I’m fuzzy on Grocery Day, and the Feed

We are in the depths of Winter, and my bear-ness is approaching magnificent 😉
We spent more on cat food and kitty litter than we did on human foods at the grocery, but that’s OK because we has cats and they luvs us. We can eat $1 frozen pizza.

Up first NYPD actually finds a hit-and-run driver and arrests him. Cops Arrest Driver Who Allegedly Killed Brooklyn Cyclist & Kept Going and Hit-and-run truck driver kills Chinese immigrant riding bicycle in Brooklyn also Truck kills cyclist Can Reng Ma, Junior Hicks charged with hit-and-run: police this, too Driver Arrested in Brooklyn Hit-Run That Killed Father Bicycling Home After Work: NYPD TBH I am shocked that this much (read “any”) effort was expended on this wreck.

Infrastructure from NYC. Video: One Simple Trick To Stop NYC Drivers From Killing You Why is it drivers put so much effort into avoiding a hunk of plastic but not a fragile human body?

Still in NYC. Report: Vision Zero Won’t Meet Its Goal By 2024

Our Daily Ted. Morning Links: An in-depth look at PCH bike wrecks, helmets make you blow up balloons, and they’re onto us

Still in CA, LEO capture a bike thief with the “goods”. Police Grab Two Suspects With Pricey Stolen Goods

Also in CA a memorial ride for a fallen cyclist. Memorial bike ride held in honor of Loma Linda cyclist, ‘SteveO Eleven’

Infrastructure news from America’s Copenhagen. City’s latest experiment to protect NE Couch bike lane has failed I suggest something like this or some tire shredders like they use in pay parking lots.

Still in Portland. Bikeways, interrupted: Get ready for Gap Week This will get more links next week.

WI infrastructure news, as a law that had held out some hope for creating bike infrastructure turns out to be total crap in final form. Problems With Pothole Repair Act Since bike infrastructure is a part of the street I think the bill can be used to pay for it.

Cycling has a perceived attitude problem part 1. Chip on our shoulders?

Attitude problem part 2. Bicyclists Want to Slow Down Cars Even More

And attitude is shared on both sides of the windshield. It’s all fun and games until you honk at a LEO on a bike.. Ha Ha Ha!

Justice in Canuckistan. Southern Alberta man sent to jail for hit and run that killed cyclist Only 15 months, but that was about the limit allowed by the law.

Infrastructure from Jolly Olde. Cycling, congestion charge and a ban on big buses: John Hipkin’s solution to Cambridge growth agenda

Remember that guy that crashed into the ditch and drowned in Enn Zed? Family of killed cyclist Darrel Thomas works to make Hagley Park pathway safe

And I didn’t know Dallas had a women’s pro bike racing team. Visit Dallas DNA Pro Cycling announce roster, show off new kit – Gallery

And I’m finally out of links.

Billed @$0.02, Opus

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Still running around trying to get things bought, and the Feed

I am still trying to get the parts for that railing for the porches at church, making sure the stock was cut like I paid for, and all the fittings are in stock for pickup at 0Gawd30 tomorrow morning, to drop off at the church and then I come home.

Up first we have Our Daily Ted. Morning Links: $700 billion alternate mobility plan digs LA, and squash your scrotum for Paralympic victory Um, I’m not too sure about that scrotum thing. I know I’m not going to do it.

Still in CA a city is sued for their criminal lack of bicycle infrastructure, and loses. Indian Wells ordered to pay $5.8M for cyclist’s death They had a bare-minimum bike lane before widening, no bike lane after and it was still a signed bike route at the time of the wreck. So, yeah they deserved to lose that case.

Infrastructure news from CT. Cyclists call for new bike lanes As usual the headline drastically oversimplifies the situation, as not just bike lanes are demanded, but cycletracks and segregated bike paths. And it’s not as if this was something that wasn’t approved and paid for already, they should be done now and construction hasn’t even started.

This FL wreck is being blamed on the salmon cyclist. Bicyclist struck, killed on U.S. 17-92 in Haines City You know what I have to say about driver reports on cyclist pre-crash behavior, which is why I want to see the wrecked bike from this wreck.

