Finally got some money, and the Feed

The check came in this morning, so I’ll be out running around paying bills and making deposits and stuff tomorrow instead of going with Mrs. the Poet to shop for groceries. There won’t be a big difference for the blog, just for my selection of salty snacks. I think I might have to give up meditation to get my BP up high enough to make the grade for the new test med, because cutting my current meds in half doesn’t quite do it, and eating salty snacks doesn’t do it either. I’m barely at 110/80 now.

Up first, wait, what?!?

Another cow caught stealing a bicycle…… pic.twitter.com/7gtONxicdn

— classicretro (@classicretro) March 30, 2016

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And closer to home.

Crews Finally Add Last Block of 2-Way Protected Bike Lane in Downtown Houston pic.twitter.com/DyjHLsSstv

— StreetsblogTexas (@StreetsblogTex) March 30, 2016

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Our Daily Ted. Morning Links: Downtown bike lanes draw new brewery, new bollards on Vineland and a new LA Bike Fest video

Unknown mode of wreck in MN. Bicycle rider killed by car in Sartell and Bicyclist Struck, Killed In Sartell As of this posting all I know is there was a cyclist hit by an unknown vehicle and possibly left for dead making this a possible probable hit-and-run.

Victim blaming in the Great White North. Cyclists share responsibility for accidents More blaming the victim for not wearing the GITDCS that drivers seem to think every cyclist should wear 24/7 when riding. Instead of you know, actually looking more than 20 feet in front of the vehicle.

Right hook in far West Canuckistan. Cyclist dies in collision with truck in Victoria’s Chinatown and Cyclist, 73, struck and killed in downtown Victoria I zoomed in on the picture of the crime scene and the only truck visible was a COE with good forward and side vision. So, aside from using the standard protocols posted in the links at the top of the page what could be done to prevent this wreck? They were already using the delivery vehicle with the best outward vision, the cyclist was wearing clothing that made her visible, what else could be done? EDIT: As I was getting ready to move from the first link to the next link the page updated with a much better picture of the crime scene showing the actual delivery vehicle having a conventional cab that is blind to a large area in front and to the right where the cyclist was hit. So going back to the question, replacing the delivery vehicle with a COE flat van and a glass door to the right would be a massive help.

Speaking of the devil, here’s an article from Jolly Olde on just that kind of vehicle, this one in a trash hauler. Pioneering lorries with panoramic view hit the streets in bid to save cyclists’ lives

Also from the UK is this factoid from the trial of a killer driver. Janina Gehlau: Lorry driver ‘should have seen cyclist for up to five seconds’ before fatal collision The cyclist was using the infrastructure as designed, the driver of the weapon vehicle should have been looking in the direction he was planning on driving before actually proceeding through that space, I believe the colloquial phrasing is “Looked where he was going”.

This is an aspect of UK jurisprudence that I would dearly love to see here in the US. Cyclist injured in fall from bike due to road ‘hazard’ awarded damages after suing council for ‘negligence’ Injured or incur property damage because of crappy infrastructure? Sue the government body responsible for it not being crappy.

Now this just sucks. Man pushes cyclist off BMX and rides off on it I try not to wish harm to another human being, really I do, but this guy needs to get hit by an HGV turning left at a stop light since this is over in Jolly Olde where they drive on the wrong side of the road.

Another rider in Oz hits a parked car? Qld rider killed after hitting parked car Seriously this is two this week.

More on the 73 YO driver that killed a cyclist in Oz. Hit-and-run driver charged over WA cyclist

Back in the US, SF infrastructure! TWIN PEAKS FOR EVERYONE OK let me get this out or I’m going to explode: “That’s one fine cuppa coffee” .

And how do you get bike parking? How Portland’s oldest Buddhist temple got better bike parking Sometimes you have to DIY.

And here it is not even midnight and I’m outta links, Gigi is going to be so happy.

