My BP meds are getting cut in half because reasons, and the Feed

What a day! First the cat tries to apologize for clawing huge gashes in my hand and arm by waking me up after only 1 hour of sleep and crawling into the bed to purr loudly at me, then I spent all day getting to and from the Lab Rat Keeper, then I find out my meds are getting cut because my BP is a bit on the low side, like 100/60. For a guy whose pressures topped out at 200/145 10 years ago this could lead to dizziness, confusion, and loss of consciousness. None of that is especially good. The good news is if my pressures come back up with lower dosages I get to participate in another side-effect study before the end of this year.

Our Daily Ted. Morning Links: Reminder to expect the unexpected on bike trails; Feds decide bike/ped safety matters, too

Still in CA. Bicyclist killed in Santa Ana hit-and-run identified

From my neck of the woods. How tracking police data by race can make unfair laws look like the cops’ fault Among other things this article identifies one of the main problems of the Metroplex: People don’t work where they live nor live where they work in the main. When only 5% of drivers stopped in a town are residents of that town, you have a problem with sprawl, and auto-centrism because everyone drives even if they don’t want to. So much of this area is a transit desert where if you don’t have a car you are trapped.

Remember that girl driving drunk and backwards when she ran over a cyclist in AK? Anchorage woman will finish college semester before going to jail for cyclist’s death Really? Let her finish school before a summer (maybe) in jail?!? Oh the ignominy. Have to finish college before prison…

Do you feel like you are not welcome among other bike riders? Project highlights stories of people who feel like outsiders in bike scene

Infrastructure in America’s Copenhagen. Active Transportation Summit dispatch: Vision Zero and the myth of freight Except for a tiny few places that are import centers like Long Beach or Houston or Corpus Christie truck traffic just is not that vital to the economy. And even Houston is trying to make more of its street network bike friendly.

If you don’t know where you’re coming from how can you know where you’re going? Unearthed: 1975 City of Portland “From here to there by bicycle” map

More infrastructure news from NYC. Prospect Park West Bike Lane War Continues: “New York City Is Not Amsterdam” and IT’S ALIVE: Judge Revives 5-Year-Old Prospect Park Bike Lane Lawsuit They LOVE bike lanes, just not the one in front of their building, which has raised the value of the units in said building substantially. Maybe that’s the problem, their taxes went up with the rise in property values…

Another dead pedestrian in NYC. Woman Fatally Struck By Sanitation Truck Driver On Upper East Side And for all those wondering why I have so many links from Gothamist and Bike Portland,it’s because I visit those web sites pretty much daily. Anywho, this was another blind driver just proceeding into space that was already occupied, and killing said occupant. And the Universal Get Out of Jail Free card shall be used, “I didn’t see her” and all will be forgiven.

More on the MA hit-and-run killing of a cyclist. Man charged with DUI in hit-and-run that injured cyclist

PA infrastructure story. Holly residents drill council for answers over roundabouts Seriously, you can’t figure out how to use a roundabout?

Another link to the guy looking to ride from BC to Panama getting taken out ²/₃ of the way through WA. Cyclist on B.C. to Panama ride injured in crash Interesting picture they used for the “touring bike”.

More on the CO man getting prison for killing a cyclist. Man gets 10 years for DUI crash that killed bicyclist And I hope he has to do every day of it.

It’s just better reporting on the wrecks, honest! Alan Solot: Tucson bike vs. car crashes aren’t increasing

It’s not really good news, it is a symptom of austerity. Fall in road offences due to reduction in traffic police says Transport Committee

And while we are on the site. Barbed wire booby trap found on Kent cycle trail Either some farmer is missing a section of fence, or all they need to do is ask who bought barbed wire recently at nearby farm supply stores.

And I got this video sent to me by several people from many different sources. Video: How to teach bus drivers to give cyclists space I thought the ones where the “riders” clothes wer actually ruffled by contact with the bus were good, unless the driver was not actually trying to get that close in which case they were fucking terrifying.

Speaking of close passing, this was also terrifying over on the Emerald Isle. Cyclist was thrown over the bonnet of car Cold they have gotten any closer without actually killing the cyclist? I think not.

Another link to the guy who killed a well-liked cyclist going to jail. JAILED: Driver who mowed down Oxford graduate cyclist in head-on-crash

[Facepalm]Cyclists maimed and killed by blind driver, but it’s OK because a cyclist ran a stop sign once.[/Facepalm] Pontevedra cycling tragedy raises concerns over elderly drivers

More on the Ozzie drunk driver killing a cyclist. Cyclist killed by allegedly drunk driver and Qld cyclist killed by intoxicated driver

A really ugly wreck in Oz, more than one link. Port Pirie cyclist killed when truck and riders collide near city and Truck crashes into three cyclists on Germein Rd at Solomontown near Port Pirie You can see the impact site on the passenger side of the truck bumper where the bumper was bent.

And this was just wrong. Holiday blues after woman arrives home from overseas trip to find a parking ticket because her street was rezoned while she was away There were no permits available before leaving, and tickets papering the car when she got back. I mean they hadn’t even decided on the date it was to be implemented when she left…

And have you heard the latest scandal in the pro peloton? Professional cycling’s latest scandal: unshaved legs I used to shave my legs back before I rode a bike with fenders.

And it’s 0430, I have been up 19 hours now on 1 hour of sleep. I’m going to bed, and the cat is staying in the bathroom with his food and litterbox until I get up.

Billed @$0.02, Opus

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Now we march into the dark, and the Feed

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

BIlled @$0.02, Opus

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