I was working our church harvest festival (Redneck Pagan Fall Festival) and spent all day wearing an old bike helmet with a pair of deer antlers duct taped to it as part of a ring-toss game. One of the things we had was a contest to name things that could not be “fixed” with duct tape and zip-ties good enough to get you home, given a large enough supply of “tools”. Basically the only things that couldn’t be “fixed” that way would be things that operated at too high a temperature for the “tools” to survive, like an exhaust pipe, coolant line to a nuclear reactor (“you are in a nuclear submarine…”) or other such thing, and even then the repair might still hold if you weren’t too far from home, and there was enough duct tape available. So I was spending all day doing this, came home just long enough to get a bite to eat and roll back out for evening services which was a long one because this was when the “twice a year” pagans come out to communal circles. The other six Sabbats can be done properly by a solitary at home, but Samhain (pronounced “SOW en”) and Beltain (pronounced “BELL tane”) are both Sabbats that need to be celebrated with other people. Samhain is a remembrance of the dead, while Beltain is a celebration of the renewal of life. Both of those are much easier to do with others of like mind. Hence the rather large gatherings near the end of October and the first of May. Samhain also marks the end of the Celtic year, making November the 1st the Witches’ New Year.
Up first, after a car runs you down on the sidewalk, it’s not a good idea to go punch it out. Police: Bicyclist arrested after punching car I know (oh believe me, I KNOW!) that after having a near-death experience with a car that adrenaline levels spike to panic-attack levels and the fight-or-flight response is kicked way high and your first instinct is to attack what almost killed you.
From cycling’s Mecca in the US, they can’t decide if a cyclist was hit pushing a bike, or a pedestrian was hit near a bike that he had no connection with. Man dies after Hawthorne Bridge crash Whatever the mode of transportation that victim was using, he was apparently on the sidewalk when he was hit. From what little I know of the area the sidewalks on this bridge leave much to be desired in the way of room and make even a person walking without a bike feel very vulnerable. Since I have no idea how to keep from getting hit while walking on a sidewalk I have to say that this is strictly an infrastructure question.
A hit-and-run in CA. Hit-and-run vehicle injures cyclist; Redlands police seek public’s help Another reason to have wearable ID like RoadID or a dogtag with your name, phone number, and address stamped on it (blood type is good also) because LEO still don’t know who the victim was. Hit-from-behind, use the protocols to avoid and get the infrastructure right, so that a wreck like this is physically impossible, to prevent. If you can’t make the wreck physically impossible then make the criminality of hit-and-run so costly for drivers that running becomes a worse option than staying.
Another hit-and-run, this one in KY. Police looking for suspects after cyclist killed by hit-and-run driver Given that what people said in the comments about the road was true that there were few roads that could be used to bypass the area, the cyclist probably did not have much choice in which route was to be taken to avoid this calamity. Use the hit-from-behind protocols to avoid, and fix the infrastructure to prevent. Interesting comments that as I write this mostly blame either the driver for being drunk and leaving the scene to avoid DUI Homicide charges or the infrastructure and the people that built it for not making any space for anything except motor vehicles.
A SWSS wreck in OH. Van Wert woman killed while riding her bicycle and VW woman dies in bike-car crash Nothing useful about the wreck, the cyclist just pulled in front of a speeding SUV like she was trying to kill herself. And once again the driver gets let off for murder because the victim was riding a bicycle and the killer was driving a motor vehicle. Since the wreck was not actually in the intersection but “near” it, I have to assume the driver was not paying attention to the cyclist’s presence on the road until after the impact. Hit-from-behind and intersection protocols to avoid, and get the infrastructure right to prevent. Notice that neither report has the lane position or direction of travel of the weapon vehicle.
From the Great White North a cyclist is killed. Teenager killed after being struck by vehicle while riding bike in Innisfil and Teen cyclist killed on IBR Since LEO won’t say the cyclists were not using lights or reflectors at the time of the wreck it’s usually a pretty good bet that they were. Hit from behind, use the protocols to avoid and get the infrastructure right to prevent. A good start would be making it automatic that anyone hitting multiple cyclists in a single wreck charged with assault with a deadly weapon or attempted murder.
