This looks to be an easy(er) day, and the Feed

At the behest of Mrs. the Poet I have been perusing my ISP provider’s website comparing packages and deciding what we are going to be getting in the way of internet and TV after the last of the housemates moves on. The biggest savings will be losing the DVR and the additional set top boxes we needed to have 4 TVs in the house, that comes to $18/mon and dropping the extra shopping channels will save another $10 after spending the extra $10 to get the motorsports access I want. So we are looking at slicing almost $30/mon off our telecommunications bill. That’s $30 more we can spend on things like bus passes or going out to eat once in a while. This has been occupying most of my morning so far because the cable company web site had a massive brain fart and was sending me all over the rainbow looking to log in.

Up first because “why not?” is this tidbit from Bikeyface. UNIFORM Are you wearing your Bicycle Commuter Uniform? Why not (aside from the fact that its only use is in a courtroom, after you get hit)?

Our Daily Ted is pretty good today. Morning Links: Hearing for OC hit-and-run driver, what a bike lane is for, and celeb chefs ride to end child hunger

What would your town look like if it was only defined by it’s bike infrastructure? Mapped: How hard it is to get across U.S. cities using only bike lanes Garland would be one N/S route and a couple of E/W routes, and a whole bunch of detached loops in parks. Garland bike routes on Google Maps Compared to thousands of miles of streets where it isn’t safe to ride.

If your transit agency is this tone deaf on protecting their customer base, maybe you should be standing on some official’s desk. A safety campaign blames pedestrians for getting hit by cars. This response is perfect.

Ans speaking of tone-deaf, here’s another “bike safety” campaign that spends more time on helmets than telling drivers to not hit cyclists, or cyclists how to avoid getting hit by cars. Bike safety The entire second and third paragraphs are pure victim-blaming propaganda.

This could be a major game-changer for SF. Bay Area Could Get 7,000 More Bike-Share Bikes Those added bikes are what we called back in my military days a “force multiplier”. They are not like 7000 bikes owned by regular people, they are constantly on the move sitting in a docking station for a few minutes to go to another destination.

Is car pollution a major problem in your city? Then get rid of cars by making room for bikes. Paris’ bold plan for solving its air pollution woes: Start a biking revolution Obviously you can’t entirely get rid of motor vehicles by this stage, but you can drastically reduce how many are needed by making riding a bike as easy and safe as driving a car. See two paragraphs up for examples of how NOT to do it.

A bit of NYC Lifestyle, that I wish I didn’t need to relate to you. Residents Honor Fallen Cyclists in 10th Annual Memorial Event That reminds me, I should be getting Ride of Silence links here pretty soon.

More e-assist news. Bosch expands to Canada with service partner Live to Play Sports I like this particular assist unit, it’s much more parsimonious of electricity than a hub motor without losing any speed to a hub motor.

And I worry about this myself… Support Group meets here.

And I seem to have run out of links, thank [$DEITY].

Billed @€0.02, Opus the Poet

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Well this is disappointing, and the Feed

All my life I have wanted to go to Indianapolis to see the 500, until yesterday. Neither will I ever go to watch the Brickyard 400 even if I get to go for free, all expenses paid. Why the sudden change in desired objectives? Indiana passed a law allowing discrimination for religious reasons. The reason this law was passed is to “protect” people from having to serve gay people getting married, but the stoopid sheeple writing the law couldn’t make it that narrow without danger of getting it immediately shut down. This widens the scope of the law so that anyone can discriminate against anyone for any reason even including things like race, gender, long hair on men and short hair on women, or riding a bicycle instead of driving a car. And it would allow Sharia law for Muslims because that is a deeply-held religious belief. So, until this law is repealed or overturned, Indiana is a no-go for me. I might watch the races on TV still, maybe.

