Did some maintenance on the blogger, and the Feed

I went out and had my toes done this afternoon because I ruined 2 pair of socks in 3 days this week and I can’t keep doing that. One of the things that happened as a result of my wreck was a lot of nerve damage in the wrecked leg and when I try to cut my toenails the last two toes on the wrecked leg tuck under and out of reach. As a result I have to either try to con Mrs. the Poet into cutting those two toenails or pay for a pedicure. I almost always end up getting a pedicure and since they don’t reduce the fee for not doing things I get some stuff that for a guy might seem a bit strange, like putting color on my toenails. I got a lovely blue metalflake this time 😉 Then this evening I went to a chant workshop put on once a month by my church which also ate up a large chunk of time.

Up first because they attacked a secondary cause rather than the primary cause of the wreck. Distracted driver who caused deadly crash banned from using phone The driver was depositing a check via his cell phone banking app while driving between jobs, but instead of taking the vehicle away they took the phone away. Now the cyclist did not die because he got hit with a phone, he died because he got hit with a truck, that was being driven by a guy using a phone. So they are not restricting him from the deadly thing that was not properly used and killed the cyclist, but merely a contributing factor.

And continuing in the same concept, here is another convicted distracted driver. National guardsman who killed Minnesota cyclist warns others of distracted driving and Man who killed cyclist warns of distracted driving Again, distracted driving was only the trigger, the gun is the motor vehicle, which our former soldier still has unfettered access to after he completes his initial sentence.

Our Daily Ted. Morning Links: San Bernardino police unfairly blame victim; bike commuter dares Sepulveda Pass sans spandex The exchange with the cop sounds like he was being deliberately obtuse, ignoring statute that was permissive for the deceased cyclist and ignoring statute that was prohibitive for the killer driver.

Local (almost) to WoaB is this protest ride. DENTON TOUR DE FRACK – SATURDAY, JUNE 6, 7:00 AM, MCKENNA PARK And no, that is not a BSG reference, this ride is to protest the TX state law that just overturned the Denton TX law prohibiting fracking within city limits.

Remember those two cyclists hit in the same intersection in Portland? Crosswalk enforcement action uncovers rampant law-breaking on SE Powell Turns out they were writing tickets as fast as they could get the motorcycle cops back to the intersection after writing the tickets. Suggestion: don’t let the motorcycle cops write the tickets just stop the cars until another LEO can get there to do the ticket and then get back at the intersection to pull someone else over. Station the ticket writers about 100-200 feet down from the crosswalk and let them know by radio what violations the initial stop was for and let them take care of secondary tickets like no license or insurance. Put a sniper there with a car-stopper of a gun like the Barrett 0.50 caliber to get the ones that don’t stop immediately.

How do make change with something as entrenched in society as automobilism? My opinion: Protests, politics, and progress? Two cyclists left hooked in the same intersection in a single month and massive protests resulted in left turn signals that will be installed in less than 6 months, because those signals had already been approved and budgeted years ago but placed way down on the priority list until the two wrecks in quick succession. And the problem here is that this is the wrong way to roll out projects where it is an entire street that is the problem, not just one or two intersections that happened to roll craps.

And then you get $&(% like this. Six days after man dies crossing SE Chavez, his ghost bike memorial is mangled too (UPDATED) And a late comment seems to show it was a semi cutting the corner. Which is even worse when you think about it, because there could have been someone waiting to cross the street there instead of a Ghost Bike.

And our last link from BP, a comprehensive look at changing bad infrastructure to somewhat-less-crappy. Fixing Southeast: Three achievable proposals from a fast-rising advocate

A BOLO for a total douchebag driver in the Windy City. Police release photo of car in hit-and-run that injured bicyclist

Hey, let’s make cyclists as distracted as other road users with GPS. This High-Tech Helmet Shows Cyclists the Best Bike Route in a City Not saying this wouldn’t be useful, just that it would be a distraction, just like having GPS on your handlebars would be a distraction. Putting the information directly in your line of sight with the HUD would make it potentially more distracting, but also make it possible to read the information and redirect attention back to the outside environment much faster than the same information on a handlebar display. Still a distraction though.

While we are back to that subject here’s another distracted driver in the UK. Julie Watson killed cyclist after using phone while driving What is shocking here is the judge remanded the driver over to jail to await an inevitable prison sentence. Two years ago this would have been maybe a year in gaol or a few hundred hours of community service on weekends, this time it was go directly to jail, do not pass Go, do not collect $200 (Monopoly game reference).

Infrastructure news from the IL town where a woman riding USBR 36 was killed by a car driving in the bike lane. Bicycle, roadway safety in wake of cyclist death

Infrastructure news from far West Canuckistan. Editorial — Cyclists, take care Gee, one would think cyclists did not know that getting hit by/with a motor vehicle is painful and potentially deadly every time it happens. And that more times than not there was nothing the cyclist could have done to prevent it.

Final link about that Workmen’s Comp protest ride in the Great White North. Riders seeking financial justice for injured workers

Lifestyle in Wales as cyclists raise money for an injured rugby player with paralysis. Father of injured Blues player Owen Williams among those heading off on Cardiff to Paris bike ride

Another “greatest thing” battery chemistry for e-assist bikes and EV. Next Generation Battery Technology

And I’m outta links and patience, fortunately links ran out first.

Billed @€0.02, Opus the Tired

Waiting for Santa, and the Feed

One of my guilty pleasures every Christmas Eve is keeping an open tab at the Official NORAD Santa Tracker and watching the lower limb of the solar meridian cross the globe. This is where Santa operates every Christmas Eve, just ahead of this meridian. The “video evidence” is just cutesy, but the cities mentioned are like a rapid-fire geography quiz. And I like geography quizzes.

Up first another reminder of why I describe the locale for WoaB as the “Beautiful Suburbs of Hell”. Cyclists Say an Angry French Defense Contractor Punched Them; Cops Write Tickets and Along Turtle Creek early Saturday, cyclists say a driver attacked first with car, then with fist Yeah, like a guy on a bike is a threat to a driver inside a light armored vehicle…

A little Lifestyle from AL. Killed cyclist remembered As per the previous paragraph, the legal infrastructure was not sufficient when the driver got a ticket for driving on a suspended license and having MJ in the car but nothing for killing with his light armored vehicle. But the cyclist was buried today.

