OK that happened, now what? And the Feed

I was watching the caucuses last night on Twitter and was Not Impressed to say the least. The Clown Car Party tossed out a few more clowns, but seriously, there are a lot more to go and some of the biggest clowns are at the head of the polls. As for the other side, seriously did you decide who would get that precinct’s delegates based on a coin toss? And not once but six times?

BTW if any of my readers are DFW locals who would like to recommend a plumber we are having lots of plumbing issues here at Casa de El Poeta that have been just waiting for $$ to get fixed and now we have $$ to get them fixed. Deferred maintenance is about to be deferred no longer. And as an aside the TX groundhog had to wear shades and sunscreen, so we get 10 more weeks of “winter”. If “winter” stays like this with daytime highs in the low 70s F and nighttime lows in the high 40s, I could deal with another 10 weeks of this.

Let’s start with Our Daily Ted. Morning Links: Pendleton registration begins, Monrovia talks bike plan, and more doping news, motor & otherwise If the Marines insist on blocking bike access that means major construction for bike access on civilian non-military property. At this time the only other access is I5 which is sub-optimal because of the adjacent high-speed traffic and trash and debris pushed from the road by tires and air blasts from vehicles. The next closest road is dozens of miles to the east over a small mountain range.

Still in CA. Bicycle Enforcement Mind your Ps and Qs if you wind up in this area during this operation.

VT is working to reduce the dangers of repeat DUI. BILL WOULD REQUIRE INTERLOCK DEVICES FOR ALL DUI OFFENDERS

Addressing repeat DUI in WI. Getting Tough On Drunk Driving I can’t believe that a person can have more than 4 DUI and not be in prison, but under current WI law you have to have 4 DUI in a 5 year period and still not go to prison.

A strange case of karma working faster than the legal system in FL. Cape Coral man accused of killing cyclist dies in slip-and-fall If I’m reading this right he drowned in a puddle after slipping on a crosswalk. Or something similar to that. There was also a video with the article about a cyclist pulling driver and passenger from an overturned pickup truck. Karma restored.

Hit-and-run in KS. Cyclist injured in hit-and-run near Maple and Meridian Not much information aside from the wreck has happened and someone got seriously injured. They’re not even saying if the silver SUV was damaged by the wreck.

Infrastructure news from America’s Copenhagen. City responds to Steel Bridge homeless camp, Condo owners re-open Greenway path and Condo association releases ‘Call for Community Safety Plan and Dialogue’ This political hostage-taking of infrastructure over the homeless situation in Portland is low, but understandable for people directly faced with it.

Still more Portland infrastructure. Here’s what’s going on at North Williams and Killingsworth This looks like what’s called a “bulb-out” that’s used to reduce crossing times for pedestrians, but why put it on a quiet residential street?

An OH TV station gets on the “Wreck, not accident” bandwagon. COLUMN: There was nothing ‘accidental’ about deadly cyclist crash At least that’s what I think it’s about, since I’m not a subscriber to their service.

Another wounded veteran ride, this one off-road. Ride 2 Recovery launches fifth annual Las Vegas Mountain Bike Ride While there is a certain sense of accomplishment with a point-to-point road ride, for some with PTSD riding in traffic is too much like being back in a war zone (don’t ask me how I know).

You think riding in the US is risky, think about places where the rules of the road are merely a “suggestion”. The daily trials and tribulations of a cyclist (and his tribe) in Lima

You’re just sitting there waiting at a red light to make a legal turn, and some idiot passes you on the wrong side of the road… Video: Driver “swerves to avoid cyclist” – what do you think? …and you get blamed for “forcing” the driver to swerve. TANJ!

This stupid driver had better thank his lucky stars that he didn’t get an even longer sentence for killing a cyclist. Lorry driver loses appeal against jail sentence for killing cyclist Alan Neve in Holborn I hope he has to serve every last second of that 3½ years. He was driving without the specialized license required for the vehicle he was driving, and because he lacked the training and follow-on testing he ended up killing a man he should have been able to avoid.

“I saw a cyclist do something dangerous once”. Driver warns of cyclist ‘stupidity’ This is nothing more than anti-cyclist propaganda.

Reaction to someone putting an electric motor in the seat tube of a bike during a cyclocross competition. Mechanical doping: The social media response

This is causing my creative juices to flow. Now THAT’S a spin cycle! Exercise bike washes your dirty laundry as you pedal Put a recumbent type seat above the drum, use a 1:2 ratio for the drum during wash then switch to a really high ratio to spin the drum during the wring portion of the cycle (that would still be a heavy sprint) and I could see this as a way to put some base and interval training in. The wash/rinse cycles would be the easy part, a warm-up/recovery for the power unit. The bad thing is washing generally ends with the spin cycle.

And I’m outta links again, and I have to get up early tomorrow to go pay more bills.

Billed @$0.02, Opus

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Another day spent pounding pavements, and the Feed

This was a rough one as I went to the bank to get some money out of the firewalled account, and then went grocery shopping for the stuff we couldn’t get yesterday because we didn’t have the $ in the non-firewalled account. And I still forgot the yogurt, so no yogurt for me and the poor little kitties. 😦 And I discovered that I really need to get my toes done because my toes hurt like mad from getting the too-long nails pressed against the inside of my shoes as I walked. I really wish I could still get to all my toes by myself to trim my toenails.

And I keep writing about the Sprint-T (both sizes) but many of you don’t know how long this desire has been fermenting in my brain. U.S. Speed Sport “Instant T” T-Bucket History Not quite this long, but not very long after this.

Up first in the bike links is Out Daily Ted. Morning Links: Notes from Neil Storm Stephany sentencing, and update on new Camp Pendleton bike policy

Still in CA is this infrastructure link. They’ve Invented An Ingenious New Type Of Intersection That Could Save Lives The don’t noticeably slow bike or car traffic and protect the cyclists from the cars. Good show.

