Hello, Monday, and the Feed BTW did you know it is MLK Jr. Day?

Well I did it last night, I burned the two hats I used to focus the spell that caused the guy that tried to kill me to kill himself. And I did it without causing the karmic backlash that a “Kill Yourself” spell would have caused me, all I put in the spell was “All that you wish upon me will happen to you instead”. Had the guy decided to wish I would win the lottery, then he would have won the lottery, but he didn’t, and now he’s dead.

And today we celebrate the legacy of a man who only asked that people be judged by their character instead of their skin pigmentation. Sadly people today judge by the size of the checking account(s) first, then skin pigmentation, so that it’s hyper-rich, mega-rich, super-rich, rich white (all the preceding are white), rich POC, middle-class white, middle-class POC, poor white, Everybody Else. It’s the color of your money, not your character that counts. I wonder what Martin Luther King Jr. would have thought about people and culture in the second decade of the 21st century?

On those lines here is Our Daily Ted: Do something today to make the world a better place

Someone in TX had a good time using a bike to get to camping. Bikepacking Colorado Bend State Park Using a bike to carry your stuff instead of walking with it on your back is a much smarter way to do it. There are few places that you can go backpacking that you can’t get to with your stuff strapped to a MTB.

Sometimes you just feel so good you have to go for a bike ride. WATCH: Michael Bennett celebrates Seahawks win with bicycle ride

Someone else stealing a cop’s police bike won’t get the same results. MAN CAUGHT ON CAMERA STEALING PHILLY COP’S POLICE BICYCLE This is the bicycle equivalent of stealing a cruiser with all the junk in and on it and expecting to be able to fence it. And in reality everything except the frame and maybe that trunk bag can be removed and sold to someone.

On making a vice into a virtue, if they won’t clear the snow from the bike lane just make it a linear skating rink when temperatures are below freezing. Edmonton Freezeway Could Let Workers Skate To The Office

I think the whipped cream is easier to write and draw with than the shaving cream idea from a few weeks back. Illegally parked cars marked with whipped cream in Berlin

If you think that all the HiViz clothing does is make you an easier target, you might be right. HIGH-VIS CAN’T SOLVE DRIVERS’ INATTENTIONAL BLINDNESS AND ITS PROMOTION HAS FAILED and On becoming a Christmas tree on two wheels Along those lines I find it is funny that drivers can’t seem to see my bike, but they can spot a ball peen hammer in my left hand a quarter of a mile away.

Going after the wrong thing and ignoring what is really dangerous seems to be a universal failing among LEO as this UK report shows. Spokes Woman: Caversham crackdown shows why we need to change our attitudes towards cyclists

Infrastructure response to a NYC cyclist’s death? Hoyt Jacobs becomes first NYC cyclist to die in 2015 The infrastructure response that is kinda buried in the story is mandatory sideguards in front of the rear wheels of a truck that would push a cyclist or pedestrian away from the rear wheels and turn a near absolute death wreck into a survivable collision.

MN infrastructure is starting to look better and better. St. Paul’s downtown loop offers latest skirmish in battle of bike lanes vs. parking spots Now if they could just convince local business that people on bicycles can actually get stuff bought in their stores home after they make the purchase.

Another link to the trial that found a truck driver and the company he drove for negligent in the death of a SF cyclist. Woman’s Family Awarded $4 Million In San Francisco Trial For Negligent Big Rig Driver That Killed Cyclist I guess the reason this was news today is the judge may have issued the final decree in the case.

A little non-news from Oz. Cyclists or drivers. Council campaign to make roads safer Things cyclists do annoy drivers, but things drivers do get cyclists killed.

What might road vehicles look like in the far future of 2050 when all the easy oil is gone? The Future Cycles The “luxury vehicle” is set up “wrong” though. Real rich people would not pedal their own cars, not when they could pay someone else to do that for them. The “real” luxury vehicle of the future will have the two people up front pedalling while the rich person(s) ride in the back in the comfy seat. Or they will have a low-speed electric vehicle that does the same thing with solar power and without the sweaty, smelly, people in the front. More Designers Morph Bikes and Cars into Green Frankenvehicles

The previous paragraph assumes an orderly transition from fossil fuels to HP, but in case there is a somewhat less orderly change you might want to have this vehicle. Could the Survival Bike be your Bug Out Vehicle of Choice?