I keep telling people that bike helmets have never prevented a single wreck. Want to ride a bike more safely? Permanent running lights may be better than helmets. I’m a big believer in lights on bicycles, to the point of giving lights to unlighted cyclists.

Our Daily Ted. Morning Links: US traffic deaths are down, while bike fatalities go up; more groups spread holiday bike cheer I keep saying that cars are getting safer but drivers are not, this data supports that contention.

Video from Oz shows a tree attacking a cyclist 🙂 Sydney cyclist hit by falling branch Three cyclists were hit by the branch, one injured.

Is a cross between an e-assist bicycle and a motorcycle the future of urban personal transportation? A Bare-Bones Electric Motorcycle for Green Urban Riding

And those were all the links I could find today.

Billed @€0.02, Opus

I ate bacon jerky and lived, and the Feed

For the second week in a row I had a coupon for bacon jerky for a brand that wasn’t available at my local store. However there was other brands of the substance available and on sale, so I bought some and ate it. So, what is bacon jerky like? Think of bacon that was left over from breakfast and it’s after lunch and all cold but not harboring any dangerous germs, only not as crispy. That’s the taste and texture of bacon jerky. Yeah, I’m not going to buy any more bacon jerky.

Up first from the city that WoaB is a suburb of when I place the location as “The Beautiful Suburbs of Hell”, you can’t park cars in a bike lane. City Working To Remove Parking Meters Put Up In Bike Lane and Update: City says contractor “mix-up” led to parking meters in a bike lane, and they will be removed Yep, still a lot of Stoopid in City of Dallas Streets Department, but they’re getting there…

Update on the Houston trial of a hit-and-run killer of a cyclist. Woman who struck and killed Houston cyclist gets 15 years in prison To be honest, I’m shocked the woman got that long a sentence from a Houston jury. Things must be changing drastically down there to get this kind of sentence for a cyclist’s killer, because just 10 years ago they couldn’t even get an indictment for running over a cyclist in broad daylight when the tire tracks went off the road to get the cyclist, and the driver claiming blindness (“I didn’t see him”). Now you get a hit-and-run and they not only indicted, they convicted, and then voted on a heavy sentence…

Our Daily Ted. Morning Links: New bike shop, Cedillo trades bike lanes for parking, and the heartbreak of a MAMIL wife

And this one came in from a Facebook group (guess which one). Cycling Explained

Is it just me, or are multiple jurisdictions starting to file stiffer charges in motor vehicle deaths? Manslaughter charge in Hockessin bicyclist’s death The original charge was criminally negligent homicide, which I considered to be really throwing the book at the driver looking at it from an historical perspective, but after going to the grand jury they decided to upgrade the charges to manslaughter.

Wait, even in the UK? Motorist who deliberately ran down and killed a young cyclist had a fair trial, judges rule

The details of the plea deal are only known to officers of the court, the defendant, and the victim’s husband. Widower OK with deal for accused in wife’s bike-ride death For those who don’t remember this was the death where a driver coming off a bridge hit 4 cyclists entering the bridge head on, and smeared one against a guard rail, killing that one and another and severely injuring the other 2. If the family of the victim is cool with the charges and the deal, I’m not normally the one to complain. I mean sure some times I complain when the charges are completely out of line, but on this one it doesn’t look that way because the victim’s family had been calling for a lynching before. Well not really a lynching, but not some country-club prison for a few months for killing their loved one.

Should police be dispatched to wrecks involving cyclists and pedestrians? Adami: Ottawa woman stymied in bid to seek compensation for bike collision This was not a hit-and-run, the cyclist stayed at the scene until all emergency responders left as reported by other witnesses, there just was nobody to take their information once the ambulance left and the paramedics were too busy stabilising the victim to be taking a wreck report. So, who do they call after that?

A cyclist is hit in front of the DC mayor’s motorcade, so they stopped to render aid. Good Guy Mayor Gray Checks On Cyclist Hit By Vehicle That wouldn’t happen here in Garland, for the simple reason that our Mayor doesn’t get a motorcade, he drives himself (Hi, Doug! Yes I’m an acquaintance of the Mayor, we have discussed infrastructure issues on several occasions). I am reasonably sure that he would stop for a bicycle wreck if first responders had not arrived on the scene.

And those were all the links I could find and stomach today.

Billed @€0.02, Opus the unkillable badass Poet

I’m really tired of seeing the same links 4 times a day, and the Feed

Yep, getting really tired of seeing the same links 4 times in the Feed for one day, especially when they were there 4 times yesterday. And I’m really frustrated when they are wreck links, because I really really stopped doing wrecks here last month. I have seen the same links to a wreck in Lubbock at least 6 times, and maybe 4 more times from another media outlet in Lubbock. And the only witness to the wreck was the driver of the weapon vehicle, as the cyclist died at the scene… so naturally the cyclist was at fault for the wreck. But I don’t do wrecks any more so I will put those links out of my mind…

Up first, did you know cycling made more jobs in Europe than cars? Cycling is a bigger job creator in Europe than anything we are doing here in America Oh yeah, also than anything in the US. Sorry ’bout that, chief. And pop culture bonus points for knowing where that came from, and who played the “Chief” referred to.

Our Daily Ted. Morning Links: The Times looks at the need for real bike data; and a crowded weekend calendar of bike events

A link that also appears in the Daily Ted, if you don’t know what the numbers were before, how do you know you made an improvement after? Getting a firm grasp on L.A.’s bicycling data

This is a little dense reading but worth the time. Systematic review and meta-analysis of reduction in all-cause mortality from walking and cycling and shape of dose response relationship tl;dr: Active transportation infrastructure saves lives and money at a far faster rate than the money spent for it.