Billed @€0.02, Opus

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Who ordered this weather, and the Feed

The weather has gotten on Mrs. the Poet’s last nerve. Actually the weather itself is not so much the problem as the fact that it kept both of the tenants/housemates in the house since everybody’s jobs were shut down by the weather (except mine since I work from home anyway). Since nobody here is of a compatible personality type with anyone else, being in such close confines for 2 days straight has resulted in some conflict. I think I might have to dig up the flowerbeds. 😉

Up first is Our Daily Ted, Pt. 1. Morning Links: Unfortunate irony on the Milt Olin Ride, and still more on the proposed helmet law

And unfortunately there is a Part 2. Teenage bike rider killed on Aviation Blvd in El Segundo

A little Ghost Bike lifestyle in NC. Ghost bikes honor those killed Just between you and me and the fencepost, I don’t want to see any more ghost bikes. Not a ban on the memorials, just no more dead cyclists.

I’m not seeing what the problem is on making repeat DUI a felony in CO. Felony DUI bill, a Hickenlooper priority, faces obstacles I’m sure my regular readers know my antipathy towards drunk drivers, especially given my history with them. I don’t think this bill goes far enough, they still allow the drunk driver to keep the car.

I’m not big on celebrity worship, but you have to admit this was pretty awesome. @edbegleyjr arriving by bike to the #Oscars You can see the tux peeping ut from under the rain gear.

Trucking interests are trying to change transportation priorities in Portland OR. Advocates mount effort to keep transportation hierarchy in city policy “The transportation hierarchy is seen as a powerful enough idea that some freight advocates have urged for the “commercial vehicles” category, currently ranked below “public transit” and above “taxis”, to be removed from the priority list.” Yep, that is a real good idea, go from the middle of the list to nowhere on the list.

Infrastructure news from the northern part of CA. Alameda’s Second Parking-Protected Bikeway Takes Shape on Shoreline Drive That looks like a nice bit of infrastructure (by US weak standards). Still not up to CROW standards, but right at the top of the heap for the US.

One of the consequences of failing to enforce pedestrian right-of-way. Police Search For Suspect In Marble Hill Hit-And-Run Notice the blood-stained crosswalk where the pedestrian was hit. RIP Daniel Cabrera.

They are changing the story about how this pedestrian was killed after video evidence contradicting the story was revealed. Cop Admits Flashing Lights Were Off When He Fatally Struck Japanese Student

A breakthrough that could lead to smaller, lighter cells for all EV. Kevlar Barrier Could Lead to Safer Lithium-ion Batteries Well yes safer, too. Safer is good, but smaller and lighter are right up there too. and “safer” here is a byproduct of trying to make the cells smaller and less likely to fail as they age.

And when those cells become available here is a place they could shine. FIA Selects Eight Formula E Manufacturers The series is evolving from a complete spec series to a spec chassis and battery with different motor/controller manufacturers, to spec chassis with different motor/controller/battery systems. They are trying to get to a system that only requires one car to get to the end of a race since they can’t charge the batteries fast enough during the race on temporary street circuits. This should trickle down to street EV and e-assist bikes. The organizer’s aim is to restrict the development budgets to things that can make a difference in real world applications and away from aerodynamics and suspension geometry that are already well understood and which racing developments are not well suited for street use.

And I’m all out of links again.

Billed @€0.02, Opus the Poet

Massive amounts of infrastructure links in the Feed

As I am composing this the practice for the Sprint Unlimited is going on. This is the first Sprint Cup race of the year, a non-points race that is just for the cash and the glory and that tends to have some really “heavy” action. I’m torn between recording this race while I hang with the RPG group, and watching it live. At this point I’m going to record it.

An organization I belong to sent me an e-mail that was nothing but infrastructure link after infrastructure link. About half the post is from that one e-mail. Some of the stuff is not directly bicycle related, but more along the lines of “why is that guy walking in my bike lane?”

Up first NYPD is actually using a law against running over a pedestrian to prosecute drivers. It’s Now A Little Less Easy To Hit Pedestrians & Get Away With It

And appropriate to the previous link… Teen Struck By MTA Bus Driver In Williamsburg The victim was crossing in the crosswalk with the signal when the bus made a turn through the crosswalk and hit the pedestrian. I’m just happy that the driver was arrested for this heinous crime. More MTA Bus Driver Runs Over 15-Year-Old Girl in Brooklyn Crosswalk [Updated]

I’m confused by this link. Out of the Blue: Learn from tragedy, emphasize bike safety They went from being sympathetic to the “allegedly” drunk driver who killed a cyclist and left him to die in the street, to waxing lyrical about sub-standard infrastructure about to get made worse.

