting hit on a national scale have proposed a national helmet law. But the other national body charged with safe streets says they’re full of donkey dust not in those specific words, but politely.

And as I have pointed out in this blog in the distant past (4 or 5 years ago?) even if bike helmets were made that prevented 100% of head injury in wrecks with motor vehicles, most cyclists would still die anyway from massive blunt force trauma to the torso or legs. In my wreck if I wasn’t dead for 2-4 minutes and my heart was still pumping I would have bled out from the massive holes in my legs, because as soon as they revived me I started gushing blood from my leg. And as I have discovered I’m basically a superhero without a supervillain to face, so my experience is way off the end of the bell curve on both the severity of that wreck, and on surviving it. Seriously how many times can you count on the cyclist getting hit having such resistance to blunt force trauma. “Nah, it’ll be OK, he’s basically Superman.” Seriously THAT DOESN’T HAPPEN IN REAL LIFE.

So fight helmet laws in your city and state, and most definitely fight a national helmet law.

We now return you to the usual nonsense this blog posts these days.

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I’m out nearly $300 getting my taxes done, and the Feed

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

We have a new addition to the Feed, and the rest of the Feed

Join me in welcoming infrastructure news magazine Next City to the Feed today. I got several “back issues” sent when I signed up so there will be many links from them in today’s post. I think this will be a good resource for the future for this blog. On a less happy note the spring equinox ritual for tomorrow afternoon at my church has been rescheduled because of forecast bad weather.

Up first Friend of WoaB Carlton Reid has another article on the fact that paved roads in the US and UK owe their existence to cyclists. “Roads were not built for cars”: how cyclists, not drivers, first fought to pave US roads That’s right, we paid for the first paved streets and highways between cities to get paved, not the motor vehicles that did not exist at the time. I know that, you probably knew that, too, we just have to get the news to about 100 million other people in the US who still think roads did not exist prior to the invention of the motor vehicle.

News from Our Daily Ted. Weekend Links: Witnesses wanted in El Segundo death, Westwood votes for bike lanes, and more Valley CicLAvia

And Bikeyface has got this infrastructure thing nailed down. A ZOO That’s kinda what I feel like out there on the roads some days.

And David Hembrow weighs in on the Sydney Rd. door prize in Oz, placing the blame squarely on crappy Oz infrastructure designs. Eliminating the risk of “Dooring”: Good cycle infrastructure design keeps cyclists out of the door zone and saves lives

Making a coroplast honeycomb material may be the next phase of bicycle helmets. The New Materials That Are Revolutionizing Helmet Safety Right Now More expensive than the current EPS material that is standard for bike helmets, but potentially this could make helmets work almost as well as people think they do now.

The first of the Next City links is about the best bike lanes in the US. Cycling Advocates Pick 10 Best New Bike Lanes in the U.S. The “Best” bike lane in the US would still fail to meet the minimum standards set forth in the CROW manual.

Memphis is feeling the loss of their streetcar revival. Memphis Streetcars Will Come Back, But When? And if you are wondering what this has to do with bikes, the increase in cars caused by the shutdown of the streetcars makes use of the parallel bike lane just that much more dangerous…

Does anyone recall how many times I wrote in this blog that stale greens and short amber phases were getting cyclists killed? Investigation Says Mayor Emanuel’s Office Is Ignoring Traffic Safety Numbers Seems like some other people had the same idea…

Surface level highways without grade separation do not belong in neighborhoods, period, full stop, end of story. Vision Zero Activists Target New York Arterials, Including “The Boulevard of Death” You can’t mix fast cars with cyclists and pedestrians without getting dead and broken bodies, they just are not compatible. And if you can’t get the cars away from the people, you have to slow them down to the point that they can mix with people. Recent studies have shown that the maximum safe speed for motor vehicles on streets with pedestrians is 25 MPH. Any faster than that and the survival rate for the inevitable collisions between motor vehicles and pedestrians or cyclists just get’s unacceptably low. I mean people are rightfully appalled at a 91% survival rate for gunshots when motor vehicle collisions survivability rate goes under that at 23 MPH (90%).