With SnowmageddonII hitting the entire east coast north of FL this weekend here’s a cheery thought about the road conditions. Why rain is more dangerous than snow

This SC hit-from-behind wreck may have involved excessive speed. Woman Killed While Riding Bicycle to Work The driver had to be hospitalized, this usually means the cyclist caused a spray of glass inside the passenger compartment which requires a fair amount of velocity. LEO are not elaborating on this aspect at the time of filtering.

Meanwhile in NYC. 15-Year-Old Boy In Critical Condition Following Williamsburg Hit-And-Run When I filtered this link there was a bicycle in it, but I can’t find the bicycle now. Just a body in the street, and a red minivan.

Still in NYC a driver moving an SUV at a service garage manages to hit several parked cars in the street and two pedestrians pinning one to the side of a building. NYPD: Gas Station Worker “Lost Control” Of SUV, Ran Over Cop’s Foot, Pinned Woman To Wall I can’t believe they didn’t say “No criminality suspected” on this one. I guess that’s because he ran over a cop.

Not done with the city yet, here’s some infrastructure bad news. Say Goodbye To Jay Street’s Vital Bike Lanes “Do any of these lane designers actually ride bicycles in the city? Or is “bicycle lane” just a button in their CAD program?” j44ke. He (she?) said it better than I could. Making the street more dangerous so that cars had easier access to the BQE. (SMH)

Over in SD they are trying to force cyclists off the roads. Bicyclists Belong in the Traffic Lane

They finally got around to charging the driver in this case in MI. Suspect charged after hit-and-run death of cyclist in Ann Arbor At least they didn’t wait until the driver killed himself in another wreck like in my case. October to January…

Up there in West Canuckistan they gots an attempted killer on the loose. RCMP seek hit-and-run driver who injured cyclist in Willowbrook They turned the Mounties on him, and you know what they say about Mounties and suspects.

Still up there in the Great White North. Killer of LaSalle cyclist sentenced to nine months in jail I don’t think there is an “m” in years. There is a serious disconnect between the seriousness of the crime and the severity of the sentence.

When the building used to store your bike gets condemned, while you’re recovering from a severe chronic illness they might lose the bike. Disabled woman’s lifelong dream of cycling across Canada dashed after bike vanishes Woman has a relapse of the disease that left her riding a hand bike and had to put the bike in storage while she went home to recover and then the bike turns up missing.

In Jolly Olde a cyclist is stopped for having a flashing light 10 years after the law was changed to allow flashing lights. Police mistakenly stop cyclist for flashing rear light “We Googled it and we were wrong.” Really, the law changed in 2005 and you’re just now finding out about it?

Good news from the UK. Yeovil cyclist who suffered head and leg injuries thanks mysterious Good Samaritan When you’re hurt don’t try to “tough it out” like this guy. He had serious injuries that needed attention from medical personnel, not a home fix-up.

Rider down in Malta. Cyclist, 79, seriously injured in Birzebbuga traffic accident and Cyclist, 79, hit by car in Birżebbuġa And that’s about all LEO are saying about the wreck.

A bus hits a cyclist and takes out 3 more and leaves the scene in Oz. Gold Coast bus hits cyclists, one injured The hit-and-run is barely mentioned. “It is believed the Surfside Buslines driver was unaware he clipped the cyclist, with the bus continuing after the incident without stopping.” Seriously, WTF?

Useful art from discarded bike parts. These Awesome-Looking Chandeliers Are Made From Salvaged Bicycle Parts Used chains and wheels and a few eectrical bits, et voila! Let there be fashionable light.

Old post just brought to my attention today. So I Went Automobile Shopping… What if car buying was like bike buying? How many cars would get sold?

As the weather gets colder your e-assist bike (and your EV) will lose range because batteries don’t like cold> There’s a worrisome problem with electric cars that no one’s talking about For cars there are a couple of things you can do, pre-heat the car interior while the car is still on the charger so you are using grid rather than battery power to do the heating, and switch over to seat heat rather than cabin heat while on the road to stay warm without using as much battery power. On an e-assist bike you provide the heat inside your clothing, but the battery losing range because of the cold slowing down the chemical reactions inside the battery still applies.

Last link, this is why I have to take so many mental health days from this blog. Feeling More I know to some it seems like I can report on some serious $&(^ and it doesn’t phase me, but I have to take a lot of breaks and go read comics or other stuff between making links on this blog.

And on that note I’m going to throw a couple tags on this post and try to unwind a bit before bed.

My nation thanks me, and the Feed

I’m in the process of being released from the SPRINT study that recently announced that if you can stand the side effects it’s better to have your systolic pressure under 120 mmHg than 140 mmHg. I was in the <120 mmHg group as were most of the survivors. As I understand it now I'm going back into testing for side effects in new meds or combinations of meds. The sad thing is now I won't get that free autopsy 😉 but the good thing is I didn't need it.

Up first is a hit-and-run in IN. Cyclist killed in hit-and-run crash in Lawrence and Police say suspect in deadly hit-and-run of biker attacked girlfriend before causing two crashes also Driver in stolen car hits, kills cyclist in Lawrence, both identified The driver was at the controls of a stolen vehicle (but this may have been a vehicle he bought not knowing it had been stolen) had just beat his GF, and had two other wrecks during the incident. I thought I read that he was drunk at the time but I couldn’t find that reference after I finished filtering. No way for a human cyclist to avoid this wreck.

An unrepentant drunk driver and crazy guy gets a long prison sentence (but not long enough) for killing a cyclist several years ago (they had to wait for him to be sane enough to aid with his defense before they could try him). Lyons driver sentenced to 8 years in prison for Boulder cyclist’s death and Driver gets 8 years for Boulder cyclist’s death I say the driver should have gotten more for repeat DUI causing death, like taking one last ride in the vehicle on the way to a car shredder, but I have a slight bias after getting hit (and killed) by a drunk driver back in 2001.

MD infrastructure story that goes back to a recent wreck. Friends call for safety after 19-year-old cyclist killed The more I read about this wreck the more I think the person who signed off on this design needs to be in prison. The warning signals for the intersection were not even located at the intersection but rather were located up the hills on either side. And they risked people’s lives with this? Seriously this was just a wreck waiting to happen, the only wonder is how it didn’t kill sooner.

