Another Grocery Day! and the Feed

Yep, time to buy mass quantities again. This time we have a bit more money in the budget, and more than 10 minutes to shop. Also I need to get some really salty snacks…

While I was there I checked my BP and weight with the health tester in the store. I lost another 2 pounds, and managed to get my BP all the way up to 109/75. Woo!

Up first, Houston has a problem. Transportation officials to revive safety council They had several bicycle death or serious injury wrecks, and now they decide they have to “do something”. And one of the major impediments to “doing something” that might actually work is TX speed limit laws. The CROW manual suggests a 20 km/hr speed limit for streets where bicycles and cars share the lane, that’s 12.5 MPH, while the TX laws are that you need to have a dispensation from the legislature for any street or road to have a speed limit less than 30 MPH, which they will let you reduce to 25 MPH or basically twice as fast as the CROW manual would allow. And the laws only allow a limited number of streets to get the 25 MPH speed limit. And unless you tame cars, people on bikes and foot will continue to get killed.

Out Daily Ted. Morning Links: Effing around on the Orange Line, JSK at the Hammer, and LA cyclist guilty of pimping PEDs At least the guy driving the ³/₄ ton PU was backing away from the cyclist instead of blocking the bike path because “I’m bigger than you”.

Still in CA. Cyclist killed in Carlsbad crash and Cyclist Killed in Carlsbad Crash, Roads Closed When I read this story yesterday I didn’t have any pictures so I pronounced this a SWSS, but now I don’t think that’s true, partially because the wreck was in the lane next to the median between the bike lane and a left turn lane. Now I say that the cyclist misjudged either the speed or the distance away from the intersection for the weapon vehicle. Or maybe both, and either thought the car would pass before she got to the turn lane or that she would get to the turn lane before the car got there.

Also still in CA. Fresno burn center chief William Dominic, seriously hurt on bicycle, seeks help to find hit-run driver I think I might have mentioned once or twice about how much I hate hit-and-run drivers. If the victim lives then I can allow the driver to live and watch their vehicle go through the car shredder from the driver’s seat. This would actually be a very humane method of execution because by the time the pain sensations from the driver’s feet reached his brain, there wouldn’t be a brain there to interpret them as pain. It would be nearly instantaneous, unlike the lingering deaths many hit-and-run victims suffer through waiting for someone to find them.

Continuing with the theme of my least-favorite kind of wreck in MD. Driver spared jail time in hit-and-run with cyclist in Annapolis The cyclist was extremely lucky in this wreck. and so was the driver not to get charged with attempted murder for deliberately hitting a cyclist at a red light. This was not a typical hit-and-run this was a road rage assault. And the driver was very lucky the victim was so forgiving.

Another OH cyclist death. 79-year-old Lancaster man on bicycle killed in crash The cyclist was hit from behind with the sun just barely to his right, not in driver’s eyes at all. This was totally the driver’s fault, there is nothing in the conditions to even remotely excuse the driver for hitting the cyclist from behind.

This MO wreck just has no excuse either after the initial impact. Cyclist injured by semi during hit-and-run in South County WTF!?! You hit a guy with a semi and then leave him laying on the side of the road after you get out and look at him?

Wreck in FL. 71-year-old cyclist dies in Collier crash Things really are changing in FL. Not too long ago they would have blamed the dead cyclist no matter who was really at fault, because cyclists “didn’t belong” on the streets. Now if the driver is at fault they will be blamed just like any other kind of wreck.

Up in NYC there is “no criminality suspected” in a pedestrian getting hit in the crosswalk in spite of a law making hitting a pedestrian in the crosswalk a crime. No ROW Charge for Garbage Hauler Who Killed Woman in UES Crosswalk The driver’s excuse holds up about as well as wet facial tissue for anyone except NYPD, who have a bad cultural case of windshield bias. There’s no excuse really, the driver had to have had a clear view of the crosswalk if he could see out of the vehicle at all.

NYC infrastructure. Citing FDNY Concerns, DOT Removes Two-Block Protected Bike Connection It takes years of public hearings to get one of those put in, but only a few hours to get them removed? TANJ!

MA infrastructure. After Cyclist Death, Brother Pushes For Truck Side Guards Not only do the side guards prevent pedestrian and cyclist injuries and deaths, they also save fuel, so win, win, win, win!

