Mrs. the Poet is back, and the Feed

Amazingly enough with all the bad weather we had, Mrs. the Poet returned on time tonight to DFW airport. We stopped off at the Whataburger down the street to get dinner instead of heating up leftovers which would have been too much cooking for Mrs. the Poet after her day of travelling. I had a Bacon Jalapeño and Cheese Whataburger, Mrs.the Poet had a Grilled Whatachicken, and our son had the regular Whatachicken. And of course everyone had fries and a soft drink. I also ducked into the neighboring grocery store to get coffee and milk so that there would be caffeine in the morning.

Up first is Our Daily Ted. Morning Links: UCLA cyclist screwed by insurance company needs your help; team track cycling league comes to LA She should countersue for intentional infliction of mental duress, and triple the amount she would get for the initial wreck, plus attorney’s fees. No check that, the dollar amount should start with 6 zeroes between the initial digit(s) and the decimal point, plus attorney’s fees. Unless she gets allowed to meet them in a back alley with them blindfolded and her with a u-lock.

Still in CA, more on the cyclist hit by a trolley. Cyclist killed by trolley identified and Cyclist Wearing Earbuds Dies on Trolley Tracks in Barrio Logan I said all there is to say about this wreck yesterday.

Moving north and a bit east of San Diego to NV. 13-year-old cyclist critically injured after hit by car in southwest Las Vegas Kid trying to get to school and not adequately trained in how to use the road cuts off a car.

Portland debates implementing “Vision Zero”. No more road deaths by 2025? Here’s the latest on Portland’s Vision Zero progress Maybe by then there will be many self-driving cars to reduce human error, and take car of most of the problem for them without drastic infrastructure changes.

Second infrastructure link from America’s Copenhagen. County’s new mobile app tells you if the bridge is up or down For those of us who live in the flatlands this doesn’t sound like that big a deal, but knowing which bridges are going to be impassable because thay are up to allow tall river traffic to pass can literally be a life-saver.

Promises of small mercies for a hit-and-run driver in MN. ‘Come forward,’ Dakota County sheriff says to hit-and-run driver who critically injured cyclist Doctors think the cyclist will survive but with a drastically changed lifestyle.

Awaiting the governor’s signature in VA. ‘Dooring’ law in Va. would fine motorists who open car doors in front of cyclists

Infrastructure in NYC. NYC On Pace To Build A Record 15 Miles Of Protected Bike Lanes In 2016 Wow, 16 miles in only one year. Meanwhile here in the Metromess they rebuilt a freeway from 4 to 6 lanes in each direction in about the same time. It didn’t help, of course, and it cost billions of dollars to build, but hey, they were doing something to reduce congestion. And side-street congestion did go down on the through streets immediately adjacent to the freeway, so far. But, Woo! yeah, 16 miles of protected bike lanes.

More NYC infrastructure. Bratton: “We’re Not Going To Get To Zero” Traffic Deaths Not with that attitude billy boy.

And what is it with drivers who can’t stay off of the freaking sidewalk? Taxi Driver Hits Two People On First Avenue, Crashes Into Building

Still in NYC a man assaults a cyclist riding in the bike lane and gets bashed in the head. New Video Shows Pedestrians Ignoring Bloodied Bike Lock Assault Victim According to comments they were ignoring him because he instigated and took one to the head in response. Not that I advocate violence against pedestrians, but when one jumps out into the street to start wailing on you, you are within your rights to return the favor with prejudice. I mean the idiot went up against 3:1 odds, he can’t be all that bright.

A man in West Canuckistan is charged in the death of a cyclist. Man, 29, charged with causing Richmond cyclist’s death and Driver charged in Richmond cyclist’s 2013 death It took them 2½ years to charge this lowlife? It’s almost as if they were waiting for the SOL to run out or something.

A recurring theme in this blog is “Don’t hit the pedestrians” for a reason. Pedestrian hit by cyclist on Princess Parade Hythe As of this posting they don’t yet know if the injured person was the cyclist or the pedestrian.

Infrastructure demands made after cyclist hit, again. Repeated calls for traffic calming as young cyclist injured on “deathtrap” Horndean road I know this is another one because the previous call for infrastructure was from a city that started with an “M”, this one is a “P”.

