Another trip to the Lab Rat Keeper, and the Feed

I made another trip to the LRK today to monitor my vitals and check to see that I have been a good boy and taking my meds. I had a new nurse taking my vitals which is always funny to watch, a little less so now that they started warning the new hires about my rest pulse. I was really working the old cardiac muscle hard 46 times a minute with an average BP of 121/79. This is what happens when I don’t get to finish my coffee before leaving the house, with a “normal” dose of caffeine my rest pulse is up around 50-55…

Up first from the most deadliest state in the US to walk or ride a bike we get another DUI hit-and-run murder… Fla. man charged in death of cyclist As of the moment the charge is DUI manslaughter, but I’m sure a more appropriate murder charge will be filed eventually. As for how to avoid, fat chance. The cyclist was killed well off the road on the shoulder and was hit from behind, to have gotten any further over the cyclist would have had to be riding in the loose gravel and broken glass on the unimproved portion of the shoulder. The cyclist had already done as much as any rider could to prevent his own death, but there isn’t much you can do about drunks aside from installing a breathalyser interlock on cars as they come off the assembly line.

On the other side of the country a doped-up driver with a kid in the car hits a cyclist and leaves the scene, but witnesses recall the distinctive paint job on her car and she’s caught within hours. PD: Hit-And-Run Driver Caught On drugs, carrying drugs, with a baby in the car, runs a red light and t-bones a cyclist, yep, they’re digging a new basement for her to live in under the jail. Shame about the boy losing his mommy, but I think CPS (or the CA equivalent) will be able to find him a much better parent that will take care of him and make sure he takes his meds to control the “issues” his mother left him with…

Ghost bike in the PGH. Ghost Bikes: Rough memorials honor cyclists killed while riding When I think how close I came to “earning” a ghost bike of my very own…

A Canadian cyclist is honored by the formation of… a hockey team? Tribute to fallen cyclist It’s a cute jersey, and I don’t know how big a hockey fan the cyclist was before he was killed, he might have been a huge Leafs fan. The important part is that something came out of this for the good of many if it couldn’t be good for all.

In Jolly Olde a truck driver that killed a cyclist gets jail. Ten months in jail for lorry driver who killed Margate cyclist The driver was looking for “boy racers” that used the area as a racetrack instead of paying attention to the cyclist he hit at a pedestrian crossing (the cyclist wasn’t in the pedestrian crossing, he and the truck were going the same way).

From Oz, someone booby-trapped a popular cycling route with a live electrical wire. Prank puts cyclists’ lives at risk The wire would have caught anyone riding a bike taller than a recumbent low-racer, hitting an adult on a DF bike about stomach height.

Still in Oz, the widow of a cyclist wants to speak with the board deciding the professional fate of his killer. Cyclist’s widow wants legal board reform The driver was a douche, and the widow wants to put a face on the victim for the board debating the killer’s punishment.

In news from fictional universes, the man that attempted to kill Yehuda Moon was arrested today and charged with multiple counts including attempted murder and assault with a deadly weapon as well as felony littering. Confessions

And that’s all folks!

Billed @$0.02, Opus

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Thud, we keep bringing you the hits with the Feed

Yes, there were a lot of articles about cyclists getting hit by motor vehicles over the weekend, and a few actually made sense (the narrative, not the wrecks).

Up first is another update on the cyclist who was riding across the country to raise money for the victims of the BP oil spill. Funeral set for cyclist killed on fundraising ride So this seemed like it was helping out people whose lives have been devastated by the spill and that’s probably what the cyclist intended, but what it is really is charity for BP because money raised for immediate meeds is money BP doesn’t have to spend later. Or maybe that money could be then spent on a memorial to the people that were harmed but who didn’t work for BP. First take care of the people, then figure out the money. But BP has to pay for everything eventually.

