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

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Rain again, and the Feed

This has been a very rainy October for the Beautiful Suburbs of Hell, we are getting wet again as I type this. The rain today has been the steady drizzle kind of rain locally as we get the fringes of more severe downpours that go to the north or south of Casa de El Poeta. That part has been mostly good. The dull light, and cool temps are mostly bad.

Up first is a wreck close to home, by TX standards. Local Teen Injured after Getting Hit While Riding Bike Claim is the cyclist ran the stop sign. If the impact was from the side then I would have to agree, if the cyclist was hit from behind by a driver not paying attention…

Infrastructure from down the road a bit in Austin. Postcard from Austin: curb extensions that don’t block bikes Make things easy for the pedestrians and cyclists while not making drivers too mad.

That insurance company in BC has gotten international attention from blaming the cyclist for getting hit head-on by a drunk driver driving on the wrong side of the road. Cyclist to blame for his own death near Whistler in May: British Columbia insurance authorities and ICBC blames highway bike death near Whistler on cyclist’s negligence also B.C.’s public auto insurer blames ‘careless’ cyclist for his own death in crash with alleged drunk driver Guys, you probably want to settle this quickly, and big, if you like keeping your jobs. Public opinion is turning against you very rapidly.

Also making news is the cargo container that crushed a cyclist in CA. Authorities Probe How Big Rig Container Became Loose, Crushed Cyclist To Death and Authorities offer clues in the case of bicyclist crushed by shipping container The company line fails to mention the truck driver’s strike at the port and the fact that scab drivers were hired from other companies not equipped to handle cargo containers properly, and that the combination of flatbed and cargo container is about 6″ taller than cargo containers on their proper trailer. When the cargo container struck the underside of the bridge it destroyed most of the straps holding it to the trailer with the few that remained unable to restrain the load. which would not have happened with the proper trailer designed to move the container because 1) it is shorter by about 6″ and 2) it does not use straps over the top of the container to restrain the load.

Another story still making the news is the former Episcopalian bishop in MD going to prison for killing a cyclist while DUI and texting while driving in the bike lane. Bishop who killed cyclist while driving drunk gets 7 years and Bishop Who Killed Cyclist While Driving Drunk Will Serve Seven Years

The news from NYC is don’t hit NYPD with your car even when they wander in the street not paying attention to traffic. Video: NYPD Traffic Agent Struck By Driver In Clinton Hill Well now we know what it takes to get a non-fatal pedestrian wreck taken seriously.

Update from the most deadliest state in the US to walk or ride a bike. Dough bakery rallying around injured co-worker Commuting should not be an extreme sport with possible deadly outcomes. For those readers local to the fundraiser tell me how the Bee doughnuts taste.

The Show Me state takes out another cyclist. Cyclist injured after being struck by pickup Hit-from-behind, the cyclist was lucky it wasn’t more serious.

More on the death of a PA cyclist in a pinball wreck. Blaming bicyclists There were 3 motor vehicles involved besides the cyclist who was waiting on a red light between the last two motor vehicles when the last motor vehicle was struck from behind and pushed into the motor vehicle in front, crushing the cyclist.

A CO cyclist is remembered and money raised in his honor. Cyclist’s death inspires 24-hour ride

Cyclist killed in the other Portland. Bicyclist seriously injured after being hit by pickup in Portland It was a cross or a hook, without directions of travel it is impossible to know.

The most deadliest state in the US tries to shed that title. New effort aims for zero pedestrian, bicycle deaths in Tampa

IL infrastructure news. CHICAGO BUILT THE BEST BIKE LANE OF 2013 OVER ITS STATE’S OBJECTIONS

Wounded Warriors roll through AZ. Injured Service Members Cycle toward Recovery and Healing

Hit-and-run in the Great White North. Male cyclist killed in hit and run in Brampton Why are they making excuses for the killer before they even start looking for him or her?

Disgusting infrastructure news from the GWN. City wants three-month limit on memorials for traffic victims This specifically includes Ghost Bikes.

UK man killed cycling in Turkey. Bradford man, 52, killed in cycling accident in Turkey

In spite of numerous witnesses not including the victim, they let this weasel go free. Halling man did not drive van into young cyclist, court rules WTF?!?

More magnanimous than I could manage. Widow’s court message: I forgive you This was the driver who was not supposed to be driving because of a medical condition that caused him to fall asleep at the wheel.

This wreck in Oz looks like a left hook, the “drive on the wrong side of the road” equivalent of the right hook. Cyclist suffers head injuries, fractures after collision with truck in Hobart

Nothing on the mode of this deadly wreck in Oz. NSW cyclist dies after crash

Another wreck not very far from the one in the paragraph above. Cyclist injured in crash – North Wollongong I put both wrecks in the sama paragraph at first because they were both in the same suburb of North Wollongong. I mean, what are the odds they would have two cyclist fatalities in the same rather small town within a couple of days of each other?