Our Daily Ted. Morning Links: Dockweiler Beach bike path still closed, fund for homeless man who saved bike rider’s life

Also in CA. Cyclist, vehicle collide at Oxnard intersection I don’t think they could have said less with more words unless they really tried, other than the fact that there was a wreck. We don’t even know if there was a driver in the “vehicle” much less anything about the geometry of the collision.

This is why infrastructure should be left to engineers, not politics. EILEEN RODGERS: NORTH AVENUE LANE CHANGE DESERVES VOTE BY ALL She wants to put a road diet up to a vote? Is she crazy, stupid, or a Republican?

The GOP-led WI legislature refuses to raise taxes and fix the roads, but cities and counties are allowed. The Pothole Repair Act So the GOP dominated lege won’t fix things, but the mostly Democratic local bodies have to raise taxes to do things the state should have been doing like fix the roads, and when the time comes the GOP will point at the Dems and call them “Tax And Spend” because of it… I try to not be political but…

Ugh, this was just a Republican infrastructure barf-fest. Vision Zero a bust with the law (commentary) I hope I don’t need to tell you not to read the comments? Good.

GA infrastructure news. Atlanta’s First Chief Bicycle Officer Is Going to Have a Busy Year

Bikeface explains n+1 in woman terms. New Shoes

Justice finally in the Great White North. Jail sentence for hit-and-run driver in cyclist’s death Wait, this is “justice”? Fifteen weekends in jail and having to drive really carefully for 2 years so he doesn’t get caught driving without a license? For killing a person and leaving them to die alone. TANJ!

From Jolly Olde, more on the driver going more than twice the speed limit when he hit and killed a cyclist. 70mph driver who killed cyclist on Commercial Road ‘should be jailed for life’

This is why you should always ride around puddles. Cyclist killed after being thrown into road ‘by a pothole that was filled in days later’ There could be a Canadian Trap Door Alligator in that puddle, or just a square-edged pothole that will break a wheel and cause you to wreck.

Still in Jolly Olde, where is your bike most likely to be stolen? Where are Britain’s railway cycle theft hotspots? We crunch the data

Infrastructure woes as parents turn the school run into a gantlet. Safety fears outside Cambridge school after 12-year-old breaks her leg in collision She’ll be perfectly safe once Mummy puts her in a light armored vehicle instead of letting her walk to school.

I still don’t know what happened, did the guy get hit by a car while working on his bike, or get run over by his own car? Hopes for first cyclist memorial to be put in Cambridge inspired by World Naked Bike Ride organiser

Inattentive cyclist hits car stopped at crosswalk. Cyclist runs into back of car on Tamaki Drive What more can I say except watch where you’re riding?

Last link also from Enn Zed. Car versus cyclist on Hutt Rd Another driverless car hits a cyclist?

And I’m dine and way too tired to do any tagging.

Billed @$0.02, Opus

My hands are freezing, and the Feed

I actually had to get out the long-sleeved T-shirts because the house temperature has gotten a bit on the chilly side for running around in shorts. Mrs. the Poet greeted me in two sweaters and a sweatshirt this morning before she went out to do some banking and buy the kittens food that doesn’t upset their delicate tummies. She accidentally bought adult cat food at the dollar store and it has been causing gastric distress at both ends, if you catch my drift. The kittens have not been happy to say the least.

I have been enjoying the heck outta my new chair, with the cushion that actually cushions, and real back support for my aged back. I know it’s only temporary, but this was one of my better purchases of 2015. Of course this meant the previous owner of the job “Keep Opus’ butt off the ground” had to be fired.

I didn’t choose the color or even the chair, it was a Christmas present from 3 years ago. The big problem it had was a 150 pound working limit that my 210+/- eventually squished into oblivion, and the backrest was not much good at supporting my back. The chair was built for a Jr. High/HS kid to use to study at a home desk, not for a large adult male to use 8-16 hours a day as a workstation. The new chair was built for a large adult male to use as a workstation.

Lets start with Our Daily Ted. Morning Links: Bicycle traffic diversion schools, record-setting rides and a bike friendly LA Planning chief That was just Part 1.

Daily Ted part 2. Describe Your Ride: A car-free, pre-Christmas Highland Park shopping trip

And Part 3 with additional link. Bicyclist killed in Loma Linda collision; first SoCal bike death of 2016 and LOMA LINDA: Traffic accident kills cyclist At this point there isn’t much information to go on aside from the body of the cyclist and a motor vehicle with unspecified damages. OK the wreck was at high noon, so there was no “sun in my eyes” excuse; the weather was halfway decent, so can’t use that excuse; and it was daylight so the lack of lights, reflectors, or a glow-in-the-dark clown suit also don’t figure in. So how are they going to blame this on the cyclist? The Suicidal Swerve?

From that most deadliest of states to ride a bike (or walk) another motor vehicle murder. Teen held in death of cyclist had no license, stolen Mazda Never had a license, driving a stolen car, that’s why I called it a murder. The wreck was completely unavoidable by human riders, the perp’s speeding car jumped the median and hit the cyclist head on.

This also happened in FL. Video: Cyclist mistakes alligator for log It’s an easy mistake as long as the alligator is just sitting still.

A little north of FL we get a drunk driver who can’t stay between the lines and away from people. Aiken man charged with DUI in death of teen pedestrian

A confusing report from TN. Bicyclist seriously injured in Alcoa Hwy. accident This reads exactly like a SWSS narrative, except for the turning into oncoming traffic. That one breaks the pattern. The bike looks like it was still hit in the back from looking at the picture.

More on the cyclist setting the most miles in a year record. Kurt Searvogel betters Tommy Godwin’s ‘unbreakable’ Year record

An OR cyclist runs a red light and glances off the side of a motor vehicle. Cyclist taken to hospital after colliding with vehicle in Northeast Portland

While we are in Portland, here’s an infrastructure article. City uses paint and plastic to enhance bike lane on SW 13th at Clay

A driver in IL nearly gets away with murder. Aurora man gets 2 1/2 years for crash that killed bicyclist in Naperville The comments section were slightly encouraging with many people saying that this was not an appropriate sentence for killing another human being.

