I am going to be boring on NYE, and the Feed

Yep, I’m doing an “old folks” NYE tonight. Not even any carbonated apple cider tonight to toast in the New Year. Just watching the TV and kissing Mrs. the Poet at midnight. Yep, that’s real exciting…<yawn> Not many links today but I’m going to get through this as fast as possible so I am not at the computer when 2014 ends and 2015 begins.

Opening up with Our Daily Ted. Morning Links: Fat tire biking the Iditarod trail, Aussie ped safety video and best wishes for a happy New Year

An infrastructure related wreck shows why people at the front of a group ride it’s better to alert trailing riders. This one was sent to me on Facebook. Expect the Unexpected on a group ride! It takes a quarter of a second for your average human to see and identify a potential threat and begin to react to it, and you can see that was about the same amount of time the second rider had to see the debris after it came into view around the lead cyclist.

Once again the “justice system” fails to ensure justice in the Great White North. Day parole continues for drunk driver who killed cyclist The driver was sentenced to 6 years and a lifetime driving ban, now I wonder how “lifetime” that ban will be in light of how little time he actually spent in prison. It’s looking like he will be driving about the time he was supposed to be walking out of prison.

To solve a problem you first must define the problem. This is a major step towards defining the problem in DC. Map: Here’s Where Pedestrians and Cyclists Were Struck This Year The standard technique is to look for “clusters” of wrecks and see what the infrastructure looks like, then identifying potential sources of conflict that might lead to wrecks, then systematically removing those sources of conflict. It doesn’t always work that way, because many times there are certain parameters that can’t be violated, usually causing any disturbance in vehicle speed is verboten.

Some fun news from the UK. Worthing chosen to host cycling series Yep putting steeply banked turns facing each other on opposite sides of the street looks like more fun then the law allows.

And another link to the story that bikes make more jobs than cars in Europe. Cycling Is Creating More Jobs in Europe Than Automakers Are in the U.S.

And that’s it, I’m outta links.

Billed @€0.02, Opus the Poet

It’s finally HERE!! and the Feed

Yeah, I am a little excited now, if I was physically capable I would be doing the Snoopy dance now. I’m in the process of uploading the pictures from my phone to my computer and thence to the media center for this blog as I’m composing this part of the post. Fortunately I’m near the end of my phone month so I won’t wipe out my data limit for too long. Not that I do anything with the data part of my plan except send pictures to myself to post on the blog anyway, but there are a lot of pictures this time. The main thing this does for me is I now have the ability to create an accurate 3D model of the body for the cosmetic portion of the sim file, and for the CAD program to use for planning the frame.

It’s here!!

All the best presents come strapped to a pallet.

In the driveway.

Fra-geel-eh, must be from Italy

First peek.

Freed from the box.

In the house

Everyone needs a car body in their living room.

What was in the other box, or the rest of my B-day present to myself.

How it fits. Mrs. the Poet is not the world’s best photographer.

The body was delivered covered in sanding dust and dried mold release, which I wiped off with a damp rag before sitting in it, after using the vacuum cleaner to suck up the piles of it in the various crevices of the body.

Up first is an update on a wreck a half-day’s ride east of WoaB World HQ in the Beautiful Suburbs of Hell. Exclusive: Cyclist hit by SUV speaks out The article pretty much speaks for itself.

Hit-from-behind in AZ. Tucson hit-and-run kills cyclist; woman arrested Cyclist was hit from behind in a bike lane and then left for dead, charge that driver with murder. Obviously this is a serious infrastructure problem, because bicycle infrastructure done to the Dutch model keeps bikes away from motor vehicles as much as possible.

Wreck in CO is blamed on the victim. Denver Police: 10-year-old girl riding bike hit by car in Stapleton That’s interesting, the first version of the report blamed the cyclist for “swerving”, but the updated version doesn’t blame anybody and leaves the mode of the wreck out of the report.

A WY wreck has some interesting geometry. Man injured in car-bicycle crash early today in Riverton on Webbwood Road The narrative and the damages to the weapon vehicle suggest a hit-from-behind wreck, but the damages to the bike show more sideways damage than hit-from-behind damage, as do the resting points for the bike and the victim. They suggest the weapon vehicle was moving at an angle to the cyclist as if the driver swerved suddenly as he passed the cyclist. Notice the damage to the front wheel only with the rest of the bike looking pretty good, but the driver is claiming the sun was in his eyes so it will probably be an “accident”

Kill a cyclist, get a ticket? in OR. Pickup driver in Tillamook County crash that killed cyclist won’t face criminal charges So, only careless operation of a weapon of mass destruction?

Another hit-from-behind wreck in the Great White North. 62-year-old cyclist killed near Alexandria identified The shoulder of a road is not bicycle infrastructure. Protocols to avoid or reduce damages, and get the infrastructure “up to Dutch” to prevent.

Still in the GWN a wreck with no mode listed. Friends, neighbours mourn 62-year-old cyclist killed in South Glengarry Well, it has been established the cyclist knew what he was doing there, but the same can’t be said about the driver of the weapon vehicle.

Lots from the Great White North today as a cyclist left-crosses herself. Guelph cyclist injured and facing charges following a collision north of downtown Intersection protocols to avoid or reduce damages, and getting that infrastructure “up to Dutch” would prevent cyclists from sharing a traffic light phase with motor vehicles.

Our Daily Ted. Don’t miss this weekend’s most exciting bike event — the Huntington Park Gran Prix This looks like pure D fun.