And that looks like all the links for today, slow day for a Monday.

Billed @€0.02, Opus the Poet

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Boy are my legs bad, and the Feed

I went for a ride last night after putting the blog to bed, and my legs are terrible. I mean seriously I can NOT believe these are the same appendages that carried me 200 km round trip to have lunch with my GF as recently as 2007. I know I have been spending more time in the garage building and at the computer posting blogs than riding a bike, especially since Blue was stolen August of last year, but STILL! Cycling used to be an escape where my body carried me away from mundane cares and concerns, not provided me with additional cares and concerns… I really need to ride more. I will start that with riding to the RPG get-together this Saturday. I know that’s a trace over 12 miles round trip, but I need the miles and the challenge. I seriously think the challenge is more important than the miles at this point.

Up first is what appears to be a police murder of a cyclist in Quebec. Cyclist run over by police car fighting for life and Guy Blouin ID’d as cyclist run over by Quebec City police car also this Quebec City Police Under Investigation After Cruiser Runs Over Cyclist This one started out bad and just got worse and worse as the day went on and more links came in. Here’s what we know at this moment: The cyclist was riding salmon on a one way street when he passed the LEO, LEO throws the car into reverse and begins pursuit backwards going the wrong way on a one way street and according to one witness appeared to deliberately knock the cyclist from the bike. The cyclist ended up under the rear tires of the car, but instead of waiting for trained responders to extract the cyclist from under the car without doing any further damage the cop that hit him drives the car back over the cyclist, further injuring him (remember one witness testifies the initial impact appeared to be deliberate, we know the second was). Then the cyclist was handcuffed and forced to sit down on the sidewalk before being walked over and put in the back of an ambulance (apparently the EMT did not know the victim had been run over twice before they got to the scene). The victim died shortly after arriving at the hospital. While the victim was being transported the initial LEO at the scene was “tidying up” and put the victim’s bicycle in his trunk and moved his car (away from the scene? not confirmed) before accident investigators could arrive and measure the scene of the now crime. This would be the Big Story even if it didn’t have lots of links. Either this is the stupidest cop in Canada, or one of the most evil cops in Canada. There doesn’t appear to be a whole lot of room for any other interpretations.

Back in the US a hit-and-run weapon has been found while LEO continue to search for the driver of the weapon vehicle. Troopers have ‘person of interest’ in Metro East hit-and-run that killed cyclist Hit-from-behind wreck that is being blamed on the cyclist for not wearing a glow-in-the-dark clown suit and not having lights that can survive a fatal hit-from-behind wreck so that LEO can glance at the bike and tell they are operable (most bicycle taillights do not survive the impact of getting hit from behind because their brackets do not remain attached to the bike). Anyway getting back to the answers to the question, protocols to avoid or reduce damages, and obviously getting the infrastructure “up to Dutch” to prevent. And make vehicle owners responsible for hit-and-runs unless they can prove they were in a different location or had already reported the vehicle stolen before the hit-and-run. I think publically crushing vehicles used to commit hit-and-run would do a lot to prevent another one as well.

At last! Someone in LEO understands keeping evidence intact. Car impounded after hit-and-run kills bicyclist in Spokane Valley Another cyclist said the wreck was a hit-from-behind and the victim had no chance to avoid the wreck. Again it seems that Dutch infrastructure (not just “Dutch-style” but built to the latest CROW standards) is the only way to do anything about this wreck.

Another update on that MO wreck that the victim was also a MS victim who was training for the MS 150. Updated: Kansas Highway Patrol releases crash details Well excuse MEEE! wasn’t a MO wreck or even a MO victim, just someone who wanted to ride in the MO MS 150 [facepalm]…

A NC cyclist is left crossed. Veteran bicyclist dies after being hit during ride Left cross means intersection protocols to avoid or reduce damages, and get the infrastructure “up to Dutch” to prevent.

A KY hit-and-run. Teen cyclist seriously injured in Laurel County crash Hit from behind, so protocols and infrastructure to avoid or prevent respectively.