And another example of windshield bias from LEO of all levels as what should be a minimum 3 year prison term is reduced to 100 days. Drunk Driver Who Killed Hector Avalos Sentenced to Only 100 Days in Prison One of the reasons for the light sentence was the cyclist’s clothing, he was not wearing the glow-in-the-dark clown suit that LEO seemed convinced that all pedestrians and cyclists are required to wear, just regular clothes. And once again a dead cyclist is barely more than a dead animal for the punishment the killer got. You would think that leaving a dead person on the side of the road could have gotten the driver a littering fine at least.

As OR residents and safe streets advocates struggle with CARnage, ODOT looks to slightly reduce traffic deaths. 135 ghostly memorials of traffic victims now haunt our region’s streets “ODOT’s goal is to achieve 175 fatality free days in one year. Last year they had 170.” Don’t strain yourselves guys.

And with all the non-effort to reduce motor vehicle deaths, who do they go after? New rules would require Portland pedicab operators to drive cars and carry car insurance

On the good side, this caught thief is unlikely to get away without a trip to prison first. Brazen bike thief appears in court facing prison sentence and $250,000 bail This clown was caught on camera stealing a bike and had more stolen bikes in his possession, ans has been arrested 98 (!) times.

A little infrastructure news from the Motor City. Detroit Gets Funding to Launch Bike-Share They are going pretty much all-out to repurpose all those acres of unused paving for bicycles now that about 45% of the population has left town after their jobs were shipped overseas.

In Jolly Olde another cyclist is killed by a bus driver. Cyclist dies after being hit by bus on Durham to Sacriston road Nothing on the mode of course, but the damage makes it look like a hit from behind wreck.

And another UK cyclist is seriously injured by a truck. Cyclist seriously injured after being struck by lorry in Cambridge Seriously, they need to do something about those trucks running over people. Maybe put drivers in them?

It looks like anything on two wheels is in danger this month in Oz. Police warn Greater Dandenong riders to stay safe on roads after three deaths in a month Two motorcycles and a bicycle…

A recent wreck shows the desperate need for getting the infrastructure installed on a planned bike route in Enn Zed. Cyclist injured in Wellington on proposed Island Bay to City cycleway How many broken bodies are required to get this thing on the road to getting bikes off the road?

Last link, this vehicle will perform 95% of the trips taken by 95% of the people, and would make cities so much more livable if even half of that 95% bought and drove them to the full extent of their usefulness. Driving Toyota’s three-wheel electric i-Road They are slightly bigger than Francis/es, carry about the same, and go as fast as urban vehicles can go, or should go, in a city anyway.

And now I’m outta links again.

Billed @€0.02, Opus

I think there was a song about this back in the ’70s, and the Feed

Yes there was a song about this back in the early ’80s. I have to wait until the surgeon gets the MRI to look at then talks to me and some time after the 14^th I will go to the hospital and get the lump cut out. I’m going to try to get pictures taken of the procedure or at the very least of the GOP presidential candidate useless lump of fat after it has been removed from my neck.

Up first, are you up to the challenge of National Bike Month? Welcome to the challenge | The National Bike Challenge If someone wants to name a team “Witch on a Bicycle” or “Witches on Bicycles” let me know and I’ll post your standings and progress in the blog every day.

A more local Bike Month celebration. MAY IS BIKE MONTH IN DENTON! Not exactly local, but a lot more “local” than the paragraph before.

Bike Month in NC. Bike Month offers variety of options for cyclists here in May Looks like they are having fun.

Some good news from MD. Episcopal Bishop Accused in Drunken-Driving Death Resigns I don’t know if she’s trying to use the Freddy Gray disturbances to fly this under the radar or what, but she can’t hide from the Witch on a Bicycle.

If this cyclist had been any more conspicuous she would have been mistaken for a UFO. Wrongful death suit filed in bicyclist’s death

A UK cyclist will probably still be in hospital by the end of National Bike Month. Cyclist remains in coma two weeks after his fall in Ingatestone

Infrastructure in Philly. ‘Spring Garden Greenway’ seen for cyclists, walkers Not so sure about the bike lanes replacing the median. That’s not in the CROW manual AFAIK, but we will see how that works.

Infrastructure in the Great White North. Group wants changes after cyclist hit by car near superhospital Really? a 6 second time for pedestrians and cyclists to go through the intersection with cars getting many times that just ain’t anything like fair.