Opening the Infrastructure! news with this tidbit from WA. Rules of the road: reducing stress for cyclists and drivers I like the bit about drivers needing to chill about things that are not only legal but required for cyclist safety.

And speaking about chilling out… Diane Savino: “Hey, Find a F—ing Bike Lane and Get in It” If I had Danny MacAskills’ skills I could ride in an NYC bike lane. Assuming I could tell it was there under all the parked cars…

Back to the left coast with this bit of infrastructure. Motorists ticketed if driving within 3 feet of cyclists

Infrastructure from the UK. Cycling deaths and serious injuries down in 2013, says DfT They’re running out of cyclists… 😛

Different part of the UK. Series of cyclist deaths spurs on road campaigners

And those are all the applicable links and pictures for today.

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

Running late because of making sure my house won’t get stolen by Wells Fargo, and the Feed

It’s just after 2100 as I begin this post because I had things to take care of during the day, then dinner, and filtering during dinner. It was very warm today, not what I would call “hot”, just 96°F for the high locally. One of the things I had to take care of was setting up things so that the money I’m getting from my Dad’s estate will ensure a roof over my head by taking Wells Fargo completely out of the situation. When we got our mortgage way those many years ago we got a good rate for the time, but we thought that because we were dealing with a financial institution that had been in existence since the late 1800s we were “safe”, compared to the situation when we first bought our house where our mortgage was sold multiple times as one bank after another failed following the Savings and Loan Debacle of the early ’90s and several times we had to fight to keep the house when the loan servicer went under and records were “lost”. Then there were the multiple foreclosures where Wells Fargo foreclosed on paid off mortgages because of a lack of current payments on the paid-off mortgage. Well, we are going to prevent that from happening… And I wore white after Labor Day!

Up first is more on the victim of that Seattle infrastructure-created wreck. Bicyclist killed fought ‘don’t ask, don’t tell’ and Cyclist killed in Seattle was ACLU lawyer I have said all I can say about this wreck, except I expect somebody to arrest the member of the Seattle City Council who delayed installing the barriers and separate signals that would have prevented this wreck and indirectly killing this cyclist. Since this was entirely predictable that someone would turn left across a cyclist going straight because of the scarcity of left-hand bike lanes and the fact that most people don’t look left when they are making a left turn from the furthest left lane for motor vehicles, that delay directly led to the death of this cyclist and in my mind becomes a criminal violation.

An OH cyclist is hospitalized by a hit-and-run driver. Bicyclist hurt in hit-skip crash in Montpelier Hit-from-behind protocols to avoid or reduce damages, and get the infrastructure “up to Dutch” to prevent.

This was either deliberate on the part of the driver, or someone really dropped the ball at the AL DMV eye test. Bicycle rider killed in crash As the link reads now there were 3 cyclists hit in this wreck, one killed, one hospitalized, and one that needs clean shorts. Hit-from-behind protocols for any good they could do, and obviously if the driver can’t get to the cyclists then he can’t hit them, which is entirely dependant on the infrastructure with the Dutch model having the best results so far for both protecting cyclists and getting more cyclists on the roads. Yeah, that is a very roundabout way of saying “up to Dutch”.

A CA cyclist is killed because somebody had too much to drink. Update: Huntington Beach bike rider killed by suspected drunk driver Hit from behind wreck really needs better LEO support as the driver has so far only been charged with misdemeanor DUI in spite of killing the cyclist and leaving the scene of the crime. Hit-from-behind protocols might have been useful in this wreck, getting the infrastructure “up to Dutch” would probably have prevented the wreck by keeping the drunk driver safely away from the victim.

Still in L.A. for a bit of lifestyle. Memorial ride to honor cyclist killed by sheriff’s deputy RIP Milt Olin.

Lifestyle from the Great White North. Family, friends of Darcy Allan Sheppard mark 5 years since cyclist’s death I would dearly love to see those videos where the driver of the weapon vehicle (quite literally in this case) was NOT using the car to beat the cyclist against mailboxes and other street furniture after the cyclist got up off the street to complain about getting run over from behind while waiting at a stop light, because all the videos I saw that is exactly what Michael Bryant was doing, using his vehicle as a blunt instrument to bludgeon the cyclist to death. But the Special Prosecutor assigned the case must have seen completely different videos than what we in the public saw.

More lifestyle from the entire country of Canada. Cyclist honours late-wife with cross-Canada ride The cyclist being remembered on this ride was killed scant miles from one end of this trail.

Lifestyle from the UK. Cyclist killed in Richmond Park crash was brilliant scientist who smuggled orchids

More lifestyle from the UK. Cyclists get on bikes for ride for dad killed in road smash I freaking HATE drunk drivers… not that this is unknown to my regular readers, what with the blood-thirsty demands that convicted DUI killers be chained to the steering wheels of their weapon vehicles right before they are fed through a car shredder together…

Infrastructure! news from the Great White North. Runner says speeding cyclists a city-wide problem The amazing cyclist, capable of going too fast and too slow at the same time and place!

Our Daily Ted. Morning Links: How to file a claim for pothole damage; La Habra rider injured crashing into street sign Not to be confused with Our Daily Tedd. El Goonish Shive

And something assisting electrically. New technology electrifies Tucson’s bicycle scene

And those were all the links that gave me fits or giggles today, mostly fits.