Gee, why encourage people to make your downtown a desirable destination when you can turn it into a free parking wasteland. Parking Wars Play Out Differently in Two N.J. Cities One way gets sales and property tax money back to the city and the other lets car thieves have a choice of an open-air or covered market to select a vehicle from, assuming that anyone actually uses them for parking, because why stop and park when there’s nothing to see or do?

I wonder if this is because they don’t like bikes, or because they don’t like people spending money and generating sales tax dollars? Utah Appears Set to Ban Bicycles From Drive-Thru Lanes

Well this is interesting, a deputy threatening arrest for trespassing for riding a mountain bike on a posted mountain bike trail. Dust up over trail access in Oro Valley’s Honeybee trails

Gee, how DO you get people to ride bikes other than providing them with safe infrastructure that gets them from where they are to where they want or need to go? Four Ways to Inspire Bike Riders in Your Small Community

OK this is just as appalling as people getting shot. Mansfield Woodhouse car crash man walked away after injuring a cyclist He wrecked his car hitting parked cars and knocked a man down causing some injury when he pushed one of the parked cars into the man’s bicycle, then he wandered off because he “lost his passenger”? what was he on at the time? drugs, booze, massive amounts of beer?

Gee, why are huge vehicles with poor outward visibility that take up massive amounts of space when they turn killing people with no protection when they are forced to share the roads? TRL to study London’s HGV operations

Before and after court articles from the same Feed. Before New Milford man to be sentenced in cyclist death and after Lee gets eight years in cyclist’s death That’s 30 years of state supervision in all, with the first 8 in prison of he doesn’t mess things up, otherwise he gets to spend the full 25 in prison, then the 5 years of probation.

OK I an absolutely gobsmacked at this verdict. Van driver cleared of killing teenage cyclist in Kent also Texting van driver cleared of responsibility for death of 18-year-old cyclist He admitted he was trying to text but ran out of battery before he completed the text right before hitting the cyclist, and he was still found “not guilty”? And another view. SOMETHING’S NOT QUITE RIGHT HERE A detailed review of the wreck taken from the published testimony and court record.

At least there was a trial for that one even if the jury was composed of wannabe F1 drivers… One year on, ‘justice’ plea for cyclist dad who died in collision with car That’s right the plods won’t even send the case on to prosecutors.

This Irish cyclist may have missed seeing a pothole at night, but she didn’t miss the pothole! Pothole leaves cyclist with head injuries Interesting that the pothole was filled after the time of the wreck and before the cyclist was released from the hospital. 😛

No rush at all to build this memorial to a dead cyclist killed riding to ball practice, he died in 1983. Board OKs Stoughton pavilion for youngster killed riding bike That’s right he was killed by a motor vehicle while riding his bike July 21, 1983! Almost 32 years ago!

A LEO in AK wants to see how big a difference bike lights really make in drivers seeing cyclists do they really pay that much attention? JPD starts bike safety project

It turns out it is very hard to get people to change their commute once they have a set pattern they follow. The Problem With Paying People to Bike to Work Even when you pay people to bike, if they have already established the pattern of driving to work they will probably continue to drive unless besides paying to ride you also do something that strongly disincentives driving at the same time, like charging hourly rates for parking or putting in meters that need to be fed coins regularly.

This link is a bit out of position because it came in after midnight and I was not in the mood to scroll back up 1200 words and put it over by the rest of the CA stuff. YUCAIPA: Driver jailed in cyclist’s death That is one of if not THE harshest sentence I have ever seen anyone get for killing a cyclist, that I can remember. And they did not even have to prove BAC%. I have seen cyclist killer drivers with proven BAC% in the “you’re gonna die” range get lower maximum sentences than this guy’s minimum sentence before becoming eligible for parole.

