Yay! food again and the Feed

Yep, time to buy groceries again. Still trying to figure out how to stop doing this “eating” thing so we don’t have to keep dipping into savings to pay bills. Eventually savings will run out. I may have to start taking the laptop to the library and using the free WiFi and drop cable, phone, and Internet at the house. That would be a drag, but workable as I seldom watch anything except racing, and not much of that lately. Mrs. the Poet would probably have a harder time of it than I would, but once she got over her Pat Sajak and Vanna White withdrawal she would live over it.

Up first is massive schadenfreude unrelated to bicycles or infrastructure. Kentucky Clerk Kim Davis Taken Into Custody She can be held up to 30 days after the expiration of her term if she does not allow her staff to issue marriage licences. I’m reminded of a Fleetwood Mac lyric, the second verse to “Oh Well”. I will leave looking up that lyric to the reader as I have already devoted too much space to this waste of skin.

The first bike story isn’t all that big and seems to be the same report from two different outlets of the same media company. Cyclist hurt in Southborough crash Yep, exact same report, just a different URL. So, no second link.

Our Daily Ted. Morning Links: Avoiding bike/car collisions, too much bike theft news, and new bike coffee shop in DTLA

More on the trio of cyclists hit by a distracted driver in AL. Cyclist urges everyone to share the road after recent death of fellow rider in Blount County Back channel says serious criminal charges are pending against the driver in that wreck, if they can get past the grand jury.

More on the VA pair hit at twilight with no lights on their bikes. Fairfax police identify man killed after he was hit while riding a bike Unfortunately LEO never enforce the Basic Speed Law.

Portland doesn’t know how lucky they have things. Lane blockage on SW Stark presents a different kind of bike commute ‘challenge’ Here in the Beautiful Suburbs of Hell we don’t have people parking in bike lanes that aren’t there.

Bike wreck in MN. Montgomery Remembers 8-year-old Killed Following Sunday Bike Accident Single bike wreck that a helmet may have made non-fatal had the victim been wearing one.

Hit-from-behind in MI. Man killed after being struck on bicycle Nothing on anything about this wreck except they haven’t charged the operator of the weapon vehicle yet.

We can’t get the mayor out of his car here, but that’s a different story. Here’s what happened when Mayor Hales biked to work for the first time I seriously think that every elected local official should have to interact with all of the infrastructure they are responsible for using the mode that infrastructure was intended for and then a mode that it wasn’t intended for but that has to use that infrastructure anyway, like crossing a busy street without marked crosswalk, or riding an arterial street with no bike lanes.

Now we segue to NYC traffic idiocy. SUV Driver Runs Over 4-Year-Old Girl In Brooklyn, No Charges Filed “No criminality suspected.”

Another cyclist is killed just a few blocks and few days away from another high-profile fatal bike wreck. Bicyclist struck, killed in west Modesto Salmon cyclist hit by a blind driver, we are talking about wrong² in this wreck. Obviously don’t ride salmon and get out in the lane where you can be seen to avoid a similar wreck.

A little UK infrastructure news. Calls for London’s safer lorries scheme to be applied nationwide It is appalling that death machines are allowed such free rein on the streets of the UK.

Infrastructure news from Oz. The tab heading is better than the headline. Our cities need to future-proof infrastructure to cater for those using alternative forms of transport Cyclists are awesome and this is why we need bike paths

Maybe we don’t really need Google Car. Adjustments in Already Available Auto Technology Could Reduce Frequency of Auto Bike Collisions I have a slight quibble with people who start suggesting “adjustments” that are complete reworks of the code used to run the hardware and require major research and development to get the new code right. When the only similarities between the two systems are one sensor and the CPU.

I have been debating for at least 10 minutes which order these last two links should go. I tossed a coin. Brompton CEO Will Butler-Adams on why the future of the foldable bike is electric A folding bike would probably be a good option on this train when the racks are full. Rolling onto Amtrak’s Capitol Limited Note that this paragraph would be equally intelligible no matter which link was first.

And I’m done, and I want to lay down and let the kinks unwind.