Billed @€0.02, Opus the unkillable badass Poet

Hoping for an easy day, and the Feed

I haven’t even opened the Feed Folder in my email yet today, so I’m hoping for the bicycle equivalent of fluffy bunny and baby ducks stories (yeah, right) instead of the usual wall to wall gore and broken bodies. I have been listening to my MP3 player on shuffle for a few days now (8-12 hours a day and it was 4 days before I heard the first repeat) and I have discovered a problem with my music files, level control. Even for files I converted myself the volume level between sources is not consistent, and I have to continually fiddle with the volume control to either be able to hear the music or keep my eardrums intact, except for one song that always gets turned to 11 when it comes up. That would be the original version of “Won’t Be Fooled Again”. I think I’m going to take that down to my local polling place and put it on endless loop through a 300 watt sound system, just to try to pound some sense into people as they come to vote…

Since there were lots of cyclists injured without ID, or their ID was lost in the wreck, I’m putting those at the head of the line today.

A UK wreck with an unidentified body. Cyclist killed in crash in Derbyshire still unidentified

Another UK wreck with an unidentified body. Cyclist killed on London Bridge after falling into oncoming traffic

And an unidentified body in L.A. CA. Bike rider killed in Orange; OC bike deaths match total for all of last year Both of these wrecks are currently under investigation so LEO are sitting on details about direction of travel and lane position.

And another unidentified body in L.A. 40-something cyclist killed in DTLA; second rider to die on Alameda Street in the last six months

A spate of bike wrecks in western NC. Motorcycle, Bike Wrecks Cause Injuries The only thing reported about the first wreck was the rider was injured, other wrecks were caused by bad pavement or gravel in the road, others were motorcycle wrecks with animals or bad pavement. And one car that flipped when it ran over an emergency turnaround, bleh!

A cyclist somehow survived this horrendous wreck in Seattle. Cyclist injured in Seattle collision with truck The narrative sounds like the cyclist was either buzzed, or right hooked as the truck was passing. Either way the fact that he is still alive is nothing short of a miracle. Until I know exactly how this wreck happened I can’t say what to do with the built environment to avoid it, but getting the infrastructure “up to Dutch” would have the cyclist and the semi segregated with a barrier between them so the wreck would never have been possible.

Update on that MO assault with a deadly weapon (1991 Mercedes Convertible). County police take over investigation into Sunset Hills mayor accused of striking biker and Sunset Hills triathlon sponsor threatening to cancel over Mayor investigation

A totally blind driver hits a cyclist waiting to make a left turn in PA. Man on bike injured in Neshannock The driver admits he never saw the cyclist waiting to make his turn in the center turn lane. This is not an avoidable wreck with the built environment as the only thing the cyclist could have done would be to not make a left turn from the left turn lane. That only leaves infrastructure “up to Dutch” to prevent a future wreck.

A bad wreck in West Canuckistan. Cyclist injured in accident on Sumas Prairie The skid marks on the road look like the driver was tracking the cyclist instead of trying to avoid him. From the directions of travel in the narrative the driver should have been turning the other way to avoid the cyclist. Could this be a case of target fixation on the part of the driver? The fact that the bicycle is on the same side of the road as the SUV says that also. Anyway, intersection wreck so intersection protocols to avoid or reduce damages. And get the infrastructure “up to Dutch” to prevent a future wreck.

Our Daily Ted. A new video — and change of heart — from the formerly bike-hating former reserve Santa Paula police officer Yep, on a good day it’s frightening, on a bad day it can be terrifying even when you don’t get hit.

A new kind of e-assist bike. Optibike Releases Pioneer Citi Electric Bicycle This bike is extremely stealth in appearance compared to hub motor bikes with large motors. Compared to bikes with smaller motors not so much, but there is still a lot less “stuff” to attract attention from e-assist unfriendly LEO.

Lifestyle from St. Louis in the aftermath of a high-profile driver assault on a cyclist. Cyclists rally for bike safety at St. Louis City Hall Monday

A light bit of Infrastructure news. The Perils of Biking in Manhattan… and L.A. Not light as in “funny” but rather “not in depth”. To say this link just skims the material a bit is granting too much gravitas to the writing.

And hey, I’m out of links again. I had some giggles, a few fits, and some sad head-shaking.

Billed @€0.02, Opus

Hanging out and waiting for links, and the Feed

After that link-fest yesterday I’m a little sparse on links today, and I’m going off-air again tomorrow so I will be staying up late to catch the midnight delivery of links. We finally went to the grocery store today and replenished our food supplies, so no more ramen for dinner. I need to find someone with a truck to get my bike back from the shop since they replaced my rear hub (nothing between 1st and 6th gears, that jump is a leg-breaker going from over 130 RPM in 1st to whatever it is in 6th). If I can’t find a truck it will cost me another $27 and change for the delivery and tax…

I’m going to open with another “Florida driver” report. FL man distracts cops with fake 911 murder call to get out of speeding ticket: ‘It almost worked’ Never under-estimate the intelligence of drivers in Florida, they will fool you every time and be even dumber.

Update on a CO intersection wreck. Injured cyclist’s condition improves after crash Good luck to the injured cyclist, and do what the physical therapist tells you so you will recover faster.

I don’t think it qualifies as “releasing” the video when media has to request it to see it. Driver who killed cyclist in hit-and-run releases video I still don’t think the driver realizes how lucky she got on her sentence, if it had been up to me she would be walking for the few short days she had left after the expiration of her sentence before her expiration. As it is she will qualify for a new CO license in just a few short months. Also girly, you need to either get a teleprompter or learn your lines ahead of time, your performance was as wooden as Mortimer Snerd.

Another SWCC wreck in FL kills another cyclist… Cyclist killed in accident on Southwest 20th Avenue Like the one yesterday nobody is saying which direction the cyclist was going, and the cyclist is too dead to make a statement in his own defense. And the presence or lack of a crosswalk has about as much relevance to this wreck as knowing if the driver was wearing fire-proof coveralls.