Terrible wreck in Enn Zed. Cyclist’s wife arrives minutes after Tauranga crash

Recall on a bike trailer for kid hauling. RECALL: Child bicycle trailers due to possible injury risk

Last link, even these bicycle designers say that the best bicycle design in the world is not as good at increasing mode share as getting the infrastructure right. Will A Better-Designed Electric Bike Change Commuting Habits? Biomega Thinks So

And I’m done for the week, Yay! See you Sunday.

Billed @€0.02, Opus the Poet

I paid bills and now my feet hurt, and the Feed

I spent most of the afternoon walking around Garland getting bills paid and banking done. My feet are killing me, especially that spot on my left big toe that always has a huge callous removed when I get my toes done. My feet feel like I have been beating on them, which tells me I need more shock absorption in my footwear. Oh, well, something else I need to spend money on. It will go somewhere in the middle of the list of things to spend money on.

Up first because links, and a cyclist killer gets prison time. Former Episcopal Bishop Heather Cook sentenced to seven years in drunk-driving death of cyclist and Bishop who killed cyclist while driving drunk gets 7 years also Judge sentences ex-bishop who killed cyclist while driving drunk this too Ex-Maryland Bishop Sentenced to 7 Years in DUI Death of Cyclist not done Bishop Who Killed Cyclist While Driving Drunk Gets 7 Years

Next because it’s strange and bizarre, and also has lots of links. Bicycle rider killed by container falling from truck and BICYCLIST KILLED AFTER CARGO CONTAINER SLIDES OFF FLATBED TRUCK, FALLS ON HIM IN LONG BEACH also BICYCLIST CRUSHED BY CARGO CONTAINER IN LONG BEACH IDENTIFIED AFAIK the wreck was caused by an improperly secured container on a trailer that was not designed to haul cargo containers being driven by a scab driver hired by a union-busting conglomerate. tl;dr The cyclist was killed by corporate greed.

This looks like a good place to put the link to Our Daily Ted. Morning Links: Caltrans takes another step forward; CHP wants to improve bike safety, while cycling deaths up

Still in CA, more judicial bike news. Huntington Beach Man Convicted of Murder in DUI Hit-and-Run Death of Cyclist The minimum sentence is 16 years before parole.

More on the cop being in the right place at the right time to catch a DUI hit-and-run driver. Bicyclist killed in West Covina hit-and-run, driver arrested Pity he couldn’t have been in the right place and time to arrest her for DUI before she killed someone.

At least they didn’t call it a race this time. Injured veterans finish 500+ mile bike ride As a vet WoaB strongly supports our injured and wounded warriors.

Today seems to be the day for judicial news about bike wrecks, as this link from MI shows. Sentencing is Tuesday for Romulus woman who hit, killed boy riding his bike Killed while driving impaired by illegal drugs… Like the guy convicted of murder in CA a few paragraphs upstream.

Still in MI. Man on bike killed in hit and run in Ann Arbor overnight They are still examining the debris left from the weapon vehicle to try to identify it.

A couple of states over in MN they decided there wasn’t enough evidence to suspect another vehicle in the death of a cyclist. Ramsey Co. Sheriff: Vehicle No Longer Believed Involved In Cyclist’s Death “(D)octors determined that his injuries were not consistent with the bike accident.”

This CT link is just so full of “NO DUH!” Blunt trauma killed Torrington bike rider, state medical examiner says The guy was hit with a semi, that is pretty much the definition of blunt force trauma.

This NC wreck screams “assault with a deadly weapon” for the cyclist. Cyclist injured in Fayetteville crash Hit a cyclist, sideswipe a car, and hit a pole. The driver was either trying to kill the cyclist, or impaired.

Some Portland political news that could have an impact on other cities looking to Portland for guidance. Six bike-related issues that might take a turn with Hales out of the race

Still in Portland, something else that could impact bicycle safety in the rest of the country. At Wonk Night, County DA announces effort to change state law The change spoken of is the massive gap between a traffic ticket and vehicular homicide when someone with a car kills while breaking a traffic law. When the victim survives the gap is even worse as there is nothing that a driver can be criminally charged with.

Now this is an amenity. Portland Downtown Marriott adds in-room bike parking This would not work with Francis/es, but it might work with Blue or Gigi. I would bust a gut trying to get Francis/es up on that hook, cargo bikes are not meant to be lifted by the handlebars.

Infrastructure problems in SC. Charleston’s king tide floods are a sign of what the world will face as oceans rise Kinda hard to ride in the bike lane when the whole road is under water.

When they perfect driverless cars enough to replace human drivers, will they be allowed to drive? Will City Regulators Treat Driverless Cars Like They’ve Treated Uber?

Up north of Portland in far West Canuckistan. ICBC blames cyclist negligence for highway bike death Still trying to wrap my head around the concept that a cyclist hit head on by a vehicle driven by a drunk driver on the wrong side of the road while the cyclist is riding on the right side of the road with a chase vehicle(!) is at any way responsible for the wreck. The fact that the chase vehicle was hit and both occupants killed hasn’t even been entered into the equation yet.