And apparently driving while blind is still OK as long as you get a jury with no cyclists on it. Coach driver cleared of killing cyclist by careless driving How are they going to get drivers to pay attention to where they are going unless there is a substantial penalty for failure to do so?

The guy wasn’t even riding the bike yet. Hit-and-run driver kills cyclist on Madrid shared bike scheme The victim was just at the pulling the bike from the rack portion of the transaction when he was hit. I see this as much an infrastructure failure as a driver failure, because if you can get hit using the system as intended before you even get a bike, then someone has screwed up majorly.

Another link about Milan paying cyclists to reduce pollution in the city. https://nextcity.org/daily/entry/milan-italy-pay-bike-commute-smog-pollutionMilan Commuters Could Get Paid to Bike to Work If I didn’t work from home I would say this would be a great deal for me.

Two vulnerable road users were injured in Oz. Skateboarder and cyclist injured in two accidents last night Of course it’s now Friday night over in Oz… and I don’t know what led to the cyclist hitting the lamp post, if he had help from a motor vehicle “guiding” him or if he somehow did it in his own.

LEO are blamed in part for a wreck that injured a cyclist in Enn Zed. Police should have pulled out of pursuit that killed Whanganui man, report says The cyclist was not seriously injured in the first wreck according to the report, although I’m sure he would disagree with that.

And no more links. And I’m beat.

Billed @€0.02, Opus

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Happy MLK Day, and the Feed

Today is the day we pause and remember a major leader of the civil rights movement of the 1960s. Biographical note I was living less than 100 miles east of where Dr. King was shot at the time he was shot. So I wasn’t “there” there, but I was in the conflict zone at the time of the conflict. And yes I know that makes me “old”, deal with it. In many ways what Dr. King was trying to do is mirrored in the bike advocacy movement. Not that I am implying that what cyclists go through is in any way as bad as what people of color went through or continue to go through today, we can stop getting killed in the streets just by getting on the bus for example. But there are parallels. Anyway, remember what Dr. King meant to the rights movement, cherish it, and emulate that in trying to get safe bicycle infrastructure installed in your area.

Up first is Our Daily Ted. Morning Links: Bicyclists help make a better world, and York Blvd is thriving

Still in CA, more links to a driver actually getting a proportional sentence for using a motor vehicle to kill a cyclist. Drugged driver who killed cyclist sentenced 15 years to life and Drugged driver who killed cyclist sentenced 15 years to life

Still in CA a left-crossed cyclist gets his medical bills covered but he had to sue the employer of the driver that hit him. City settles with injured cyclist

Speaking of proportional sentences. Seattle man gets 6 ½ years for killing bicyclist in DUI crash Not quite as proportional, but still leaps and bounds ahead of typical sentences for killing cyclists.

Cyclist killed in OH. Cyclist dies after being struck by car Not much information on the actual wreck, just the outcome.

The most deadliest state in the US to walk or ride a bike takes another victim. Pasco County bicyclist killed after riding into path of vehicle on SR 52 Another SWCC wreck with no word on where the cyclist was crossing from or to.

A little schadenfreude in NYC. Hit & Run Driver Crashes Into Gowanus Canal and Video: Alleged Drunk Driver Arrested After Flipping Car On Upper West Side The video is no longer available through the original source, maybe they will find another place where it was uploaded.

A bit of CO infrastructure news. Boulder to shift gears on protected bike lanes I think that when drivers complain about losing a lane so that cyclists can have a safe place to ride they should plow up everything except the bike lane and leave the street filled with the rubble. But then I have been called an extremist 😉

Good news about cycling from WI. Local Collective Gets Milwaukee Biking After so many bad things about cycling from WI it is really nice to put up a link to something good.

It takes a Canadian getting killed to get MS LEO investigated for biased investigation of bicycle wrecks. A haphazard investigation of Iain Gerrard’s death in America’s Deep South The initial report was a SWSS with a salmon cyclist, but the physical evidence was entirely contradictory to that report. The report from accident reconstructionists was that the driver had 14 seconds to see and avoid the cyclist in the road.