Tone deaf PSA from major metropolitan transit agency times 3. MTA Warns Cyclists Not To Crash Into Buses Considering the number of cyclists injured running into the backs of buses = 0, number killed by right hooks = unknown because transit agency will not allow numbers to be released; this is beyond tone deaf. As called out in this tweet

As if anyone needed an excuse to heat up the car-bike conflicts anywhere. Hamilton car-bike conflict heats up after cyclist charged in collision

Paris is starting to get a handle on what is causing their air pollution. Paris plans to ban cars from its city center

Other parts of France don’t seem to have as great a grasp of reality. France plans crackdown on rogue cyclists Is it just me or do the English news outlets in France have pretty much the same anti-cyclist bias as the majority of media outlets in most Anglophone countries?

And those were all the links I could stomach reading to use to create a link here.

Billed @€0.02, Opus the unkillable badass Poet

Answer to pop culture question: Get Smart Edward Platt

Changes made to Francis/es, and the Feed

Well I swapped out the seat that came on Francis/es for something that fits my butt a little better. The Planet Bike seat that came with Francis/es was not a bad seat, it was just the wrong seat for my butt. This is no more a criticism of the bike than saying the shoes they gave you with a uniform were the wrong size is a criticism of the shoes. The seat did not fit my butt, YMMV as your butt is not the same size/shape as my butt. Now the problem is my knees hit the handlebars and I have them as high up as they can go and the seat as far back as it can go, so now I have to build that extended stem so I can sit up straight and not hit my knees on the handlebars. 😛

Murder by motor vehicle in Houston. DEADLY HIT-AND-RUN: PICKUP DRIVER SOUGHT AFTER CYCLIST KILLED IN NORTH HOUSTON Hit-and-run is a felony in TX, any death that happens during the course of a felony is murder in TX, therefore hit-and-run that kills a cyclist is murder by motor vehicle. QED. No mode given in the article or in the video, and I couldn’t see enough of the wrecked bike to even take a wild guess at the mode.

A semi kills a cyclist in NM. Cyclist killed by semi-trailer near Tularosa and Semi hits, kills bicyclist in Otero County The narrative on this one makes zero sense, they are claiming it was a sideswipe but also that the cyclist was hit by the front tire of the semi. The two statements are geometrically impossible. By the time the front bumper of a semi is even with the handlebars of a cyclist in drop bars the front of the tire is roughly even with his hip. There is not enough space for a cyclist to get hit by the tire if the trigger event is the bumper hitting the handlebars causing the cyclist to fall in front of the tire. I suspect distracted driving or deliberate assault. The cyclist was riding on the shoulder of a lightly-travelled US highway. Even the most paranoid of cyclists would slack off a bit riding there. Hot-from-behind protocols to avoid or reduce damages, and get the infrastructure “up to Dutch” to prevent.

And the most deadliest state in the US to walk or ride a bike claims another one. Hit and Run: Bicyclist found dead in Lakeland ditch Assumed hit-from-behind it’s the most common way to commit hit-and-run. Protocols to avoid or reduce damages, and get the infrastructure “up to Dutch” to prevent. And crush any vehicle used to commit hit-and-run, with the driver inside if the victim dies. Yes, I’m a little “testy” after filtering the Feed today. I think the most disturbing thing in the link was the notice that killing a cyclist is a $164 ticket as long as you’re sober and remain at the scene, license not required.

And from one FL death we segue to the aftermath of another death. Friends, John Carroll classmates mourn Vero teen at Fort Pierce prayer service They’re killing them so fast they don’t even have time to bury the last one before the next one gets killed. The cyclist was hit from behind while riding in the bike lane and forced over the guard rail into the water below where he drowned. I place this one in the classification of “murder” because the driver had to leave the road to even get to the cyclist, and because of that guard rail that the cyclist was knocked over this becomes a wreck that was “unavoidable by human cyclists”. If they find the murdererdriver they need to throw him over the side of a tall bridge into deep water.

An injury wreck in L.A. CA. 2 bicyclists injured in Los Angeles collision The cyclist were hit by a vehicle that ran the red light, making the number of people on the one bike immaterial compared to the running the red light and nearly destroying two human beings. Not something that can be avoided by human cyclists and as the existing infrastructure was ignored by the driver of the weapon vehicle changing the physical infrastructure won’t help either unless the changes made hitting the cyclists physically impossible at any time. I’m thinking bollards that rise up out of the road in all directions completely blocking the intersection during a separate “scramble” phase for cyclists so that red light runners only destroy their own vehicles, not fragile human bodies.

Still in CA LEO publically identified the cyclist killed in a hit-and-run. POLICE IDENTIFY DRIVER, CYCLIST IN FATAL OCEANSIDE HIT-AND-RUN Now if they would just arrest that driver, or “discreetly” release name and address and normal time of driving to work…

Still rocking it in CA with “What good is a law with a mandatory penalty that isn’t enforced?” At least one Bay Area cyclist has died since the three-feet law went into effect Not only died, but died in exactly the kind of wreck the passing law was supposed to prevent, or punish if not prevented.

Yeah, all those scary “speeding cyclists” in Central Park would not even qualify for a ticket. Many Racing Cyclists Are Still Under Central Park’s Speed Limit Even the ones exceeding the limit are only going about 5 over and tickets don’t start until more than 10 over…

Still in NYC. Lower East Side Grease Spill Causes Trouble For Cyclists Nasty smelly mess that was bringing down cyclists by the bus loads until someone did something about it. As for what you can do in the same situation, you will fall down so try to stay tucked up so you don’t break an arm or hand.

Lots of links to this improbable report from MA. Cyclist killed after crashing into truck in Wrentham and Cyclist Struck And Killed By Dump Truck In Wrentham also Cyclist Dies After Getting Hit By Truck In Wrentham I’m going to classify this as a SWCC because the cyclist did not live through the impact, much less long enough to let anyone know his side of the story. The driver could have drifted into the cyclist’s lane and hit him before swerving off the road and into that tree or pole or whatever. Looking at the scene in Google Street View I’m going to go out on a limb here and say it is quite likely that the truck driver swerved when he hit the cyclist in his own lane because that utility pole is right at the corner meaning the truck would have had to start swerving well before getting to the intersection to wipe the pole and a tree. Even the excuse about “The cyclist may have been blinded by the sun” doesn’t seem to fit unless that was the world’s quietest dump truck. The geometry just doesn’t fit the narrative.