A real wreck involving a driverless cab on the sidewalk of NYC. 22-Year-Old Woman Killed By Runaway Taxi On Midtown Sidewalk The driver left the car running while he assisted a passenger and either the car was knocked into gear and the parking brake wasn’t set, or was left running in gear and the parking brake failed, or the worst possible scenario the car was knocked into gear and the parking brake was set but failed.

Infrastructure news from WI. State traffic deaths increased by nearly 13 percent in 2015 Fail.

Lets hear it for the Abstinence-only Sex-ed of bicycle infrastructure. Let’s Bury the Sharrow for Good in 2016 Money has been spent doing “something” while people pat themselves on the back expecting things that are never going to happen.

More on the glorified rail-trail in Germany. So Long, Autobahn: Germany Is Building a Superhighway for Bikes and Germany opens first stretch of bicycle ‘autobahn’

Last link, why you should keep riding your bike in Winter. 11 Things That Happen When You Ride All Winter

I’m antsy to get started on the Mini Sprint-T and I’m out of links.

Billed @$0.02, Opus the Poet

First post of 2016, and the anemic Feed

Yep, another barely there Feed today. And because my son had to work late yesterday and was off work today we did our grocery shopping. The MythBusters Marathon is still going on over on the Science Channel, and we are still hip-deep in Christmas chocolates. So by my estimation 2016 is getting off to a great start.

Up first is another link to the story about the MD teen killed by a driver disregarding both a traffic control and another vehicle stopped for that control at the crossing. Crash at risky Md. crosswalk kills teen on bike he received for Christmas Again, a big problem with this is the requirement for drivers to obey the law and the traffic control with no enforcement actions unless someone gets killed. So, until someone gets hit and killed nothing happens at the intersection.

Moving from MD to MA. UPDATED: Cyclist killed on Belmont Street raises concerns about street’s safety and Bicyclist struck, killed by car in Worcester Since lights and reflectors aren’t mentioned, but an after-sundown time of day is mentioned, we have to assume the cyclist met legal requirements before he was hit from behind in the middle of the lane. He was riding in the middle of the lane because there were large piles of snow blocking the bike lane according to the commentariat.

Down in NYC this bike-lane-blocker might just as well hang a sign saying “I’m a douche and I don’t care”. Photo: Park Slope Driver Pulls Off The Tightest, Dumbest Parking Job Of 2015 Bystanders were unable to get LEO in the area to issue even a ticket for blocking the bike lane. Much less tow the vehicle for illegally blocking the street.

Also in NYC, CitiBike was not the meat grinder it was predicted to be. Citi Bike Logged 10 Million Rides In 2015

Over in OR another driver gets away with manslaughter after hitting a cyclist from behind. Independence cyclist killed near Monmouth I don’t get it, to get knocked over into the oncoming lane the cyclist had to be riding directly in front of the driver, where a driver watching the road would have to see him. That means the driver was either super distracted, or he hit the cyclist on purpose. Again, no charges for killing a cyclist.

Down south from that OR wreck. In S.F., 25 Pedestrians and 5 Cyclists Were Killed in 2015, Despite Safety Efforts Until they start getting cops pulling over speeding drivers instead of spending hours giving cyclists tickets for rolling a stop sign without putting a foot down there aren’t going to be appreciable declines in vulnerable road user fatalities.

When a major international carmaker decides that making e-assist bicycles is the best way to survive as a company, then you know this blog has a future. How Ford Plans to Survive the Next 100 Years

And that’s all the links I had today. Billed @$0.02, Opus

Hephaestus came in second again, and the Feed

Well the deity I represented in the Patron Pageant came in second place again. That means I have to sit out another year, unless Lady Ghisallo can make it, and to be totally honest I have no illusions about Ghisallo’s mass appeal outside the cycling community. For better or worse, she’s ours and we are hers, and there’s not much hope of expanding that. I see the appeal now of niche deities like Heph and Ghisallo, that aren’t exclusive but who aren’t for everyone. The problem is when you have a deity like H or G the number of people you can share your rites and rituals with are limited to people who likewise share you activities that deity endorses or otherwise espouses. People who don’t go on regular journeys have little need for a god who protects travellers, people who seldom make things have no call to request assistance from the gods of creativity. That’s just the way of things and won’t change.

I have also been asked to post a Wish List to my blog some time this week, which will probably be either tomorrow or Wednesday. I will make a separate post from the Feed so that those who care can find it easier and those who don’t care about what I want don’t have to read through it to get to the stuff they do want to read about. I’m trying to make everybody happy here.

Up first is a hit-and-run I got off Twitter. Cyclists want changes after deadly Lombard hit & run and Police ID bicyclist killed in Portland hit & run also Cyclist killed by hit and run driver on Lombard; possible suspect in custody this too Bicyclist killed in hit-and-run on Northeast Lombard not done yet Fatal hit-and-run at NE Lombard and 42nd Ave – Updated still not done Updates and reactions to Saturday’s tragic fatality on Lombard The second BikePortland link comments are especially telling to this wreck. The cyclist was hit from behind when he as forced to merge with traffic going 45+MPH because there was no room to put 2 lanes of motor vehicles and bike lanes in each direction and they were not willing to reduce motor vehicle space nor speed to accommodate bicycles. Sure, the direct cause of death was a drunk driver, but the underlying cause was the total failure of the infrastructure design. And then there was this,”We may never know, but it’s entirely possible the victim knew he was about to be hit and was trapped against the guardrail.” This was the worst possible design for cyclists, suddenly getting forced into fast traffic with no escape route possible. More reaction to the killer infrastructure design. After fatal crash, BTA calls for continuous bike lanes on Lombard

Our Daily Ted. Morning Links: Still more big hearts for the holiday season, and driverless cars won’t solve LA’s traffic problems

Also off of Twitter. War on cars (Part II) If there was a war on cars then said cars would not be getting the lion’s share of infrastructure spending and acreage, nor would 35K people die from motor vehicle wrecks every year. Everyone remember the name Greg Crosby in case he ever hits a cyclist, this guy is either writing this dreck at orders or is mentally unbalanced.