A little non-bike infrastructure as they try to reduce car usage in car-sick South FL. Tampa Mayor Wants to Fix the Streetcar He Once Voted Against “I’m about to go to a meeting and I’m probably not going to take it … if I ride my bike, I’ll get there faster.” But it still gets people out of their cars, so that’s good.

The headline pretty much speaks for itself. In Portland, crime has plummeted in every major category except one Three guesses about which category didn’t go down, and the first two don’t count.

The Windy City wants to be something else. Why Chicago Is Claiming Bike-Share Bragging Rights

Another dubious “bicycle safety” article included for your amusement. SMART CYCLING: Kessler Institute Offers 10 Tips for Safe Riding Another article using that disgraced “85% reduction in head injury” helmet lie.

Speaking of helmet follies, this shattered helmet supposedly saved a cyclist’s life. SEE IT: British cyclist shows bloody helmet that saved his life after getting hit by van Looking at the second picture I see very little evidence of the crushing that is the ONLY way a bicycle helmet can absorb the energy applied to the cyclist’s skull in a wreck. What I do see is a shattered helmet that did not do much to protect the cyclist.

And another breathless panic piece terrifies pedestrians. Pedestrians need protection from illegal cyclists Really bicycles are scary because we conflate them with motor vehicles, because they are both fast-moving vehicles. This results in irrational fear.

And as this posts after the last submission to the Feed folder at midnight, I’m going to hope you had a happy Beltain.

Billed @€0.02, Opus the Poet

Why do we have a for-profit health care system, and the Feed

Contact has been made with my PCP concerning the GOP presidential candidate sitting on the back of my neck (“ugly lump of useless fat” for the people not among my Facebook friends). There was a 3 working day delay caused by my HMO having to approve of the surgery and the surgeon I was getting sent to. Remind me again why we don’t have a single-payer system like the UK, where stuff like this only takes a day? I mean obviously, this thing has been on the back of my neck for almost a decade now so it probably isn’t going to kill me (again), but still the MRI came back as “atypical” so this also isn’t something that can be ignored until it goes away. I will hear back from the surgeon on scheduling later today or early tomorrow.

The Bug Story today is from Oz as a Fox Sports announcer is found guilty of hitting a cyclist. Bosnich pleads guilty to reckless driving which injured cyclist and Mark Bosnich pleads guilty to charge of reckless driving after road rage incident also Bosnich knocked cyclist down: court And of course they got a plea bargain that never mentioned assault with a deadly weapon when the driver turned his vehicle at the cyclist and hit him with it, knocking him to the ground with numerous injuries.

Our Daily Ted, round 1. Morning Links: LAPD ordered to turn over video of bike rider beating, and Redlands riders do the right thing Surprise, surprise, LAPD beat a cyclist half to death and he was not white.

Our Daily Ted, part the second. Guest post: BAC Vice Chair Glenn Bailey reports on efforts to undo the Chase Street road diet and bike lanes This was the meeting that may have had an illegal agenda item added at the last minute. In TX the item would have been illegal to discuss since the agenda had already been published.

In today’s NYC news, the DA actually grew a pair and indicted a killer driver. Driver Charged With Manslaughter For Killing LES Pedestrian The driver was doing 55 in a 25 zone and attempted to flee but hit a fire hydrant on a crowded sidewalk and could not continue driving. The hydrant probably saved having several more victims.

Usually “Take your kid to work day” does not include teaching bicycle theft. Stroller-Pushing Bike Thief Has Allegedly Stolen $16K In Bikes

And a bit Upstate from The City, drunk asshole in a Camaro takes out his and two other vehicles when he’s prevented from excessively speeding. Video: Sociopathic Camaro Driver Causes Terrifying Highway Crash The Camaro driver was tested at more than twice the legal limit for BAC%.

Apparently driving while blind is not a crime in NE. Prosecutor will not charge woman in crash that killed cyclist The cyclist was riding a recumbent tricycle with an 8 foot tall flag on the back. If you can’t see a normal-sized adult human with an 8 foot tall flag in the road, please stop driving immediately and seek medical attention.

Not your average wreck in South Africa. Cyclist trampled to death by giraffe in South Africa Usually the traffic I have to wrangle is more 4-wheel than 4-foot.