The first wreck to qualify after the Aaron Cohen act was effective. Bicyclist Left For Dead in Hit-and-Run Crash in Pembroke Pines SUV hit and left the cyclist lying in the road. Nothing about the mode, so INFRASTRUCTURE! And wishing a quick recovery to the victim.

A WV wreck injures a NC mountain biker. Cyclist injured in accident This is why I don’t ride mountain bikes off road. Too big a chance of falling down and getting injured so bad you have to be airlifted to medical attention.

Closure on a CA drunk-driver cyclist fatality. Drunk driver sentenced to 15 years in prison in bicyclist’s death Combined with the ban on driving after he gets out of prison…

Another NYC wreck takes out a kid riding on the sidewalk. Video: SUV Leaps On To Bronx Sidewalk, Crashing Into 12-Year-Old Boy OK the video shows the cyclist had less than a half second to identify the threat and escape laterally, or basically zero reaction time. And as the cyclist was technically already on segregated infrastructure upgrading the infrastructure would have had zero effect on preventing the wreck, which takes us back to banning private motor vehicles in the city without a pilot carrying a red flag front and rear as the only practical way to keep motor vehicles in the city without killing or maiming the residents of NYC.

Two links to a report on a wreck in the Great White North. Cyclist hit by car, seriously injured and Cyclist injured in Highway 5 collision Hit-from-behind wreck, so possibility exists that the protocols might have done some good for avoiding or reducing damages, but as always getting the infrastructure “up to Dutch” would have prevented this cyclist from having to share a highway with a driver that couldn’t stay on the road…

We don’t get too many wrecks from Luxembourg… Cyclist airlifted to hospital after serious accident No other vehicles involved, just a loss of control wreck.

Another hit-and-run wreck, this time in Oz. Cyclist seriously injured Vic hit and run Narrative could be either a right cross or a left hook (they drive on the “wrong” side of the street in Oz), so intersection protocols to avoid because every driveway is an intersection. Infrastructure would not help much because the driver would just ignore it like he/she did the bicycle in the road. And for some reason I’m getting a really strong female driver vibe off of this wreck.

Our Daily Ted. Morning Links: Woman-less Tour de France is all but over, and way too much national bike news for one day

Va. Beach tries to put the ixnay on towed bicycle ads, but may be stymied by conflicting state laws. Va. Beach says: Don’t peddle wares with bike ads The state law in this case defines a billboard as something attached or applied to a stationary object, “The state says a billboard sign must be affixed to real property – land or things attached to land, such as buildings” which leaves out all trailers. Interestingly enough the city ordinance does allow trailers towed by trucks or cars, not sure why they are discriminating against bicycles on this one except that bicycles don’t use any fossil fuels or any fuels except tax-exempt food…

Stupid is as stupid does, and this is really stupid. [Update] NYPD Has A Message For Citi Bike Thieves Who Do Bad Paint Jobs He could have spared himself the work and left the bike as-is and never been caught, but nooo! he had to try to hide it.

And finally those were all the links that made sense for a bike blog that doesn’t talk about racing…

billed @€0.02, Opus

Last day in TN and we ate some more, and the Feed

We had a visit with the kids’ old baby sitters, which was nice. We went to lunch, which was filling. Mrs. the Poet and I shared a plate called a Rusty Bucket at a seafood place up the street after we got to our intended eating establishment and found them closed on Mondays. I also had what will probably be my last local beer, this one a dark beer with floral overtones and a slightly bitter finish called a Turtle Anarchy. So far I have not hit any clinkers in my local beer safari across NY and TN. Programming note, I will be off-air for travel tomorrow and Wednesday. This will mean that I will be up to my expectations in links on Thursday 😀

Cyclists have highly sensitive danger senses, but this guy’s is just beyond anything I have ever encountered. Dutch cyclist cheats death twice, never boards MH17 and MH370 Somebody needs to see how this guy rides in traffic and see if there is some kind of sixth sense thing going on or something.

A few miles east of WoaB World HQ in the Beautiful Suburbs of Hell is an update on that buzz job that was nearly fatal caught on video. Cyclist clipped by truck: ‘I remember riding up the overpass and I don’t remember anything after that’ I think a video camera would be a very good addition to Francis/es in the near future.

The article next closest is an update on an LA hit-and-run. Driver arrested in death of cyclist Lon Lomas The cyclist was hit from behind and left for dead earlier this year.

More on that NOLA right hook by a semi on a cyclist, that was at least partially caused by poor infrastructure design. Victim in Marigny fatal bicycle crash with 18-wheeler identified

Another blind driver runs over a cyclist in FL. Tampa police: Driver ran over bicyclist lying in road and Bicyclist dies on N 50th Street in southeast Tampa Ignoring for the moment the question of what caused the cyclist to be horizontal instead of vertical in the road, why was the driver unable to avoid an adult human male and a bicycle in the road on a bright sunny day? The point has been made in comments to the first link that there was nothing obstructing the vision of the driver to cause him to hit the body in the road. Second question is why the cyclist was in the road in the first place, was he hit by another vehicle or was there some kind of medical situation that caused him to fall? And yes, being drunk is a medical situation.

More on a really strange wreck in CA. Bicyclist Dies In Macabre Accident, Run Down By a Car on the Sidewalk I have been reading in BicyclingInLA that the victim was just waiting for a bus and not a cyclist, that the bicycle on the scene was just additional debris from the wreck, possibly locked to one of the light stanchions mowed down by the vehicle as it transited the sidewalk on its ballistic trajectory after the initial impact with the other vehicle involved. This information does not make this person any less dead or the situation any less tragic.