Drivers want to hit cyclists in the UK so bad they drive off the road to hit Ghost Bikes. Memorial to cyclist killed at Mancunian Way junction destroyed after car smashes into it Seriously, this is the third time in 13 months that something bad has happened at this intersection, first the cyclist was hit using the crosswalk, then someone coming to tidy the memorial was brushed back in the crosswalk, and now the memorial itself was smashed. Cars are driving too fast for this intersection and someone has already been killed, how big a body count do they need?

And even the best riders in the world are no match for an idiot with a motor vehicle. St Helens cycle-crash victim named as former international cyclist David Hitchin

Not much on this one from Oz. Cyclist left with serious injuries after crash south of Sydney

Another wreck in Oz. Tributes flow for stalwart killed in cycling crash The slight bit of information on the actual wreck sounds like a buzz job. Hit from behind protocols to avoid or reduce damages, and get the infrastructure “up to Dutch” to prevent.

Left hook in Enn Zed. Christchurch cyclist dies under a truck Even the cop that showed up incidentally knows this was just the driver driving into a space he couldn’t see was safe to drive into. I suppose if the cyclist was really good on the bike and had extraordinary levels of SA intersection protocols might have resulted in a survivable wreck. Dutch levels of infrastructure would have resulted in a semi truck never getting anywhere near a cyclist.

Our Daily Ted is not good news today. Morning Links: Victim and suspect identified in Oceanside hit-and-run, charges filed in PV road rampage It may be a few days until we get another Daily Ted.

Speaking of that infrastructure. Deaths Expose Chaos of Central Park’s Loop

A little bit of lifestyle from MA. Falmouth bike ride is a new mission for an injured vet

And I have managed to run out of links before I ran out of sanity, hurray!

Billed@€0.02, Opus the unkillable badass Poet

My birthday present to me is coming, and the Feed

I went ahead and bought the body for the Sprint T (or the simulator for same) and the e-mail came in the order was shipped this morning and should be on my driveway by this evening. Yay! I will take many pictures of the box and contents when they arrive. And if it gets delivered before I finish the post they will be at the bottom of this post. I’m so excited I’m practically “squeeing” and jumping up and down, which is kind of silly for a person of my advanced years. Yes, I’m admitting I’m getting too old to act like a kid getting a new toy, but I’m still acting like a kid with a new toy anyway. So there! 😉

Up first is a report from Oz of a cyclist going off the road and into a tree, because there were so many links to the story. Well known doctor critically injured in cycling accident also Alstonville cyclist critical after crashing into tree and GP fighting for his life after bicycle crash at Alstonville Right now the cause of the wreck is practically a state secret, but such wrecks are very seldom this serious without a motor vehicle in the works somewhere. It looks like a “punishment pass” or maybe a “buzz job” that caused the cyclist to leave the road (not much difference between the two in practice, it’s just a different intent prior to the wreck) and they cyclist found a tree in his escape route while employing hit-from-behind protocols. Unfortunately life is not like Hollywood, where the stunts are planned in advance to the nth degree. Real Life™ is a constant series of “winging it” and hoping for the best, and sometimes that means you run into trees trying to get away from hoons in cars. Get the infrastructure “up to Dutch” to prevent.

Next is from someplace I haven’t lived for at least 53 years… Bicycle rider killed in hit and run in Clarksville and Police find vehicle in Clarksville cyclist fatality Again LEO are not releasing the mode of the wreck, but the location suggests a hit-from-behind wreck, so protocols to avoid or reduce damages, and get the infrastructure “up to Dutch” to prevent.

Update on the bike-on-ped wreck from last week from the paper of record. Woman Hit by a Bicyclist in Central Park Dies OK now seriously, I would dearly love to see this much attention paid to any of the other pedestrians killed that week, but they were killed with motor vehicles.

A PA wreck from the police blotter. Sentinel police log for Sept. 23 You have to look for the report, but being a blotter report there isn’t much on the mode or anything else. The driver appeared to be sober at least.

A rash of wrecks in Chucktown SC. Pedestrian and bicyclist injured in downtown hit-and-runs The cyclist was hit by a right hook, so intersection protocols to avoid or reduce damages, and get the infrastructure “up to Dutch” to prevent.

A CO wreck approaches closure. Driver who injured ex-pro cyclist pleads guilty Now a suitable sentence… like crushing his car and pulling his license for life.

A wreck in AK. Cyclist injured in Fairbanks bike-truck collision This report is so biased I don’t know what happened except the cyclist was hit riding on the road, “outside the area designated for bicyclists“, whatever that is supposed to mean.

Serious wreck in Canuckistan. Cyclist injured in crash on Sargent Avenue in Winnipeg It looks like the cyclist ran the stop sign, or stopped and went without seeing the car that hit her. That would indicate intersection protocols to avoid in particular the part about stopping at stop signs, and getting the infrastructure “up to Dutch” to prevent. The geometry and physics of this wreck are interesting. Notice the front wheel was separated from the bike in the wreck but there was little to no damage to that wheel, the lack of damage to the front of the weapon vehicle, the proximity of the weapon vehicle to the intersection where the cyclist was riding, and the cyclist’s shoe sitting in the street. Some of those point to a high speed at impact (front wheel separation, cyclist’s shoe) and others strongly indicate a low speed for the weapon vehicle. And all those cans with no damage are also an indication that the weapon vehicle was not going very fast at impact. I counted 11 of 12 cans with no damage in the picture. Very strange…

There is some question of was the rider even where he was supposed to be in this wreck in the Great White North. Five injured when Gatineau bus collides with cyclist I think the wreck was hit-from-behind, but no confirmation on that. I strongly feel that this wreck showed how badly this city needs infrastructure “up to Dutch” to prevent wrecks.