A really rare case in the UK. Driver who mowed down teen cyclist sees jail sentence doubled Wow, just nothing else but Wow! Three and a half years for driving more than 40 MPH over the limit in a residential area and killing a cyclist, after the initial 18 month sentence was appealed.
A cyclist in Oz survives a hit-and-run assault with a deadly weapon. Hit-run rider left for dead Hit-from-behind, use the protocols to avoid and get the infrastructure right to prevent. More Hit-run cyclist left for dead
LifeStyle from TX, and did you see that picture of the cyclists? Injured cyclist’s allies to drivers: Pay attention In many areas there is no way to avoid riding on frontage roads if you want to get places. They build the destinations on the frontage roads so you have to ride the frontage roads to go there. Also these highways are like walls or rivers that have been plopped down in the middle of existing road networks with no way to get around them.
LifeStyle in CA. Thousands attend memorial for 2 cyclists killed in accidents and Memorial Ride Draws 1,200 Cyclists
And to close, this is the second time in a month that this has happened in the UK. Cyclist killed after stopping to exchange details The first time was about 2 weeks ago, but the bike wasn’t stolen in that one. This time someone came up and stole the dead man’s bike. In the first wreck the dead cyclist’s bike was destroyed when he was hit by the second vehicle, and I can’t find the link for that one… More Sunderland cyclist killed and bike taken after crash
And those were all the links that gave me fits and were about bicycles. There were lots more links that gave me fits, but they weren’t about bicycles.
Billed @$0.02, Opus
32.928601
-96.607394
Witch on a Bicycle 
No post yesterday because Church Fair! and the Feed
I was working our church harvest festival (Redneck Pagan Fall Festival) and spent all day wearing an old bike helmet with a pair of deer antlers duct taped to it as part of a ring-toss game. One of the things we had was a contest to name things that could not be “fixed” with duct tape and zip-ties good enough to get you home, given a large enough supply of “tools”. Basically the only things that couldn’t be “fixed” that way would be things that operated at too high a temperature for the “tools” to survive, like an exhaust pipe, coolant line to a nuclear reactor (“you are in a nuclear submarine…”) or other such thing, and even then the repair might still hold if you weren’t too far from home, and there was enough duct tape available. So I was spending all day doing this, came home just long enough to get a bite to eat and roll back out for evening services which was a long one because this was when the “twice a year” pagans come out to communal circles. The other six Sabbats can be done properly by a solitary at home, but Samhain (pronounced “SOW en”) and Beltain (pronounced “BELL tane”) are both Sabbats that need to be celebrated with other people. Samhain is a remembrance of the dead, while Beltain is a celebration of the renewal of life. Both of those are much easier to do with others of like mind. Hence the rather large gatherings near the end of October and the first of May. Samhain also marks the end of the Celtic year, making November the 1st the Witches’ New Year.
Up first, after a car runs you down on the sidewalk, it’s not a good idea to go punch it out. Police: Bicyclist arrested after punching car I know (oh believe me, I KNOW!) that after having a near-death experience with a car that adrenaline levels spike to panic-attack levels and the fight-or-flight response is kicked way high and your first instinct is to attack what almost killed you.
From cycling’s Mecca in the US, they can’t decide if a cyclist was hit pushing a bike, or a pedestrian was hit near a bike that he had no connection with. Man dies after Hawthorne Bridge crash Whatever the mode of transportation that victim was using, he was apparently on the sidewalk when he was hit. From what little I know of the area the sidewalks on this bridge leave much to be desired in the way of room and make even a person walking without a bike feel very vulnerable. Since I have no idea how to keep from getting hit while walking on a sidewalk I have to say that this is strictly an infrastructure question.