Crap infrastructure is still crap in Jolly Olde. Killed Northumberland cyclist’s sister’s anguish as another bike rider hit This makes several cyclists severely injured since the wreck that killed the woman’s sister, all in the same intersection.

Surviving relatives of a UK cyclist killed by a driver who legally was banned from driving but the paperwork had not gone through yet speak out against what he did. Katy Charlton confronts driver Neil Urwin who killed her husband Andy

A rare cyclist-on-ped wreck in Jolly Olde. Schoolgirl injured after hit-and-run with cyclist in Sheffield DON’T HIT THE PEDESTRIANS! And especially don’t hit a pedestrian and leave the scene without making sure the pedestrian either isn’t injured or is getting care and you have left your contact information.

Last link is from Enn Zed. Cyclist critically injured in Tauranga crash This is the “We drive on the left side of the road” equivalent of the left cross.

And I really want to get to bed now and rest.

Billed @€0.02, Opus the Poet

Did some maintenance on the blogger, and the Feed

I went out and had my toes done this afternoon because I ruined 2 pair of socks in 3 days this week and I can’t keep doing that. One of the things that happened as a result of my wreck was a lot of nerve damage in the wrecked leg and when I try to cut my toenails the last two toes on the wrecked leg tuck under and out of reach. As a result I have to either try to con Mrs. the Poet into cutting those two toenails or pay for a pedicure. I almost always end up getting a pedicure and since they don’t reduce the fee for not doing things I get some stuff that for a guy might seem a bit strange, like putting color on my toenails. I got a lovely blue metalflake this time 😉 Then this evening I went to a chant workshop put on once a month by my church which also ate up a large chunk of time.

Up first because they attacked a secondary cause rather than the primary cause of the wreck. Distracted driver who caused deadly crash banned from using phone The driver was depositing a check via his cell phone banking app while driving between jobs, but instead of taking the vehicle away they took the phone away. Now the cyclist did not die because he got hit with a phone, he died because he got hit with a truck, that was being driven by a guy using a phone. So they are not restricting him from the deadly thing that was not properly used and killed the cyclist, but merely a contributing factor.

And continuing in the same concept, here is another convicted distracted driver. National guardsman who killed Minnesota cyclist warns others of distracted driving and Man who killed cyclist warns of distracted driving Again, distracted driving was only the trigger, the gun is the motor vehicle, which our former soldier still has unfettered access to after he completes his initial sentence.

Our Daily Ted. Morning Links: San Bernardino police unfairly blame victim; bike commuter dares Sepulveda Pass sans spandex The exchange with the cop sounds like he was being deliberately obtuse, ignoring statute that was permissive for the deceased cyclist and ignoring statute that was prohibitive for the killer driver.

Local (almost) to WoaB is this protest ride. DENTON TOUR DE FRACK – SATURDAY, JUNE 6, 7:00 AM, MCKENNA PARK And no, that is not a BSG reference, this ride is to protest the TX state law that just overturned the Denton TX law prohibiting fracking within city limits.

Remember those two cyclists hit in the same intersection in Portland? Crosswalk enforcement action uncovers rampant law-breaking on SE Powell Turns out they were writing tickets as fast as they could get the motorcycle cops back to the intersection after writing the tickets. Suggestion: don’t let the motorcycle cops write the tickets just stop the cars until another LEO can get there to do the ticket and then get back at the intersection to pull someone else over. Station the ticket writers about 100-200 feet down from the crosswalk and let them know by radio what violations the initial stop was for and let them take care of secondary tickets like no license or insurance. Put a sniper there with a car-stopper of a gun like the Barrett 0.50 caliber to get the ones that don’t stop immediately.

How do make change with something as entrenched in society as automobilism? My opinion: Protests, politics, and progress? Two cyclists left hooked in the same intersection in a single month and massive protests resulted in left turn signals that will be installed in less than 6 months, because those signals had already been approved and budgeted years ago but placed way down on the priority list until the two wrecks in quick succession. And the problem here is that this is the wrong way to roll out projects where it is an entire street that is the problem, not just one or two intersections that happened to roll craps.

And then you get $&(% like this. Six days after man dies crossing SE Chavez, his ghost bike memorial is mangled too (UPDATED) And a late comment seems to show it was a semi cutting the corner. Which is even worse when you think about it, because there could have been someone waiting to cross the street there instead of a Ghost Bike.

And our last link from BP, a comprehensive look at changing bad infrastructure to somewhat-less-crappy. Fixing Southeast: Three achievable proposals from a fast-rising advocate

A BOLO for a total douchebag driver in the Windy City. Police release photo of car in hit-and-run that injured bicyclist

Hey, let’s make cyclists as distracted as other road users with GPS. This High-Tech Helmet Shows Cyclists the Best Bike Route in a City Not saying this wouldn’t be useful, just that it would be a distraction, just like having GPS on your handlebars would be a distraction. Putting the information directly in your line of sight with the HUD would make it potentially more distracting, but also make it possible to read the information and redirect attention back to the outside environment much faster than the same information on a handlebar display. Still a distraction though.