Still in CA. Car hits and kills cyclist in South San Jose No clues as to what happened in this wreck.

Another NYC hit-and-run. Woman Critically Injured By Queens Hit-And-Run Driver The driver was driving without a license and there was a warrant out on the car for speeding because they didn’t catch it to identify the driver…

A NJ wreck. Cyclist injured in Howell hit-and-run crash BOLO for a brown PU with a missing headlight and passenger side body damage.

A mysterious wreck in MD results in injuries to both the cyclist and the driver of the weapon vehicle. Cyclist seriously injured in collision with car in Rockville I can’t tell from the condition of the bike what happened.

This is an update to the OH wreck from last week. Man killed in bike crash encouraged others in recovery They are still insisting the cyclist was riding salmon in spite of the back of the bike being smashed and the front only slightly damaged.

LEO in FloriDUH blame the victim for getting hit from behind on a straight stretch of highway with no shoulder. Bicyclist identified in fatal crash in Auburndale Gee, maybe if it was dark and foggy the river of the large vehicle should have been driving slower so he could stop in the distance he could see clearly? Like the law in FL requires (316.183 (1)No person shall drive a vehicle on a highway at a speed greater than is reasonable and prudent under the conditions and having regard to the actual and potential hazards then existing. In every event, speed shall be controlled as may be necessary to avoid colliding with any person, vehicle, or other conveyance or object on or entering the highway in compliance with legal requirements and the duty of all persons to use due care. and (4)(e) Any special hazard exists with respect to pedestrians or other traffic or by reason of weather or highway conditions.)

Another wreck in the most deadliest state in the US to walk or ride a bike. Fire Rescue: Cyclist killed in Lake Worth crash By all accounts this was either a hit-and-run or a murder, with the cyclist found lying dead in the road.

Another link to “that idiot” in FL. Hit-and-run suspect Randy ploughed into cyclist as woman ‘was giving him a blow job’ Yes, they said it.

Going way north to MN from that wreck to another train wreck. 2 people hit by Blue Line trains hours apart Monday and Update–Bicyclist Killed By Light Rail Train Identified Three people in a week? WTF?!?

Another link to the “hit and run cyclist” who hung around until the paramedics left and nobody took his contact information. Police searching for bicyclist who hit, seriously injured 85-year-old

Serious wreck in the Great White North. Cyclist injured in collision with tractor trailer near Brantford Looks like another driver not watching the road and adjusting speed to conditions hit a cyclist he didn’t see in time to stop or swerve.

Three years to sentence a killer driver to two years in jail? WTF Canuckistan?!? Two-year sentence handed down for drunk driver who struck, killed Winnipeg cyclist in 2012: reports They spent more time waiting on the trial than he’s going to spend in jail.

Gee, they agree with the French court that the cyclist was killed by a bad driver. Cyclist who got into the sport at 50 died riding Tour de France mountain stage when he smashed into car driven by British tourist and British cyclist who died on Alpe d’Huez was killed unlawfully, coroner rules also Cyclist from Surrey died riding part of the Tour de France when he was hit by fellow Brit in a car

Drunk driver was at fault in the wreck, really? Drink-driver knocked York cyclist off his bike Quote from the driver, who was deeply and genuinely remorseful. “I believe the cyclist was at fault,” he said. “He signalled as he moved out to the right. I gave him a minor bump.” That “minor bump” came within fractions of an inch of killing the cyclist, dude. Was attempted murder really only worth £355 total fines and 12 months without a license? and the driver’s quote doesn’t jibe with being “deeply and genuinely remorseful”.

Evidence is accumulating against the “justice” system in Malta. Institutionalised bias against bicycles

And what kind of bike was this Aussie cyclist riding when he “fell off”? Cyclist in serious condition after crashing ‘at speed’ in Hornsby

And I have been sitting at this computer for almost 12 hours, so I’m beat. I might not tag this much.

Billed @$0.02, Opus

I took care of some bills, now the Feed

I spent the afternoon taking care of bills that went overdue because my paycheck from one of the gigs I was working was delayed a couple of weeks then took several days to clear because it was drawn on a brokerage account. Don’t ask, I get some strange gigs to say the least, and they pay strangely to boot. That’s just part of the territory when you’re undead.

More on that fatal wreck in LA where they charged the driver with homicide before the victim’s body was even cold. Dutchtown High student killed in Ascension Parish bicycle accident; 26-year-old arrested I noticed two things from the article: The evidence is such that they don’t think the driver could have avoided the wreck even if the cyclist was lighted and wearing that GITDCS because of his speed, and the driver was Black. I’m not sure how much the latter fact weighed in determining the previous fact, I would hope it weighed nothing and the evidence spoke for itself.

Another article showing that cars are getting safer, drivers not so much. More American Pedestrians and Cyclists Are Getting Killed on the Roads I really don’t have any better explanation for the phenomena. Cars are safe, drivers are killers.

This totally looks like a good place to put Our Daily Ted . Morning Links: A Vietnamese bike flute, up on the rooftop with St. MacAskill & a self-pumping bike tube

Meanwhile elsewhere in CA. Poor street design makes California city liable for damages in cyclist’s death Yep, in CA you can sue for bad street designs. Here in TX we can’t because of “sovereign immunity”.

Still in CA, a fatal wreck in Buck Owens’ home town. Bakersfield cyclist hit by truck, killed The cyclist was apparently crossing legally when hit by the drunk driver. If you get the time to react intersection protocols might help in a wreck like this.

It took a while but they finally charged a driver in a fatal MA wreck. Turners woman charged in cyclist’s death The driver was observed wandering in and out of her lane before hitting the cyclist from behind on the shoulder of the road.

Another wreck in FloriDUH! from a driver not paying attention to where the vehicle is going. UPDATE: Laurel Hill driver strikes bicyclist near Shoal River east of Crestview LEO in this case are placing ALL the blame on the driver for failing to move over to pass or slow down until a safe pass could be made.