Cyclist down in the Great White North. Cyclist in critical condition after L’Épiphanie crash If the cyclist was “in the middle of the road” wouldn’t a driver who was paying attention be able to see and avoid the cyclist? I mean if the cyclist was right there in front of him, why didn’t the driver use his brakes to not hit the cyclist? And this is probably the only place where those are rhetorical questions.

Infrastructure news from the Great White North. Claremont bike lanes will be well planned Given that the soonest they plan on installing those lanes is 2017 they had better be “well planned”. I mean how much planning does it take to haul in some K-rails and plop them down 2 meters from the edge of the pavement?

No place to (legally) lock up, but sell them bike locks anyway? Almost 200 fork out for discounted lock to crack down cycle thefts in Grimsby “We also need cycle stands, like the ones outside the Cycle Hub, throughout the town.”

Another wreck in Oz. Surf Coast cyclist flown to hospital after being hit by a car A 72 YO cyclist struck by a 74 YO driver? Are they pulling my leg? The driver was judged at fault in this wreck almost instantly by LEO. Intersection wreck so either a hook or cross is my guess as to mode.

This death in Oz is very similar to a wreck in Enn Zed from last year. Wantirna cyclist found dead in Dandenong Creek Cyclist hits a solid bollard in the bike path and falls down in water next to the bike path and drowns, the exact same thing that happened in Enn Zed.

Speaking of Enn Zed, a motorcycle crosses the centerline going up a mountain and runs into cyclists coming down that mountain. Queenstown-bound cyclists struck by motorbike and Motorbike injures cyclists The report from the one link that the motorcyclist had a rear tire slide out just before the wreck suggests he might have been going just a touch too fast.

And those were all the links I had.

Billed @$0.02, Opus

Now we march into the dark, and the Feed

There’s nothing deep about that headline, it means I’m working late again tonight. I have another burn test of the new 1K lumen headlight running at the 500 lumen setting to get an average burn time on the lowest setting and see if it’s an improvement on the Cateye LED light I got as a gift back when Blue was a new arrival. Given that I’m testing on the lowest setting against a light that only had one setting, and that this light has a daytime strobe setting that will put your eyes out (or maybe that’s the “disco party” setting?) the winner is predetermined. As far as value is concerned the new light wins hands down as it comes with a battery pack and charger where the “old” Cateye required the purchase of AA batteries, and a charger if you wanted rechargeables, plus had (has? I don’t know if the light is even still available) a higher price, about twice as much as I got the light for from Amazon. On a quick web search I discovered the old light is no longer available and had a rated burn time of 90 hours with alkaline AA batteries. Converting the old light’s candlepower rating (2200) to lumens (27.6K!?! WTF?) (more internet searching) OK cp is not directly convertible to Lumen without doing a spherical target test. Let’s just say that after a side by side comparison the lowest setting on the new light is roughly the same as the old light. The main thing is the old light had to be disassembled to change or charge the battery pack, the new one I just unplug the battery from the light and plug it into the charger until the light on the charger changes from red to green them I plug it back into the light. So, progress right?

Up first because of proximity to WoaB World HQ in the Beautiful Suburbs of Hell, they actually charged a driver for hitting a cyclist in OK. Charges in bicyclist’s death bring ‘sense of justice,’ his father says The amuseing in a black humor kind of way is with all the other charges they filed they remembered to include the 3 foot passing law which was obviously broken when she ran the cyclists over from behind.

In the same vein in DE. Driver gets 8 years for Hockessin cyclist death For those of you not reading this blog back then, this was the wreck where the driver was speeding and taking his half out of the middle and assumed drunk because he ran from the scene after hitting the cyclist head-on in the cyclist’s lane, preventing LEO from knowing his BAC% at the time of the wreck or close enough to it to file those charges.

Another unusual case in LA, where the cyclist drowned before he could die from getting hit. Driver in hit-and-run that killed cyclist Lon Lomas to be tried Tuesday

Our Daily Ted. Morning Links: Koretz aid promises Westwood bike lane removal, and the Bieb nearly takes out bikers in the ‘Bu No, I don’t know why the Bieb ran out into traffic either.