While we are back to that subject here’s another distracted driver in the UK. Julie Watson killed cyclist after using phone while driving What is shocking here is the judge remanded the driver over to jail to await an inevitable prison sentence. Two years ago this would have been maybe a year in gaol or a few hundred hours of community service on weekends, this time it was go directly to jail, do not pass Go, do not collect $200 (Monopoly game reference).

Infrastructure news from the IL town where a woman riding USBR 36 was killed by a car driving in the bike lane. Bicycle, roadway safety in wake of cyclist death

Infrastructure news from far West Canuckistan. Editorial — Cyclists, take care Gee, one would think cyclists did not know that getting hit by/with a motor vehicle is painful and potentially deadly every time it happens. And that more times than not there was nothing the cyclist could have done to prevent it.

Final link about that Workmen’s Comp protest ride in the Great White North. Riders seeking financial justice for injured workers

Lifestyle in Wales as cyclists raise money for an injured rugby player with paralysis. Father of injured Blues player Owen Williams among those heading off on Cardiff to Paris bike ride

Another “greatest thing” battery chemistry for e-assist bikes and EV. Next Generation Battery Technology

And I’m outta links and patience, fortunately links ran out first.

Billed @€0.02, Opus the Tired

Good news and bad news, and the Feed

I was awakened this morning with a phone call about my MRI. I have a 7 cm across by 4 cm thick fatty mass on my neck that is “atypical”. I am being scheduled for surgery at the earliest opportunity. Some facts about the case from Wikipedia and WebMD: I have a very large lipoma (LIE-poh-ma) on my neck but not exceptionally large, they can get much larger. Lipomas are mostly benign in nature even when they get quite large, but mine is atypical of the breed. Even then the odds of this one being malignant are about the same as surviving getting hit squarely by a truck doing 60 MPH. Which I have done. Yo! scripts, I need a rewrite on this or I’m not acting in this movie, or appearing in this book, whatever. This lump is not going to be cancer, or invasive, or anything except a GOP candidate for President (useless fatty lump that just gets in the way). I’m getting really tired of you seeing how close you can get me to getting killed. It was funny when I was a kid (well popping up a war around me not so much, some of the stuff that we did was hysterical, particularly having a car and driving legally at 12YO), but now that I’m an adult (stop laughing, I mean I’m way over 21, not the other thing) I just want a nice, calm, semi-sedate, low-stress, life. Not a good story, but a nice life.

Up first I find out that “lawyer lips” are the real cause of the Trek recall. Lessons from Trek’s recall of almost 1 million bikes The QR gets into the disk because the wheel doesn’t fall out when the QR lever is opened. This only happens because of the so-called “lawyer lips” that keep a wheel from falling out of the fork when the QR is open. Yay, lawyers 😛

Dashcam video of a cyclist getting shot 4 seconds after pulling over when he detected a vehicle tailgating him right through someone’s lawn. EXCLUSIVE VIDEO: Dashcam video shows unarmed man being shot by PBSO deputy Interesting that the only audio on the stop is the sound of gunshots as the cyclist falls down. No siren, no commands from the LEO, just open the car door and start firing 4 seconds after coming to a stop.

And you can’t get there from here by bike if all you have is bicycle infrastructure. Why Is It So Hard to Get Across U.S. Cities Using Only Bike Lanes? All of those cities have it all over the Beautiful Suburbs of Hell, where we have less than 3 miles of bike lane, even if you count both directions.

Do you harass drivers for driving a surface street next to a freeway? Why not? Bicyclists in roads next to bike paths endure harassment “Get off the street, you got that great big freeway to drive on that took all my tax dollars to pay for!” Then shoot them. /s

Semi-local as a town a couple of counties west and north of WoaB World HQ declares they are partaking in Bike Month. BIKE MONTH PROCLAMATION AT DENTON CITY COUNCIL TUESDAY, MAY 5, 6:30-7:00 PM

Our Daily Ted is less than happy today. BOLO Alert: Bike rider seriously injured in East LA hit-and-run and part 2 Weekend Links: Super-secret discipline for Milt Olin deputy; SD’s Fiesta Island wreck caused by invisible boyfriend

The deputy who killed Milt Olin is punished in total secrecy. L.A. County Sheriff’s deputy disciplined in fatal collision with cyclist in Calabasas Is it really punishment when there is no public knowledge of the punishment?