Another CA bike wreck. Chino Hills driver arrested after bicyclist fatally struck in Pomona Hit-from-behind protocols might have helped avoid or reduced injury, but keeping drunk drivers off the roads and getting the infrastructure “up to Dutch” would have prevented this wreck. Getting rid of drunk drivers more than other aspects of infrastructure, but still it takes a complete package.

A NH child cyclist is injured in collision with a pickup truck. Keene boy hit on bicycle, flown to hospital From looking at the Street View of the intersection intersection protocols might have been a total waste of time because of the geometry of the impact. Getting the infrastructure “up to Dutch” has a very high probability of preventing a similar wreck given the age of the victim. Seriously, this intersection is a total mess of 5 intersecting streets and no traffic controls aside from a stop sign on one street, and a flashing amber light. There are bike lanes on one of the arterial streets and copious markings about yielding to pedestrians, so they are working on it.

A cyclist is hit-and-run in MT. Bicyclist in critical condition after hit-and-run crash in Missoula Hit from behind and the LEO report made no mention of missing lights or reflectors so it can be safely assumed the cyclist was legally lighted and reflectorized. Protocols to avoid or reduce damages, and get the infrastructure “up to Dutch” to prevent.

Hit and run death in the 49th State. Cyclist killed in Anchorage identified; teenage driver detained and another link Cyclist killed in Anchorage identified; teenage driver detained Nothing on the mode of the wreck in either link, just that the teen driver left the scene and parked the truck a few blocks away from the wreck. So, INFRASTRUCTURE!

A right hook in the Great White North, Female cyclist receives minor injuries after being struck in Oakville Nothing on what kind of punishment was dealt to the driver in this wreck, but intersection wreck, intersection protocols to avoid or reduce damages from the wreck, and infrastructure to prevent.

A deadly wreck in Canuckistan. Cyclist struck and killed north of Selkirk also Winnipeg Cyclist Killed Near Selkirk Hit from behind on a cyclist riding where he should have been highly visible to drivers actually looking at the road, no mention of anything missing from the cyclist’s equipment except the helmet which seems to get mentioned in every wreck even if the cyclist had only massive blunt force trauma to the torso and untouched head. Protocols to avoid and infrastructure to prevent.

Moving on to Jolly Olde we see the resolution of a drunk driving fatality. Woman whose sister was killed by drunk-driver is jailed for mowing down cyclist after alcohol-fuelled row with boyfriend and Four years’ jail for drunk driver who killed cyclist as she chased boyfriend’s car Four years with likely release in 2 is hardly the appropriate sentence for killing someone at nearly twice the legal posted speed and blood alcohol limits both.

And at that this driver got more than 66% of drivers convicted of killing cyclists in the UK. Cycling deaths: Fewer than half of drivers face jail

Our Daily Ted. Morning Links: The battle over Santa Paula cop’s anti-bike video is over, but we may have lost the war

Infrastructure! news from the Great White North. Letter: Cyclists are not a menace on the roads

Lifestyle from IN. Cyclists remember their partners killed during 2006 ride

And those were all the links that gave me fits or giggles today, still more fits, but there were some giggles hidden in there.

Billed @€0.02, Opus

Contemplating “things” and the Feed

I’m still in the “not happy” state of mind about the city coming into my yard and destroying part of my lawn furniture, then sending me a bill for the “service”. I don’t know what I can do about that besides dispute the bill. I guess I can demand that they replace the log bench that I spent so much time and effort on, but to be honest part of what made the one that was destroyed so good was that it was from the tree that it was sitting near. It was a part of the environment that was supposed to be there. It was also a really nice place to sit with a cup of coffee in the morning after everyone else had gone to work or school or daycare… I live in what is almost a ghost town between the hours of 0800 and 1430 Monday through Friday 9 months out of the year. That bench let me enjoy a feeling almost like being alone in a forest.

Up first is an update on a NM wreck. Bicyclist dies 8 days after hit-and-run crash Other reports that I can no longer link to say the bits of turn signal/marker light found at the scene are common to many makes of truck and are also sold in autoparts stores as generic replacement lights, I used to have the same kind of light on my old recumbent bike as they make very visible taillights. So good luck on finding that truck, they are going to need it.

Hit-and-run with a city bus in OR. After alleged bike-bus collision, TriMet driver tells man ‘You’re fine’ and drives off First, if you get hit and the driver leaves the scene, do not use Twitter until after you call 911 and state you had an “incident” and you need medical attention. Even if you do not hurt right at the moment, there might be injuries you just have not calmed down enough to feel yet. Since this was a right hook, intersection protocols to avoid or reduce injury, and get the infrastructure “up to Dutch” to prevent.

More on the wreck between a tandem and a single bike in Jolly Olde. Woman cyclist injured in tandem crash So, the wreck now appears to be the result of an unintentional buzz job by the male captain of the tandem, with the female stoker taking the brunt of the impact.

Our Daily Ted for Tuesday. Morning Links: Too many LA memorial rides, Fig4All is up for more debate, and Buzzfeed wants to scare you That Buzzfeed video is alternately scary stupid and just plain scary.

Infrastructure! news from right here in TX. Texas Police Now Ticketing Kids for “Cool Moves” Doing the right thing can be rewarding.

Infrastructure from NYC. DOT To Add Five More Miles Of Flushing Avenue Bike Lanes I have the sneaking feeling that they are using soft, fragile cyclists as traffic calming on a street that has a reputation for attracting speeders.