Still in CA is this sad story. Elderly Bicyclist Hit, Killed in Novato The 16 YO driver failed to yield to traffic in the sidewalk. If the old guy had been walking instead of riding a bike the outcome likely would have been the same.

Is your city increasing the amount of driving by making parking almost universally available? The problem with too much parking I know that there are places I won’t ride to because there’s nothing to lock up to when I get there, so this has at least some validity on the bicycle level.

A subtle way to kill the poors in your city. The inequality of sidewalks Build your city so that if you don’t drive you have to walk a lot just to do things like buy food or clothing, then don’t provide safe places to walk or jobs that pay well enough to buy that car. You have to be rich enough to buy a car to get jobs that allow you to make enough to buy a car, locking people into a permanent underclass. Insidious, ain’t it?

Gee, riding a bicycle instead of driving actually reduces GHG emissions. Pushing cycling to cut carbon emissions This is published in an area that has been a hotbed of climate deniers until recently, but hot, dry, summers and cold, wet, winters in an area that has been notable by the lack of either of those extremes has caused some to change. Hence the repetition of already-known information.

That idiot from MO has attracted attention in Jolly Olde. Proposed Missouri law to make cyclists carry 15ft high flag As I have pointed out previously the law would make bikes 2’6″ taller than the Federal limit without having to get an oversized vehicle permit. This would effectively ban bicycles from the roads.

Some UK residents are upset that they will be charged for storing their private vehicles in public space. Tamworth residents set to pay to park outside their own homes Ain’t it awful? XD

First of several links from Malta. Protection for vulnerable road users (1) and Protection for vulnerable road users (2)

Then there is this one also from Malta. Saints on the road

A South African driver is convicted for killing a cyclist. Tucville man found guilty of dangerous driving that resulted in cyclist’s death For some reason I’m unsurprised the driver was not Caucasian.

And a more complete report on the motorcycle cop physically assaulting a cyclist on his bike and causing a wreck. Police officer ‘pushed cyclist off his bike’ Interesting that LEO are saying the cop’s helmet cam video does not show the cop pushing the cyclist but they don’t release the video, and two witnesses from very different vantage points say the cop rode right up and gave the cyclist a shot to the shoulder causing him to fall.

And I’m ready for bed. There may be some misspelled words that slipped by the spell check, but the links should go to the right places.

BIlled @$0.02, Opus

Still cleanly poor not filthy rich, and the Feed

There were no winners in TX for the PowerBall jackpot, so I’m still a starving writer. At least I have a well-lighted garret with cats to keep my feet warm. I really would have liked to have a chunk of that money though.

Up first:

'I stay safe in the city by assuming everyone is an idiot', says cyclist (63) – Independent.ie https://t.co/f5d0ipfwpm via @Indo_LIFE

— Cycling Top News (@CyclingTopNews) January 15, 2016

//platform.twitter.com/widgets.js
Truer words were seldom said.

The Big Story today comes from Oz, where a motorcycle cop assaults a cyclist on his bike because he wasn’t wearing a helmet. Motorbike cop ‘pushed’ cyclist to the ground after he allegedly ran red light and Police officer pushed cyclist off his bike in Sydney’s CBD, witnesses say Listen to the witness report, the cyclist was riding with the light when the motorcycle cop rode up from behind at a very low throttle and just shoved him off the bike right in front of the witness. No siren, no verbal warning to stop, just “putt putt putt wham!” and the cyclist going “WTF!?!” If there was anything the cop said that happened it happened outside the view and earshot of the witnesses.

Infrastructure news from America’s Copenhagen. After years of planning and compromises, 20s Bikeway is poised for construction I don’t know why but it always feels like the compromises are on the cyclists’ side.

More on the same general subject from the same location. TriMet projects on Orange Line path at SE 8th should improve cycling If only there was some process where actual users of the infrastructure could see and comment on a project before it’s built so that dangerous or annoying mistakes could be caught and fixed without having to tear out the mistakes, saving $$. Something like maybe an advisory committee of cyclists and pedestrians? Or would that make too much sense?