Va. Beach infrastructure to enhance the experience of an arts district. Virginia Beach’s arts district could get $4 million infrastructure makeover Bike lanes and sidewalks to go with improved storm drains.

Infrastructure from West Canuckistan. Bike infrastructure pays off: SFU researcher Induced demand works for bicycles just like it does for cars, only there is also the factor of “latent demand” where people want to ride but won’t or can’t because the infrastructure isn’t safe.

From Jolly Olde, this driver was none too jolly. Woman accused of hitting a Chinese cyclist and a leaving him to die in a ditch overnight ‘hated Asians,’ her family tells inquest I would call this a case of murder, because the cyclist died from exposure caused by being left, and would have recovered had he been treated for his other injuries he got in the wreck. IOW the “run” part of “hit-and-run” is what killed him, not so much the “hit”. And she may have done it on purpose, both the hit and the run.

A little UK infrastructure that I’m not sure I like. Major plans to make Tamworth a ‘no-go zone’ for boy racers to be considered First of all there is the freedom of association aspect, second is the use of the commons aspect. I don’t like the hooning about, but this reeks of the “anti-cruising” ordinances from the late ’70s and early ’80s that were found to be unconstitutional here in the US. I do like the part about getting them to not drive like maniacs.

Still in Jolly Olde, still not very jolly. Four year sentence for driver who killed cyclist while driving at double the speed limit The perp was smiling at the light sentence he got for cold-blooded murder of a random person on the street.

This is just mean, but funny. Exploding saddle prank catches thieves unawares, and more of the best cycling videos I mean how stupid are these guys (and every last one of them was a guy) not to see the explosives duct-taped to the bicycle seat? They were lucky that stupidity only hurt a little and didn’t cause any serious injury, even if a couple of the bike thieves got racked up by the exploding air bag.

Moving north in the UK, are cobbles worth the effort when your streets are mostly used by cars? Edinburgh Aims to Fix Cobblestone Street Repair First of all let me say that when I was a kid I rode my bike on a street that still had the original paving from when the Romans built it around 100 CE, because they never let anything heavier than a light cart drawn by an ox drive over it, making it over 1800 years old and still in good shape. But roads built the same way are destroyed in a decade when motor vehicle traffic pounds them to rubble.

A truck driver in Oz pulled over and administered first aid to a fallen cyclist until paramedics arrived to take over. HANSON TRUCK DRIVER AWARDED FOR HELPING INJURED CYCLIST This was the exact opposite of a hit and run, a help and run. As they say,”Good on ya!”

The guy that helped a driver commit the run part of a hit-and-run in Oz gets charged. Second man in court over cyclist Gordon Ibbs killed in Anakie crash

Last but most definitely not least, a recall on hubs. High-end bicycle wheel hubs recalled for crash risk This was in the Daily Ted, but I thought this was too important to risk you not clicking from Ted’s article.

And I have to get up early again tomorrow.

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

Large hunks of links are from Twitter, and the rest of the Feed

It takes longer to filter, but I’m finding more and better links on Twitter than I do in my Feed Folder in my e-mail. I think that may be due to having humans directly sending me the links from the articles as they post. Whatever the reason, I’m glad I can give you better links than I used to.

Up first, LEO have found the driver who killed a cyclist earlier this week. PD: Police identify woman who struck, killed bicyclist in Pasadena They haven’t arrested her, just “talked” to her.

More on the cyclist killed in MN by a driver who crossed the entire road to hit him. UMD mourns staff member killed while bicycling in Hermantown and SUV fatally hits bicyclist in Hermantown heading other way on shoulder I’m still trying to figure out why the driver is not in jail for this.

Since we are in “old wreck” mode at the moment, more on the cyclist killed in CA during a time trial event. In the News: Cyclist killed by car in California TT race and CHP Finds a New Way to Blame the Bicycle Rider Yep, getting blamed for the driver that hit you in your lane is pretty low, even for the CHP. Seriously, what would Jon and Ponch say? More Cyclist killed in Esparto was experienced Foster City rider

Still in CA, a hit-and-run driver attempts murder when the victim catches back up to him. Driver charges at cyclist, carries him on hood and Caught On Camera: San Francisco Cyclist Ends Up On Windshield In Apparent Hit-And-Run So two hit-and-run incidents, one that might have only cost the driver a ticket for violating the 3-feet-to-pass law, and a second that might end up with assault charges.