A terrible wreck in far West Canuckistan. Mystery cyclist killed in collision with van on Pat Bay near McTavish and Cyclist struck and killed on Pat Bay Highway also Cyclist killed on Pat Bay Highway identified as English retiree SWSS wreck, that means hit-from-behind protocols to avoid or reduce damages, and get that infrastructure “up to Dutch” to prevent.

A very bad day in the Great White North. Windsor police investigate three collisions involving cyclists in one day Where to begin? Same as they did in the link. Left cross, intersection protocols. Second wreck appears to be the other kind of left cross, so again intersection protocols to avoid or reduce damages. Third wreck is a little bit harder to figure out as the cyclist hit someone in a turning lane of an intersecting road and was cited for failure to yield. I’m going to be honest and say I can’t figure out the geometry of this wreck as the narrative makes no sense to me. There are only two ways this could happen, one is that the cyclist was riding at the very farthest right possible and hit a car waiting to turn, which would sort of explain the citation, the second is that the cyclist was still riding too far to the right and someone was trying to sneak in a right on red and got hit by the cyclist, but that would not jibe with the citation as the cyclist would be the one with the right of way and the citation was not for running the red but for failure to yield. !?! Anyway the solution to all of those wrecks is following the Dutch CROW manual like it was the New Standard Version of the Bible and you’re attending Liberty College of Engineering.

Not a bicycle wreck, but still… Elderly woman killed by driver checking Facebook on her phone at 85 mph

Let’s get some Infrastructure! going on, from CA. New law: Motorists must give cyclists 3 feet of space and Cyclists Eager For ‘3 Feet For Safety’ Law To Kick In and Cyclists urge DA to reconsider charges for sheriff’s deputy who struck, killed rider also Bike Ride A Call For Action After Deputy Not Charged In Cyclist’s Death In case you might be wondering this is the legal infrastructure that protects cyclists by making hitting one either financially too expensive or personally too expensive to sustain.

More on the infrastructure failure that killed a cyclist and who might be responsible for it in Seattle. Second Avenue cyclist and the tangled city streets

A “D’awwww!” moment from Enn Zed. Award for woman who rushed to help cyclist The main contribution this person made was controlling bleeding until trained responders could handle the situation. I still say “Good on ya!” for this and a well-deserved award.

Our Daily Ted. Morning Links: Cyclists ride for justice; LACBC ED Jen Klausner resigns, Los Angeles is nation’s 28th Best Bike City

Lifestyle for reals. London Tweed Run: the most beautiful bike ride on the planet (photos)

One possible downside of an e-assist bike with LiPo batteries. Exploding battery on electric bicycle causes Bend house fire That’s why you need BMS with any LiPo battery pack.

And good news for e-assist cyclists as Tesla uses the 18650 form factor that makes very nice e-bike packs. Tesla CEO: ‘Nevada is it;’ $1.3B package offered I know some of you are saying “How can someone making a factory to build Tesla batteries be good news for e-assist cyclists?” Very simple. Tesla uses the 18650 form factor like I mentioned, and there will inevitably be cells that are still pretty good but don’t meet Tesla’s standards. I know they have a very complex BMS that shunts bad cells out of the pack or doesn’t run them as hard as better cells, but they want to start with the cells as good as they can and not with a bunch of cells not up to the need from the get-go. Well those cells will probably get dumped on the e-bike market as plainly marked “seconds” that will still be pretty good with a BMS made for use with that kind of cell.

A statement of indubitable truth. Cyclists ‘should learn first aid to save lives’ says City worker who went to rescue of crash victim I got combat first aid twice because the Army thought my training from my first Up was not recent enough, and I could probably be of assistance in a severe wreck so long as I could get to the victim. Last two wrecks I saw I could not get to the victims to help, one car resting on its side and the other was otherwise inaccessible for my crippled leg. I think it was down a hill or wedged or something. I can barely remember that one. The one after that I can remember quite well as that was the first amputation I have seen and also the first wreck that I saw taking place. Every other wreck I saw was already come to a rest when I showed up, even if only by seconds, but that one developed right before my eyes. Not fun. I described what I saw the day it happened in this blog, but I’m not doing the archive dive to find the link.

And those are all the links that gave me fits or giggles.

Billed @€0.02, Opus the unkillable badass Poet