More on the Scottish clamor for presumptive liability in civil cases where a cyclist is hit by a motor vehicle. Cyclists call for ‘presumption of liability’ against motorists in civil cases Yeah, we cyclists are just throwing ourselves against light armored vehicles in the hopes of getting a huge lawsuit payout… And I have a bridge in AZ I want to get off my hands. Used to be owned by a nice English lady named Elizabeth…

After the second cyclist is killed by a truck turning across the bike lane at a badly-designed intersection in NOLA legislation to restrict truck traffic is considered. Cyclist’s death spurs bill to ban hazardous material trucks on St. Claude, North Claiborne Note that there was nothing done to change the bad intersection, just to restrict hazardous cargo from using it.

More infrastructure news from Portland. East Portlanders want one mode of transportation prioritized above all others, survey finds They just want to be able to cross the street without having to play “Frogger”.

There has been a paradigm shift in city planning while nobody was looking. End of the car age: how cities are outgrowing the automobile

It’s about that time again. National Bike Month: Hupy and Abraham celebrates safety and awareness and Community encouraged to participate in Bicycle Month Notional Bike Month, or as I see it National This Blog Is Important Month. I’m hoping I can get Blue up and running and be healed up from neck surgery by the Ride of Silence. Last year was terrible for me as I couldn’t see where I was going because my helmet was hitting the lump on the back of my neck.

Speaking of that lump, the surgeon did not call today, but I at least know his last name: Ritter. And thanks to the powers of the Internet I know something about him.

Billed @€0.02, Opus the Poet

Celebrating Mrs. the Poet surviving another year, and the Feed

Today is Mrs. the Poet’s birthday. She’s a bit on the old side having memory of all the characters on “The Howdy Doody Show” from when it was on TV the first time. I’m only old enough to remember the Captain Kangaroo premier and JFK’s funeral on TV, Howdy Doody is just a bit before my time. Actually I could have remembered that show except for being out of the country when it was on… Anywho, we celebrated with delivery chinese food and cheesecake, and I bought a special bottle of wine for Mrs. the Poet’s dinner. It cost a whole $0.75 at the corner grocery store 😉 (and I paid for the dinner).

Shared with me from The Slow Bicycling Facebook group. LIMITED EDITION T-Shirt ONLY for Cycling Grandpa I’m the cool grandpa at the grandkid’s place because I ride a bike and give the kid a pedal car.

This bit of HiViz hardware was posted to the article about requiring pedestrians and cyclists to wear HiViz when walking/riding. Lifehammer emergency window breaker You think they’ll see that?

They caught the perps in a series of gang-related bike thefts. Arrest Made In Panhandle Cyclist Attacks This was armed juveniles stealing bikes, using swarm techniques.

It’s hard to solve a problem without getting a handle on exactly how big the problem is. DeFazio leads trio requesting GAO investigation into bike/walk safety I’m really hoping this is only the first step in reforming US transportation policy. not the last one.

Our Daily Ted is good news. Breaking news: LACBC hires Tamika Butler as Executive Director

Really need to work on one of the “E’s” of NYC infrastructure… Woman Fatally Run Over In The Bronx, Driver Not Charged Did you guess which “E” I’m talking about here?

In case you didn’t get the point from the previous paragraph. Unlicensed Driver Who Killed UES Pedestrian Gets $400 Fine, No Jail Time Seriously, if you can’t charge someone in illegal possession of a deadly weapon when they kill someone with it, WTF can you charge people with?

The “best” rail trail. New River Trail State Park

And those were all the links I could find for today.

Billed @€0.02, Opus the unkillable badass Poet

Dealing with a full house of Crazy, and the Feed

It is going to be so much fun this week, as the crazy roommate across the hall is taking her vacation this week, Mrs. the Poet doesn’t leave until Wednesday morning, and the nice transgendered couple will both be back from their respective therapists and in the house starting Tuesday. The person that creates the issues is the one that lives directly across the hall from Mrs. the Poet’s and my room, because she can’t keep herself from meddling in what other people are doing, like constantly trying to get me to “do something” while I’m at work already. Her mind does not wrap around the concept of “work from laptop”, indeed even Mrs. the Poet seems unable to grasp the concept from time to time. This has resulted in some late postings since Mrs. the Poet retired on Halloween. So if the post sometimes appears to be less coherent than usual for the next few days, you will know why.