Our Daily Ted, part 1. Morning Links: Alleged drunk hit-and-run driver faces charges, and Che Garcetti leads urban streets revolution

Part 2. Describe Your Ride: What riding a bike can teach us about driving a car

Still in CA. Norwalk Man on Bicycle Killed in Traffic Collision in Downey The directions of travel say the cyclist got more than halfway across the intersection before the wreck. That is a strong indicator of a stale green as shown in the Google Earth view of the intersection which had what looks like 4 lanes for the cyclist to cross and a high speed limit on the street he was crossing.

Some good news, a killer driver was found guilty of killing a cyclist. UPDATE: Man who killed cyclist found guilty of criminally negligent homicide Part of me wants to do a happy dance, part of me is still sad because the cyclist died needlessly.

News from GA as someone “mansplains” why cyclists can’t use a park to get away from cars. Reader responds to News Cycle column on proposed Forsyth bike ban

More on the MD cyclist stabbed to death. Three Arrested for Murder of Cyclist I’m still waiting to hear of a reason why they stabbed the cyclist. Theft? Settling a score? Gang initiation? Attack of the Stoopids?

More infrastructure news. Blaming Pedestrians While Absolving the Streets That Kill Them There are 3 unmarked and 1 marked crosswalk at that intersection, one street can’t be crossed at all according to the LEO report and one can only be crossed on one side because that’s the marked crosswalk.

Speaking of an attack of the Stoopids, here’s a very public one by a MO legislator. Missouri Lawmaker Wants to Require Tall Fluorescent Flags for Cyclists Fifteen feet tall to be precise, or 2’6″ feet taller than trucks are allowed without an oversize vehicle permit. Illegal under Federal laws, so on any road built with Federal Funds the flags would have to be removed and then reinstalled when back on the lettered county roads.

Here’s more on my least-favorite form of bicycle infrastructure. Study: Sharrows Don’t Make Streets Safer for Cycling Sharrows work well on traffic-calmed streets with little motor vehicle traffic. But then not doing anything also works well on traffic-calmed streets with little motor vehicle traffic. So why waste the money on useless paint?

More infrastructure news. Why bike lanes make people mad

Here’s a Whiskey, Tango, Foxtrot moment from Jolly Olde. Hit-and-run driver stops to berate injured cyclist before driving off The driver apparently thought enforcing minor traffic infractions by assaulting the cyclist with his motor vehicle was perfectly reasonable.

WTF? part 2. Girl, 18, drank 5-and-a-half double vodkas before crashing car through roundabout No cyclists were harmed in the production of this link, though one did require a change of pants.

Back to Oz, two bikes go down in the same space. Cyclist treated for head injury after accident at The Spit, Mosman Sure they said the second cyclist went down aviding the first, but that just means the second didn’t have time to register that he would have gone down without the first cyclist to avoid. Regardless something made the first cyclist fall…

A wreck in Enn Zed. Car and cyclist collide The damages to the two vehicles involved look like the cyclist got hit after getting most of the way across the intersection and moving at a fair clip as the front wheel showed impact from the left and the front corner of the car showed impact but the main impact of the cyclist was in the center of the windshield. The intersection looks to have bike lanes on one street and a stop sign on the other.

E-assist bike news. Electric Bike Revolution Spinning Profits for Dutch Companies

How do you feel about going for a ride with Bono? Bono giving fans the chance to go bike riding with him in New York

Last link, do you need to ride more or… 10 Things Sex and Cycling Have in Common Do you get enough… bicycling?

Billed @$0.02, Opus

More stuff arrived, and the Feed

The new Crock Pot™, and the tires and engine for the Mini Sprint-T arrived via USPS this morning. I have already measured the tires and all I have to do to make them the perfect size is figure out how to inflate them on the wheels until the glue dries or otherwise hold the simulated beads of the tires up against the simulated flanges of the wheels. They are molded with the beads a scale 7″ apart (0.28) causing the sidewalls to be a scale 9″ wide (0.36) when they need to be 8″ apart and 10″ wide respectively. One way I can see of doing this would be to glue one bead to the outside flange of the wheel then put a tiny bit of AB expanding foam inside the tire to push it to the inside flange of the wheel, then glue it in place if needed.

