That was a lovely service, and the Feed

My friend Alice has been sent to the Summerlands in true Pagan style, blessed be her memory.

In the meantime “Arthur, Arthur Dent” is being a pain as that muscle is still tied down and won’t move right when I try to turn my head. It doesn’t hurt any more (except for tiny twinges at the edge of the dent) but because it is tied down I just can’t get full range of motion to do things like look over my right shoulder, much less look behind me. I can almost look straight up now which is a major improvement over when “Chris Christie” would hit the back of my skull, but still a ways off from what I could do before things got bad.

And I’m going to miss Alice…

Up first, that driver given a cell phone ban is drawing national attention for the punishment, not so much for the fact that she killed a cyclist to earn that ban. Distracted Michigan driver who killed cyclist mom sentenced to jail and banned from owning cellphone and Woman who killed cyclist can’t use cellphone for 2 years also Driver Gets 2-Year Cell Phone Ban For Killing Cyclist I reported the wrong gender for the driver yesterday, who is in fact, female.

And continuing the jurisprudence theme of killer female drivers, the drunken MD cyclist-killing bishop went to court today. Trial of former bishop Heather Cook postponed as attorney considers a plea We are far too lenient with killer drivers, even drunk ones. The fact that this driver has a bail commensurate with both the severity of the crime (killing with a motor vehicle while impaired) and charges that are not a joke (the crimes she’s charged with can get up to life in prison) brings hope that cyclists will no longer be treated as disposable in at least one state.

That CO cyclist shot might just be another notch in the gun handle of a serial killer. Colorado police check if killing linked to 2 other shootings and Colorado Shootings Spark Serial Gunman Fears On the one hand this could break the case if it’s the same guy, on the other hand we may have multiple people shooting at people at random or worse targeting people for their modes of transport.

This is astounding, amazing, dumbfounding. Cyclist injured in crash; driver says she didn’t see the bike LEO actually gave the driver a ticket for driving while blind, I mean whodathunkit?

Next town over from WoaB. Bike To Work Day Energizer Stations 2015 – Recap and Pics This was right after I bid “Chris Christie” adieu, so I was still not “bikeable”.

Our Daily Ted. Weekend Links: Koretz keeps fighting Westwood bike lanes, while Ryu fights for Glendale-Hyperion sidewalks

L.A. is trying to get more people on transit. L.A. Metro Is Trying to Redefine the Transit Trip The problem is L.A. decimated its transit system in the ’50s and ’60s while sprawl was at its worst growth stage resulting in rather sparse transit sheds. As a result they have a serious “first-last mile” issue, getting people to and from the bus and trains. Bikes are among the solutions.

A child is struck inside the apartment complex where he lived. 3-year-old boy on bike struck and killed by van

Another child hit in MA. Friends gather, united in grief over death of Mansfield boy

Another RoS story about a ride delayed by really bad weather. Monday’s Ride Of Silence In Elk Grove Remembers Fallen Cyclist

More on the victim of a London wreck just feet from the hospital where she worked. Esther Hartsilver: Sister pays tribute to ‘wonderful’ cyclist killed by lorry as hundreds turn out for vigil celebration Hang in there UK cyclists, you are starting to make a difference.

When the laws don’t work in far West Canuckistan, change them. Lawyer wants changes to make the Motor Vehicle Act more cyclist-friendly

One of the things UK cyclist might have to look forward to is adaptive traffic signals that don’t just detect cyclists, but adjust timing to give them a bit of a jump on cars where there are more cyclists. London Tests Smart Bike Lanes to Improve Rider Safety

Another example of crap UK infrastructure. People living in Castell Road, Loughton, claim dangerous drivers are putting lives at risk Seriously, drivers that drive salmon on a one-way street? Aren’t cyclists supposed to be the only ones that do those things? /snark

Why improved infrastructure is vital in the UK. More cyclists on London’s roads than ever before, figures show

Something that might make UK bike infrastructure less expensive. BAN ON RUSH-HOUR LORRIES ‘URGENTLY’ NEEDED AFTER ANOTHER CYCLIST DEATH

This cyclist was sorta lucky, there was prosecution of the driver. Veteran cyclist injured in horrific smash vows to ride again Three words for the cyclist, rehab, rehab, and recumbent.