New infrastructure in America’s Copenhagen. New buffered bike lanes for Boones Ferry Road

Someone please, PLEASE! make this bill a law without watering it down. Lawmakers Consider Hit-and-Run Alerts Amber alerts I get once or sometimes twice a month, but the constant stream of these alerts would galvanize people into action to stop hit-and-run.

A bike that anyone can ride “no hands”. Jyrobike self-balances to keep kids on the straight and narrow Also teaches kids just to ride normally, but I would like to have one for my recumbent that I was never able to ride without at least one hand on the bars at all times because it would crash in a fraction of a second otherwise.

Lifestyle in the UK. Cyclists saddle up to raise £1m for heroes

A plethora of e-assist bicycles of varying levels of assist and styles of assist. In pictures: Charged Up e-bike show Some really neat and cool bikes there.

And those were all the links that gave me fits or giggles today. Fortunately for my mood I found more giggles than fits.

Billed @€0.02, Opus

Bean day once again with brown rice, and the Feed

Last week we kinda ran out of a lot of stuff and the beans and rice was missing a key ingredient, to wit the rice. I still had the red and black pepper, garlic powder, and potassium chloride “salt” to season it but missing the rice meant we had soup instead of the usual cross between a thick stew and a savory pudding. It was still highly edible, but when you’ve set your taste buds for one thing and you get another it is still a disappointment even when you’re the cook. But that’s not a problem today as we have all the ingredients on hand. The reason I throw in the brown rice is pure and simple nutrition. Combining beans (especially the three different kinds of beans I use) with either rice or corn makes the meal a complete protein serving just like the same weight in beef or chicken, but with less fat. Using brown rice instead of white adds more fiber to the meal while adding several vitamins that are missing from the white rice. I have sent the recipe to a nutritionist and been told that human beings could stay healthy on this indefinitely. IOW if you ate nothing but 3 servings a day of my 3 beans and brown rice your nutritional needs would be met indefinitely. You would be well served to get some green leafy veggies as a supplement for trace minerals, but anyone eating this could survive long-term. Yay! I can feed my family (as the cook) forever and they won’t die on me. Kill me from boredom with my cooking possibly, but they won’t croak from malnutrition.

Up first is not a specific wreck but more a wreck-heavy situation in Houston. Bike Houston joins forces with Crime Stoppers, Mayor Annise Parker This is kinda on the boundary between wreck, infrastructure, and lifestyle (or the Venn diagram intersection of all of those). The problem is you have too many drivers with the same mentality as the guy in AL that posted the videos to Facebook that got him arrested for assault and reckless endangerment, but who are running around loose and nobody knows they are a loose cannon. Even assuming they are one in a million, that means there are at least 8 of them in the Greater Houston area.

Speaking of hit-and-run in Greater Houston.
Female cyclist struck and killed by vehicle Saturday in Cleveland Hit-from-behind wreck according to witnesses, pity they weren’t close enough to give a make and model for the weapon vehicle. Maybe protocols could have avoided this wreck or reduced the damages, maybe they were applied and didn’t. Get the infrastructure “up to Dutch” to prevent. And confiscate and crush the vehicles used in hit-and-run.

And I’m starting to think that a significant minority of TX drivers are either idiots or sociopaths. Cyclist injured after hit-and-run crash in East Austin Nothing on the mode, so all I can say is getting the infrastructure “up to Dutch” to prevent, and until the physical infrastructure can be changed crush all vehicles used to commit hit-and-run.

A cyclist is injured crossing the driveway to a parking lot and nobody seems to remember that the driver has to yield to all traffic before using the driveway. Cyclist struck on Pete Rose Way in critical condition The cyclist was crossing the driveway which means intersection protocols apply.

A “swoop and squat” injures a competitor in a triathlon in NC. Cyclist hit during Ironman race in New Hill This was a deliberate act and nothing the cyclist could do to avoid it. As the driver was already under pursuit by LEO for violating a temporary traffic control reducing the speed limit infrastructure changes would not have helped either. Taking the weapon vehicle away and crushing it would prevent another such incident.

This NYC report presented without comment. Prospect Park Rope Trap Snags Cyclist, Cops See No Crime And the number of fucks given was none.

Another report from NYC, this one from a celebrity. The Indignity of Commuting by Bicycle: Feared in the Media, Ignored In Real Life This was in response to an earlier bike wreck last week.

A WY wreck has lesser consequences thanks to this lady. Coroner Gives Trauma Care to Injured Cyclist She was a trauma ER nurse before she was coroner (which makes her highly qualified as a coroner) and she took immediate action to prevent further injury to the cyclist after the wreck. Nothing on the wreck prior to the coroner arriving on scene as a bystander so the only thing I can say is INFRASTRUCTURE!

From CA more links to the murdering teen who got off lightly in killing a cyclist. Pleasanton teen gets 9 years for fatal crash that killed cyclist and Pleasanton teen sentenced to prison for cyclist’s death This was the idiot that told everyone in social media that he was going on a “death ride” and wanted company on the crime…

Still in CA they caught the driver that hit a salmon cyclist. Roseville man arrested after cyclist struck by pickup To avoid don’t ride salmon and use hit-from-behind protocols, to prevent get the infrastructure “up to Dutch” so no matter which way you ride cars and trucks are safely segregated from cyclists.

An OR cyclist is killed when he hits lumber in the road hard enough to break his bike in half. Cyclist hurt on Hwy 22 dies from injuries and Bicycle rider fatally injured after riding over lumber on highway shoulder near Stayton In response to the comments on the cyclist’s lack of helmet, if the bike broke in two after hitting the 2 by 4, he was going fast enough that a helmet would have just made the difference between a closed or open casket viewing.