Billed @€0.02, Opus the Poet

Ghisallo! it was a hot day to be out walking, and the Feed

In case you are wondering, the Lady Ghisallo is my personal feminine deity, a pre-Roman mountain goddess whose worship survived mostly intact at least into the 8th Century in the mountains north of Rome, when a nobleman set upon by bandits retreated into one of Her temples and was granted sanctuary by the bandits, who respected Her temple. The noble was so impressed by the devotion shown by the bandits that he lobbied the Vatican to declare her a Madonna or a Pagan mother of Jesus. This was the same way that Bridget became St. Bridget in Ireland, couldn’t stomp her out so she was made a part of the church. She is a protector of travellers and the RC patroness of cyclists.

And the reason I was out wandering in this heat was I had to change my phone provider, so that I could upgrade my phone to something smarter. And in the process I got a better plan, unlimited texts and calls, with 1 GB of 4G LTE data and unlimited 3G data, none of which I touch while connected via WiFi like I am now while listening to a 10 hour Derpygroove video while composing this post. whoops I got an ad in the middle of the first go around of the song so now I’m listening to Plastic Beach from the Gorillaz. I’m still learning how to use the phone so there may be interruptions in the composing of the post.

Up first, just like the Energizer Bunny, he keeps going and going… Brian Koonz: Marine loses legs, finds strength in bike ride across America And going and going… Keep on trucking Marine dood. Is it just my imagination or has his chest gotten bigger since he left Sandy Eggo?

Normally these two-wheeled modes are not in conflict with each other. BICYCLIST, MOTORCYCLE RIDER CRITICALLY INJURED IN NORTHWEST SIDE CRASH and Bicyclist, motorcyclist injured in Old Irving Park crash this too Bicyclist Injured In Crash With Motorcycle In Old Irving Park [UPDATED] As I read the reports now, the guy on the motorcycle was speeding and hit the cyclist from behind, causing both to go down hard. No word on how the two conflicted because there is plenty of room for both modes to share that stretch of street unless the motorcyclist was excessive speeding.

Still in the Windy City a drunk driver who killed a cyclist while driving 50 MPH on a city street with a 0.127 BAC% will not face one of the many charges against him because expensive defense lawyer. Driver Who Killed Cyclist Bobby Cann In Alleged DUI Won’t Face Homicide Charges According to the comments this was one of the lesser charges and since IL doesn’t “stack” sentences it wouldn’t have made much difference in how long he stays in prison.

Another cyclist hit by a drunk driver in NYC. Cyclist In Critical Condition After Getting Hit By Allegedly Drunk Driver In Long Island City and Cyclist Seriously Hurt in Collision With Car Near Queens Plaza, FDNY Says The pictures pretty much tell the story, drunk driver (and passenger?) hit cyclist from behind because nobody was paying attention to what was in front of the vehicle…

More on that CO dump truck driver hitting and killing a cyclist while passing illegally. Dump truck driver charged for fatal cyclist crash The cyclist was killed because the driver literally could not wait for the 20 seconds it would take to clear the bridge and pass safely. Hang the driver. And possibly a few of the people leaving comments on the article. Gigi would love the “Stoopid and H8” there.

Our Daily Ted. Morning Links: Busting on Beverly Hills and its San Diego soulmates, and a Chitown writer busts on bikes

Meanwhile in eastern WA. Cyclist found dead on State Route 2 near Leavenworth I like whoever is running this investigation. Dead cyclist beside the road, suspect a hit-and-run.

And in Seattle. Cyclist’s Helmet Cam Captures Moment SUV Hits Him Then Speeds Away That was a scary wreck.

Another link to the ride for a cyclist killed winning the “door prize”. Patricia Keenan, P.E.I. cyclist killed in B.C. crash, honoured at rally

I would like to see our state level politicians doing a city-to-city ride, just to see what it’s like to use the built environment. Duceppe, Peladeau kick off 100-km pre-election bike ride through Quebec

Bad infrastructure link of the day. NZTA abandons cycle safe trial after a day I think someone needs to read that CROW manual again. Bike lanes on either side and a single car lane is for 20 MPH speed zones or slower.

Better, but still crap. Is Vision Zero Skimping On Bike Lanes? There is too much real estate devoted to storage of private motor vehicles. One lane of parking should go for a decent bike lane protected by parking.

Dangerous crap. NYC’s Most Dangerous Area for Cyclists Is Fort Greene-Clinton Hill

More UK crap infrastructure, systemic this time. Calls for action to halt rise in cyclist casualties

I think I have run out of links (checks, nothing on the other window except a Twitter Feed) Yep, all gone.