Someone helped this cyclist and then just melted into the crowd. York crash cyclist seeks heroic helper, and tells of long recovery battle ahead Who was that masked man woman?

This might be a fun activity for a cycling family. Bicycle Camping Means Fun On Two Wheels

And its now 0323 and I can barely see the screen to type.

Opus

Advertisement

Electrical problems appear to be fixed for the moment, and the Feed

After the city ripped out our old power feed and installed a temp new one all the previous problems have vanished that we can run function tests on. No word on what happened to cause us to lose half our electricity, but apparently everything that has been going wrong electrically in the house for the past several years has been the slow degradation of whatever failed. So maybe we will see some lower electric bills now that that power thief has been run off? One can hope.

Also today was Bike to Work Day here in the Metromess and I helped run one of the Energizer Stations at Garland Station. We handed out granola bars, protein bars, blue Gatorade, bananas, and breakfast tacos in the food department and a ton of swag in the swag department. I narrowly escaped being saddled with a metric buttload of water bottles and posters as I finished my shift because turnout was light this year in Garland. Some of the other stations were mobbed and had to shut down early, but most of the food we handed out went to homeless people at our station. I think we saw maybe three bikes all morning. I see more than that on just a regular day.

Up first is more information about the CO “guilty” plea, Fort Collins woman could avoid prison for hit-and-run crash that killed cyclist and Meyers: Plea deal in hit-and-run sends wrong message

Also with slightly more information is this link to the NYC fatal hit-and-run involving a “party bus”. Cyclist killed in hit and run on Rockaway Blvd.

A drunk cyclist in the 49th state gets extremely lucky. Bicyclist injured in collision with car near Fort Wainwright All of the other transgressions against safety can be laid at the feet of the decision to get drunk and ride the bike, the riding salmon, the riding against the red light, and the failure to yield, but the same drunkeness may have also saved the cyclist by allowing him to not tense up when he was hit. If the article is still reading the same as it does right now there is a good chance the cyclist may be paralyzed from the impact with his tailbone, which is the terminus of the human spine. That is one of those things that may clear up on its own after allowing the injured area a chance to recover.

A wreck in the UK starts its public investigation. Inquest into cyclist David Irving’s death on Mountbatten Way in Southampton Another case where the driver charged blindly into a space in which he could not see and hit the cyclist occupying that space. Hit-from-behind protocols to minimise damages, and as reported in the comments section the cyclist was riding the highway because the bicycle infrastructure had been allowed to deteriorate into an unrideable condition, so getting and keeping the infrastructure “up to Dutch” to prevent.

A little information on this UK wreck. Lorry driver in court charged with causing the death of Darlington cyclist and father-of-three

A wreck in Oz that has almost no useful information attached to it. Cyclist dies in bus crash in Mt Lawley The narrative is what appears to be an extremely preliminary report from prior to the completion of the investigation, so because this is Oz, be prepared to bail left out of the way.

Our Daily Ted. Morning Links: Bike Week wraps up at Downtown’s Union Station, and Phinney kicks ass at the AToC The one thing I’m sad about is Ted’s health issues are interfering with his ability to cover the news in person. Other than that it’s a great post.

Infrastructure! news from the US. PROTECTED BIKE LANES NEXT TO CARS MAKE DRIVERS REALIZE THEY COULD RIDE For every driver that sees an empty bike lane, why aren’t you riding in it? If you were riding a bike you would be moving instead of parked in traffic burning gas, and other traffic could move faster.