The engine kit was fully chromed, as in everything on the sprue was covered in vacuum-sprayed aluminum. This will simulate a highly-polished aluminum block and heads which the 1:1 car will not have (as much as I would like to put an aluminum block SBC in the Sprint-T), but which will make the model stand out should I decide to put it in a car show.

Up first is a new world record that was set before I was born. Tarzan Rides the HAM’R Kurt Searvogel 75116 miles in one year. I have never even driven a car that many miles in a year. That’s 8.57 MPH average for the entire year, including all off the bike activity. That’s almost fast enough to make this a randonneur event of more than 120K km or 100 Paris-Brest-Paris rides.

Anyone need a cruiser bike for free? Let’s give someone a new bike, courtesy of Beachbikes.net Let me know if you’re the winner.

Still talking Ted. Morning Links: New laws are much ado about nothing, bad bicyclist behavior, and ride faster and save your sperm

Still in CA. San Jose: Downtown bicyclist killed in city’s first traffic death of the year The narrative does not indicate the cyclist was caught by a stale green.

Over in OR. Man hit while bicycling near Western Oregon University is last Oregon road fatality of 2015 This was the guy hit by a drunk driver then knocked into oncoming traffic by the impact.

Should we celebrate? NYC Traffic Deaths Decreased For A Second Straight Year In 2015 Now if they could just do something about the SUVs driving through crowded sidewalks and killing people, and the drivers not even getting a ticket…

Hit-and-run down in MD. Cyclist killed in collision with car in St. Mary’s County and UPDATE: Bicyclist in California Killed in Hit and Run Accident The picture shows a bicycle hit straight from behind, but I can’t read the speedlimit sign visible in the picture because of excessive glare from the camera flash reflecting from the sign.

There was also a DE wreck. Cyclist Injured in Crash on Bay Rd. in Frederica The street views show a highway with a 55 MPH speed limit and driveways running right into the road, or IOW a “stroad”. The wreck narrative indicates a cyclist trying to get to or from one of the commercial establishments on the opposite side of the road. There were not many crossing points in the median.

A Detroit-area cyclist is killed. Canton cyclist hit by car, killed Sunday I know riding a bike feels like magic, but we can’t “appeared all of a sudden“. The victim was there all along, just because you didn’t process his existence until impact doesn’t mean cyclists can violate the laws of physics. If the driver didn’t see the cyclist, then it is highly likely the driver was driving too fast for conditions. The video indicated the cyclist was “crossing”, but the text does not and there were no pictures of the bike that I can use to determine the direction of impact. So until otherwise treat this as a cyclist not allowing enough time to get clear of the street.

The most deadliest state to ride a bike kills another cyclist. Port Richey bicyclist killed in crash on U.S. 19 Again the cyclist was “in the intersection” but no direction of travel was given. So this could be any mode of wreck that just happened to be in an intersection. And I looked up the intersection claimed for the wreck and I strongly suspect either a stale green or excessively short green as a possible cause of the wreck because the one street is basically just an access road between shopping centers.

A PA cyclist appears to have been right hooked or left crossed. Elderly cyclist injured after being hit by car Friday night The narrative is not specific, but it is highly suggestive as the cyclist was not accused of either having not enough lights or running a traffic control and the driver was “trying to get on a ramp” to a highway.

A bit of the kind of bicycle infrastructure in Boston that we don’t think about until we need it. Boston Bike Cafe Has Transportation Equity on the Menu This is a local creation intended to support the commuting cyclists in the area who can’t affotd a car or even transit.

Speaking of “too poor”, lets not leave out “too stupid”. ‘Nervous’ cyclist found carrying drugs and knife is jailed to ‘wipe the slate clean’ Lights would have prevented a stint in the Grey Bar Hilton. Just sayin’.

Still in Jolly Olde a cyclist recovering more than 3 years after the wreck gets a hefty payout. Cyclist wins £100k payout for collision that left him in wheelchair for four months As in my wreck he was found to have torn ligaments long after the wreck.