And I’m done, no more links and I don’ wanna do this anymore today. 😦

Billed @€0.03, Opus the Poet

OK the ice and snow is gone, and the Feed

By this evening the last of the ice and snow that has been dominating the weather in these parts finally went away. Good riddance! Finally we have temperatures our heating system was designed to cope with and Mrs. the Poet has divested herself of her coat and 2 of the 4 shirts she was wearing. Yep, she’s down to 2 shirts and 2 pairs of underwear and heavy wool socks, instead of the “everything in the drawers and closet” costume she was wearing yesterday and Saturday. I still keep getting awakened at night with her trying to keep getting closer even after she gets into full body contact under the covers. I mean at this point the only way she could get any closer would be to skin me and wear me as a coat, which is kinda hard to do in your sleep and messy besides. Outside of the house the roads are no longer coated in ice, just slightly damp, and the number of injury wrecks has declined to only slightly above “normal” for a weekday. Have I mentioned that TX drivers lose their minds when the roads are anything less than perfectly dry and smooth? You would think that given how low the state’s road maintenance budget is compared to how many miles of road we have people would be used to crappy roads by now.

Up first is the massive amount of links to various aspects of an Italian cyclist “winning” the “door prize” in Australia. Brunswick cyclist death: ‘Car-dooring’ fatality prompts calls for motorists to pay more attention and Chilling footage of cyclist’s road death sparks passionate debate I wonder if anyone was paying attention to the bike lane symbol peeking out from under the weapon vehicle at the bottom of the image? Alleged dooring death: cyclist launch Sydney Road parking ban petition and another one Sydney Road bicycle death: Labor minister Jane Garrett sets emergency meeting as Greens MP Greg Barber renews call for TAC-style dooring campaign not done yet Italian cyclist Alberto Paulon killed on Sydney Road, Brunswick, remembered by work colleagues and memorial ride still MORE! Brunswick cyclist’s car-dooring death a ‘wicked waste’ and easily avoidable, safety campaigner says are we done yet? Tougher dooring penalties call rejected after death of Italian cyclist Alberto Paulon As I interjected between links I noticed what appeared to be a buffered bike lane underneath the line of parked cars the cyclist was next to when he was doored and thrown into the path of the truck that killed him. What is going on that there was nothing mentioned about this in any of the hundreds of comments I read about this wreck?

Also generating a ton of links is ongoing reporting on the lawsuit filed against the driver of a car that was used to kill a cyclist and the owner of that car. Suit filed in death of cyclist hit by alleged drunk driver also Suit filed in death of cyclist hit by alleged drunk driver and Cyclist’s Family Files Wrongful Death Suit Against Alleged Driver As I have written earlier, they should also file suit against whoever is in charge of this piece of infrastructure for the third identical death in 5 years in nearly the same location, a drunk driver drifting into the bike lane and hitting two cyclists from behind at high speed. One such death is a tragic accident, two is a coincidence, three is a design defect. We are now in design defect territory.

I find this conviction unusual especially given the state it was obtained in. Judge to sentence man for death of Casper cyclist Seriously 16 years in prison for killing a cyclist in Wyoming? The state that recently decided they didn’t need to know how and how many cyclists were getting killed and injured on their streets and highways?

Another one of those links about a dead cyclist that I don’t have a good label for. BICYCLIST STRUCK, KILLED BY CAR IN FRESNO COUNTY LAID TO REST

And while we are talking about CA here’s Our Daily Ted. A giant falls — Alex Baum, the father of modern LA bicycling, dies at age 92 WoaB sends its condolences to the LA bicycle community.

And some people in CA are just bastards. Robin MIller: Grow up and put your helmet on Seriously, I wear a helmet every time I ride my bike (and the recent medical problem I have been having that has been keeping me from wearing my helmet is also keeping me off the bike), but I know my helmet is mostly to protect my heirs in the lawsuit they will file against the driver that kills me to show I did everything in my power to not get killed.