Whadya gotta do to get a long prison term for a killer driver, when fleeing the scene all the way to Australia from Ireland won’t do it? Drink-driver who killed cyclist dad of four jailed for five years I mean seriously, the guy hit and ran all the way to Oz to escape prosecution, and the most they can give him is 5 years? More Widow ‘will never forget children’s cries’ after father killed

This is only a minor delay, he will get to spend a large amount of time as a guest of the state. Trial surrounding the death of a Hampshire cyclist William Logan set to resume today

I wonder if this mystery woman was the driver of the weapon vehicle in the wreck. Woman rushed to aid of hurt cyclist The thing that made me think this person was the driver was this quote,”She came and spoke to me for a while saying: ‘Do you need my details?’” That is the standard UK phrase for after a wreck.

Still getting political reverberations from a cyclist’s death in Jolly Olde. Cycling safety campaigners join colleagues of Moira Gemmill to mark death of ‘wonderful woman’

This was unexpected. Hit-run driver killed twice in one month Hmm, they don’t know how the second victim died, could he have gotten a taste for killing after “getting away” with killing the cyclist (until he got caught)?

A little Infrastructure from Portland OR. County’s bridges may get $33 million for biking and walking upgrades by 2020

Some good infrastructure news from that town a couple of counties over. RIDE YOUR BIKE TO ARTS & JAZZ FESTIVAL! 54 NEW BIKE RACKS ADDED TO CITY HALL AND CIVIC CENTER

And now I’m all out of links. I will be back Sunday.

Billed @€0.02, Opus the unkillable badass Poet

A slow day, and the Feed

Well there aren’t many links in the Feed today, and there wasn’t much mail in the box at the end of the walk either, just one piece of junk mail advertising cheap orthodontia (been there, done that, lost my teeth in a car wreck). Aside from that it has been dead today. Now tomorrow is another can of worms. Tomorrow I get to go the Plano Cycle and get the repair parts for Blue, and go to the medical imaging center that is a 2 mile round trip walk from the nearest bus stop to get an MRI of the lump in my neck to find out what is making the rest of my neck sore. That’s going to be a lot of walking, both for the bike parts and for the trip for the MRI. That means I will have to get up very early to make the trip to Plano and then walk to the MRI center that afternoon. That means probably carrying or getting my lunch because I’m going to be gone pretty much all day long. WHEEEE!

Up first is Our Daily Ted. Morning Links: LAPD cop charged in beating of bike rider, Biking While Black in FL, and Facebook bike drama

And a Daily Ted Extra. Breaking news: Guilty plea in case of fallen OC cyclist Joseph Robinson This is a sea change in sentencing. In the years I have been doing this blog (since 2006 in all the various service providers) I have seen similar wrecks go from probation or time served to the more than 11 years before eligible for parole of today’s link. Some judges are treating killing a cyclist like we were actual human beings… More O.C. woman admits to killing cyclist while driving high on meth

Portland cyclists are feeling used. Comment of the Week: When ‘bike culture’ bites back When some pol wants a photo-op to show how environmentally conscious they are they go to someplace with lots of bikes because the infrastructure had been decently kinda good at that location for a few years and cyclists use it, but when it comes time to repair or expand infrastructure there’s never any money. Then the get banned from MTB trails that were built by cyclists with their own money and sweat equity.

Just how dirty is the air where you have to ride? Wearable Sensors Will Measure How Much Air Pollution City Cyclists Inhale One trick is to stay below the level of exertion that requires heavy breathing when you can’t avoid riding with cars. Beyond that there are filter masks that make breathing slightly harder and much cleaner.

Not your “normal” road hazard. For the record: Caller said dog bites woman riding bike There is an annoying invisible ad that pops up when you click around that headline, just warning you. Oh, this is a blotter article, you have to scroll down for the dog bite.

A Sidewalk Salmon says to ride defensively. Bike defensively in Anchorage, for your life depends on it A Sidewalk Salmon wants to give advice on riding defensively, but is not going to give up riding salmon on the sidewalk. O. . . . K . . . .

A little Lifestyle from North of the Border. Truro resident to cycle Europe in support of veterans Now if I could just place which province Truro is in… Canadian Geography was so very long ago.

Infrastructure from the Great White North. Vélo Québec sounds alarm over spate of serious cycling accidents

A little UK infrastructure as the heat rises against a city council that vetoed improving an intersection that later killed two cyclists exactly as predicted it would without the improvements. Westminster Council criticised for “mind boggling” road casualty figures after die in for second cyclist killed on its streets this year The junction was redesigned for free by experts in the field back in 2013 since construction money was available to do the job, but the money (and the plans) was rejected by the council. So there was no benefit in rejecting the rebuild for anyone except drivers who continued to drive as they did before.