Over in OH someone killed a cyclist Bicyclist struck, killed in Dayton and Bicyclist hit, killed in Dayton ID’d The cyclist is being blamed for not wearing the GITDCS required by Imaginary Laws when he was hit violently from behind. Some LEO need a refresher on the Basic Speed Law. AKA as the Don’t Hit Things law.

Another cyclist fatally hit in OH. Bicyclist Struck & Killed In Newark Another SWSS wreck where the cyclist “darted” through traffic in the right-hand lane of travel.

I wonder how they decided the driver was the one running the red on this one. Utah man charged with running red light, killing cyclist Ah, I see. There were two cyclists and one wasn’t badly hurt and testified the driver ran the red after they waited for the light to change…

Update on a wreck in ND. Driver who killed Fargo cyclist, victim’s widow, daughter featured in ESPN special on distracted driving If something good can come from this…

A MN cyclist tried to beat the train and failed. Bicyclist dies after being hit by Blue Line train at 46th St. Station [facepalm] The gates were down and the lights were flashing and there was a bell ringing, multiple visual and audio cues that there was a train coming. When presented with this just stay off the tracks. That’s how hard it is to not get hit by a train.[/facepalm]

Canadian cyclists have an infrastructure goal. A Billion for Bikes – That’s What We’re Asking For While a billion dollars will buy a lot of bicycle infrastructure, it’s peanuts for motor vehicle infrastructure, like 1¹/₃ freeway interchanges between two freeways, or ¼ a CRC project. (You might want to Wiki that one)

Over in Jolly Olde, don’t hit the pedestrians! Dog walker injured after being hit by cyclist I don’t know where the wreck happened so I can’t say if it was a shared path (which usually are very poorly marked) or a pedestrian-only area. Still DON’T HIT THE PEDESTRIANS! even if they are on a shared path and blocking the way.

Another link to the driver getting away with murder in the death of a cyclist in Jolly Olde. Lorry driver who killed cyclist spared jail over crash at City black spot No signal, just cut over and go for it and if someone doesn’t get out of your blind spot well it’s on them for being there.

This report from Oz just floored me. Coroner pushes for improved safety for cyclists after inquest into Danish cyclist Rebekka Meyer’s death Did you see it? “In handing down her findings, Ms Clements recommended heavy vehicles be banned from roads unless they were fitted with appropriate technologies that would warn the driver of road users within the truck’s blind spot.” Or, do something to eliminate the blind spot in future vehicles especially when there is an area 7 meters long (23 feet) in front of the vehicle and almost as wide as the vehicle where the driver can’t see what is there to get hit. And I don’t know if that’s at cyclist head height or down to the pavement, but I sincerely hope it’s the latter… because the former is terrifying to contemplate.

More on the lady cyclist hit walking her bike through a confusing intersection in Enn Zed. Cyclist in serious condition after hit-and-run and Cyclist still serious after hit-and-run Nobody has come forward to identify the SUV or driver thereof…

And I’m outta links again.

Billed @$0.02, Opus

It’s here it’s here, and the Feed

I have on my desk one of the tires from the kit I bought off Amazon. I think maybe all that tracking put the USPS on notice and the package got here the day before the first day of delivery I paid for.

Here’s the kit.

The side panel of the box.

The end panel

The most critical component in the kit for making the Mini Sprint-T.

If you look at the back side of the bucket from the kit,

And then look at the same view on the real car,

You can see the work that needs to be done to make the part for the Mini Sprint-T right. Not an impossible obstacle, just a little work in the pattern-making stage that will be reversible for making the kit as designed. I’m thinking some duct tape and some putty will do the job, or some kind of barrier and modelling putty to make that outside contour as smooth as the full-size part for making the mold for the vacuformed body for the Mini Sprint-T.

This is also bean day, so I have been tending a pot of beans with another ham bone in the pot that was left over from Thanksgiving a couple of years ago, that we just identified in the freezer.

Up first because it’s in the same state, someone got a lawyer down in Alvin. CLEAR LAKE ATTORNEY KILLED IN CYCLING ACCIDENT IN ALVIN The mode was running into the back of a parked car, which is usually cop-blame speak for a door prize, but the location given was wrong for a door prize. It was right for the kind of wreck where a cyclist gets run off the road and into a parked car which several people suggested in the comments section.

More on the FloriDUH! man. Driver killed cyclist after losing control while receiving services from a The break in the headline wasn’t mine but the origin web site. Yes this is another link to the “I can’t wait” man getting oral sex from a woman he just met in a bar. This would be a much funnier story if the cyclist was not permanently injured and the woman bit the “member” off “I can’t wait” man because of the wreck.

Another NC wreck. Cyclist hit, killed by driver in Orangeburg County Saturday I think it might be possible to have less information in an article, but it would be really hard.

Infrastructure article from SC. Northern Hilton Head Island spot of most bike wrecks They have had a major surge in bike mode share without a concurrent surge in bike wrecks, they must be doing something at least kinda right.

Continuing the trip south we end up back in FL. Ghost bikes gone, but message lingers The DOT does not like reminders that they have failed a very specific segment of road user so conspicuously so Ghost Bikes have a limited lifespan on their roads.

Almost as if the left and right hands are not in communication with each other. South Florida Safe Roads Task Force kicks off initiative to save lives I keep calling FL the most deadliest state in the US to walk or ride a bike, and they finally agree with me. They are doing the absolute minimum they can about the situation, but I suppose almost nothing is better than nothing at all.

A MN cyclist is left crossed while riding in the sidewalk. St. Cloud man injured after bike was hit by car The bike was legally lighted when hit, the driver was legally blind as in “I can see fine but I’m not paying any attention to the roads,” legal.

Seattle has a ninja problem. Don O’Neill: I almost killed a bicyclist who wasn’t using a light After almost hitting the first one he noticed several more later, which goes to show they aren’t really invisible drivers just need to pay attention to where they are driving.