LEO on bike wreck in the GWN. SIU called in after Brampton cyclist seriously injured Because of LEO involvement the only thing we know is it was at an intersection so assume something in the intersection protocols will help avoiding or reducing damages, and getting the infrastructure “up to Dutch” will prevent a similar wreck.

This little gadget could make a difference in the aftermath of a wreck. Polaroid’s Teensy, Cheap, and Durable “Cube” Camera Is Good News for NYC Bikers

Closing with this link. What to do if you’re hit by a car while riding your bike

And as of right now my order from Speedway hasn’t showed up yet.

Billed @€0.02, Opus the unkillable badass Poet

This post will definitely go up late, and the Feed

Howdy folks! As we approach the Autumnal Equinox things get a little busy around Casa de El Poeta aka WoaB World HQ in the Beautiful Suburbs of Hell. For one thing there are all the rituals celebrating the holiday that I have to attend because I have friends and circle-mates who follow different traditions and all want me to be a part of their celebrations. For another thing there is the minor fact that I was born on this particular Pagan holiday. That means More Parties to attend. Add the third thing that I have become involved with electoral politics (without the swords and machine guns in this reality) and things are ramping up now, and well I’m just pulled in so many directions I almost look like a cartoon character. And I forgot I will be going to Dallas Pride Day to sign people up to support marriage equality this Sunday morning, well forgot until just now.

Speaking of birthdays, I have been asked to post what I want for mine. Simple enough, I need a steering wheel controller for my PS2 that will work with GT4, meaning (probably) something from Logitech. I can use Amazon gift certificates to buy one or someone could just send one to the church and I will take it home from there. Address it to Opus the Poet c/o Sacred Journey Fellowship UU, 1215 Main St. Garland TX 75040 and I will get it. Seems kind of silly that I get video game stuff for my 56th Birthday, but that’s what I need to make the Sprint T simulator.

And another birthday gift that won’t cost anything is signing this petition to make an Interstate Highway system for bicycles and pedestrians.

Up first is this ID hit-from-behind wreck. Female cyclist hit by car, seriously injured and Local athlete critically injured while biking The crime scene looks to be one of those that sure you can get away from the weapon vehicle but you’re likely to suffer serious injury when you do, but still less than getting hit with a car. Infrastructure “up to Dutch” to prevent.

A cyclist hits one of a group of jay-walkers in Central Park in NYC. Pedestrian Critically Injured In Accident With Cyclist In Central Park and Bicycle rider not charged in Central Park collision that put pedestrian on ventilator also Woman In Critical Condition After Getting Run Over By Cyclist In Central Park The Post (holding nose) Woman brain-dead after getting hit by cyclist in Central Park Not done yet After Woman Is Struck, Debate on Cycling in City Is Revived The crazies are calling for this guy to get the death penalty for something that only merits a $122 ticket if it happens with a car instead of a bicycle. Granted it should be a lot more strict than a $122 ticket in a car, but why all the venom for cyclists? BTW Don’t Hit The Pedestrians!

This is the second cyclist hit from behind in the bike lane since the 3-feet-to-pass law went into effect in CA. Freeport Boulevard closed after fatal bike crash The law requires a $220 ticket that with fees and costs comes to $980 for hitting a cyclist from behind, something I have yet to see with either of the wrecks since the law went into effect.

Still in CA a driver is sentenced in a wreck with a cyclist. Point Reyes Station man sentenced in DUI hit-and-run that injured cyclists I seriously doubt he would have gotten much of anything in the way of jail had he not taken down the telephone pole. Still 9 months is way more than he would have gotten had this wreck been in NY state.

A drunk driver kills a cyclist and gets 45 weekends in jail in the Great White North. Truck driver going to jail for killing elderly cyclist

A cyclist in Enn Zed is seriously injured in a single bike wreck? Cyclist seriously injured in Wellington OK there has to be some information missing from hit report, New Zeeland is a mandatory helmet country and head injury is pretty much the only way the wreck as described in the narrative could seriously injure a person.

Lifestyle for the DE cyclist hit head on by a suspected drunk driver on the wrong side of the road. Bicyclists ride to Phillip Bishop’s viewing The ride was treated much like a funeral procession except they went to the deceased instead of going with the deceased to his final rest.

Not sure how to classify this, closest thing I could think of is sorta kinda LifeStyle. Boston Scientific Helps Turn Wounded Warrior Into Competetive Cyclist The guy has a stim unit that changes neuropathy pain into a mild tingle? I could use one of those.

More on the CA passing law that recently went into effect. Hey, I’m Bikin’ Here! A Buffer Zone Is Now Law for California Cyclists Yes this is still Infrastructure! news.

Gothamist links a video showing how NOT to ride a bicycle in NYC. Video: Area Dude Demonstrates The Wrong Way To Bike In NYC

Presented without classification after 3 people sent links in my e-mail this morning. Death on a Bike

Ad for the people who built Francis/es. E is for Electric C is for Canopy Sometimes it’s nice to get a little help when riding, especially when you have nearly 100 pounds of empty bike to push along.

Our Daily Ted. Weekend Links: Free ice cream when you Bike to the Bowl; KY cyclist arrested, and Jens shatters the hour

Last link is the largest Human Powered Vehicle race in the world. Murray Bridge alive with pedal prix power this weekend Mixed and segregated 8-person teams of kids and adults trying to just keep the vehicle going all night and day.

I think I’m done now, because I’m damned near finished.

Billed @€0.02, Opus the unkillable badass Poet

Back to the old composing page, and the Feed

As much as I like the streamlined look of the new composing page there is just too much missing from it for me to continue to use it. Automatic if you guys are paying attention we need to make getting to the classic composing page as easy as getting to the stripped-down new page. I don’t mind the missing tools as much as I mind that the new page strips out components of the site when I use it, or at least strips out components of the site when I access the site since I don’t know what other people’s experience is like. When I use the classic compose I get access to the share button so that I can send this to all the FB pages I have admin status for (not something I do every day, but something I do sometimes to specific pages that the post would be welcome at), but when I use the new page the share button is gone. This is not acceptable.