Is this what it takes to get a seriously stiff sentence in Jolly Olde? Hit & run driver who killed Gloucester cyclist jailed for 11 years after last-minute guilty plea Eleven years when you count the drugs charge that got “stacked” as they say. More Gloucester man jailed over hit-and-run cyclist death

And I’m out of links. There will be an intermission of a sorts tomorrow where I may or may not put up a post. I will be spending all day running around on busses and trains and walking, will probably be in some pain when I get back, possibly severe pain as my lifted shoe will not be ready until Saturday so my back will be hurting after walking almost 4 miles round trip(s). If I don’t hurt too bad I will do a post. If you don’t read anything that means I went to bed after taking a pain pill 😥

Billed @€0.02, Opus the Poet

Are we having fun yet? and the Feed

Today is Grocery Day again, and we saved a whole lot of money on “stuff” because I’m on a diet until I get enough money to rebuild Blue. I was nearly 220 at the doctor’s office on Monday and all the extra weight is causing other issues with my legs and feet. So I’m deleting all the soda and salty snacks from my diet as well as other things I used to nibble on from time to time. Since I can’t get more exercise until I can see where I’m going I have to go the other route and restrict caloric intake, or to use the vernacular, “Stop stuffing my pie hole!”

On the “See where I’m going” front, I have an appointment Tuesday for an MRI to see how big and/or invasive the thing on the back of my neck has become. This office is even further away than the PCP, I have to walk by that office about a quarter-mile to get to the imaging center. That means about 2 miles round trip on foot with no sidewalks from the closest bus stop to the imaging center. I’m hoping for good weather but late March in Texas is a crapshoot on weather.

Up first today is a double update on the “reflective clothing” bill in OR. Reflective clothing mandate, other bike bills up for hearing in Oregon house – UPDATED and the update to the update Oregon House Rep gives up on mandatory reflective clothing bill This bill was completely gutted with all the original language removed. “HB3255 bill will not be moving forward in its original form, and will have nothing to do with reflective clothing. The bill will be amended to fully delete its original language, and only require a red light to be visible from the rear of the bicycle at night. This is an amendment to the existing law for bicycle equipment requirements, ORS 815.280 (http://www.oregonlaws.org/ors/815.280). Current law already requires a rear reflector at night.” There is a link in the article to the full text of the bill.

Are you a bike hacker? BICYCLE CONTEST Make something awesome, take step-by-step pictures that someone else could use to figure out how to do it themselves, write instructions that fill in the gaps not covered by the pictures, submit, and with a little luck “Winner, Winner, Chicken Dinner!”

Another follower of WoaB is probably a better writer than I am. Barging in TriBeCa, a Top Gear boor – and why I’m proud to be a Roundhead worrywart See I’m mostly a stream of consciousness writer when I’m not writing fiction, or translating Geek to English, but this guy can actually write with historical references and everything.

Our Daily Ted touches on a few sensitive topics today. Morning Links: Justice for San Diego thrill kill victim, Griffith Park feeder ride, and CD4’s Ryu finally responds Seriously, that guy that killed the cyclist in SD was a real stupid git, all he needed to do was hit the cyclist from behind and either claim he “swerved outta nowhere” or that the cyclist was invisible (I didn’t see him) before the wreck, et voila random murder without consequences beyond a little sheetmetal work and a new paint job paid for by insurance. But no, he had to pass the cyclist, stop and get out and shoot the cyclist with a shotgun, the idiot.

Something I have been advocating for a while and wish had been available when I was hit in 2001. Cyclists mounting cameras on bikes for their protection Seriously a rear-facing camera would have gotten at least the basics of what happened possibly even a license plate number as well as the make and color of vehicle that hit me and documentation of the damage sustained by the weapon vehicle. Instead I get months of flack from the LEO assigned to my case and nothing in the way of justice.

More on the cyclist killed by a dump truck driver while she was on a charity ride. No charges in Ride the Rideau crash that killed cyclist, police say I’m not sure I remember this wreck correctly out of the thousands I have covered but I think the cyclist was either left-crossed or right hooked in the wreck, both violations of the Highway Act, but apparently not applicable if the victim was riding a bike.

After another call for bicycle licenses for riders by candidates for alderman in the Windy City, someone dredges up actual facts about the subject. Why Bicycle Licensing (Almost) Never Works The only way it works requires changing the laws on retail sales statewide and somehow closing borders to bringing in bikes from out of state. So, nope, not gonna work in Chi-Town. For all those thinking that bicycle registration or rider licensing is such a good idea, why not require a Chicago -specific driver’s license? After all there are special Chicago laws for driving that drivers need to know about, so why not make sure people know about them by charging a couple of thousand dollars to take a test before entering the city limits?

And this tasty tid-bit from OR. Bike theft ‘kingpin’ admits crime to local TV reporter The problem is fueled by people buying the stolen parts cheap, because, duh, they are stolen. Stop the trade in stolen goods and you cut the problem off at the knees.

Some Portland infrastructure that does not pass the CROW manual test. Another use for green? City adds bike refuges at SE Ankeny/Sandy/11th I know, something had to be done, and there was (next to) no budget to do it. But I’m getting disgusted with the whole process that doesn’t actually get more butts in bike seats and only marginally improves safety for people already riding bicycles.