Just in time for Death by Chocolate Day. Healthy Living Through Chocolate Full disclosure I was in a clinical trial of chocolate as a drug to reduce BP and stress, and it worked for me. I’m not sure if it was actual pharmaceutical effects, or the fact that I had to have 4.1 oz of dark chocolate with breakfast every day.

Our Daily Ted. Morning Links: Glendale legislator wants to mandate helmets and hi-viz; help Finish the Ride fight hit-and-run

Not a wreck report, honest. Menlo Park woman recalls harrowing ride atop hood of car driven by alleged drunk who hit her and 4 other cyclists

Another “Why is that guy in the bike lane?” story. Roll With Me: A Different Perspective on Pedestrian Travel in L.A.

Bike share comes to San Diego, with one driver personally changing the placing of a docking station. Bike Share Finally Comes to San Diego The thing that bugs me the worst about this report is when the docking station was destroyed it was returned to being a parking spot, basically rewarding the vandalism by motor vehicle.

A bit of lifestyle from the UK. Memorial bike ride remembers two cyclists killed by drink driver in Berkshire

Infrastructure news from Buffalo. TIME TO PICK UP WHAT KEEPS COMIN’ DOWN I think part of the problem is plowing services that treat sidewalks as snow storage, where do you put the snow after you get it off the sidewalks?

How to get funding for bike-ped infrastructure. How San Luis Obispo Established the Most Powerful Bike Funding Policy in the Nation

Some people are starting to get the message about the exponential increase in deadliness in motor vehicles with speed. SUPERVISOR MAR CALLS FOR SLOWER SPEEDS IN SAN FRANCISCO

Boston moves to install a cycle track on one of the most heavily-travelled streets in the city. Boston moves toward cycletracks on Commonwealth

Last link is back to TX as a group in Houston works for better infrastructure. Montrose District Bicycle Planning The only problem I see with this is pitting one neighborhood against all the others in a free-for-all leading to a disconnected network of infrastructure.

And those were all the links I had today.

Billed @€0.02, Opus the Poet

Grocery day again, and the Feed

This is another week of short rations until we get more money coming in later in the month. The taxes just about wiped us out this year. Fortunately we will have more money coming in later to cover such things as taxes and cable bills, etc. but for the moment we are diving into the strategic ramen reserves and the $1 frozen pizzas until that happens. That also means I get to make more than one pot of beans and rice per week, so yay? for that.

Up first is another link to the impact statement from the surviving cyclist of a pair hit by an insanely drunk driver. Cyclist who survived deadly crash gives victim impact statement The cyclist was still nearly wiped out and barely able to ride more than 3 years later, and the driver was still more than 3½ times the legal limit for being drunk and at the point that non-alcoholics would be unconscious. That is the part that gets me the most mad, because you KNOW this turd had to have made a habit of driving drunk to be capable of starting the vehicle and putting it in gear with that much alcohol in his system. How many times was he caught and let go before he killed one cyclist and destroyed the life of the other? More Cyclist says his life was ruined by crash

This strongly reminds me of the guy that tried to kill me, fortunately he is safely dead and buried. Salinas cyclist intentionally doored In case you didn’t see it the driver in this case drove over a curbed median in the process of crossing 4 lanes of traffic to get to the bike lane on the other side of the street just to assault the cyclist with the driver’s side door.

Another assault with a motor vehicle and then a second assault after knocking the cyclist down, this time in FL. Woman alleged to have hit then spit at cyclist arrested The bail on this was only $5K for what amounts to an assault with a deadly weapon. And somehow it took from November to February to act on the arrest warrant. Is it any wonder that FL is the most deadliest state in the US to walk or ride a bike.

Misdemeanor charges have been filed in the death of a cyclist outside DC. WSSC driver charged in crash that killed bike rider Oops, I’m sorry, those are traffic tickets, so he may get fined a couple to a few hundred dollars for killing another human being with a light armored vehicle.

And a legislator in CA wants to have the first statewide helmet law. Senator calls for mandatory helmets for California cyclists Now get a helmet law for drivers and we’ll be all set.

And last link is a change to some CA infrastructure so that people not in motor vehicles can use it, too. Bike path gets green light on Richmond Bridge The really annoying thing is they are piggybacking another car lane in on this which costs twice as much as the bike/ped part of the deal, and barely mentioning that part of it.

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