Billed @€0.02, Opus the Poet

Busy night tonight, and the Feed

I will take a break in composing the post today to go to a function at my church while I wait for all the links to come in. Some of you may know that I wait until after midnight to get the last update from the Feed before I finish composing the post, but usually there are only a link or two to stuff into the mostly-finished post so it just takes a little while to come up with the deathless prose that surrounds the link (if I am an “unkillable badass” then I can write “deathless prose”, unkillable badasses can write any damn thing they want 😉 ) check the links for functional HTML and proofread the other words and wallah! Post is done.

Another reward in South TX for yet another hit-and-run driver. Reward offered in hit-and-run death of cyclist

More on federal prodding of local officials to make the built environment compatible with human beings outside of motor vehicles. U.S. Transportation Chief Urges Mayors to Make Pedestrians a Priority The one thing wrong in the article is ascribing the decrease in people getting killed inside motor vehicles to “fewer crashes” when the reality is crashes are also up, it’s just that as the 2006 crash standard of “hit a steel-faced concrete barrier at 35 MPH and every door has the operable and anyone inside the vehicle has to be able to get out of the car unassisted and walk away” has propagated deeper into the existing fleet as older vehicles are retired for whatever reasons. This video shows how much newer cars do to protect the occupants. So does this video with an older “new” car and a slightly younger “old car”. The “new” car was a generation older in that video than in the first video and you can see the previous generation did not have the same requirement to be able to open the doors after the wreck.

Our Daily Ted. Morning Links: The wages of road rage sin, bike thieves get busy (and get caught), and how car wrecks happen Enjoy!

More on the UK cyclist ripped off while on the deck semi-conscious after getting hit. ‘Disgraceful’ thief takes £1,700 bike after rider is hit by car and YEP Says, January 22: A cyclist lying in the road? Great, let’s steal his bike

South Dakota decides to get ahead of Texas in bicycle laws. Lawmakers Consider Bicycle Passing Bill This is almost identical to the bill vetoed by Perry here in TX back in 2009. Some day I hope all his actions detrimental to my health and safety come back on him. I lost count of how many bills he vetoed and federal programs he decided not to participate in…

Similar law with bigger teeth being proposed in the most deadliest state in the US to walk or ride a bike. The birth of a bill to protect cyclists, walkers This bill includes aspects of the L.A. CA cyclist anti-harassment law, only with a bigger bite, and defines where a cyclist may “take the lane” more precisely.

More from FL, this time about physical infrastructure that has demonstrated several times needs to be upgraded. Cyclist’s death in Key Biscayne spotlights needed road protections The next cyclist hit from behind in the bike lane needs to sue the county for failing to put up a barrier between the drunks at freeway speeds and the cyclists after having several demonstrations of need. I notice there is no way to add comments to this article… More Increased Police Presence On Rickenbacker In Wake Of Cyclist’s Death and Bicyclists Push For Safety Plan Following Rickenbacker Causeway Death

Eye-witness account of just how bad FL is for riders from an outside perspective. SWFL’s dangerous roads an eye-opener for bike specialist I wonder if SYG applies to people threatening cyclists with motor vehicles? Because that is a threat with a deadly weapon brandished which when the deadly weapon is a knife or club permits use of deadly force…

And sometimes the legal infrastructure works, even in FL. Man charged in Christmas Eve hit-and-run crash that injured cyclist One of the major factors in this wreck was the cyclist remained conscious and was able to give LEO a good description of the weapon vehicle.

WA decides that it’s cheaper to allow bikes to run broken traffic lights than it is to make every light detect cyclists every time. SB 5438 – Updating State Law to Accommodate for Faulty Traffic Signal Detection

And a judge in the other Washington (the one chock full of parasites) decides that a cyclist hit from behind was a victim of a lawbreaking driver, not contributing to the wreck just by being there. DC JUDGE UPHOLDS THREE FOOT LAW; CASE HIGHLIGHTS NEED FOR CONTRIB REFORM

Even Oz is starting to get the message on passing clearance. South Australian motorists will have to leave at least a 1m gap when overtaking cyclists and riding on footpaths will be permitted under proposed laws backed by Premier Jay Weatherill. and New Laws Will Force SA Drivers To Leave A One-Metre Gap Between Their Car And Cyclists When Overtaking

Turns out it was more than just rural roads that were paved first by cyclists. Cyclists in corsets built NYC’s roads

Some UK students had some practical experience with their first-aid classes. Students go to the aid of injured cyclist

A car breaks the cordon for a bike race and collides with one of the racers and the racer got the ticket? Race marshall: Cyclist not to blame for crash If I’m reading the article right this was not the first car to break the cordon while bicycles were on the course.