And just for the record, this witch is a straight ally, not LGBTQA or any of the other initials in any of the acronyms used. I’m a dues-paying member of the Human Rights Campaign (HRC, the guys with the equal sign as their symbol) and you can go into the list if pages in the header to find a link to The Gay Marriage Challenge, where I invite people to make a logical case against same-sex marriage as damaging somehow to straight heterosexual marriage. So far the only serious attempt managed to shoot his case in the foot twice.

Up first today is Our Daily Ted. Weekend Links: Bicyclist voices heard in Griffith Park flap, but not in San Diego; Seattle driver doesn’t give a f*** The thing I liked about the Seattle bike lane video is the driver didn’t just move over to the parking lane right next to the bike lane she was parked in, she flat-out left completely.

Still in CA SFPD blames a dead cyclist for running a red light when there was a witness statement made to both them and the news media that the weapon vehicle ran a red light. SFPD investigation into bicyclist death called into question This just a couple of years after blaming cyclist Amelie Le Moullac killed in a right hook wreck without looking for the video that showed the truck driver at fault, which was found by a local bicycle advocacy group just hours before it would have been erased. Yeah SFPD, nobody is going to believe you when you make statements that contradict witnesses after that previous SNAFU.

Another link to the possible judicial collusion averted in CA. Attorney who had pled in death of cyclist withdraws his plea This situation just screams “We got caught” setting up some kind of sweet deal for the perp, something like time served, probation, or [$DEITY] forbid, deferred adjudication.

Do you have a hard time getting your brake levers where you can reach them? Lever Position Don’t forget to bring your yard or meter stick to the party.

Assault with a deadly weapon is perfectly fine when the weapon is a motor vehicle. Driver Who Rammed Minneapolis Protestors Charged With Traffic Offenses Someone in the street protesting something that you don’t like? Just drive right over them. No problem aside from a few tickets. The driver rammed through the demonstration at speed injuring several of the protesters.

Prosecutors in Oz go all out in punishing a drunk driver that killed a cyclist. Drunk driver Joseph Haenga sentenced to five years for causing death of champion cyclist Brynt McSwain Five years for killing a human being… TANJ.

We will never manage to pay off building suburbs with tax revenue from building suburbs. Study: Annual Cost of Sprawl in America Adds Up to $4,500 Per Person

Since they aren’t allowed to follow the Dutch blueprints for the wheel, Portland traffic engineers have to do some trial and error to reinvent it. City removes portion of N Rosa Parks bike lane to allow right turns> Actually what they are doing is trying to prevent right hooks. That’s something the Dutch have very nearly eliminated without resorting to mixing zones.

In other infrastructure news (from WI, where Scott Walker has just deleted the bike infrastructure budget)… Second Fatal Crash On Sheboygan Highway The report is not that there was a crash, or even that there were two crashes, what is interesting (for a traffic engineer) is the two fatal wrecks happened within a few feet of each other, meaning this may be infrastructure related.

Another link to the lawsuit filed in the death of a Vancouver West Canuckistan cyclist possibly pushed off a MUP by a pedestrian to be killed by a bus. Antonina Skoczylas, cyclist killed on Stanley Park Causeway, lawsuit launched I said at the time those sidewalks did not look wide enough to use as MUP coming off the bridge, and there is ample room for a bike lane there.

On the one hand he’s a pompous windbag with zero regards for the safety of cyclists even when he is one, on the other hand he’s a funny guy on the telly. Jeremy Clarkson on his bike in every sense – but who should replace him?

And very seldom is the victim of a bike wreck an awful person, unfortunately. Tributes paid to Michael Beard killed in Lincoln cycle crash

An e-assist bike can make your Silver Years more Golden. Electric bikes make inroads in the U.S. The ones I experimented with were set up to keep my average speed as constant as possible so I could route plan based on my cruise speed without assist on flat roads with no winds.

They experimented with co-ed team pursuit on a velodrome with four randomly selected teams. Mixed men and women track event tested at UCI World Cycling Centre The experiment seems to have gone well.

Another wounded veteran ride. Local veterans injured in combat participate in The Warrior Ride Cycling seems to be very therapeutic for combat injured vets.