And an update on the cyclist killed by a bus in San Francisco CA. Muni Head Expresses Condolences To Family, Friends Of Cyclist Killed In Collision With Bus Now they say it was a SWSS? I’m sure the video from the bus will show the driver didn’t move far enough left to make a clean pass, if anyone outside the bus company sees that video…

A new wreck in Upstate NY. Cyclist in “satisfactory” condition after Wednesday crash in Canandaigua LEO is sitting on this report for some reason, also there are no tickets or charges issued yet.

In the Great White North a cyclist on an electric-assist bike missed a corner but hit the car. E-bike rider seriously injured in Windsor crash The cyclist was reported to be riding at a high rate of speed (for a bicycle) and took the turn too wide and hit the car coming to the stop sign head on. To avoid a similar wreck either slow down or learn to take corners tighter at full speed. Something interesting is another wreck mentioned in the report about a cyclist on an e-assisted bike getting a door prize last month and the driver actually getting charged with an offence.

Poor traffic control during a race in South Africa. Woman killed during cycling event The killer’s vehicle came onto the race course and hit the cyclist as she was competing. The cyclist was setting up for the sprint to the finish line when she was hit. Initial blame for the driver hitting the cyclist, but some blame must be apportioned to the organizers for traffic control that failed to control traffic.

A ride to remember a fallen cyclist takes on a life of its own. Ride for Miles event in University Heights successful once more This ride remembers a cyclist killed a few years back in an horrendous crash. All proceeds went to the support of the Miles Coburn Environmental Seminar at John Carroll. One of the projects of this fund is providing bicycle helmets to children and students.

And that’s all the news that gives me fits this Columbus Day. Now go discover an Indian or something, but do it on a bicycle. And while you’re on the Internets go read Yehuda Moon the greatest bicycle comic strip ever. Not that there is a great deal of competition for the award…

Billed @$0.02, Opus

Fizz, I know how you feel

Yehuda Moon for 10-10-10: Thistle Knows What She’ll See As I grow older I have lost many cherished possessions, not the least of which was my first 2-wheeler.

PSA, Opus

I’m still plugging along, and the Feed

I have been up and going all day today. I went to PCF to pick up some top secret bicycle parts, I wnet to the C-store for a lottery ticket and 3/4 of a gallon of gas to run the lawn mower, and then I mowed the lawn after moving the section of fence that got blown down by the tiny tornado last spring. My knees feel like jelly, my toes feel like over-ripe grapes about to burst, and my nose feels like I switched my Kleenex for 80 grit wet-or-dry. So, how was your day?

Up first an ID man hits and kills 2 people in a crosswalk and almost gets away with it until he hit-and-runs a cyclist months later. Second stop led to arrest in crash that killed Tom and Mary Woychick If he would have quit driving after the first wreck, then he would have been left alone. but he kept on driving and hit someone else, so now he’s going down for both wrecks.

A case so bizarre that I can’t do it justice in a one sentence synopsis. Bicyclist injured in hit-and-run, driver leads authorities on chase I’m still trying to process this one. “(T)he bicyclist and the driver of the truck, both men, were air lifted to Shands Hospital in Jacksonville where they’re being treated for injuries that are not life-threatening. The driver of the Chevrolet, a woman, and a passenger in the truck, a man, were transported to Baptist Medical Center for treatment of injuries that are also not life-threatening.” And that was just the human casualties in this tale, there was also a mailbox, truck, scooter, bicycle, patrol car, Chevrolet sedan, and roadside signage damaged or destroyed. Apparently one of her personalities had a really bad experience with a police officer? Or just didn’t give a rat’s ass? Or she’s a sociopathic personality who needs to be locked away for our and her safety?

More on the Philippino worker killed while riding his bicycle in Canuckistan. Cyclist killed Tuesday was foreign worker OK he was a sidewalk rider crossing a street when he was hit by a pickup truck. Easy answer is to not ride on sidewalks because you are invisible to drivers until you show up under their front bumper. Ride in the middle of the lane, and you might make a driver mad, but they will see you unless they are blind or stupid.

In Costa Rica getting arrested for drunk driving is so rare that it’s a national news story. Drunk Driver Who Killed Cyclist Out On Bail For those not up on it, the .93 reading equates to a .093% BAC with the legal limit in Costa Rica being .05%. Most states use a .08% limit making this guy drunk in any state. Just crush his car with him handcuffed to the wheel.