Now that the World Championships are over they love bikes in Richmond VA? Richmonder of the Year: Cycling

Another Ghost Bike in the ABQ. Ghost bike installed to remember Albuquerque cyclist They say the cyclist ran the red but since the only surviving witness was the driver of the weapon vehicle…

Our Daily Ted, part one. Morning Links: Bike traffic up in Santa Monica, and more bighearted people for the season of giving

And Parté dos. Describe Your Ride: Commuting to work on the beach path and tourist-lined streets of Santa Monica

Over in Jolly Olde. Cyclist hugs and forgives driver who nearly killed her and led to her losing a leg I must say she is much more generous than I would be. I think I still have a pair of steel toe boots for kicking the crotch of the guy that hit me back in 2001 if he turns out to still be alive. And then for kicking the crotch of the “detective” that covered up the fact that I was hit by a city vehicle until after the statute of limitations to file suit against the city had expired. “Paul-Ioan Mihacea was fined just £750 after Victoria Lebrec was seriously hurt in the crash and only saved thanks to pioneering treatment” Yep, they gave her some good drugs the day of the hearing.

A cyclist was assaulted with a deadly weapon and they tried to rob him while he was down, but bystanders intervened. Cyclist injured after attempted robbery in Norwich

Over in Oz, a horrendous wreck. Cyclist killed in car crash in Perth and Perth cyclist killed hours before surprise party also Family of killed Perth cyclist Tom Curtis make road safety plea

And another wreck in Oz. Cyclist killed in crash with car in Maroubra OK he was hit by/with a car and …

And I’m outta links, which is good because I have a trip to the Lab Rat Keeper tomorrow to get more meds.

Billed @$0.02, Opus

My car is shipping east, and the Feed

According to the Amazon Package Tracker my model kit left Anaheim headed east in a slow semi trailer at 0508 PST, but my take is it went into said trailer at 0508 and probably is leaving as I type this. Now it is possible that they loaded the trailers yesterday and it left this morning but as I am always prepared for the worst while hoping for the best I’m gonna stick with “tossed into the trailer at 0508” scenario. That and the fact that I worked in such a facility many moons ago back when I was a strapping young poet with few marketable skills besides the ability to run a MS-DOS computer and muscles to here. And for those not old enough to remember MS-DOS was a text-based OS with a command line interface, and you had to remember the commands to use to get the computer to do things. And also which floppy disk was program and which one was data for that program. I’m going to let you Google what a floppy disk is. It was a dark time when the internet was still controlled by DARPA and BBS ruled the cyberscape… Again they are not supposed to have the package with my car here any sooner than Wednesday, and no later than next Monday, so there is still lots of time yet.

And 74 years ago today because of a paperwork error that caused Japan’s Declaration of War to be delivered late, Pearl Harbor was attacked without warning. When you read the links today you’ll know why I made “paperwork error” a thing in that paragraph.

Up first because FloriDUH! Driver ‘killed cyclist while receiving sex act from female passenger at the wheel’ There was a news outlet local to the wreck with another article about the wreck but oddly enough the web page was “not responding” when I tried to load the article… Now this definitely falls under the heading of “things cyclists have no control over”.

Closer to home, a convicted underage drunk driver is caught on video at a drunken party violating his parole. ‘Affluenza’ teen who killed four in drunk driving case seen partying it up in new video My loathing of this particular walking canker-on-the-ass-of-society is exceeded only by my loathing of the judge who accepted the “affluenza” defense and basically let him go.

Our Daily Ted expounds on crap bicycle parking amongst other things. Weekend Links: Deplorable Gold Line bike locker, distracted beach biking, and a 17-mile non-CicLAvia ciclovía

Meanwhile in NYC. SUV Driver Kills 30-Year-Old Woman On Fort Greene Sidewalk None of the charges reflect that he was driving on the sidewalk and hit 3 people, killing one.

Now in America’s Paradise they aren’t fooling around. Driver high on meth gets stiff sentence in cyclist’s death What I was heartened by were all the comments saying that the sentence was weak, not “stiff”. It makes me think that maybe killing a cyclist while sober will get treated the same way at some time in the future.

Now since this guy hit two people and killed one, maybe they put him away for a long time, too? Bicyclist Killed, Pedestrian Injured In Lawndale Crash Or maybe they just give the guy a stern talking-to and send him on his way?

What better way to honor a fallen cyclist than by replacing him or her with dozens more cyclists? Event honoring cyclist killed in Hanover donates 60 bikes to kids We are like they heads of the hydra… Only worse.

Over in KS another gorram hit-and-run. Cyclist injured in hit-and-run on Topeka Boulevard If the location given on the map embedded in the article is accurate, all I can say is “why?” That location was shown as the frontage road for the major road, and the cyclist was hit from behind, then left to fend for himself. Standard diatribes against hit-and-run “drivers” apply.

Infrastructure in MD. Montgomery County pushing forward with Bicycle Master Plan A plan with no budget is nothing.

And this article is why I don’t see anything from the preceding paragraph ever actually getting built. Davidsonville man spared jail time for assault on cyclist after crash Only a $142.50 and 15 hours in community service for assault with a deadly weapon, assault, and leaving the scene of a wreck? And the second assault was after he broke the man’s arm with the deadly weapon, meaning he had no way to defend himself. Has everyone in the damned court gone absolutely bonkers?

Meanwhile in Canuckistan. Friends of cyclist killed on rural Alberta road raising money to benefit widow and young daughters If you’re local to this WoaB strongly encourages contributing to the event.

In the same city, 2 links of infrastructure news. Cycle track complaints have significantly decreased, 3-1-1 data shows The only ones left complaining are the severely entitled drivers.

And whaddya know, build it and they will come. Women cyclists already surpassing cycle track targets They seriously understate the increase in women cycling going from 23% to 32% as an increase of 9%, my calculations are that’s a 39% increase in women.

First link from outside North America is a bit strange. Taxi driver and passenger assaulted by cyclist in Govanhill OK the cyclist beat up two people. Two questions” 1) How could he beat up people inside a light armored vehicle? I’m assuming the doors were locked while the vehicle was in motion. 2) There were 2 of them and only the one “of slim build” cyclist how did the cyclist manage to beat up two against one? And again they were inside a light armored vehicle while he was out in the weather. Methinks there is much more to the story than is presented in the press. The delay in reporting the incident also raises red flags.