And I’m all out of links again, finally.

Billed @€0.02, Opus

One of those days, and the Feed

Today is one of “those” days where I feel like strangling a politician, making it a good thing there aren’t any in reach. The Feed had a number of proposed bills for cyclists that did not actually do anything to protect cyclists but did make people feel like they had “done something”. Also Mrs. the Poet was out in the garage complaining about my stash of used bikes that I use to make art bikes and recumbents from. Then she started getting into some of the things that keep me from actually being able to use those bikes as I intended to when I got them, all the other people’s junk that keeps me from being able to get to my tools and workspace in the garage. Lots of cussing about that coming from the garage whilst I was trying to filter links.

Up first is one of those “What were they thinking?” laws I was reading about. Bill would require neon clothes, government ID for cyclists There are some things that would be a great idea, and others not so much. Rear lights, good idea, government ID, not so much. I see this bill being used mostly as a way to bludgeon the poor and homeless, not as an effective tool for bicycle safety.

A really bizarre case in NYC gets even weirder. Bag Of Rats Offers New Evidence In Fatal Williamsburg Hit & Run They recovered a plastic bag of “live frozen” rats from the weapon vehicle at the scene, with the defendant’s fingerprints on it. Also the defendant has a criminal history that includes killing people. The weapon vehicle was doing almost 70 in a 30 MPH zone when he hit the cab.

Another off-the-wall scene in an NYC court. Mother Of Unlicensed Teen Driver Who Killed 4-Year-Old Lashes Out In Court She’s lucky her unlicensed son was not charged with illegal possession of a deadly weapon.

Using mind-reading helmets to plan lower-stress cycling in NYC. NYC bike map based on riders’ brainwaves tells you which routes are the most stressful or relaxing How about building some Dutch-quality infrastructure for making low-stress routes?

Why has building infrastructure for active transportation become a political football? Koch-funded groups coalesce around axing all federal funding for walking, biking and transit and Koch-Funded Groups: Cut All Federal Funding for Walking, Biking, Transit I looked at the proposal and all it does is lock in transportation planning from 50 and 60 years ago to the exclusion of every other alternative, basically “Cars über alles”.

More on technical means of keeping drivers from running over cyclists and pedestrians. Here’s How Car Makers Are Trying to Make Streets Safer for Bicycle Commuters Some car-makers are using passive sensors that don’t require anything from the cyclist or pedestrian other than being there and potentially moving into conflict with the motor vehicle, while others are requiring vulnerable users to carry devices that warn the car of their presence, path, and velocity so the car can then warn the driver. If you don’t have these devices then the car doesn’t tell the driver you’re there…

Infrastructure news from America’s Amsterdam, Portland OR. Novick says PBOT will use state study to address speeding, lack of bikeway on Barbur The lane closures from the construction did not seriously affect the non-rush traffic except to slow it down slightly under the posted speed limit.

Some infrastructure news from OR. City issues bike parking code violation to Jantzen Beach Home Depot I am in awe and totally jealous that they even have a bike parking code. I have been lobbying the Beautiful Suburbs of Hell for a bike parking ordinance for almost 10 years now. We still don’t have one.

More infrastructure from across the Columbia from Portland OR. Damaged sections of waterfront trail reopen

Our Daily Ted. Morning Links: January was a good month for SoCal cyclists, walkability survey and still more bike events

Still in SoCal we get this lifestyle event. SLAIN CYCLIST HONORED AT ORANGE COUNTY MEMORIAL RIDE RIP rider…

Struggling to provide a connection for two trans-continental bike routes. PLEASE SUPPORT BICYCLE ROUTE 66 This is a vital connection for both the Southern Tier bike route and the Heartland bike route. BR66 is also a potential major tourist bike route. Having a big unrideable gap like that just east of LA just cuts too many people off from the rest of the country.

And I seem to have run out of links again.