And in NYC a killer driver refuses to admit fault or even that he committed hit-and-run when he killed a cyclist. No Apology From Trucker 3 Years After Killing Williamsburg Cyclist The sad thing is even if they pull his license and he kills someone else, unless he is drunk or leaves the scene again the most he will get is a ticket for driving while revoked.

OK this is mostly a bike story because they stabbed this guy so they could steal his bike. Islington stabbing: Alan Cartwright, 15, killed while riding bike with friends and Islington cyclist stab murder inquiry begins

A little UK “infrastructure”. I use quotes because there is little to none for bicycles in this article. Cycling campaigner brands Westminster Council’s attitude to road safety as ‘neanderthal’

News of a driver actually facing charges for killing a cyclist in Enn Zed. Driver charged over fatal cyclist crash Another turning truck running a cyclist over from behind…

Seriously, what is wrong with some people? Cycle-route booby traps: a growing danger for Spain’s mountain bikers Barbed wire and heavy fishing like at face or neck height? Rocks big enough to require 3 people to cooperate in carrying and placing them? This is acts of terrorism, pure and simple. And that steel plate with spikes welded into it? Someone was trying to kill somebody.

And here is some real “Lifestyle” of the cycling kind. 2015 Twelve Hours of Santos: Riding to Help an Injured Racer

And thank [$DEITY] I have finally reached the end of today’s links.

Billed @€0.02, Opus the Poet

Bean Day, Monday, and the Feed

What can I say, it’s another Monday, and another Bean Day. I was supposed to get a paying gig to go work on another bike but this is one of those bikes that cannot fit inside a heated room, and the current weather situation is such that I dragged a hoodie out of the closet so I have a decent chance of keeping my fingers warm inside the house. I’m still wearing shorts but the combination pf the long sleeves and hood trap enough heat in my core that my fingers can function normally. And yes I know how silly long sleeves and shorts look. I don’t care about that, I just want to be comfortable when I’m working.

Up first Ellen DeGeneres is one of us as she teaches an actress in a show I don’t watch how to ride a bike. Ellen Makes Sarah Hyland Ride A Bike – See The Pics!

Our Daily Ted may not be visible to some as the site has been up and down all day resolving a server issue. Morning Links: Gloria Molina wonders where all the poor cars will park, and KFI’s John and Ken go on the attack If only there was a way to get back at people who lie and encourage illegal activity on the air, like maybe a license to use the airwaves, a broadcasting license for example…

And the Stoopid is strong with these. Should California cyclists be required to wear helmets? Question of the Week

And what is the problem here, cyclists or the people in cars that kill them with no fear of prosecution? Report: S.F. Is One of the Few Cities Where Cyclist Deaths Are Increasing

Along the same lines. Jeff Jardine: ‘Ghost bikes’ reminders of cyclist tragedies There was some misinformation in the article, mainly the bit about riding single file. Riding two up when there are many cyclists taking the lane both makes cyclists more visible and also easier to pass by reducing the amount of time needed to pass a group of cyclists.

I’m shocked that this is even being seriously considered. Should Bus Drivers Be Arrested For Failing To Yield? The question is making bus drivers immune from the law making death by failure to yield a misdemeanor and arrestable offense, instead of the previous maybe a traffic ticket only.

A little CA lifestyle article. Tour De Ed on Feb. 22 helps injured bikers I hope they rake in buttloads of money, Metric buttloads even.

Lifestyle in AZ, as cyclists remember one of our own who switched to handcycling after hip replacement. Bicyclists remember Rose Peters, rider killed in crash

A little UK lifestyle that I was also invited to attend/report on. Hundreds expected at vigil for cyclist killed in Holborn I’m still not sure of why I get invited to these things, I think I got on someone’s list by mistake. There is no way I could make it there to participate.

A little infrastructure news from the Emerald Isle. Cyclist urges council to repair road From the number of filled but still crumbling potholes I would say there is a word missing from the headline: “properly”.