In the meanwhile, this wreck is being treated as attempted murder. Police treating cyclist being knocked down as attempted murder and Cyclist in critical condition after collision which police are treating as attempted murder The driver attempted to run over a LEO while escaping the initial wreck, which led LEO to decide the wreck may have been deliberate and no “accident”.

And more on the idiot doing more than 50 MPH on a curve posted as safe for 30 MPH and hitting a cyclist on the opposite side of the road. Dangerous driver who killed Ormskirk cyclist jailed for two years The “I was being tailgated” excuse is as flimsy as a wet Kleenex.

But they let this guy slide almost completely. Driving ban and curfew for driver who killed cyclist Again I would put the “ban” in quotes because it’s only a ban if someone is checking on him. Otherwise it’s a minor inconvenience at worst because he has to driver exactly within the laws to avoid getting pulled over.

But in this case where the driver was a danger to other drivers… Dash cam footage of dangerous overtaking lands driver in jail in UK first No one was killed, or even injured in this incident, but the driver got 8 months behind bars and a 4 month longer driving ban than the killer in the previous paragraph. TANJ!

Meanwhile in Oz… Cyclist killed in collision with car at Bennett Springs and Male cyclist dies after being hit by car in eastern Perth suburb of Bennet Springs

And as insane as it sounds I have run out of links.

Billed @€0.02, Opus (I may switch that back to US$ if the exchange rate keeps changing).

I think we haven’t had any mass shootings today, and the Feed

Yeah, it’s been that kind of day today. My Feed has been about ²/₃ filled with reactions to the latest shootings and ¹/₃ with bike stuff. It was depressing, even more than usual. So to lighten the mood here’s a picture of Mrs. the Poet in her new career as a cat bed.

I got 2 bits of good news not bike related. First off was notification that my cars shipped from CA this afternoon and are expected to arrive in 5 days. Second was a vendor for the engine I want to put in the Mini Sprint-T. When you click on this link click on the LS Engine kits button and you’ll see the LS7 kit (with a manual transmission) but they also sell a slush box that mounts in place of the manual tranny. If you click on the engine kits button you can see that kit listed.

Up first is Our Daily Ted. Update: Bike rider killed in San Diego’s Mission Valley Thursday night; ; 12th cyclist killed in SD County this year

More on that wreck in Ted’s link. Bicyclist hit, killed by BMW in Mission Valley and Cyclist hit, killed in Mission Valley From all the information I got from all three links including the video linked in Ted’s post I kinda know what happened but not why. The cyclist was going as fast as he could across the road because there was limited sight distance and he estimated that he had just enough time to get to the other side. The damage done to the weapon vehicle shows a strong directionality from the right front corner to the center of the windshield, and a totally smashed windshield that testifies to a high rate of speed between 60 and 70 MPH. The bicycle showed the impact was to the side on the front of the bike.

Infrastructure news from GA. Seems backlash has killed plans for Peachtree bike lanes Enjoy your traffic jams and fatalities, you earned them. Instead of getting bike lanes that relive congestion and reduce speeds during periods of light traffic, you get more of the same.

If you want to reduce traffic fatalities which group do you do enforcement actions against, motor vehicles or bicycles? To Make NYC Streets Safer, Focus on the Cause of 98 Percent of Harm NYPD acts like all wrecks will go away if they ticket enough bicyclists, but given the relative lethality motor vehicles are where they should be concentrating their efforts.

Remembering a cyclist killed in the Great White North. Memorial Walk up Claremont to Commemorate Cyclist and ‘Ghost bike’ march calls for safer streets after cyclist killed The most telling quote from both links, “Noting the excessive lane capacity on the Claremont Access, memorial participant John Neary wrote, “Claremont was totally closed for [approximately] ten minutes. Nine minutes after one lane reopened, it’s empty again.”” One. Lane. Ten Minutes. And that handled all the traffic of a lunch hour rush. It’s no wonder traffic moves at freeway speeds in spite of the 70 km/hr (43.5 MPH) speed limit.

Over in Jolly Olde a young cyclist is killed when the way was blocked by parked cars. 11-year-old cyclist killed in crash with roadsweeper Hit from behind when cars blocked the road parked on a double yellow line when according to the law “Double yellow lines indicate a prohibition of waiting at any time even if there are no upright signs.”

Another law-breaker gets “severely” punished. Derek Cheney, 63, who killed cyclist on the B3147 near Dorchester gets banned from driving Yep, he killed a man while driving and gets “banned” from driving. I use the quotes because unless he gets caught the ban is worthless. Meaning he has to break a traffic law in the presence of LEO to the effect that he attracts their attention enough to stop him and ask for his license to make the ban mean anything.

A stupid cyclist has a wreck on video. Video: Cardiff cyclist hit by car as he rides through red light and from the Daily “we hate bicycles for no reason” Mail. Dashcam catches the horrifying moment cyclist was thrown into the air after pulling in front of a car without looking I lost count of how many times I looked at the Daily Mail version and TBH I couldn’t say for certain if the cyclist was running the red at that intersection or hit from behind crossing with the light. But people with access to the video with higher resolution say the cyclist ran the red.

More on the proposal to make traffic claims under £5K go up against insurance companies and their lawyers without representation. Injured cyclists could be big losers from Osborne’s autumn budget

Aaannnd another hit-and-run. Hit-and-run driver left cyclist with severe injuries after Epsom collision Including this because the mode of wreck was given as hit-from-behind, and y’all know where to find how to avoid a wreck like this in the protocols section at the top of the page.

Another hit-and-run in Oz this time. Champion hit-run cyclist suffers spinal damage as police reveal new lead Again, I loathe hit-and-run drivers with a purple passion.

And in Enn Zed a pinball wreck with a cyclist as the pinball. SUV knocks cyclist into traffic, flees scene AFAIK the cyclist was walking her bike through a dangerous intersection when hit by the first vehicle, that then left the scene.

And I’m finally out of links, and patience.

Billed @€0.02, Opus