Update on a wreck in WA. Update: Bicycle rider hit near bridge recovers, and meets Good Samaritan, as search for driver continues

A cyclist getting shot in West Canuckistan is being treated as a random event rather than something targeted. Cyclists shocked after ‘random’ shooting in B.C. road cycling event Imagine riding 300 km and on the way back when you get shot. That’s almost 200 miles on the bike and then you get a bullet somewhere in your anatomy. As stated earlier LEO do not think the rider was targeted but that he was hit by a stray bullet being shot at something else.

Big wreck in the Great White North. Cyclist sent to hospital after collision in the Glebe And I’m kinda sad they updated that headline, because originally I could have made a pun on how painful it is to get struck in your Glebe. Well I did it anyway, so we’re still good on that one. The narrative makes this one sound like a buzz job that broke the weapon vehicle’s mirror against the cyclist. Since “hit-and-run” was never mentioned in the report I have to assume the driver stopped as soon as he saw the cyclist was hit, which also makes it highly likely the buzz job was a case of “not seeing” the cyclist prior to impact. Protocols to avoid or to mitigate damages, and get the infrastructure “up to Dutch” to prevent.

Also from the Great White North is this hit and run that was solved in less than 24 hours. Arrest made in fatal hit-and-run of cyclist near Kemptville Hit from behind wreck, protocols to avoid or mitigate damages and get the infrastructure “up to Dutch” to prevent. And major kudos to the local LEO for finding and arresting the perp in less than 24 hours.

Major cycling event in the Great White North disrupts traffic for a day during a time of tension between cyclists and drivers. Tour de l’Île brings thousands of cyclists to Montreal streets And that wasn’t put in the Lifestyle section of the post because of the recent deadly wrecks in the area.

Even the neutral Swiss have collateral damage in the war against cars. Cyclist killed in Aargau hit-and-run road crash Another hit-from-behind wreck, but in an area that would have been shared with cars even if the infrastructure was “up to Dutch”, so find the perp and crush his car to prevent.

Update on a hit-and-run in France. Manhunt continues for French hit and run driver after Blackburn man’s death

A wreck in Oz is caught on dash cam. A Gold Coast cyclist has had a lucky escape after being hit by a car and thrown through the air. OK the cyclist was the one that blew it on this wreck. There was vegetation obstructing his view to the right when he pulled into the road, so he should have stopped where he could see around the obstruction before entering the road. And obviously, that vegetation should be pruned back if not removed entirely.

Our daily Ted. Morning Links: Stunning Phinney crash photo, Better Bike examines the candidates for county supervisor

Another link that crosses the bounds between wreck report and infrastructure. City officials stress awareness, education in losing Casper’s pedestrian-unfriendly reputation Notice they can’t tell the difference between a pedestrian and a cyclist. this is your first clue they haven’t any (clues, that is).

Lifestyle from AR as the cyclist killed in a right hook last week is honored. Honoring Jimmy Hood, the Cyclist with a Smile

And final link is a bit of lifestyle from Jolly Olde. Northumberland cyclist’s death inspires play highlighting city bike riding dangers

And those were all the links that gave me fits or giggles today, wishing for more giggles.

Billed @€0.02, Opus

Mrs. the Poet was sent home from work, and the Feed

I’m sure some of you are expecting something really juicy and scandalous here, but the truth of the matter is Mrs. the Poet has some kind of upper respiratory bug and she got sent home so she didn’t give it to thousands of school kids with their lunches. So it’s a case of preventing “You wanna side of crud with your mystery meat, because you get one anyway.” I am immune of course, probably because I have upper respiratory allergies. Since my immune system is already fighting imaginary battles with live ammunition against pollen actual pathogens are destroyed long before they can cause damage. That’s the good part, the bad part being I feel almost as bad with allergies as I would getting sick except without the fever.

Before I get to the bike links I want to share from one of the online news outlets I sometimes get bike links from to show what I have to wade through to get you your bike news. ‘Star Trek’s Kate Mulgrew on geocentrist film: ‘I was a voice for hire, and a misinformed one’ and Pat Robertson asks God to ‘deliver us from this president’ I can see something like that happening just from what little experience I had as a voice-over actor. They only give you your lines to read for these gigs and never let you see the rest of the script. Of course I was voicing funny animals on a cartoon, not reading for a “science” documentary. But back to the point, I wade through hundreds of pages with this kind of stuff on them in headline form to find maybe one or two links a year, because links from outlets like this don’t show in my Feed. And people wonder why I get a little crazy every now and then?

Up first in bike reporting is a hit-from-behind wreck in the most deadliest state in the US to walk or ride a bike. Bicyclist struck and killed in suburban Boca Raton Uhh, what happened?… FL LEO: “We don’t know. It is a strange and perplexing thing that his man is dead and his bike is all trashed and that car has a huge dent in the right front corner. We just do not understand what could have taken place here.” Really?!?! The guy was hit from behind in the bike lane and they can’t figure out what happened? You can see the skid mark where the guy was hit in the video about 6″ to the left of the stripe, between the stripe and the garbage next to the curb. Don’t confuse that with the shadow from the overhead power lines in a similar location. Hit-from-behind protocols might have avoided death or serious injury (there would have been some injury from hitting the curb) and getting the infrastructure right (including keeping tiny old ladies out of very large vehicles) to prevent. And before anyone makes a comment, the driver was shown barely clearing the side windows of a small sedan, there’s no way she could see over the passenger side of the windshield of that full-size “mini” van.