Also I spent an exciting hour watching Jens Voigt ride a bicycle in circles. #Shutuplegs indeed.

Up first, while I love being able to look at a crime scene picture and establish a narrative of the events leading up to that crime scene picture, I hate being right in this case. Cops: Audi on wrong side as bicycle hit The fact that the cyclist was hit on the passenger side of a vehicle driving on the wrong side of the road (and sources I can’t link to tell me he was riding in the right hand side of the lane) point to the fact that the cyclist literally had no place to go to avoid the wreck.

I REALLY want to see how CA LEO go about not giving any kind of ticket or anything to the driver in this report. Bicyclist dies after being struck on Freeport Boulevard Two cyclists, one killed in the bike lane, and less than 24 hours after a new law making hitting a cyclist from behind a mandatory fine of nearly $1K went into effect with great hoopla. I mean c’mon, he was hit in the bike lane, if that is not “unsafe pass” personified I don’t know what would be. Hit-from behind protocols to avoid, and enforce the legal infrastructure to prevent. Or install physical infrastructure that’s “up to Dutch”.

A wreck in NV. Cyclist killed in North Las Vegas crash identified and NLV Cyclist killed in intersection was at fault The thing that always bothers me about these wrecks is was the cyclist caught by a stale green? Or in other words did the cyclist enter an intersection with the green light and just not have enough time to clear it before cross traffic started moving, but with the pictures of the weapon vehicle and the bike I think that’s not the case with this wreck. The bike is so badly mangled that determining of the bike had working brakes at the time of the wreck is pretty much impossible unless the brake cables have heavy corrosion indicating they had been disconnected for some time. So I’m going to have to go with NLV LEO on this wreck because there is no doubt the cyclist ran the red into traffic. Why he ran the red is another question entirely, not in my pay grade.

More on the “great guy” that was drinking and stoned when he killed a cyclist in NM. Suspect in cyclist’s death appears in court Interesting that the driver has two previous assault charges in the past 3 years. Also interesting is the second charge has not been adjudicated yet when he was arraigned for this charge.

The most deadliest state in the US to walk or ride a bike tries to take out another cyclist. Cyclist critically injured in crash with Jeep in DeLand Another SWSS wreck with LEO accepting every word from the driver as absolute gospel. Protocols and Dutch quality infrastructure, and less gullible LEO, to prevent.

A PA cyclist collides with a stationary construction vehicle. Cyclist injured after crashing into truck in Murrysville No I can’t figure it out either. I have no pictures of the bike, and the picture I had yesterday of the truck is 404 now. I can tell you it was a Really Big Truck, about as large a vehicle as can be driven on the roads without permits and pilot vehicles, so I have no idea why the cyclist could not avoid it. Just pure speculation is that he might have been run off the road and into the truck but without some kind of witness to say one way or another I can’t say. I wish the cyclist a speedy recovery.

A deadly wreck in MA. Authorities Investigating Fatal Bike Accident in Malden, Massachusetts The cyclist was apparently having a medical emergency when he fell off the sidewalk under the garbage truck. This is a wreck that could be prevented with infrastructure, but in reality without universal medical care this would just result in the man dying someplace else from whatever medical emergency he was having when the truck ran him over. More Man struck, killed in Malden garbage truck accident

A spectacular wreck in the Great White North results in no injury for the cyclist. Cyclist not injured in supper-hour crash Intersection wreck that apparently the cyclist used the intersection protocols in to completely escape harm while scaring the driver half to death. Get that infrastructure “up to Dutch” to prevent. Note to the cyclist, if you’re a reader could you post a comment and tell us how you managed to avoid getting hurt.

Apparently the right hook is not illegal in Canada, just be aware of that. No charges laid in collision that killed cyclist in Dartmouth

From the UK a taxi hit a cyclist and a pedestrian and I feel bad for the taxi driver, and if that doesn’t get you to click the link I don’t know what will. Taxi driver critically ill in hospital after crashing into cyclist and pedestrian outside Old Bailey

A cyclist in Oz wins a minor “door prize” Trigger Warning! Bike rider says she could’ve been killed when doored on Brisbane road

Interesting Infrastructure! news from CA. Dick Spotswood: Bike path accident leads to calls for bikes to slow down I keep asking if the MUP speed limit is faster or slower than the CA school zone speed limit but I never get an answer.

More infrastructure news from CA. Olympic cyclist sues over the death of his wife, Debra Deem This is about the free right turn lane that allows drivers to make right turns without slowing down.

More on the CA enacting of the 3-feet-to-pass law. Three-foot buffer law for cyclists now in effect

Until we can get every state and city to adopt the CROW manual (still only €90!) We will need lots of these guys. Bike Scholarship Winner Saw Cyclist Fatally Injured Not that every bike lawyer needs to watch someone die, just that we need lawyers who have skin in the game to stand up for us.

Infrastructure news from the Great White North. Sister of woman killed in bike accident wants more protection for cyclists Hey I didn’t say it was good news, just news. This is a response to that other article about the woman right hooked in Dartmouth.

I don’t find these “jokes” funny, do you? Why do we still hear people joke about hitting cyclists?

Lifestyle in NC. Des Ark’s Aimée Argote plans memorial bike ride Friday night Seeing someone killed riding a bike changes you. Especially if that someone is you, but don’t tell anyone I said that. And Cyclists ask motorists to share the roadways

Our Daily Ted. Morning Links: The impact of CA’s new three-foot passing law; bike-friendly Brentwood poet passes away

And those were all the links I could find yesterday (this has been a Very Long Day).

