Another rough day on the road, and the Feed

I took advantage of accidentally including the first report for today’s Feed having been used yesterday to go out and make a run through the “mall” with my cell phone to get as many of the high point targets as possible so I get that gift card quicker rather than later. And I stopped at the grocery store to pick up coffee, soda, and I grabbed some Christmas Tree Cakes for stockings.

Up first a cyclist is hit just feet before reaching the relative safety of a bike lane in Austin, a couple days’ ride south of WoaB World HQ in the Beautiful Suburbs of Hell. Man Killed in Crash Between Vehicle and Bicycle on Brodie Lane They didn’t say the victim didn’t have lights, just that they couldn’t verify the cyclist had lights on. Nothing confirmed about the mode but as the initial impact was just off the road on the shoulder and the bike ended up in the grass off to the side I would say there’s a real good chance he got hit from behind, so the usual protocols apply.

Over in NYC they killed another one, but wonder of wonders they actually arrested the driver. MTA Bus Driver Arrested For Killing Pedestrian In Brooklyn Crosswalk You would think that bus drivers would be more careful what with all the forward-facing video cameras recording every move.

Just outside NYC another hit-and-run driver kills another cyclist. Ramapo police ID bicyclist killed in Rt. 202 hit-run The description of the wrecked bike indicates either a right hook or a left or right cross, and the moment the driver left the scene it became his fault.

Over in Portland a demonstration of the biggest problem of bike infrastructure shared with motor vehicles: They tear shit up and it needs to be replaced. Paving project adds gravel, bumps and closures to 50s Bikeway route Again the biggest hurdle is motor vehicles tearing things up and getting in the way.

Our Daily Ted. Morning Links: LA cyclist dies from heart attack, Finish the Ride comes to the Valley, and I talk bikes on Bike Talk

Still in CA. Is a raised bike lane a protected bike lane? Why go through all this expense just to replicate what has been done in the Netherlands?

Victim statement from a trial in the Great White North. Parents, widow describe anguish over death of cyclist Tom Samson The words of the survivors are haunting.

Still in the GWN. Cyclist seriously injured near Grande Prairie At this point they know it was a hit-from-behind, but they haven’t determined why (aside from the fact that the driver was not paying attention to what was on the road in front of him).

Over in Jolly Olde a guy hits and runs against a cyclist. Hit-and-run driver Alexander William Coombes gets suspended prison sentence for A29 accident that left cyclist badly injured and Rustington driver left cyclist seriously injured in hit-and-run crash in Shripney also from Road.cc Speeding motorist who hit cyclist and left him at the side of the road sentenced I’m just going to quote a comment left at the second link: ““he was sentenced to three months’ imprisonment, suspended for 12 months; ordered to complete 140 hours of unpaid work for the community; disqualified from driving for 15 months and required to take an extended re-test.
He was also ordered to pay £6,382 compensation to the victim and costs totalling £3,500.”
So he barely received any punishment for a collision that left someone with serious injuries. Mr Bumble was right: ‘the law is a ass – a idiot’ [sic].”

And on the same island. Man arrested over alleged hit-and-run in Corfe Mullen This article shows why I hate UK media laws, there is nothing in here aside from the fact the wreck happened, not even the names of the victim or the perp.

More on that bizarre package of laws passed in Oz. NSW cyclists face big increases in fines – and will have to carry photo ID

Still in Oz, a cyclist dies in mysterious circumstances. Cyclist found critically injured by Sunshine Coast road dies of his injuries They still don’t think he was hit by another vehicle, though.

It’s official, cyclists need to eat moar choklit. Official: Daily chocolate consumption makes you a better cyclist Curious that they used the exact same dose of dark chocolate as I got in the depression and BP trial. (BTW bitter chocolate works great at fighting depression and reducing blood pressure.)

There’s more to cycling than can be found in your philosophies, to mangle a quote. The Three Worlds of Cycling To answer the debate about working cyclists, I put them in a similar category to commuters trying to get from A to B so they could work, their work is going from A to B. Sometimes by going through points C through Z’ inclusive.

I can honestly say that I have never been in a situation where I could use any of this advice. Crash Course: How to Handle a Car-Bike Collision All of my wrecks have either been hit-and-run, something I could ride away from, or both. and most were from times when I didn’t have a cell phone, much less a cell phone camera.

And I think I’m probably done now.

Billed @$0.02, Opus

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Happy 50% off chocolate day, on a Wreck-Free Sunday

Today and tomorrow are the days that are usually the best for getting cheap chocolate candy, most of the grocery stores in my area have hacked prices by half or more. Just stay outta my way. I WILL run you over.

The RPG group did not have a good night last night, as we lost two players to personality issues. My warlock could not hit the broad side of a barn with his eldrich blast, I had a bad case of bad dice. My perception and listen checks came out great, I could see and hear all kinds of things that the rest missed. So it averaged out. Also I finally had a chance to use my “you ain’t dead” cantrip spell, twice. Of course had I been able to hit my targets better that would not have been necessary.

I did the service this morning, as some of you may have surmised from the post from last Saturday entitled “Sermon”. I had some technical difficulties with my laptop in that while I could expand my active screen to both the laptop screen to the HD TV we have on one wall, and get audio out through the HDMI cable, I could not get the videos to play on the TV while leaving my sermon up on the laptop screen. They would not drag over to the TV and nothing I did would cause anything I had open on the laptop screen to move to the TV. The workaround was to mirror the display on both screens, have the remote for the TV at the podium with the lap top, and switch the TV off when I had to read the sermon and back on when I had a video to show. The problem with that was I could not read the sermon while the video was showing so I had to read stuff before that I was supposed to read during.

Now I have to get my head together for a sermon due the end of next month, for April Fools’ Day. My previous services on that day have varied in quality between legendary and Stoopid. My Banishing Chaos services tended towards the Stoopid, but some of my embracing chaos services tended to the legendary. The one where I used children to call the elements as Yakko, Wakko, and Dot Warner with one of the mothers in the church to be Hellooo! Nurse was one of the more legendary services I have performed. And the Meditation that turned into a game of Dodgeball also falls under that legendary tending to Stoopid or perhaps Legendarily Stoopid. So I have a high hurdle to surmount of my own creation.

I leave you with this link to a very pleasant video of people bicycling during a steady snowfall. What it Feels Like in Winter Cycling Paradise See, it can be done with the right equipment. Notice that most of those bikes were equipped with studded tires for getting traction on ice.

PSA, Opus