Someone lets their tiny dog run ahead on a long leash and then complains because a cyclist hit it and now everything has to change? Because of one irresponsible dog owner? Calls for change at Discovery Park after dog killed by speeding cyclist

The kind of infrastructure news that makes UK headlines. Porthmadog: Two more cyclists injured on Britannia bridge

Infrastructure news from Oz. Cyclist safety still ‘critical’ despite sweeping reforms

We know how a bike changes lives, apparently e-bikes do the same but with less sweat. Discovering New Access, Perspective, and Freedom with an Electric Bike

And another link to some outstanding instrumental artistry. 2CELLOS – Smooth Criminal [OFFICIAL VIDEO] The video is very silly, but the music… ahh the music!

And those were all the links that gave me fits and/or giggles today.

Billed @€0.02, Opus

Happy Day, you Mothers, on a Wreck-Free Sunday

My Mother has been dead for a while, since 2004. But I married a mother a bit over 36 years ago so I still have one I can celebrate on Mother’s Day. The family still in Texas took Mrs. the Poet out to dinner last night at someplace in Frisco called the 5th Street Patio Cafe . I had the Rueben and Mrs. the Poet had spinach and mushroom quesadillas. The Grandkid had pancakes, milk and (mostly) Goldfish crackers. And then played catch with the bag of crackers he didn’t eat. He’s a very polite child, saying “uh-oh” when he beaned someone, and “please” when I returned the bag of crackers after getting it in my lap. Son and Son-in-law had Big Burritos and Daughter had the Big Biscuit and Gravy plate all three with a heaping mound of home-fries on the side. Alex was in a picky mood and didn’t eat more than a bite of his pancakes and a couple swallows of milk, and he doesn’t drink any kind of soda at all. There’s something about carbonation that he really hates, and he won’t eat any kind of pasta at all. And this kid is descended from me?

Since today is Mother’s Day NASCAR decided to run this weekend’s Sprint Cup race on Saturday night and it was a barn-burner of a race as teams struggled to adapt to the Kansas Speedway under the lights. Eventually the 24 team with driver Jeff Gordon wound up in front at the end of the race, but nobody was sure of winning this one with all the wrecks and debris cautions, and cars that wrecked because of debris before they could throw the caution flag. There were a lot of wrecked cars in the garage area by the end of the night, and even more that were soldiering on with heavy damage on the track trying to get points.

There was an Indy Car race yesterday that I missed by meditating right through it. Never even realized I had missed the entire race because I missed the timer on my phone going off to tell me to stop meditating. I was communing with Hephaestus about how to cut the metals I need to cut for the extended stem so I can sit up on the bike and not abuse my soft tissues on the wrong part of the seat and also keep my knees out of the handlebars. Anyway the media reports on that race say I missed another good one.

I know at least some of you are wondering what happened to my warlock this week, and I have to say “Nothing” because I skipped the RPG group to attend the dinner yesterday. That’s right I skipped going out with my warlock to go out with my wife and kids. So no RPG news this week. There will be some news next week, I promise.

Something punny. Mary had a little lamb

And this will get posted pretty much constantly this week until Thursday.

And that’s all I had to say today.

PSA, Opus

Loaded with swag after doing the bike to work station, and the Feed

I got up early to visit the Bike to Work Commuter Energizer Station for a bite and a bit of conversation. Because it was a trifle foggy out I decided to run with my headlights on, and I was glad I did because they both died from discharged batteries during the ride. Since I have to go somewhere tonight I have three battery chargers going at the moment, one for the 4 AA NiMH batteries in the primary headlight, one for the 2 AAA NiMH batteries in my secondary headlight that is aimed to spot street signs, and a third to keep the Chromebook running. And I mentioned swag in the headline, let me recount the swag: 3 water bottles and it would have been 4 if I hadn’t shooed the nice lady away from my bike when she started loading the buckets, a clip-on blinky light, a T-shirt, and tons of literature from DART on taking my bike on the bus including a map to bike racks, coffee, Clif bars, and a banana. And Bike Friendly Garland sticker which was what I actually came for.