Billed @€0.02, Opus the Poet

They closed the tax office an hour early today, and the Feed

Cutting to the chase, they closed the GISD tax office as I was walking up to it at 1600. The line of people out the door were very vocally unhappy about getting turned away, to the point that police were on hand for crowd control. I think that this may have been a planned thing, because the police were there long before the office was closed. I know this because I was walking up to the door as they closed it and there was a cop inside already.

Up first is good news from just a half-day’s ride east from WoaB World HQ in the Beautiful Suburbs of Hell. Injured cyclist rides again following months recovering WoaB and employees very happy to see this. Her recovery period was about the same as mine.

LAPD shows NYPD how it’s done. Suge Knight Arrested For ‘Suspicion Of Murder’ After Fatal Hit-And-Run This was a pedestrian death on a closed film set, but still, NYPD should be taking notes.

Speaking of NYC, they had another fatal pedestrian right hook. Woman Fatally Struck By Nassau County Bus Driver In Queens And in spite of a bus full of witnesses NYPD failed to arrest of even charge the driver.

Another article on the loss of who may have been the world’s oldest active cyclist. Long Beach loses its 106-year-old symbol of cycling

And that makes for a great segue into our next link, our Daily Ted. Morning Links: Atwater paper calls legal cyclists lane hogs, a handful of links and a long list of upcoming events

Update on a cyclist that a road-raging driver tried to kill. Donations help injured cyclist recover at home I like the remodeled bathroom, Mrs. the Poet wants a shower like that, too.

Infrastructure news from VA via DC. Bills in the Virginia General Assembly would hurt and help transit and cyclists I’ll withhold comment on this because I haven’t read the full text for any of the bills.

A hit-and-run driver gets a gentle caress on the wrist from a CO judge. Woman gets probation for hitting Fort Collins cyclist, fleeing They totally ignored the sentencing guidlines for felonies of this nature. According to one commenter if this had been treated like other crimes of this grade of felony the minimum sentence would be 2 years with the possibility of probation.

A little legal infrastructure in action in Jolly Olde. Marjorie Trappenden accelerated into Kevin Lane on High Road, Woodford Green, on February 9 Another dead cyclist with the killer getting community service in the UK.

I find it interesting that a surviving cyclist elicits more severe punishment than a deceased cyclist. Diabetic driver mum jailed for crash which left cyclist seriously injured

Another “bicycle safety” article from people who haven’t been on a bike since elementary school. Life in the bike lane: Riding responsibly Once again too much emphasis is placed on helmets to prevent wrecks.

Another article that should not have to be written, but was because too many drivers have the morals of a Chaotic Evil kinder. Attorney John Nojima of Lederer & Nojima, LLP Reminds Cyclists to Carry Uninsured Motorist Coverage in Light of News Regarding Hit-and-Runs Now if they would just provide a source for this insurance that doesn’t require buying a car and getting a license first…

A little humor from Spokesmama. 10 Reasons Not To Get A Cargo Bike The one I thought was hilarious was the one about not supporting the poor oil companies… HA!!

Last link is a bit of bike culture from the most deadliest state in the US to walk or ride a bike. Critical Mass Set To Take The Streets Friday

And I’m out of links again.

Billed @€0.02, Opus the Poet

I’m working sick, and the Feed

Yep, after a slight recovery yesterday I had a slight relapse today, but I got nagged out of bed and consumed calories so I’m able to filter links and do the blog. And yes, that was Mrs. the Poet doing the nagging. I still feel like crap, but I feel like I have enough functioning brain cells to compose a post without looking too stupid, or as Gigi puts it in her blog critiques, “Stoopid”. The timeline so far is that I slept until 1600 or so yesterday, was wiped out and back asleep by 0200 and did not wake back up until around 1330 today and still felt like cold crap even then. I had the breakfast that was left over from yesterday, re-heated, then about an hour later (1500) Mrs. the Poet fixed soup and sandwiches for lunch that I finally finished about 1600, and it is now 1745 as I type this and aside from having to wrap my legs in a blanket I’m mostly alert and active. I’m just getting ready to filter the Feed for relevant links, but I REALLY need to take a shower…