A hit-and-run in CA. Hit-and-run vehicle injures cyclist; Redlands police seek public’s help Another reason to have wearable ID like RoadID or a dogtag with your name, phone number, and address stamped on it (blood type is good also) because LEO still don’t know who the victim was. Hit-from-behind, use the protocols to avoid and get the infrastructure right, so that a wreck like this is physically impossible, to prevent. If you can’t make the wreck physically impossible then make the criminality of hit-and-run so costly for drivers that running becomes a worse option than staying.
Another hit-and-run, this one in KY. Police looking for suspects after cyclist killed by hit-and-run driver Given that what people said in the comments about the road was true that there were few roads that could be used to bypass the area, the cyclist probably did not have much choice in which route was to be taken to avoid this calamity. Use the hit-from-behind protocols to avoid, and fix the infrastructure to prevent. Interesting comments that as I write this mostly blame either the driver for being drunk and leaving the scene to avoid DUI Homicide charges or the infrastructure and the people that built it for not making any space for anything except motor vehicles.
A SWSS wreck in OH. Van Wert woman killed while riding her bicycle and VW woman dies in bike-car crash Nothing useful about the wreck, the cyclist just pulled in front of a speeding SUV like she was trying to kill herself. And once again the driver gets let off for murder because the victim was riding a bicycle and the killer was driving a motor vehicle. Since the wreck was not actually in the intersection but “near” it, I have to assume the driver was not paying attention to the cyclist’s presence on the road until after the impact. Hit-from-behind and intersection protocols to avoid, and get the infrastructure right to prevent. Notice that neither report has the lane position or direction of travel of the weapon vehicle.
From the Great White North a cyclist is killed. Teenager killed after being struck by vehicle while riding bike in Innisfil and Teen cyclist killed on IBR Since LEO won’t say the cyclists were not using lights or reflectors at the time of the wreck it’s usually a pretty good bet that they were. Hit from behind, use the protocols to avoid and get the infrastructure right to prevent. A good start would be making it automatic that anyone hitting multiple cyclists in a single wreck charged with assault with a deadly weapon or attempted murder.
A really rare case in the UK. Driver who mowed down teen cyclist sees jail sentence doubled Wow, just nothing else but Wow! Three and a half years for driving more than 40 MPH over the limit in a residential area and killing a cyclist, after the initial 18 month sentence was appealed.
A cyclist in Oz survives a hit-and-run assault with a deadly weapon. Hit-run rider left for dead Hit-from-behind, use the protocols to avoid and get the infrastructure right to prevent. More Hit-run cyclist left for dead
LifeStyle from TX, and did you see that picture of the cyclists? Injured cyclist’s allies to drivers: Pay attention In many areas there is no way to avoid riding on frontage roads if you want to get places. They build the destinations on the frontage roads so you have to ride the frontage roads to go there. Also these highways are like walls or rivers that have been plopped down in the middle of existing road networks with no way to get around them.
LifeStyle in CA. Thousands attend memorial for 2 cyclists killed in accidents and Memorial Ride Draws 1,200 Cyclists
And to close, this is the second time in a month that this has happened in the UK. Cyclist killed after stopping to exchange details The first time was about 2 weeks ago, but the bike wasn’t stolen in that one. This time someone came up and stole the dead man’s bike. In the first wreck the dead cyclist’s bike was destroyed when he was hit by the second vehicle, and I can’t find the link for that one… More Sunderland cyclist killed and bike taken after crash
And those were all the links that gave me fits and were about bicycles. There were lots more links that gave me fits, but they weren’t about bicycles.
Billed @$0.02, Opus
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Tagged blind driver syndrome, blind drivers, can you top this, cycling life, cyclist injured, cyclists killed, Dead cyclists, Don't read the comments, Duct tape and zip ties can fix anything, fun on a bike, ghost bikes, good news, hit from behind, hit-and-run, Jolly Olde, Oz, Rednecks, signs of the apocolypse, Single Witness Suicidal Swerve/Single Witness Crossing Cyclist, Something smells, stupid cyclist, stupid drivers, stupid LEO, stupid politicians, UK media wreck articles suck, updates, waste of human skin