Another AZ cyclist hit from behind in the bike lane. Bicyclist killed in northwest Tucson collision I have lost count of the number of cyclists hit from behind in the bike lanes of AZ this year, but it seems to be too common even if there were only two. The danger zone in this wreck was the mixing zone before the turn lane. The driver failed to yield to the vehicle in front (the cyclist) and killed the cyclist as a result. I know what will stop wrecks like this, but I don’t know how well it would fly in the current legislative climate. When you hit a cyclist you lose your car, 90 days if there was no or non-serious levels of injury, a year for transport to hospital wrecks, and forever if the cyclist dies from injuries or in case of hit-and-run.

Not a bicycle wreck, but indicative of what you could expect as a cyclist if you get hit. NYPD: “No Criminality” as Cab Driver Runs Over Kids on Bronx Sidewalk and TLC: Driver Who Hit Children on Bronx Sidewalk Works for Uber [Updated] The car went completely across the sidewalk and bounced off the building that a commenter stated was 20-25 feet away from the curb, and in the video I thought I saw the left front wheel pointed towards the camera which means the suspension was broken when it hit the curb. I estimate the vehicle speed at 40-50 MPH. But the NYPD doesn’t suspect any criminality for driving 40-50 MPH on the sidewalk full of kids… TANJ!

Our Daily Ted. Morning Links: Cedillo condemns calls for safer streets, Coronado madness round 3, and more bighearted people Cedillo needs to be charged as an accessory for all the people killed and maimed since he stopped the North Figueroa project literally days before it was to begin for no apparent reason. I still say follow the money.

A restaurant named after the great Eddy Merckx. The Cannibal, a restaurant and butcher shop coming to Culver City, with bike valet Free beer when you wear your bike kit into the establishment.

A CT cyclist gets injured and he’s the guy responsible for getting other people to live more healthy. Norwalk Director of Public Health injured in bicycle accident over weekend This sounds like a buzz job to me. Or maybe a “punishment pass” for daring to ride in the street.

There are good people in this world. Woman injured riding bike wants to thank stranger who helped her Fortunately they filled the pothole but unfortunately not until after her wreck.

Another buzz job in NC kills another NC cyclist. Cyclist dies in road accident Another driver driving too fast to stop in the distance he could see clearly blames the victim for not wearing a glow-in-the-dark clown suit with body armor.

If you are going to carry cocaine on your person, know that you don’t have to submit to a search until after you get arrested, and put some lights on your bike. Bicycle stop leads to cocaine arrest “The pill bottle contained 0.2 grams of powder cocaine” or not enough to get a chihuahua high, much less an adult human being.

Another Wounded Warrior ride north of WoaB. Injured Service Members Ride toward Recovery in Oklahoma’s Capital City If you’re in the area give these guys a cheer when they ride by.

A wreck in Oz involving two cyclists and a car and they can’t figure out who was where and which way they were going. Cyclists injured in Monaro Highway crash How crazy is that?

Also in Oz they have another wreck they are trying to decipher. Police appeal for witnesses after cyclist injured – Dora Creek

Last link, I’m sure you are the kind of person who always makes sure the quick releases on your bike are done up tight, but you brother-in-law hasn’t checked his since Clinton was in office so he might want to check this out. Thirteen bike companies recall models over disc brake/QR concern This is the same QR as the Trek recall only on other manufacturer’s bikes.

And I’m out of links again for the day. Grocery day tomorrow.

Billed @€0.02, Opus the Poet

Recovering from last night’s post, and the Feed

Last night’s post was hard on me just from the sheer volume of the links in the Feed that had to be filtered. You would not believe the number of motorcycle wrecks I had to wade through because there was no mention the wreck involved a motorcycle until the make and model of the bike was published, up until then it was “cyclist” and “bike” for the victim and vehicle, respectively. I should also mention I have a major milestone for the blog coming up this month, but I’m not going to spoil the surprise by putting it up here now. Suffice it to say that in 2 weeks this blog will cross a line that many blogs never get to…

Well, after all the links I had yesterday today is a bit… sparse. Up first is news that a rider that crashed during a group ride with no motor vehicles involved has died from injuries sustained in the wreck. Rare cycling accident claims a rare soul The rider was wearing a helmet, but as I keep saying bicycle helmets are made for 12.5 MPH impacts, a fall at the estimated 30 MPH of the group at the time of the wreck greatly exceeds the ability of the helmet to dissipate the energy of the wreck, by roughly 576%. Condolences to the survivors.