Up first is another bit of Schadenfreude about a killer driver. Bishop charged in cyclist death to remain in Baltimore jail Drunk driver blows 3 times the legal limit with a previous DUI and FINALLY gets some serious bail imposed after she kills someone. And while I feel some righteous indignation that the victim was a cyclist, I would feel almost the same had she killed a pedestrian, not quite the same had she killed another driver because there would be a strong possibility that killing another driver would result in serious injury for her. But yes, I’m having lots of schadenfreude about her having to stay in jail until trial, which might be in another 2 or 3 years.

And while we are in the legal infrastructure side of things, another driver gets a caress on the wrist for hitting 3 people and killing the one riding the bicycle. Distracted Driver Gets 1 Year In Minn. Crash That Killed Cyclist Mom Actually 360 days in local jail with time out for attending drill with his National Guard unit, so it’s an “interrupted” year.

This bill could potentially provide us with an endless stream of physical infrastructure, or be used to prevent federal funds from ever being used to build bicycle infrastructure. All Bill Information (Except Text) for H.R.199 – To authorize the Secretary of Transportation to establish a pedestrian and bicycle infrastructure credit assistance pilot program, and for other purposes.

Our Daily Ted. Morning Links: New hope for North Fig and Santa Monica Blvd; bike rider attacked on San Gabriel River trail

Another link from Oz that conflates wearing a bicycle helmet with avoiding injury on a bike. Cyclists’ injuries getting worse The article is about being dragged under a large vehicle like a semi, something that is so far out of the envelope of a bicycle helmet’s protection that it might as well be circling the rings of Saturn… but yet they still manage to mention wearing helmets while also talking about massive internal injuries that require weeks if not months of bed rest to recover from. Last I checked helmets only covered the top part of the head and did nothing to prevent internal injuries.

I don’t know why this article on passing cyclists safely includes a picture of the 2014 TdF peloton riding in the rain. RSA urges passing drivers to stay clear of cyclists The people in charge of suggesting rules have the right idea, but what are the editors of the media outlet trying to do?

Cyclists generally have big hearts, and not (just) because we are endurance athletes. Cyclists get on their bikes in support of injured rugby player Owen Williams

Another link about that useless “safety” app from Volvo. Volvo’s Next Safety Frontier: Tech To Help Drivers Share The Road With Cyclists As I pointed out before, this thing only works if you have a compatible cell phone with you as you ride, and for the foreseeable future only applies to Volvos driven with the app activated by the driver. Every other vehicle is still just as blind to you as before. Which is pretty much everybody.

And last link, bicycles and handcycles are a vehicle to recovery for physically and mentally damaged veterans. Wounded Warriors Interact With Dolphins, Bike Across Keys Bridge

And those were all the links I could find.

Billed @€0.02, Opus the Poet

Hoping my words don’t stop again, and the Feed

Well yesterday’s post was an embarrassment. I just wasn’t sure if putting up the post was more embarrassing than not, but I put up a post every Sunday unless physically prevented from doing so. Nothing was physically preventing me yesterday, except the lingering effects of getting hit with a truck 13 years ago. So, you got a “post”. Also this morning I went on a quest for light, so that Mrs. the Poet would stop complaining about how dark it is in the bathroom, so I bought the dimmest possible LED lights that fit the fixture in the bathroom and filled every socket. The effects can be seen here.

Picture from another room with normal room lighting.

Picture from the bathroom with all the sockets filled.

Notice how much light is reflected from the hat in the second picture. Both pictures are of the same hat. And same guy wearing the hat, but the less said about that, the better. The doctors did miracles putting my face back together, but they really didn’t have much to work with from before the wreck.

And I hit Publish instead of Preview to check to make sure both pictures came out, so some of you are looking at this and wondering where the Feed went. Sorry.