Apparently the writer didn’t re-read his opening paragraph when composing the last few. Lycra lout cyclists, stop! On city streets bikes are for transport, not sport But in the opening paragraph she said,”Cyclists trundling along under 8mph had far more incidents and near misses than the fast mob.”

Still in Jolly Olde this cyclist repeats an epic charity ride. Larne cyclist to repeat epic 500km Swiss cycle challenge It’s not the distance, it’s the mountain passes climbed that make it “epic”.

And it’s almost midnight and I’m outta links.

Billed @$0.02, Opus

I shopped for home insurance and pants, and the Feed

Oh, the horrors! I went shopping for homeowner’s insurance today and then went and bought pants. I shall swoon soon! Actually I need a bit of a lay down because my foot started to swell and pinch inside my shoe and triggered a “phantom pain” incident. Basically my foot feels like I’m squishing it in a vice with the pain being all out of proportion to the swelling and any pressure it may have caused. I know this because I can feel that pain separately from the phantom pain, and it is just a minor pinch. The insurance shopping was about as enjoyable as root canal work and then having to pull the tooth anyway, but the worst thing about the pants shopping was going through pile after pile of nearly identical pants trying to find the right size. Once found a quick test fit showed them to be the correct size, thank [$DEITY] for accurate labelling of men’s clothing. Unlike women’s clothing, men’s sizes don’t get larger as the cost of the brand increases. /snark sorta

Up first Jaguar has a cyclist early warning system for drivers that does not require cyclists to have a cell phone with the required app loaded and running to warn drivers about cyclists in the area. Will Jaguar save lives? Firm unveils Bike Sense system that alerts drivers to oncoming cyclists and even brakes if they come too close and the same story with no Daily Mail bike haters filling the entire comment section. New Jaguar safety system will save lives of cyclists

A bit of good Infrastructure! news from CT. Malloy unveils more transportation projects for Connecticut Bicycle infrastructure creates jobs because bicycle riders spend their transportation dollars on things that stay in the local economy longer, and because bicycle projects use more labor and less materials than motor vehicle projects.

The wheels of American Justice grind exceedingly slowly. Trucker Who Killed Cyclist In Williamsburg & Fled Scene May Finally Lose His License and Family of slain cyclist fighting to get trucker off the road Almost 4 years it has taken and who knows how many more have come close to death… More Turning Traffic Grief Into Action

Our Daily Ted. Morning Links: Rolls Royce driver shot by bike rider, Times looks at North Fig politics, NFL bike victory lap

Bikes are back to being mere decorations at the Detroit Auto Show, with a few exceptions. The Bicycles of the 2015 Detroit Auto Show One of the more glaring exceptions was the Shinola company who make bicycles in Detroit.

And I have run out of links again so this is the end, my friend.

Billed @€0.02, Opus the Poet

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

This post will be published late, and the Feed

I know this post will go up late because as soon as I finish the opening paragraph I’m headed to the laundromat with a dirty comforter that won’t fit in our washer or dryer. Mrs. the Poet said that because it was my glass of tea that spilled on the comforter I’m the one that gets to schlep it down to the laundromat and sit with it until it’s dry and ready to take home. I had to delay doing that for a bit because we had a literal frog-strangler of a rain this AM that left the roads flooded making riding a cargo bike with a comforter on the bed Not A Good Thing, and the roads are just now dry enough to ride on.

OK I’m back, and good News Everybody! The super secret job I work at that I would have to kill you before I told you about it has given me a promotion and a raise. This means I will be getting a few more $ per month than I was getting before.

Up first is a hit-and-run from the home of the Hotter’n’Hell Hundred. Cyclist critically injured in hit-and-run No mode given but with the levels of damage discussed in the article the speed was on the high side (right front, fender, windshield and roof). Since mode wasn’t given and I couldn’t pull up a Google Street View because of all the tabs I had open basically shutting my laptop down, I can’t even say if this is a wreck that could be prevented with changes to the physical infrastructure.