Another link to the driver that got out of his car to commit attempted murder in Jolly Olde. Police hunt driver who punched cyclist who was then hit by oncoming car Seriously, this guy could have gotten someone killed or permanently injured. He needs to be found and then held without bail as a danger to himself and others.

Why are they installing bollards in the middle of a car-free space? Cyclist’s fury at ‘unnecessary’ new posts which knocked him off his bike in Redhill Not just bollards but black bollards that are almost invisible in low or flat light. I would be incensed as well even if I didn’t get hurt in the incident.

One of the Good Guys. Hero cyclist foils mugging gang by chasing them on his bike… while filming them flee

The survivors of a deceased cyclist go for a “sue ’em all, one will crack and testify against the rest” strategy. Family of cyclist killed in Stanley Park files suit This was an unnecessary wreck, there is plenty of room for a bike lane in each direction in the street, that sidewalk is way too narrow to use as a MUP, and the speed limit is too high. Also there were pedestrians that may have caused (pushed) the cyclist to leave the sidewalk. That has been my theory from the get-go.

Justice or Just Us? Hong Kong court rules murdered cyclist deserved what he got The cyclist was hit head-on by a driver attempting to pass a vehicle going the other direction and who had a driving record that to put it bluntly stunk to high heaven.

Eulogy for a cyclist. ‘Everything about him spelled New Orleans,’ says family of cyclist killed in Terrytown

And I think I have run out of links or sanity, one or the other.

Billed @€0.02, Opus the Poet

OMG! The Feed!

This was another “fun” day to do the Filtering. There is still just so much death and destruction even in simple physical infrastructure articles, and it’s 10 times worse in legal infrastructure articles because every change in the legal infrastructure is in response to one or more (usually more) dead cyclists, ones that I usually have covered in detail in this blog. I had to take several breaks during the filtering process, most for links that will never get posted to this blog. Sadly while I don’t post an analyse wreck links any more, I still get a mess of them in the Feed. I tried changing search settings to prevent this, but as I said earlier most physical and every legal infrastructure change has been in response to a dead or crippled cyclist, sometimes several dead and injured cyclists. Removing search terms for dead or injured cyclists prevented me from finding links to those infrastructure articles. The good news is this has become much less of a PTSD trigger and the attacks have gotten much less severe since I stopped writing about wrecks until legal proceedings against the driver are proceeding. The bad news is that means I have gone from 4 or 5 PTSD attacks a day down to one or two, not zero. And I am more than a decade out from my wreck…

Up first a driver in GA rammed a building and injured a store employee there. Woman imprisoned for ramming car into Dollar General 12 years in prison and another 8 on probation, or at least 20 years under state supervision for a non-fatal wreck in a parking lot.

Now compare and contrast this fatal wreck in NYC. Throw away the keys: Driver who killed cyclist loses license for six months Yes that’s right, 20 years state supervision for hitting a building and injuring someone inside, compared to 6 months license suspension for a fatal hit-and-run. And we all know how much of an imposition it is to not have a license to drive when you have already ignored laws against leaving the scene of a wreck. Absolutely none.

This report is on a wreck that I covered here a couple of years ago, the guy that hit a group of cyclists on the sidewalk and proceeded to knock a building off its foundation a few feet further on. Biddeford man charged in fatal bicycle crash sentenced to 10 years in prison Still less than the woman that hit the building in GA by a binary order of magnitude, but an uncountable improvement over the utterly symbolic “punishment” given to the driver that killed the NYC cyclist.

A little closer to home in LA an extremely drunk driver gets 25 years in prison with all but 7.5 suspended for hitting two cyclists and killing one and permanently injuring the other. Branch gets 7.5 years for killing cyclist The lax sentence was at the request of the surviving victim and the deceased victim’s survivors, so I can see some of this. I would really like to see a lifetime ban on driving with a mandatory prison sentence appropriate to illegal possession of weapon if caught driving.

After all that cheerful news, here’s today’s Daily Ted. Morning Links: Westwood BID considers Westwood Blvd bike lanes, South LA cyclist critical after collision

The relatives of a cyclist killed on the road in the UK discover that they had been lied to concerning prosecution of the driver that killed the cyclist. Family of cyclist killed in road crash hits out at police who gave ‘false hope’ of prosecution Now they are rushing to pay for a private prosecution that has to be started soon to prevent dismissal for failure to prosecute before expiration of the statute of limitations in the case.

And in Oz, the driver who used his motor vehicle as a weapon is given a slight fine for the infraction. Fine for driver who knocked down cyclist The difference between murder and assault with a deadly weapon is fractions of an inch, or the choice of deadly weapon.

Why don’t more people in the US ride a bike in spite of so many that want to? It’s the stupid infrastructure. Here’s what keeps people from riding a bike If I’m reading that right, what is keeping the US from having a 54% participation share for bikes (54% regularly riding at some point during the week) is crappy drivers, followed closely by even crappier infrastructure that does nothing to protect cyclists from crappy drivers. Most urban trips in the US could easily be done on a bicycle if the riders felt safe to do so.

