Still cleanly poor not filthy rich, and the Feed

There were no winners in TX for the PowerBall jackpot, so I’m still a starving writer. At least I have a well-lighted garret with cats to keep my feet warm. I really would have liked to have a chunk of that money though.

Up first:

'I stay safe in the city by assuming everyone is an idiot', says cyclist (63) – Independent.ie https://t.co/f5d0ipfwpm via @Indo_LIFE

— Cycling Top News (@CyclingTopNews) January 15, 2016

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Truer words were seldom said.

The Big Story today comes from Oz, where a motorcycle cop assaults a cyclist on his bike because he wasn’t wearing a helmet. Motorbike cop ‘pushed’ cyclist to the ground after he allegedly ran red light and Police officer pushed cyclist off his bike in Sydney’s CBD, witnesses say Listen to the witness report, the cyclist was riding with the light when the motorcycle cop rode up from behind at a very low throttle and just shoved him off the bike right in front of the witness. No siren, no verbal warning to stop, just “putt putt putt wham!” and the cyclist going “WTF!?!” If there was anything the cop said that happened it happened outside the view and earshot of the witnesses.

Infrastructure news from America’s Copenhagen. After years of planning and compromises, 20s Bikeway is poised for construction I don’t know why but it always feels like the compromises are on the cyclists’ side.

More on the same general subject from the same location. TriMet projects on Orange Line path at SE 8th should improve cycling If only there was some process where actual users of the infrastructure could see and comment on a project before it’s built so that dangerous or annoying mistakes could be caught and fixed without having to tear out the mistakes, saving $$. Something like maybe an advisory committee of cyclists and pedestrians? Or would that make too much sense?

Our Daily Ted, part 1. Morning Links: Alleged drunk hit-and-run driver faces charges, and Che Garcetti leads urban streets revolution

Part 2. Describe Your Ride: What riding a bike can teach us about driving a car

Still in CA. Norwalk Man on Bicycle Killed in Traffic Collision in Downey The directions of travel say the cyclist got more than halfway across the intersection before the wreck. That is a strong indicator of a stale green as shown in the Google Earth view of the intersection which had what looks like 4 lanes for the cyclist to cross and a high speed limit on the street he was crossing.

Some good news, a killer driver was found guilty of killing a cyclist. UPDATE: Man who killed cyclist found guilty of criminally negligent homicide Part of me wants to do a happy dance, part of me is still sad because the cyclist died needlessly.

News from GA as someone “mansplains” why cyclists can’t use a park to get away from cars. Reader responds to News Cycle column on proposed Forsyth bike ban

More on the MD cyclist stabbed to death. Three Arrested for Murder of Cyclist I’m still waiting to hear of a reason why they stabbed the cyclist. Theft? Settling a score? Gang initiation? Attack of the Stoopids?

More infrastructure news. Blaming Pedestrians While Absolving the Streets That Kill Them There are 3 unmarked and 1 marked crosswalk at that intersection, one street can’t be crossed at all according to the LEO report and one can only be crossed on one side because that’s the marked crosswalk.

Speaking of an attack of the Stoopids, here’s a very public one by a MO legislator. Missouri Lawmaker Wants to Require Tall Fluorescent Flags for Cyclists Fifteen feet tall to be precise, or 2’6″ feet taller than trucks are allowed without an oversize vehicle permit. Illegal under Federal laws, so on any road built with Federal Funds the flags would have to be removed and then reinstalled when back on the lettered county roads.

Here’s more on my least-favorite form of bicycle infrastructure. Study: Sharrows Don’t Make Streets Safer for Cycling Sharrows work well on traffic-calmed streets with little motor vehicle traffic. But then not doing anything also works well on traffic-calmed streets with little motor vehicle traffic. So why waste the money on useless paint?

More infrastructure news. Why bike lanes make people mad

Here’s a Whiskey, Tango, Foxtrot moment from Jolly Olde. Hit-and-run driver stops to berate injured cyclist before driving off The driver apparently thought enforcing minor traffic infractions by assaulting the cyclist with his motor vehicle was perfectly reasonable.

WTF? part 2. Girl, 18, drank 5-and-a-half double vodkas before crashing car through roundabout No cyclists were harmed in the production of this link, though one did require a change of pants.

Back to Oz, two bikes go down in the same space. Cyclist treated for head injury after accident at The Spit, Mosman Sure they said the second cyclist went down aviding the first, but that just means the second didn’t have time to register that he would have gone down without the first cyclist to avoid. Regardless something made the first cyclist fall…

A wreck in Enn Zed. Car and cyclist collide The damages to the two vehicles involved look like the cyclist got hit after getting most of the way across the intersection and moving at a fair clip as the front wheel showed impact from the left and the front corner of the car showed impact but the main impact of the cyclist was in the center of the windshield. The intersection looks to have bike lanes on one street and a stop sign on the other.

E-assist bike news. Electric Bike Revolution Spinning Profits for Dutch Companies

How do you feel about going for a ride with Bono? Bono giving fans the chance to go bike riding with him in New York

Last link, do you need to ride more or… 10 Things Sex and Cycling Have in Common Do you get enough… bicycling?