Cyclist in NYC runs into cop wandering in the bike lane, no criminality suspected (yay!). Cop injured on Brooklyn Bridge as cyclist hits officer on footpath and Cyclist Injures Cop On Brooklyn Bridge, No Criminality Suspected That “footpath” is technically shared use with a paint stripe separating pedestrians from cyclists. And for once it’s a good thing that they are treating the cyclist the same as they do a driver, because this is exactly what happens to drivers who don’t leave the scene and are not chemically impaired at the time of the wreck. Nothing, a big fat “no criminality suspected” with not so much as a ticket even in the case of a fatality. But for our purposes, moderate your speed in areas of heavy pedestrian traffic, and don’t hit the pedestrians! Final comment on the wreck from the first link: “this is a real tragedy. that’s his doughnut eating arm!”

Upstate NY politician may have been drunk when he hit a cyclist… Police say BC legislator drunk when he hit cyclist Cyclist is fortunately not badly injured, politician is severely damaged politically. Intersection protocols to avoid or reduce damages, and get the infrastructure “up to Dutch” to prevent.

A CT cyclist is injured in a mystery wreck. Car Hops Main Street Sidewalk in Reverse Near William Raveis on Sunday The driver going up on the sidewalk had nothing to do with the cyclist wreck, which LEO had no clue about as of this posting. Assuming no medical emergency this sounds like a buzz job to me, which implies hit-from-behind protocols to avoid or reduce damages, and get that infrastructure “up to Dutch” to prevent.

Moving to CA there has been an arrest in a hit-and-run. Woman arrested for alleged hit-and-run that killed cyclist This was a wreck I initially covered last week, so check out last week’s posts for the story because this report lacks enough detail to give accurate information on avoiding or prevention.

Another dead pedestrian, this time in far West Canuckistan. Stanley Park pedestrian, 71, dies after being hit by cyclist also STANLEY PARK PEDESTRIAN DIES FROM INJURIES AFTER BEING HIT BY CYCLIST I wish I knew how to prevent bike/ped wrecks. I’m not sure about this one other than the collision was in the road and not in a crosswalk. There may be an infrastructure solution, but I have serious doubts about that. The only group of road users less predictable than cyclists is pedestrians.

More on the sentencing of a UK killer. ‘Look at that nutter’: witness to ‘fast and mad’ driver who killed cyclist – jailed for three years also Pick-up truck driver who hit and killed a cyclist moments after sending a text message is jailed for three years and nine months Not-quite-legally drunk, texting, speeding, and ending up killing a cyclist on another road entirely and he gets less than 4 years. TANJ!

And one that got away. Cyclist who almost lost life “let down” after lawyer’s error sees driver escape dangerous driving prosecution TANJ!

A terrorist attack on a major bike ride in Wales. Nantymoel drawing pin cycling saboteur hunted The only thing preventing this from being classified as a terror attack is the class of victims… TANJ! Again!

A secondary wreck injures a cyclist in Enn Zed. Masterton crash in hailstorm The driver had a wreck independent of hitting the cyclist, the cyclist was just “there”. And there is nothing you can do except not to be “there” when the wreck happens.

Our Daily Ted. Morning Links: A better Gran Fondo, why women really don’t ride, and the deadly dangers of distracted cops

Infrastructure! news from OR. Where TriMet riders and Portland bicyclists collide: Fix coming for hazardous Hawthorne Bridge bus stop (video)

A little education infrastructure from Scotland. Interactive course for road users seeks to reduce the number of cyclists injured And that URL was just huge…

Cyclists have been telling Australian transportation authorities for years that this was a bad design and implementation for cyclists. Independent engineer brought in to examine M2 expansion joints after spate of bicycle accidents Several serious injury wrecks later and they are starting to get the impression that riding across this expansion joint at an acute angle on a bicycle might be a little dangerous? I’m just glad it didn’t take a fatality to get it fixed like certain other places I can think of. {coughBowRoundaboutcough}

Lifestyle from MI. Speaking with Silence and Ride of Silence honors fallen bicyclist

And a little lifestyle from the next state over from WoaB. Zombie bike ride to raise bike safety awareness

And a little note about Ebola after the zombie ride link, while some of the kids exposed to the Dallas Ebola case went to the feeder schools for Mrs. the Poet’s school, none of them are old enough to be in her school, and at any rate just serving food is not enough contact to contract Ebola.

Billed @€0.02, Opus the unkillable badass Poet