Up first an update on a fatal hit-and-run in GA in a town I used to live in (in case you haven’t noticed I have lived in lots of towns). Police say hit-and-run suspect tried to repaint truck I think additional charges of obstruction of justice and tampering with evidence should be tacked on to the hit-and-run and vehicular manslaughter charges. If you are new to my blog you probably don’t know what is about to be posted next, for those of you who have read more than 2 weeks this will be old hat: Chain the guy to the steering wheel and recycle his truck into bicycle parts, the process of melting the truck down will allow the contaminants to be skimmed off the top.

A MO wreck that appears to be a sidewalk cyclist getting cut off at a stop sign. Bike rider hurt in collision with pickup From the picture of the damage on the bike and the position of the debris, assuming medical responders didn’t move anything, the truck and the cyclist were both moving at a fair clip, given the damages to the bike and the place where the cyclist’s shoes ended up. Since the bike had flat pedals with toe clips and not clipless pedals I don’t see any reason for medical personnel to remove the cyclist’s shoes and then leave them at the scene so they must have come off in the wreck. Also the physical evidence shows the cyclist was riding salmon which meant the driver was looking away from him when he pulled out into the street. Lots of blame to go around in this wreck between the salmon cyclist and a driver not looking where he was going. Intersection protocols to avoid and get the infrastructure right to prevent.

More on the IL cyclist killed at an intersection scheduled for a bike overpass in just under a month. Husband mourns Busse Woods bicyclist killed crossing Higgins Road Everything I read about this wreck blames the intersection and drivers that don’t look for cyclists when they turn their vehicles across bike lanes. I don’t know what a cyclist could do in the face of that kind of failure in both drivers and infrastructure. Intersection protocols seem so inadequate when confronted with drivers that face so little in the way of consequences compared to cyclists and who can blame the infrastructure when they can’t blame the cyclists.

More on the bicycle-hating drunk that killed a cyclist driving the wrong direction in a bike lane. Driver in crash that killed cyclist in Lyons expressed growing frustration with bicyclists The driver is still in jail over the wreck. I would hide in jail if I were him, too. More Patrick Ward made anti-bicycling statements before crash that killed cyclist

Another report on the cyclist killed by a man fleeing a shooting that he is alleged to have also committed. Bicyclist Killed By Suspect Fleeing From Shooting I’m getting backchannel reports the weapon vehicle was airborne when it hit the cyclist. As I posted yesterday the cyclist had no chance of avoiding this wreck as he was already in the intersection when the driver ran the stop sign at a high rate of speed.

A RI cyclist is killed. North Providence student killed in bike-car crash At this point all I know is it was an intersection wreck so maybe intersection protocols would have reduced the amount of damage to non-fatal levels. I’m not sure infrastructure would have helped either as the Street View of the site shows a dense residential neighborhood, that would be a shared space with limited motor vehicle access and an 18 MPH speed limit under the Dutch model.

More Ride of Silence links. Locals honor fallen cyclists in silent ride and Memorial Ride Honors Bike Victims also Silent Ride: Remembering Victims of Bicycle Accidents and this Ride of Silence honors cyclist hit and killed on Route 434 don’t forget this link Fort Collins cyclists remember riders hurt or killed with silent ride or this one ‘Ride of Silence’ honors cyclist killed in Davidson County not done yet Cyclists Raise Awareness for Safety on the Roads

Emerging Artist Killed in 2011 Bicycle Crash Gets Posthumous New York Solo Show

Last link 3000 cyclists are expected to descend on the Scottish Parliament to protest lax sentencing for drivers that kill cyclists. Family of Audrey Fyfe to lead 3,000-strong ‘Pedal on Parliament’ I think we might get 30 or 40 cyclists to “descend” on the TX legislature if they had to ride in on bikes.

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

Billed @€0.02, Opus