Infrastructure! from the Great White North. Riding like they own the road Calgary is discovering there is a big difference between recreational infrastructure, just a place to ride, and transportational infrastructure, a way to get from one place to another.

Recall! Recall ordered for bike rack supplied by Bloomington firm Sounds like a bad weld on the bracket that holds the rack to the fork, as it has cracked and failed and caused at least one wreck.

And that was every bicycle link in the Feed today, the rest were motorcycle wrecks or horseback riders falling off their ponies (seriously).

Billed @$0.02, Opus

My prejudices have been confirmed, and the Feed

Doncha just love it when science confirms your prejudices? I will link to an article later in this post that confirms that there is nothing about you or your mode of travel that makes drivers honk at cyclists and run them off the roads, those people are just rectal sphincters. Actually that term is impolite, to real rectal sphincters. The rectal sphincter is a noble muscle that must remain in a near permanent state of contraction and still be able to relax on command without cramping up. The counterpart on the road is equally tense but instead of keeping shit in like the noble rectal sphincter they spew it all over the roads and frequently get it on other people who have to share the roads with them. Anyway, they have discovered that this is a form of mental illness, caused by stress. Gee, I thought it was a personality trait…

Up first is a teen that pinballed from one collision to another while riding a bicycle. Teen cyclist injured in Medford accident I’m glad they didn’t charge the driver in this case, this was not caused by the motor vehicle. A wreck like this is very hard to avoid as a cyclist’s attention is mainly on things at ground level, and this was caused by an obstruction at head level. BTW if anyone knows which Medford this happened in please leave a comment. I know of one in OR, and another one in CT, if this was one of those or someplace else leave a comment 😉

Moving to the UK, a cyclist’s claim against a local government for damages caused by poor road repairs is covered by insurance, so why the protracted legal battle? Insurers to pay costs of cyclist’s accident claim The cyclist rolled through a puddle (I think, this has been in court for 3 years, I may have conflated 2 stories together) with a deep, squared edge, pothole under the muddy water and was thrown from the bike and suffered a broken jaw and a broken bicycle. After all this time the cyclist’s costs for bike repairs and lost time at work have finally been repaid. There are time when I wish that I could sue for roads that are “broken” and cause my vehicle damage. That’s one of the reasons why I was riding a full-suspension MTB with slicks when I got hit, I needed that suspension to keep from losing lights from the rough streets breaking the light brackets (avg life span, 2 weeks).

Lifestyle in UT, a woman rides for fallen LEO. Local Woman in Police Unity Tour 2011 Even as much as I disagree with LEO about bike matters, these guys put their lives on the line for us. When that check gets cashed we should remember and honor that cost of human life.

PA cyclists are getting ready for Spring. Carlisle area women ready their bikes Go! ladies Go!

Recall About 1,550 Felt adult bicycles, manufactured by Felt Bicycles of Irvine, Calif Possible fork failures leading to injury or death. Ouch.

And finally, the article I alluded to in the opening paragraph about road rage being a mental illness. Study: ‘Sidewalk Rage’ Plagues New York City Streets Yes the thing I thought was a personality trait is now a mental illness: “intermittent explosive disorder.” And the comments show just how widespread this disorder is…

That’s all I have for today. See you tomorrow, I’m going for a bike ride today before it gets really hot here in the suburbs of Hell.

Billed @$0.02, Opus

Things are getting hectic around the WoaB HQ

Yep, things are getting mighty hectic around the WoaB World HQ here in the suburbs of Hell. I’m supposed to lead the procession in the Winter SolstiCelebration, originally pulling a trailer with a model of the Yellow Submarine, and now with a costume of it when we discovered the trailer plus bike combination was too long to make the turn at the top of the aisle to the stage 2 weeks before the event after it was way too late to make a smaller model on a shorter trailer. So the Submarine Krewe has been running around like the proverbial decapitated chickens making a costume for me to wear while riding Blue in the procession next Friday evening. The tricky part is the decorating with what we had purchased for the trailer version of the sub, which was supposed to use Yellow Pages pages for part of the coloring.