LEO in a different part of the country see things a bit differently. Police: Driver who killed Seattle cyclist may have been chatting Driver hit cyclist at 73 MPH in a 45 zone passing on the right, why do they need to add “chatting on the phone” to the list of transgressions to make a homicide case out of it? The cyclist had no chance to avoid this wreck because his view of the weapon vehicle would have been blocked by the semi that was legally passing him, until the last second before he was hit. Infrastructure would not have helped because the driver of the weapon vehicle was not using the built environment as it was intended, so unless there was a big curb between the bike path and the motor lanes he would have been hit anyway.

A bit south video from the on-board camera was the key in breaking a bus wreck that hit 3 cyclists, and killed one of them. Cyclist Hit by North County Bus Reaches Settlement I saw the video from the front of the bus, and the cyclists were riding in a straight line right where they got hit, and the bus never deviated from its path either. The driver swore he was making a safe pass when the cyclists “swerved” in front of him, which I will say is probably the way he remembers it. But it just isn’t the way it happened. You can see there was a steel rail to the right of the cyclists that took away any option for using the hit-from-behind protocols to avoid any part of this wreck.

Ted Rogers got the same memo about the Camp Pendleton bike wreck settlement plus a few more today. Morning Links: Settlement in Camp Pendleton bus collision could have far reaching bike benefits

A cyclist in the Great White North was hit because he wasn’t wearing a helmet. Cyclist seriously injured after collision on Park Avenue Seriously, it’s in the sub-head. The narrative says the cyclist was hit by an eastbound vehicle as he was making a left turn but fails to give the initial direction of travel for the cyclist. It does show a collapsed windshield on the weapon vehicle which indicates a bit of speed from that vehicle. The Street View of the location shows a signal-controlled intersection, but the narrative fails to say which vehicle was violating the right of way and ignoring the traffic control. And seriously this one could go either way, cyclist making a left is hit after the light changes before he could clear the intersection, or the cyclist jumped the red to try to beat cross traffic. Anyway, intersection protocols to avoid or to mitigate injury, and get the infrastructure up to Dutch to prevent.

I keep telling you guys, Don’t Hit The Pedestrians! Because cyclists hitting pedestrians get bigger fines than drivers that do the same thing in the same place. Cyclist fined over footpath collision This cyclist got essentially the same fine as a driver got for killing a cyclist last year, shameful.

MO cyclists defeat an amendment to a bill that would have cut all bicycle spending from the transportation budget. UPDATED: Missouri Pols Launch Sneak Attack on Bike Funding and Bicycle Ban Amendment Defeated: Cyclists Celebrate “Victory of the Decade” Note that there is still no money allocated for cycling, but we are celebrating not being completely excluded from the process.

We celebrate such tiny victories in this country. On The “Protected” M Street Cycletrack I posit this is because otherwise we have nothing to celebrate at all. See the previous paragraph for an example of celebrating “nothing at all”.

A much better writer than me nails the existential problem with cars in an urban environment. Miserable subway passengers, a grouchy runner – and a lesson from Bob Dylan There is the problem in a nutshell, drivers are emotionally cut off from the environment while still being physically a part of it. You have your sound-proofing, AC, tinted window glass, and stereo system with amplifier, that completely isolates you from interacting with anyone else in the environment, while you guide more than 2 tons of deadly force through that environment. Drivers have no empathy because they have nothing to empathise with or to.

How can we reduce the number of trips made by cars? Cutting Car Reliance, One Trip at a Time

Where to have your next Time Trial event. Bike fun to close runway If you happen to have a nearby airport that has to accommodate trans-ocean airliners but has little traffic otherwise for hours at a time, there’s your very flat out-and-back time trial course.

A less-happy kind of ride nearby. Hamilton Cycle Death Memorial Ride This is not part of the world-wide Ride of Silence movement but a local to Enn Zed action.

When the Big One hits, or even a local Little One, a bike can be your best choice for mobility. When the Big One Hits, We’ll Be Mobile Add to this the news that when the quake and tsunami that shut down the Fukushima nuclear plant the only thing moving in some places was the local bicycle fleet. There was no gas or fuel for busses, and the train tracks were too damaged to run the trains for from days to months depending on the location and how close it was to the epicenter. A few trucks could bring in food and a little fuel that was only used to get the trucks back out for more food, not for local transport. Many places were otherwise completely shut off until train service was restored up to a year later.

Could the solution to the hit-from-behind problem be letting drivers know that thing in front of them is not moving very fast and they should change lanes? Found … the solution to safer urban cycling – Behavioural science cracks problem of cyclist blind spots for drivers with Brainy Bike Lights I’m linking the article for your information but I think these lights are useful only as lights and will not cause drivers to magically develop a heart and brain.

When urban transportation designers use bad clip art to illustrate their infrastructure it makes it look bad and not get built. Why can’t we get visualisations right?

The progenitors of my current bike. A bakfiets compilation I must say I rather like the DHL bikes with their large, apparently lockable boxes. Also the woman in the video with the three kids in the box and another in a seat on the back… busy lady!

Last link, when you still want to get more exercise than using a cart but you don’t have the time to walk a round of golf there’s this thing. Vail Golf Club to offer third option for golfers — Golf Bike It looks like it has 20 X 3″ tires to reduce turf damage and a 6-speed freewheel for getting up those short, sharp hills on golf courses.

And those were all the links that gave me fits and giggles today. Less fits and more giggles today, that was nice.

Billed @€0.02, Opus