Up first are two links from Houston. Sentencing in Chelsea Norman case won’t end debate over cyclists, safety and Bikes, cars and Chelsea Norman’s death Those articles look very similar…

Another hit-and-run from the Show-me state this time. Woman Sentenced to 7 Years in Prison for Fatal Hit-and-Run The guy that was chasing her is still facing a murder charge…

The perp who ran into 4 cyclists riding on the opposite shoulder of a bridge approach is getting a great plea bargain, if she takes took it. N.H. woman accused of killing 2 cyclists must plead today The article is from Friday morning, and was posted in Saturday evening’s Feed. More N.H. woman in deadly bike crash to plead guilty

You know I can’t be quiet about this subject. Time to use your head and wear a helmet when cycling The head injury rate for drivers is higher than for cyclists, where are the articles about helmets for drivers? The article leads off with a story about a cyclist with great hair getting hit by a van and going into a coma. Note that he suffered life-threatening injuries to most of his body, and was only saved by the use of advanced medical techniques, but no mention was made of the lack of airbags and crumple zones on a bicycle, just the miraculous effects of wearing a magic styrofoam hat on a small part of your head.

Our Daily Ted. The Danger in Dog Day Afternoons

And finally a cop that knows the law. Ask a Phoenix cop: Who has right-of-way: bike or car? The answer is Yes, and It Depends.

I’m pretty sure my readers don’t buy bikes from big boxes, but you might tell your friends about this link. Major retailers put to safety test when building bicycles for kids I have worked on bikes that only had the pedals on finger tight, the CRANKS only on finger tight, brake cables, seat posts, and handlebars that were, you guessed it only finger tight. And tires that had about 5 pounds of pressure, that’s another common one…

And those were all the links I had today.

Billed @€0.02, Opus the unkillable badass Poet

If I ruled the world, and the Feed

If I ruled the world shareholders would get paid before CEOs, more people would ride bicycles because they wanted to not because they were made to, the air and water would be cleaner, corporate profits would be up dollar-wise but down as a percentage of revenues, a single person could actually afford to live alone on minimum wage without having to pack 5 people in a 2-bedroom apartment, and you could actually trust the government to do what was best for the country, not for a small group of already-rich-beyond-counting people. Vote for me!

More links on the cyclist doctor killed in KS. El Dorado doctor killed in bicycle accident Thursday Except that was no “accident” El Dorado optometrist killed when his bike was struck by a car Again, there was no reason for the cyclist to have even had a close call, there was another lane to the left going in the same direction of travel, plus two more lanes for the car to move over. This was a conscious decision of the driver to not move over to pass the cyclist, which makes it either assault with a deadly weapon or murder.

A single-bike wreck in WA. Tacoma businessman and civic leader Steve Albers hurt badly in Mount Rainier bike event AFAIK this was a case of the rider losing control of his bike on a corner and dropping the bike, which makes this wreck easy to avoid by just riding slower. Also, bicycle helmets are of little use in a wreck like this but are about the only thing we have to prevent head injury, so wear one anyway.

Although the article doesn’t come out and state it a cyclist is hit-and-run in GA. Barrow County cyclist injured in crash on rural road I wasn’t able to determine mode of wreck because the article did not admit there had been another vehicle involved, so I can’t say how to avoid this wreck, but it could be prevented with proper infrastructure that physically separates cyclists from fast-moving motor vehicles.

Infrastructure! news from an unlikely source, an online e-bike magazine that I read regularly. Americans with Disabilities Act Revisions Open Bike Paths and Rails-to-Trails to Cyclists with Disabilities Con I just say that this really came out of left field for me (for non-USAian readers, this means “out of nowhere”). I was aware of this provision of the ADA, I just didn’t think it applied to anything except powered wheelchairs.

A study in Oz gets it mostly wrong by asking the wrong questions. Study prompts safety precautions for cyclists You ask the wrong questions you get the wrong answers. The questions in this study pre-suppose that there is nothing that can be done about the actual cause of most serious bicycle injury, the motor vehicle with a driver that fails to see a bicycle and rider. As a result they focus on things like HiViz, lights, and helmets that will have only a temporary impact on crashes if any.