Up first is a wreck that was down the road a bit from WoaB HQ. Bike Rider Hit on Westheimer As of the posting of this article the identity of the cyclist was not known, hopefully it will be in the article when you read it. From the pictures that were posted I would say this was a case of right hook as the driver tried to enter the driveway of whatever store that was. I’m going to say probably a Lowe’s. That would imply intersection protocol should have been used. Remember every driveway is really an intersection where you could be left-crossed or right-hooked by an oblivious driver of a WMD. I would suggest a large-caliber recoilless weapon, but if you have time to get a shot off in those circumstances you would have time to avoid the wreck unless you mount the trigger on the handlebars and fire as you are going down, and then what’s the point? You aren’t preventing a wreck just evening out the damages from it…

A wreck in El Tour that I didn’t find out about until today…Tucson Health: Injured El Tour cyclist still in the hospital Yes, bad situation and I hope the rider recovers soon from the head injury. From what I can find out there was some kind of pavement problem that threw the cyclist off the bike when he hit it. Also from what I have been able to find out the pavement defect was indistinguishable from the good pavement next to it, so be very careful around construction if you have to ride in the proximity of road construction.

Moving to the far northern reaches of the United States we have a hit-and-run in Billings, MT. Bicyclist injured in downtown hit and run The cyclist had a broken leg and no head injury and it was necessary to report helmet wearing because…? Anyway, mid-block hit-from-behind wreck requires hit-from-behind protocols to avoid, assuming there was enough time to avoid this one. Please don’t read the comments on this one, I’m used to stuff like this and they still turned my stomach. Particularly the comments from the user “civility”…

Not your typical bike wreck in Bermuda. Cyclist and motorcycle rider injured in collision; Warwick home burgled The injured in the wreck were 59 and 60 YO, not your typical motorcycle riders or bike riders. There is still no information as to the nature of the wreck, directions of travel &tc.

When they have a bicycle wreck in Nepal they don’t do it by halves. Two killed, 25 hurt Actually only one cyclist was killed, the other wreck with the fatality and the 25 injured was a bus driving over a cliff.

Last report in the Feed is a recall notice. CPSC Recall: Seattle Bike Supply recalled 200 Redline D640 bicycles This one could be very bad, the head tube of the frame can separate from the frame taking the fork with it, leading to a loss of control. If you own one of these bikes take it back to the retailer for a replacement frame as per the recall.

And that’s the entire Feed for today, I have to go do more Muggle stuff now.

Billed @$0.02, Opus

Another mild Feed

Yes we had another mild Feed today, with only 6 bicycle-related links, and one of those was not related to a wreck or infrastructure, with one other infrastructure article, so 4 wrecks or related to wrecks. That’s a Good Thing in my book.

Getting to the one that wasn’t a wreck or about infrastructure first, there was a bike-jacking in Daphne AL. Man shoots Eastern Shore teen in the arm, steals his bicycle, police say A bike thief with a gun, joy. Well if you’re too stupid to cut a chain or pick a lock then you have to steal them when they aren’t locked. I hope when they catch this guy they throw a couple of tons of books at him, but since he’s already 24 and still robbing kids on bicycles (with a gun) I don’t hold much hope that trying to educate the perp is going to help much, you can’t cure stupid. To avoid a similar situation, shoot back and aim center mass.

A situation that a little more experience and judgment on the part of the cyclist might have helped prevent. High school student on bike injured after hitting firetruck in Santa Rosa The cyclist was riding the wrong way in the bike lane and the firetruck had the flashers going and the backup alarm sounding and still the kid hit the firetruck. I am hopeful he learned something from this experience. I am also hopeful he continues to ride his bike with a greater appreciation of the safe way of doing so.

From Jolly Olde a bad wreck. Cyclist fighting for life after accident The driver was uninjured, joy.