Billed @€0.02, Opus the Poet

Blue has been found, and the Feed

My stolen bike Blue has been found at a Garland pawn store and placed on hold pending a property hearing in front of a judge. I haven’t seen him yet, but the RBENT club member who spotted him said that he was mostly intact except for a missing headlight. The rack was still on the back but no mention of the pump, fenders, or computer still being there. I will probably have to get another frame pump and fabricate another mount to hang it from. I am somewhat resigned to having to redo the fenders, but heartened that having done the job twice already the biggest problem will be buying another 2 sets of fenders to get the blanks to use to build the front fender. After I did the first part of this paragraph I got a call from GPD that the pawn shop was disputing my claim and I will have to be present at a property hearing in 6-8 weeks.

Up first is a Daily Ted left over from the weekend. Weekend Links: UCLA Transpo group honored; Bike the Vote next month and score a Wolfpack Hustle T-Shirt Catch the stuff that hasn’t happened yet.

Here’s a good one for you and three friends of a similar size and riding similar size bikes. Free to good home: a bicycle-powered star destroyer About the only place I could ride this would be the lead hole. Any other position and the supports would be floating above my shoulders. Put the big guys in the back and let it slope down to me.

I really don’t care if the Episcopalian church has a raging drunk leading them so long as the drunk is not driving. Cyclist death opens debate about theology of addiction Seriously, as long as she’s not driving they can do any damn thing they want with her, that’s outside my purview. Separation of church and state and all that.

I can haz infrastructure in CA? Plan in works to add third eastbound lane and bike path on Richmond-San Rafael Bridge All that money and the bike lane doesn’t even have a permanent barrier? Yeah, that “bike lane” will never see a bike.

More CA infrastructure news. Berkeley Bicycle Subcommittee Mtg: Bike Plan Launch, Hearst Ave Bikeway

More infrastructure news this time from MN. Guy On A Bike: Ghost Bikes

Sad news as what is believed to be CA’s oldest living cyclist gives up the “living” part of that title. Long Beach’s oldest cyclist Octavio Orduno dies at 106

Several cyclists have been killed on one short stretch of road and there is debate about changing the infrastructure to keep drunks out of the bike lane? Facing South Florida: Cyclists Struck Part II That there is any debate on what to do just strikes me as insensitive to the memory of the deceased, and insulting to the survivors. It’s simple, put in a steel guardrail between the bike lane and the driving lane so there is no way for the drunk drivers to get to the cyclists. Since the problem is drunk drivers put a tax on alcohol to pay for it. I also like the real-time speed monitoring idea.

UK infrastructure at its usual crap state. Edinburgh cyclists sue council for tramline injuries The video in the article was shot less than 5 minutes after the camera was set up on a notoriously bad stretch of road, and there were pictures of other bicycle traps disguised as bike lanes. Seriously, whose idea was it to put the tram in the freaking bike lane?

This news from Oz just floors me. Police investigate rope-stringing incident that injured cyclist Part of what floors me is the amount of time elapsed between the terrorist act and the posting of the news article. Really, it took from October to the end of January to let people know about a home-grown terrorist attack on a citizen?

They ignore a terrorist attack on cyclists but one cyclist a year causes pedestrian injury and they demand cyclists all line up to pay insurance? Pedestrian case sparks cyclist insurance calls

Another collision with wildlife or pets in Enn Zed. Cyclist injured in collision with dog Dogs are bad because they can take you out and you will never see one coming.

Still in Enn Zed, someone thought they had the right to abuse a little girl for riding her bike in the bike lane. Show respect: mother The comments are literally priceless, and worth every penny of it.

Your next package could come by bike. 5 businesses embracing the cargo bike

Last link, someone else has made a minor improvement to a hub-motor e-assist bike. Salem company bets on smart electric bikes Yet another company that will “change the world” with an e-assist bike.

And that’s all I got today, I had a late start because of having to go all the way across town to find Blue today.

Billed @€0.02, Opus the Poet