I’m still waiting on the new hat I bought in September as there was a supply-chain issue in getting the correct size of hat to use to make the tie-dyed boonie hat. I tried making my own but that is a skill-set outside my purview. I managed to turn a nice white hat into a blotchy brown hat when I made the attempt myself, so I leave the actual tie-dye to people with the skills to do so. I’m just a little ticked that it has taken so long for the hat to come from China to New Jersey…

Up first, do you get frustrated with loop detectors not set up to detect bicycles? Veloloop Cuts Cyclists’ Wait Time at Red Lights Note that this device does not change the light for a cyclist any faster than it does for a car, it just makes a bicycle look the same to the detector as a car does and allows the cyclist to place the bike where the detector is most sensitive.

CA drivers are starting to get the news about the 3-foot bike passing law. New bike buffer law credited for raising awareness in Marin Remember, the law says if you can’t pass with 3 feet of clearance pass slowly and carefully. So practice passing other vehicles slowly and carefully while you wait to encounter someone riding a bicycle on a street or road that does not allow crossing the centerline and also does not allow passing with 3 feet of clearance while remaining in the same lane.

Our Daily Ted. Morning Links: Busy calendar, more on new Westwood bike lane proposal, and bike riding Hollywood thief is a Dick Notice the bike-riding thief is named Dick, not that, well you know.

Moving across the pond, passing less than 3 feet from a cyclist is assault when the cyclist is a cop. Road rage driver convcited of assaulting two cyclists who were off-duty police officers Spelling error was in the headline.

Still over in Jolly Olde comes this indictment of some local infrastructure. Nine pedestrians and two cyclists killed in South Yorkshire road accidents last year This is a rather broad area with fewer people than Manhattan, but even at that low density they managed to kill 11 people not riding in cars.

Still in the UK… Border’s lawyer uses wheel-life passion for cycling to campaign for safer road conditions

I like this one, but not the reason for the ride. Marines ride in memory of Marine killed in Fallujah WoaB endorses this ride…

A better way of converting existing bikes to e-assist? Taichung Bike Week: Novatec unveils stealth mid-drive system The article states the motor is on the non-drive side crank arm, but shows only the drive side of the unit becaauusse?? If the controller uses standard connectors then you can use just about any battery with those connectors and the right voltage for the controller, but the system was initially intended for getting full-suspension MTB up hills to bomb down the hill after so the first battery packs will be wearable rather than rack mounted.

And package tracking for my steering wheel and windshield post purchase shows it has made it to OKC from Lincoln, NE and is on track to be here tomorrow afternoon.

Billed @€0.02, Opus the unkillable badass Poet

OK now I Voted, and the Feed

Just checked, and the I Voted Widget is working for this blog now. So officially I Voted.

You may have noticed the “and the Feed” has returned to the headline. This does not mean I will return to posting wreck links, it means I have found links to bicycle “stuff” that is not wrecks.

First up, NYPD gets taught the laws about hitting people with motor vehicles. Cops Are Learning How To Charge Drivers Who Break Laws I thought they went through Police Academy for learning this stuff, silly me. The big problem is the Rule of Two that requires 2 traffic violations when yu run someone over before you can be charged with reckless driving and NYPD has been very lax about finding that second violation, this training is supposed to correct that. In other news an airliner reported a mid-air collision with a pig…

Over in CA Ted Rogers has a stolen bike report… BOLO Alert: Three bikes stolen from Venice garage on Wednesday As a multiple victim of bike theft myself I say if you find this guy please leave enough behind to identify him from his DNA. Don’t go overboard mind you, CSI doesn’t need much more than a decent size smear…

Proof that MHL are more about revenue and harassment than safety, in Oz. Police issue 223 infringements to cyclists including 121 for not wearing helmets during operation to improve rider and pedestrian safety When more than half of the tickets are for helmet law violations, it was just a show to get some sweet, sweet easy $.

Last link, does your car insurance cover you on your bike? How about homeowners? What Do Bicyclists Need to Know About Insurance?

And that’s all I got today, I have to say it feels a heck of a lot better winding up one of these posts than the ones I used to do with all the wrecks.

Billed @€0.02, Opus the unkillable badass Poet