They laid a cycling advocate to rest in Greenburgh, NY. Riders pay tribute to Greenburgh bicycle advocate killed in bus collision The best thing I can say about this wreck is it illustrates exactly what the guy was trying to tell people, that frequently the only option to get someplace by bicycle is to ride in traffic on high speed feeders and arterials because there are no other connecting routes. This is the same problem we have in Garland, the planning done in the 1970s and ’80s created superblocks that were only connected by arterials with 40-45MPH speed limits, and all the commercial development (grocery stores and other retail) was on those arterials. This is great as long as everyone has a car, not so great if people want to walk or ride a bicycle.

A NYC weekly complains about infrastructure that is supposed to protect cyclists from cars still being overrun by motor vehicles. Make bike lanes safe The wreck in question was on a protected bike lane that was commandeered by a garbage truck. An analogy would be herded animals on a freeway, they don’t belong there and create a hazard for those for whom the infrastructure was intended.

And finally if your bike is equipped with an Easton EA30 stem, stop riding it immediately (well, you might want to ride home very carefully and then park the bike) and contact your LBS about a replacement. Bicycles Recalled by Easton Sports; Stem Failure Poses Fall Hazard The stem was OEM and also available as an aftermarket replacement part, so be sure to check which stem came on your mountain or hybrid bike. I built the stem on Gigi myself, so I don’t have to worry about this recall, just the quality of my workmanship.

And that’s all I have for this morning.

Billed @$.02, Opus

Still sick but not much to report on

Yes, I’m still “feeling poorly” to use local vernacular, but there wasn’t much in the Feed this morning to report on, just an update on the Seattle cyclist hit by a van, and another article on that Mavic wheel recall. For those of you with R-SYS front wheels get thee hence to a LBS to swap out before you break your face. Seriously, there is no warning before the spokes give up and then you face plant.

The only other bicycle related article is one that was out of date when I got it, about a memorial ride for the cyclist killed in Seattle. Memorial ride for cyclist Thursday Turns out it was a candlelight vigil not a ride, the ride will be held at a later date. Just goes along with all the other mis-information that has dogged this wreck. Last I read the van driver was making a u-turn from the bike lane and did not see the bike passing in the main traffic lane, by her own words, but the police report still has the cyclist passing her on the left when she was in the left turn lane. That scenario doesn’t make sense, if she was in the left turn lane then the bike lane and the main traffic lane were available to pass the van. Somebody in LEO is fudging the facts…

And that’s all for today. I’ll drag myself out of bed again to post another report tomorrow, but not any sooner.

Billed @$.02, Opus

Ain’t this just ducky?

The morning Feed was thick and heavy, but had a very poor signal to noise ratio. Seriously, I’m so tired of wading through huge articles here the only search word that brings it into my inbox was that somewhere along the line someone in the article had an injury, or got killed.

I don’t know how recall notices made it into my Feed, but as peanut butter items are mainstays of cyclist nutrition I thought you should get a full list, or as full a list as possible. Recalls: cookie dough products, oil-fired furnaces If you bake your cookies from commercial dough instead of making from scratch then you need to read this recall.

Speaking of recalls they have one in the Great White North for suspension forks. Consumer Product Recalls This is an extension of the recall on Rock Shox forks in the US, and can prevent you from doing your George Hincappie 2004 Paris Roubaix wreck impersonation. You remember that one, where the fork broke and poor George was left holding handlebars not actually connected to his bike?

Another update on that story about the British MTB rider that ran into a truck. Injured professional cyclist: Helmet broke before ride started Yes I know this was almost identical to the update from yesterday, the Murky does a lot of cut-and-paste “journalism” only with more typos in the second and third generation copies. I don’t know how they manage to do that. Time for my (near) daily rant on helmets. Helmets do not prevent wrecks, never have, never will, don’t protect much where they cover and don’t protect at all where they don’t cover, and are the only PPE we have. Wear your helmet, because it is the best we have.

And a wreck that I don’t understand why it hasn’t resulted in arrest and assault charges. Young cyclist hit by SUV still in critical condition If I’m reading the article right the kid was on the opposite side of the street from the SUV, which crossed the street and hit him and then dragged him over 100 feet. From what I understand the kid wasn’t even rolling on the bike and was stopped at the stop sign. Arrest the driver, put him in jail for a long time, take his SUV and crush it, and never let him drive again. This was nothing less than assault with a deadly weapon on a minor.

And that’s the morning Feed. I’ll keep an eye on the Feed and update this blog as soon as I see them, because I have a drum jam to attend tonight.

Billed @$.02, Opus