From Jolly Olde, a man on a bicycle has a collision with a bus and nobody on the bus was hurt! Cyclist injured in crash with bus Typical UK media report.

In AZ LEO are having “difficulty” with the 3-foot law. Scottsdale cyclist’s death shows problems with law See when a cyclist gets hit from behind in the bicycle lane was it his fault for being there, or does the passing law apply even in a bicycle lane? To you or me this seems intuitive, the driver that invaded the bicycle lane and hit the cyclist from behind is at fault, but for experienced LEO with years on the force harassing people for riding bicycles in the street it’s a real conundrum.

In Palm Beach FL Government is having a hard time getting cycle facilities funded. Committee finds uphill battle in peddling bicycle use The number a cyclists killed in FL might have something to do with the difficulty in getting projects started. I mean you have the most deadliest state in the US for dead cyclists (and pedestrians) why ruin that by making facilities for them? Wouldn’t that just make some other state more dangerous than yours and encourage all those pesky cyclists to actually ride or something instead of just getting killed?

And that’s all the news that doesn’t give me fits, or something like that anyway. BTW there was a Kickstand Cyclery comic posted today.

Billed @$0.02, Opus

Yehuda is taking a hiatus

Just as I was getting my stuff together to put a link up to the comic, Rick decided to put the “Yehuda Moon and the Kickstand Cyclery” on hiatus until May. Since I don’t get a say in when he draws comics, I guess I’ll give Rick a break on the comic 😉

PSA, Opus

Running fully caffeinated, a heavy Feed

Yes we are running a full load of caffeine this morning, and it was needed to wade through the number of links in the Feed. we ended up with a signal-to-noise ratio of about .5 and many of the reports had to be read completely to find out that there were no actual bicycles involved, like the Harley rider that was rear ended at a traffic light who had ridden “chopper” styled bicycles as a child with dummy V-twin motors in the frame. That was a cute but sad story, and had nothing to do with the focus of this blog. For those of you who are dropping in from Yehuda Moon and the Kickstand Cyclery the focus of this blog is how not to be killed riding a bicycle, first, and general bicycle advocacy second. Also I want people to have fun riding their bikes, I have scads of fun riding mine and I think the joy should be shared. The fact that I tell people how to avoid common wreck modes does not mean I’m blaming the cyclist in the wreck the advice is attached to, I’m using the wreck as a teaching tool to promote awareness.

Up first are more reports on the Boca Raton hit-and-run that killed Loren Clobes. Bicyclist killed in Boca Raton hit-and-run; cops questioning driver and Bicyclist killed in Boca Raton hit and run Aside from the cyclist’s middle name neither report adds anything to the story as we know it now. The driver is still clueless at best or a lieing killer at worst, and the cyclist is like Generallisimo Francisco Franco, still dead. (For those of you wondering what that is about, there used to be this really great TV show on in the mid 1970s on NBC after the late news on Saturday nights that had a fake news segment like Jon Stewart’s show that used to open with “This just in, Generallisimo Francisco Franco is still dead” after the dictator of Spain died.)

More on the cyclist killed on the Canadian border. Unidentified cyclist killed in traffic accident and CYCLIST KILLED IN NIAGARA-ON-THE-LAKE COLLISION also Cyclist injured in collision with truck The media is in a minor frenzy because there were 2 fatalities out of 4 wrecks and the 2 survivors were seriously injured, all in less than 4 weeks. Questions about infrastructure, driver education, cyclist education, and law enforcement’s role are all being raised. As for what I think, I say yes, infrastructure needs improvement, driver education needs improvement, cyclist education needs improvement, and law enforcement needs improvement. What would be the best place to start? Well, driver education about bicycles on the roads, and law enforcement education and greater exercise of authority against drivers that cause harm to cyclists would offer the best bang for the buck, followed by cyclist education, then maybe infrastructure. While I think segregated cycling infrastructure has the greatest potential for reducing bike wrecks, education and enforcement have the biggest bang for the buck.