Billed @€0.02, Opus the unkillable badass Poet

Overloaded with links and covered up in other obligations, and the Feed

Things have been a bit busy this week, and this is only Monday. Among things I can talk about I have a consultation with a surgeon this Thursday for removing the thing on the back of my neck that is making drinking soda from the can a painful and difficult proposition lately, and I had a discussion of volunteering for the Wendy Davis campaign this afternoon as well as a trip to the bank to pay for the new hat I’m giving myself for my birthday. The new hat is being custom-made by an Etsy vendor called “Steezy Workz” and hopefully will be ready by year’s end. And my spell checker thought “Steezy” was spelled right but not the “Workz” part of the name? WTF?!? Anywho, I’m having to order the hat over the Internet because there are no local vendors still making the hat I want. Also I am up to my eyeballs in the NDA project that is burning up tons of time as well. For a guy who doesn’t have a steady job I sure seem to have a lot to do…

Up first, despite all the predictions of mass carnage when bike share went into effect just about everywhere in North America it has been tried, those predictions have all come up negative. Why? Ideas why 0 bikers have been killed on bike-sharing bikes The hypothesis have been as many and as varied as the color schemes of the shared bikes, more so even. But as it stands now it’s all guesswork.

A NM cyclist is killed making a left turn. Cyclist killed in hit-and-run near NM 528 and Coors Bypass Apparent drunk driver runs over a cyclist moving to the turn lane as required by NM law to make that left turn, then left for dead. Modify the hit-from-behind protocols to take moving to the left into account to avoid or reduce damages, and get the infrastructure “up to Dutch” to prevent.

Two links to a DE hit-and-run. Police ID bicyclist killed in Hockessin hit-and-run and Bicyclist killed less than mile from home Cyclist was hit head-on apparently riding on his side of the road, and from user descriptions of the road may have had less than a second to react to the oncoming vehicle. There are no protocols that will help you avoid a wreck like this and getting the infrastructure “up to Dutch” would only have helped if the cyclist was struck away from a residential area so that he would not be sharing the roads with a suspected DUI.

Wasting the court’s time in ID. Trial set for man accused of killing cyclist Changing your plea at the sentencing hearing is a serious “no class” move.

A drunk cyclist in PA. Sentinel police log for Sept. 12 Not a good idea but still better than driving while falling-down drunk.

Aftermath of a drunk driver hitting 4 cyclists head on driving on their side of the road. Cyclists stress awareness to stay safe I’m still at a loss how watching what’s going on where there is no escape route and a drunk driver is driving on your side of the road is going to do anything but leave you all tensed up when you get killed, like for those guys who died.

A hit-and-run in the Great White North leaves an injured cyclist in its wake. Police seeking driver after Dartmouth hit-and-run The driver just drove right through the cyclist leaving the stop sign. That’s not a wreck a human cyclist can avoid, and as the location appears to be the boundary between shared space and where cyclists would head to segregated infrastructure, so getting the infrastructure “up to Dutch” is kind of a tossup depending on where the segregated infrastructure began.

Infrastructure! news from CA. Give cyclists 3 feet: It’s the law now The comments section is a war zone.

Infrastructure worries after a wreck on a group ride in the Great White North. Laurie Strano’s death sparks caution at Gatineau cycling event

Infrastructure worries in the UK. Shocking road stats warn of dangers for cyclists in Sevenoaks I think people are starting to get the message that recent reductions in overall KSI are the result of changes to cars and advancements in medical care and drivers are still as bad as they ever were.

Infrastructure news from Oz, as a driver comes to the shocking revelation that they are guiding tons of killing machine around fragile human beings. Peace offer in cycle war

Infrastructure news from Enn Zed. Cyclists, drivers urged to share the road and Cyclists get the helmet message The “message” received is that unless you exceed all legal requirements to make yourself visible and protected, even if those requirements don’t actually provide any protection aside from the placebo effect (for drivers). So every square inch covered in HiViz and a silly styrofoam hat, and maybe you won’t get blamed for the drunk driver that slams into you and crushes your fragile internal organs with 2-3 tons of speeding projectile.

Lifestyle news from the RGV of TX. Son of cyclist will ride in his honor

Lifestyle from GA. Atlanta police officers join charity night bike ride

Last link, the bike to have in the garage when the zombie apocalypse hits. Bug Out Bike – Apocalypse Bicycle Maybe painting the chain isn’t such a bright idea… but having a MTB with reliable components and lots of cargo capacity with medical supplies, food, and water pre-loaded along with shelter is a good idea for anything short of a kaiju invasion, and if you’re lucky enough to know which way the kaiju is headed then even for that. Good XC tires with airless tubes gives you the lowest possible rolling resistance with no flats. I need to get Francis/es sorted out (we are down to getting the fit right now) and then all I would need would be having all those things in one area with tiedowns to secure the load ready to go.

And those were all the links I got before 1800, those I’m saving for tomorrow.

Billed @€0.02, Opus the unkillable badass Poet

Ramen on Bean Day, and the Feed

I have someplace to go this evening (as I’m writing this) and I will probably have to finish the post after I get back from my gig. I’m going to do data entry for a political phone bank this evening, since I’m crap as an operator since the wreck. I have zero improv skills since the wreck and I knew my public speaking skills were gone the first spoken word gig I had after the wreck. I was speaking like I had never been on stage in my life and had never had any training in how to use my voice. I had some slight improvement for a few years then things have been steadily deteriorating ever since. So I take my laptop and transcribe phone sheets into a database. This saves the callers considerable time and also allows people without laptops to call as quickly as they are able.

The ramen bit is I needed something that could be whipped up in a few minutes for Mrs. the Poet before I left and also be done when I needed to go, so I’m using ramen in the traditional Japanese way rather than the American way of “noodles in pot and 3 minutes later in stomach”. I’m adding leftover veggies and a couple of whipped eggs to the noodles to make the pack of ramen into a meal for two. It’s quick, it’s easy and it uses up leftovers. That makes it perfect for tonight.

It looks like a hit-and-run in South Texas is today’s leadoff story. Driver kills cyclist then flees the scene in Harlingen Scene pictures show this as a hit-from-behind on the right side of the bike lane (making assumptions from what appears to be a puddle of blood next to the curb) which means the driver of the weapon vehicle left his lane and went almost to the curb to hit a brightly lighted cyclist. This means the cyclist was riding extra legal as in as legal as possible and also means that protocols are moot for this case, the driver would have just killed the cyclist further from the road had he bailed any further to the side than he already was. Dutch infrastructure standards would be to put the person that approved this design in jail because of the inevitability of exactly this occurrence. This was a highway with speed limits much too high for a simple bike lane to be safe. Without a barrier this wreck was inevitable, the infrastructure here is simple appeasement. Ask Neville Chamberlain how well appeasement works. Dutch quality infrastructure to prevent.