Billed @$0.02, Opus

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My hands are freezing, and the Feed

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Billed @$0.02, Opus the Poet

I’m having back issues on Grocery Day, and the Feed

One of the problems I have been dealing with besides the thing growing on my neck has been walking around with both shoes the same, like a person who doesn’t have 17mm missing from one leg. Well that didn’t work after the wreck, and it doesn’t work now. I can withstand not having the lifted left shoe for a few days, but we are coming up on a couple of months since I ruined my old shoes coming back from the property hearing on Blue. The results are quite predictable, I have been walking around with a sever pelvic tilt and the part of my back on the up side of the tilt had been trying to go into spasm more and more frequently, and it gets worse on days I spend more time walking or standing, standing being much worse than walking. I have had to take several breaks today from filtering the Feed to lie down and let the spasms settle down a bit, then get back to work. In fact I should probably take a break right now as my back does not take kindly to sitting hunched over the laptop either.

Up first is a memorial for a cyclist killed down in Austin. Multiple communities mourn cyclist’s death Another left-cross with idiot LEO dilly-dallying about filing charges. This is another reason why I don’t do wreck analysis these days, because stuff like this just raises my blood pressure to no good ends.

Next because this has been burning up the Internets, multiple links to the Russian cyclist sideswiped by a tanker truck making an illegal pass. Unbelievable helmet cam footage shows the moment a Russian cyclist is struck by a 40ft lorry and LIVES and Cyclist riding down middle of road wiped out by truck very misleading headline, that, and Watch moment cyclist is thrown from bike in horrifying motorway crash with lorry The driver in this wreck was driving in the exit-only lane as the cyclists rode in the furthest right through lane, then the truck drove straight through passing on the right after crossing the “do not drive here” markings for the exit-only lane.The cyclists (all of them) are very lucky to have survived this one.

Great minds think alike? Don’t make bicyclists more visible. Make drivers stop hitting them. How many times have I posted exactly the same words here in my blog? I have lost count.

And to top that off, the VERY next link in the feed is about the glow-in-the-dark spray paint mentioned in the WP link. Volvo launches Life Paint initiative to improve cyclist safety in the UK This is like mandating women wear ever stronger chastity belts to prevent rape without ever prosecuting rapists. Except chastity belts have a finite chance of actually working to prevent rapes, making cyclists more visible won’t work unless there is someone looking for a cyclist out the front of the car in the direction the car is going. That would require LEO to file charges and prosecutors to actually prosecute them. More on the reaction from Oz. Volvo LifePaint: cycling safety trial product causes controversy

Some good news from NYC for a change. 2014 Was The Most Popular Year For Bicycling In NYC Now to do something about the door-zone bike lanes before they kill again?

And this little tidbit makes my heart all a-flutter. Bike Theft On The Rise In NYC Palpations are the same as “all a-flutter”, right? Anywho, the proposed enhanced fines for stealing bikes are a step in the right distraction. And yes, I spelled that right… My take is remotely detonated bike frames keyed to the owner’s cell phone. Pull up the app, enter the detonate code and the bike frame turns into a pipe bomb.

And rare unanimity between cyclists and the NYPD. Cyclists & NYPD Agree: A Cell Phone Bike Ban Is Dumb Aside from last year’s statistical outlier of 2 fatal bike/ped wrecks bicycles are very safe around pedestrians, and even if all you went by was last year they are still very safe around pedestrians, by a ratio of 50:1 in favor of cyclists. Best line from the article: “There isn’t a mandatory class for motorists who kill and maim New Yorkers. Why should we start with cyclists? It’s motorists who need a reeducation.” Amen.

I was not the only person who thought this sentence was grossly out of whack. Prosecutor appeals sentence in fatal cyclist crash Kudos to the prosecutor.

Why does the driver waste everyone’s time by pleading not guilty? Grief follows cyclist’s death as suspect charged They pulled him from the weapon vehicle with the victim’s blood still on it, and his BAC was 0.108 81 minutes after the wreck. You’re guilty dude, admit it and take your punishment.

Another ad for on-board video recorders for bicycles. Man seriously injured, but sheriff’s office doesn’t know how “They just didn’t think he would have all those skull fractures just by crashing his bike” Apparently the injuries were in a part of the head that would be hard to injure in a fall-off-the-bike wreck?

Another ad for getting better reports on bike wrecks. Make This Woman’s Cracked Bicycle Helmet Count The broken helmet was enough property damage to trigger the report, but how many wrecks don’t get reported? The one where I knocked the mirror off the truck with my elbow sure as hell didn’t. It would have been nice to have a name to put to that driver and compare it to the name of the guy that sold Blue to the pawn shop.

Here’s yesterday’s Daily Ted. Morning Links: Driver arraigned in death of Matt Liechty; ribbon cutting planned for bike-friendly PCH in the ‘Bu There is a link to one of the people working the second edition of Finish the Ride that is really inspiring.

And here is today’s Daily Ted. Morning Links: El Monte rider victim of vicious attack, hit-and-run rewards passed, and why sharrows don’t work Sharrows are the abstinence-only sex ed of bicycle infrastructure, never proven to work, but they still keep getting thrown out there like they do.

And still in CA a little lifestyle as a bridge is named for a cyclist. Humble Cyclist Memorialized

This monstrosity is from the son of the man who gave us the C5 and the doorstop computer. Crispin Sinclair Innovation Launches World’s Safest Bicycle, the Babel Bike I would say this bike is lacking a few things, but the steel tube cage would be a handy place to mount a coroplast body and a string of Christmas tree lights. People I know who have crashed a coroplast faired bike tell me the bodywork goes a long way in preventing injury when sliding over pavement and spreads out impact somewhat, especially compared to Spandex shorts and a jersey.

The UK’s professional traffic engineers are starting to revolt over bad infrastructure. Profession reacts: make London safer for cyclists I still think that the people who back in 2012 voted down fixing the intersection where the cyclist was killed this year need to be charged in the death.

And I’m out of links.

Billed @€0.02, Opus the Poet