Questions still remain about what seems to be a single-vehicle bike wreck in MI. Clare County deputies continue probe into bike crash that left rider with critical head injuries “Police and news agencies have received multiple calls from citizens speculating about the possible involvement of a vehicle, deputies said.” There is always the possibility of a car that passed too closely, which wouldn’t leave any evidence.

Multiple reports on a wreck in OR. Cyclist killed in freak accident on Hwy 101 and Bicyclist killed in Lincoln City after falling into traffic OK this is one of the major reasons why I don’t ride clipless pedals, because after the wreck it is almost impossible for me to unclip in a hurry.

A CO cyclist is killed in a left cross. Boulder cyclist killed in car collision This is a type of wreck that is very difficult to avoid. It is sometimes possible if you pay attention and the driver gives you enough room, but to be honest this does not happen often. The way to avoid a wreck in left crosses is to turn right when you see the car coming. This reduces the angle of impact which reduces the amount of force that hits the cyclist.

Another left cross in NH. Portsmouth bicyclist injured in collision with car at intersection Same advice as the previous wreck, turn right if you have the time.

The first of our wreck reports from the UK. Cyclist injured in accident There were a bunch of wrecks in this report, but nothing about the wrecks just the people in them. There was a man in his 50s, another that was 60, and a kid of 9, all hit over the weekend. Fortunately there were no fatalities.

Another report from Jolly Olde. Tributes to cyclist killed in crash This is an unusual report in that the mechanism of the crash was spelled out as a hit-from-behind. The hit-from-behind avoidance protocol is mirror(s), have an escape route, and be ready to bail to the escape route or from the bike should you see an impending wreck in the mirror(s).

Last report from the UK is a complaint about bike riders not obeying the laws. Lycra louts drive me crazy! I’m sure that drivers obey every law and are never wrong, because they are so good. That is why they have speed and red light cameras all over the country in Jolly Olde.

There is not enough space for all the bikes in the bike lanes in Copenhagen. Bicycle-friendly Copenhagen tries to ease crowded lanes Traffic jams in the bike lanes/paths? In Copenhagen? Whodathunkit?

Not to deride the UK but we have our own home grown crazies. Make cyclists wear helmets Like that will really help when a motor vehicle hits you. There was only the one report of someone getting hit while wearing a bike helmet in a wreck and the helmet failed, and yet he still gave credit to his survival to the helmet. 😛

How much does the government effect your commute? Door to Door: Public Policy and Your Commute Well as a victim of a hit-and-run during my commute that was never even investigated I would say the government has greatly effected my commute, it eliminated my need to commute by making me unemployable except on the internet.

After multiple hit-and-run wrecks in IA against cyclists, bicycle advocates are pushing for more equal law enforcement for the victims of bike wrecks. Bike group leader calls for another look at traffic law enforcement When someone is allowed to destroy evidence and hide the fact that they were in a fatal wreck, that to me is not equal enforcement, that is condoning terrorism.

And the battle over the Alice Swanson ghost bike in DC continues. The ‘Bizarre’ Life of a Memorial Who is going to give in first?

And to show that anti-bicycle crazy is not just confined to the Anglophone world, this report from Treehugger. 5 Places Riding Your Bike is Banned or Illegal (You’ll Be Surprised) Some of those bike bans are motivated out of desire to control a minority that is despised, others out of a misguided desire to make things safe, and some because they just don’t like bicycles.

And that’s all I have for you today.

Billed @$.02, Opus

Shave your legs and saddle up!

Yehuda Moon had a line that will become a classic today, as quoted in the headline. 2009-08-10 Shave Your Legs and Saddle Up

PSA Opus

Someone needs to make these in a wicking T-shirt

I love Yehuda Moon, and someone needs to make these shirts in a wicking T so I can wear them on my bike. Free Range Vehicle

PSA Opus

Yehuda Moon will be back tomorrow

I know many of you have been in severe withdrawal since Rick Smith took his break from writing and drawing Yehuda Moon and the Kickstand Cyclery. Well slap those veins because your daily fix of graphic bicycle advocacy is coming back tomorrow. For those of you who didn’t check back in daily at the Kickstand, there were a few teaser strips for the new Joe King Sunday comics and RoS strip with Yehuda in the woods, but tomorrow will be the first of what Rick promises will be 6 days a week of Yehuda and company plus Sundays with Joe.