A little to the north of that a cyclist discovers that when you’re carrying drugs you need to not ride salmon. SAPD: Several drugs found on cyclist riding on Broadway St. Or at least just obey LEO when instructed to ride with traffic instead of dropping the bike and running away on foot.

Sometimes it seems like everything is out to get us, even the trees. Cyclist struck by falling tree, critically injured in Winnetka and this later link Chicago actress Molly Glynn dies after being struck by falling tree The duo was riding in the forest when a strong pop-up T-storm broke nearby and the outflow from the storm on the ground toppled trees. This is in the Whiskey, Tango, Foxtrot, Interrogative category or an act of [$DEITY] depending on your religious self-identification.

Still in the Chicagoland area we get a SWCC fatality. Bicyclist killed at Bridgeport intersection Note the narrative, the cyclist was unconscious a the scene and died after being transported and the driver of the weapon vehicle was operating without a license, but they still believed him when he claimed the cyclist was the one running a red light. Get the infrastructure “up to Dutch” and the driver of the weapon vehicle may have found cycling so convenient that he would not have been driving, saving two lives.

A bike-on-bike wreck in MA. Somerville Bicyclist Killed In Medford Collision With Motorcycle As of this posting with neither participant able to talk to LEO and very little evidence was left at the scene so I have no idea what to do with the built environment to avoid this wreck but since 90% of the wrecks I cover would be eliminated by Dutch quality infrastructure I’m going to go with that to prevent.

I’m not sure if this wreck was in MA or VT, but a kid paying more attention to his cell phone than where his Weapon of mass destruction was going managed to hit a cyclist from behind riding 3 feet away from the actual road. Cycling: Recent incidents a reminder of perils of riding Also a MTB cyclist pranged it a good one the same week. This is another one of “those wrecks” that human cyclists can’t evade because they are already at the limits of their escape route, and only a barrier or massive amounts of distance will prevent a similar wreck, or developing technology that causes a car to come to a complete stop if a cell phone is used in the car. Something that makes the phone catch fire if the car is in motion and the phone is in use? That might be a little safer than stopping the car while trying to call police because someone is trying to carjack you, then you can throw the flaming phone at the carjacker.

“Final” word on a CA wreck. No charges filed from Irvine cyclist killed in Newport Beach If the narrative is correct this wreck appears to be a cyclist that left-crossed himself, which is tragic but not the fault of the driver.

A SWSS wreck in CA results in a deceased cyclist. COLLISION KILLS 60-YEAR-OLD CYCLIST IN CHULA VISTA Hit from behind protocols to avoid or reduce damages, and infrastructure will prevent a similar wreck by removing the ability of the motor vehicle to get within striking distance of any cyclists.

Another CA wreck as reported by Ted Rogers. 61-year old bike rider killed in Huntington Beach; second cycling death in the city in just five days The wreck is known to have been in an intersection, and that’s about all they know as of this posting.

The initial criminal charges for a hit-from-behind wreck in ND. Man who struck deaf, blind Norwegian cyclist cited There were two people on that bike, the blind cyclist was just the stoker. And I’m thinking he wasn’t the only blind man on the road that day, knowhutimean?

LEO are hunting the weapon vehicle in this hit-and-run in AK. Troopers looking for driver in hit-run collision; 1 cyclist seriously injured The narrative reads that the weapon vehicle went off the road to hit 2 cyclists riding on the shoulder. This speaks of pre-meditation to me, or just general Dumbassery. Neither scenario leaves cyclists with much if any options to avoid the wreck considering they were already off the road on the shoulder so that leaves Dutch quality segregated infrastructure and presumed liability legal infrastructure to protect cyclists from drivers like this.

Tragedy in the Great White North as a rider on a charity ride gets hit. Ride the Rideau cyclist hit, killed by truck and Mother of two killed in Ride the Rideau cycling event Nothing about the mode, just the cyclist was hit by/with a dump or garbage truck while on the course raising money to fight cancer. I assume they do charity rides in the Netherlands, too, so get the infrastructure “up to Dutch” to prevent.

Cyclists in Scotland are in danger. Cyclist dies after Aberdeen crash and North Anderson Drive closed northbound after cyclist seriously injured in smash What I could see in the pictures was a hit-from-behind wreck, which means the pictures will probably be taken down shortly to comply with UK media laws. So, protocols to avoid or reduce damages, and get the infrastructure “up to Dutch” to prevent.

Another low-information wreck from Oz. Crash cyclist seriously injured The scant description of the wreck as a “two car crash” makes me think that this might not have been a wreck that a human cyclist could avoid.

Infrastructure! argument from about 80 miles east of WoaB World HQ in the Beautiful Suburbs of Hell. Readers take sides on bicycles on public roadways

Infrastructure argument in far West Canuckistan. Cyclists, pedestrians collide on Vancouver’s mean streets You know when infrastructure is properly designed for everybody there are no “mean streets”. Just sayin’, yannow?

Lifestyle in Seattle. Maj. Margaret Witt reflects on fallen cyclist’s legal legacy and Hundreds gather in Seattle to honor cyclist killed by truck No, no, no. The cyclist was killed by a dumbass politician, the truck was just the murder weapon. Remember, this project would have been completed a year ago if some dumbass hadn’t delayed it to score political points. That person should be in jail now.

Lifestyle in NV. Cyclists memorialize rider with ‘3 Feet for Pete’ ride

Lifestyle in NC. Friend talks about Greensboro man killed while riding bicycle

And what does the future hold for the lowly bicycle? FUTURE BIKE: TECHNOLOGY

And those were all the links that didn’t make me want to kill someone with my bare hands gave me fits or giggles.

Billed @€0.02, Opus the unkillable badass Poet