And those are all the links that gave me fits today.

Billed @$0.02, Opus

Between errands and meetings, the Feed

I just got home from Qigong class and Quill Questers meeting, and in a few hours I need to go take a class on using and maintaining the Nook for Mrs. the Poet, because while it was bought for her, I’m the one that’s going to get to do all the downloading and other maintenance on it. After that we have the regular game for the RPG group, where my warlock is now up to 3rd level and finally starting to kick some butt.

Up first is an important helmet recall, as there are a bunch of Chinese helmets that don’t even meet the pathetic CPSC standards. Product recall: Bicycle helmets Check to make sure your helmet or your kids’ helmets aren’t part of this recall because these are really, really, ineffective helmets.

Our first wreck links today are 2 links from the Great White North. This is their slow period for cycling, what with the roads being covered in snow and ice (not impossible to ride in but experience and special equipment are needed to do so safely). The first of those links is a report on a man who downed 4 oz. of straight rum and then went driving and hit a cyclist back in 2008 finally getting sentenced for the crime. Impaired driver gets 2 years for injuring cyclist The cyclist is deaf and vision impaired and has been unable to work since the wreck, basically making him retired prematurely (boy do I know how that feels) and because of Canada’s social safety networks will not be uncomfortable, but he would really rather be working and doing the things he used to love, like riding his bike.

Second link is to the second trial to sentence the guy that ran over 5 cyclists riding in the bike lane back in 2009 (AKA the Kanata 5). Crown wants 4-year sentence for driver All of the victims have had diminished quality of life since the wreck, with one having to use a walker to get around and an eyepatch to combat his double vision when he reads. Fortunately for the guilty driver, I am not on the jury that decides his sentence, because I would stick his butt in prison until all of his victims recover from their injuries.

Timeline of a hit-and-run bike wreck in L.A. CA. Scanner Report: Hit-and-Run Incident Reveals Personal Angle [PHOTOS] This was an article Joe Friday would have loved, as it was “just the facts” as they appeared on the street.

As 2012 starts there was a wreck in TX out in the Panhandle (which is about as close to WoaB World HQ as Memphis is). Cycle fatalities uncommon, officials say If you look at the crime scene pictures they have a thin strip of good, non-chip sealed pavement where the bikes were hit as a “bike accommodation” with gnarly, “babyhead” chip seal on either side, plus another lane that cars can use to pass (one way on either side of the freeway) and this was a hit-from-behind wreck. LEO is excusing the driver by claiming the sun was in his eyes.

Another wreck in TX, a solo crash in Ft. Worth. Cardiologist killed in bike crash left a worldwide legacy The coroner’s report indicates the cyclist died of a broken neck sustained in a solo wreck. There is no safety equipment in the world you can wear riding a bicycle that will prevent this kind of injury. There are such devices for motorcycle riders, but they would cause severe overheating if you tried to wear one while riding a bicycle, and they are only minimally effective against cervical injury caused by rotation of the skull in relation to the rest of the neck, so while it might have kept the cyclist alive in this wreck it still would not have prevented either the wreck or the broken neck, it just would have made the broken neck survivable. That is if he didn’t die from heat stroke first.

And there are more links to the lawsuit against NYPD for botching the investigation, and then trying to hide the results, of a hit-and-run bicyclist death. Bike-mowdown kin vs. police and from the WSJ Lawsuit against NYPD in bicycle fatal Umm, yeah. I think the general consensus is as far as bicycles are concerned anything the NYPD does is scuzzy. At best. As was proved in the Dershowitz case, even when they get it right they do so only at the point of a gun, sometimes literally.

And this link from Oz. Injured Dixie cyclist flown to Alfred Another hit-from-behind wreck, use the protocols to avoid.

And that’s about it. I will have news about the Sam’s Club MS ride in tomorrow’s post, drop in for that.

Billed @$0.02, Opus