PSA, Opus

So many wrecks they don’t even get separate articles

Yes we had another area that had so many bike wrecks in one day that all the wrecks were lumped into a single article instead of giving each victim a separate story. That’s twice that has happened in just the last two days. I don’t know if this heralds a trend, or if it just indicates a series of hot spots for bike wrecks combined with lazy or overworked reporters. For me it makes for fewer links that have to be hand-coded, which is good, but I still have to create as individual an account as I can for each wreck. Of course in UK wreck stories I sometimes lump all the links together because of a lack of information, which today has been done for me.

One wreck that got multiple reports, two kids out for a ride on the same bike. Bicycle rider hit by van dies and Police say no charges for bike accident The kid that died would have been dead with or without a helmet (helmet use by either rider is still not released) as he sustained fatal injuries to areas not protected by helmets according to the autopsy report released in the second article linked. This was a story I told you about earlier in the week when less was known about the wreck. The skid marks from the van indicate that the kids on the bike crossed the centerline and hit the van head on, killing the one cyclist instantly and severely injuring the second. Since there was no mention of there being a tandem bike involved I have to assume that one was providing propulsion and/or steering while the other was just sitting or providing steering. Either way, not a legal way to ride a bike.

An IA rider is injured by a right turning vehicle with a driver that was just not paying attention. Cyclist injured when hit by truck If the rider was in the correct lane of travel and got hit there should have been a ticket issued to the truck driver for failure to yield before turning right on a red.

A wreck article that doesn’t say much about the wreck. Simi man seriously injured in AIDS benefit ride All I could find from the article was he “fell” and got injured.

An updated and separate article explains what brought an experienced rider down near Vancouver WA earlier this week. Bicycle crash blamed on stick A piece of road debris almost killed a man, who was actually paying attention to how and where he was riding. Almost as bad as getting killed by a suicidal squirrel. Google that one if you hadn’t heard about it. Or just read this comic with the comments turned on. Lots of good links there.

A homeless man has a run in with a car that required a helicopter ride to a hospital. Homeless bicyclist airlifted to hospital after he was struck by car Typical SWSS wreck except that the driver said the cyclist went from the curb to the left turn lane and back to her lane before she hit him. Darn fast riding for a guy that doesn’t eat regularly… Especially considering he did that from a complete stop, “bicyclist next to a sidewalk in the outside lane.” If she’s watching him make all these lane changes why didn’t she slow down? Why was she still going fast enough to crack her windshield when she hit the homeless man?

A woman dies riding in a bike race, and people ride in her memory and honor. Riding to remember Natalia Hogan RIP

An explanation (?) for the last TT in the Giro. The Explainer – Who decides what’s “safe?” For those who haven’t seen the Universal Sports coverage that stage was a nightmare at racing speed.

Another cyclist is hit in the UK. Cyclist injured in Hatfield road crash This article is unique in that there were detailed photographs of the wreck scene, with the gory bits obscured of course.

This wreck was very nasty as another woman gets tangled in a semi truck. WOMAN CYCLIST INJURED IN LORRY COLLISION You can see that there are 2 shipping containers, one on the tractor and another on the trailer, so this is a huge vehicle that apparently was passing the woman on the road and pinched her off the road and into the rear wheels. At this point it isn’t known if this was a left cross or just not allowing enough room to the left.

And in our final story, from the Beeb, so many cyclists were hit in a small area in separate crashes that they just had to lump them all together, like I sometimes do with UK reports that have no information except that a wreck happened. Cyclists injured in road crashes I hope the survivors recover fully.

And that’s all today.

Billed @$.02, Opus