And here is why we have crappy infrastructure. Two perfect examples of the attitude Vision Zero is supposed to change As is pointed out in the comments, looking at roads a tenth of a mile at a time does not show where an entire road is unsafe because you could get 10 fatal wrecks per mile and not get any clusters that would indicate bad design in that particular 0.1 mile segment. But nobody outside of that engineering study would agree that this was a safe road.

Put a crazy person who hates bicycles in charge of regulating off-road bicycle infrastructure and guess what you get? In letter to Mayor Hales and commissioners, national orgs ‘object’ to River View decision If you guessed “less off-road bicycle infrastructure” give yourself a cookie. The city bought an existing network of privately maintained MTB trails and 3 years later banned people from riding those trails, without citing a reason and going against their science and technical advisory committee’s recommendations. And when pressed have given a changing palette of “reasons” that were easily refuted by facts, which resulted in no reasons at all.

Conflicting realities in Oz. Cyclists in Sydney need a ticket to ride and one based in our world 18 reasons why registering bicycles is a bad idea The first link is a meandering collection of unsupported opinions masquerading as “fact”, the second is a collection of real facts with links to government sources supporting them.

And I’m out of both links and patience, thank [$DEITY] I ran out of the first prior to running out of the second.

Billed @€0.02, Opus the Poet

I ate bacon jerky and lived, and the Feed

For the second week in a row I had a coupon for bacon jerky for a brand that wasn’t available at my local store. However there was other brands of the substance available and on sale, so I bought some and ate it. So, what is bacon jerky like? Think of bacon that was left over from breakfast and it’s after lunch and all cold but not harboring any dangerous germs, only not as crispy. That’s the taste and texture of bacon jerky. Yeah, I’m not going to buy any more bacon jerky.

Up first from the city that WoaB is a suburb of when I place the location as “The Beautiful Suburbs of Hell”, you can’t park cars in a bike lane. City Working To Remove Parking Meters Put Up In Bike Lane and Update: City says contractor “mix-up” led to parking meters in a bike lane, and they will be removed Yep, still a lot of Stoopid in City of Dallas Streets Department, but they’re getting there…

Update on the Houston trial of a hit-and-run killer of a cyclist. Woman who struck and killed Houston cyclist gets 15 years in prison To be honest, I’m shocked the woman got that long a sentence from a Houston jury. Things must be changing drastically down there to get this kind of sentence for a cyclist’s killer, because just 10 years ago they couldn’t even get an indictment for running over a cyclist in broad daylight when the tire tracks went off the road to get the cyclist, and the driver claiming blindness (“I didn’t see him”). Now you get a hit-and-run and they not only indicted, they convicted, and then voted on a heavy sentence…

Our Daily Ted. Morning Links: New bike shop, Cedillo trades bike lanes for parking, and the heartbreak of a MAMIL wife

And this one came in from a Facebook group (guess which one). Cycling Explained

Is it just me, or are multiple jurisdictions starting to file stiffer charges in motor vehicle deaths? Manslaughter charge in Hockessin bicyclist’s death The original charge was criminally negligent homicide, which I considered to be really throwing the book at the driver looking at it from an historical perspective, but after going to the grand jury they decided to upgrade the charges to manslaughter.

Wait, even in the UK? Motorist who deliberately ran down and killed a young cyclist had a fair trial, judges rule

The details of the plea deal are only known to officers of the court, the defendant, and the victim’s husband. Widower OK with deal for accused in wife’s bike-ride death For those who don’t remember this was the death where a driver coming off a bridge hit 4 cyclists entering the bridge head on, and smeared one against a guard rail, killing that one and another and severely injuring the other 2. If the family of the victim is cool with the charges and the deal, I’m not normally the one to complain. I mean sure some times I complain when the charges are completely out of line, but on this one it doesn’t look that way because the victim’s family had been calling for a lynching before. Well not really a lynching, but not some country-club prison for a few months for killing their loved one.

Should police be dispatched to wrecks involving cyclists and pedestrians? Adami: Ottawa woman stymied in bid to seek compensation for bike collision This was not a hit-and-run, the cyclist stayed at the scene until all emergency responders left as reported by other witnesses, there just was nobody to take their information once the ambulance left and the paramedics were too busy stabilising the victim to be taking a wreck report. So, who do they call after that?

A cyclist is hit in front of the DC mayor’s motorcade, so they stopped to render aid. Good Guy Mayor Gray Checks On Cyclist Hit By Vehicle That wouldn’t happen here in Garland, for the simple reason that our Mayor doesn’t get a motorcade, he drives himself (Hi, Doug! Yes I’m an acquaintance of the Mayor, we have discussed infrastructure issues on several occasions). I am reasonably sure that he would stop for a bicycle wreck if first responders had not arrived on the scene.

And those were all the links I could find and stomach today.

Billed @€0.02, Opus the unkillable badass Poet