Lifestyle events in the other LA. Two fundraising events raise awareness for bike safety WoaB says this might be a good ride if you are in the area.

What do fracking for natural gas and dead cyclists have in common? Leaders: Murphy’s law on fracking | Cyclist’s rage Turns out they are both tricky legal questions that are being heavily pursued by a Scottish politician.

And I finally ran out of links after finally getting back from services at church that I totally did not expect to be tonight. I honestly thought the Uster service for the Sumerians was going to be on Saturday just like all the other Sumerian services, silly me.

Billed @€0.02, Opus the Poet

Mrs. the Poet’s retirement has made for her keeping me from working, and the Feed

I love my wife, I really do. BUUUT (very long “uh” sound there) she refuses to acknowledge what I do as “work” and is constantly telling me to stop “playing on the computer” and do what she wants me to do, basically denying the validity of what I do. I do not know what to say about this, especially at the time she says it because of my aphasia not leaving me with the vocabulary to respond. Sure I sound all glib and insightful in the blog, because I have the time to stop and think about it, lower my stress levels by meditating, and allow the words to flow out of my fingers bypassing my mouth. The process in and of itself is much less stressful than trying to actually speak with my wife making a rejoinder to a comment she made. As a result I’m frequently unable to respond with anything more cogent to her “playing on the computer” remarks with anything more than “Go away, I’m working here!”

Up first, the lowlife scum that hit a Miami cyclist with his vehicle so hard that the roof was collapsed around the driver’s head and then left claiming he “didn’t know” he had hit anyone violated his parole. Driver in Fatal Hit-and-Run Crash on the Rickenbacker Causeway Heading to Prison After Probation Violation and Driver Guilty In Cyclist’s Death Sentenced To Prison For Probation Violation When I saw one link I was thinking they were really looking to violate this guy, but then I read another link that said he had been checking in with Foursquare at bars and clubs, places he was not supposed to be and in violation of his parole, so he basically violated himself on this one. I hope he has a life-affirming moment in prison and never drives again. I was going to type something else, but then I stopped to think “Is what I want vengeance against this one idiot, or do I want a cultural change that keeps idiots like this from being able to hurt people because they lack the means to hurt people?” And I have to say that while vengeance against that idiot would make me feel better for a little while, making it so that idiots like him can’t hurt people would make me feel a lot better in the long run.

Next a little lifestyle from a little south of the Beautiful Suburbs of Hell. Round Rock memorial bike ride honors avid cyclist Killed in a wreck very much like mine in many respects, just trying to get where he was going and make a living.

Our Daily Ted. Morning Links: Awkward cycle track in Marina, PCH closed at Point Magu, fight North Fig parking at City Hall

Trying to change the legal infrastructure in the land of the automobile. California Bicycle Coalition Announces Its 2015 Legislative Agenda

CA riders remember a fellow rider killed on an epic ride in OR. Riders finish avid cyclist’s last journey

Still in CA, I would love to see drivers held to the same standards as cyclists when motor vehicle infrastructure is discussed. Dick Spotswood: Marin bike lobby’s political clout is slipping Really, not another freeway or even a pothole filled until drivers stop speeding, running red lights, turning right on red through crowded crosswalks, driving on sidewalks to get around people stopped a red lights…

So, what about people who don’t have smart phones, like me? Tech solution for “dead red” lights

Bicycle advocacy in America’s Amsterdam. Guest Article: Four things BikeLoudPDX has learned in their campaign for SE Clinton

They’re starting to learn lessons from the Netherlands. Cycling reduces the death toll on our roads…

OK I don’t know if you will be able to read this or not, but if you can’t copy and paste the headline into a Google search and read it from there. There is at least one city determined to not kill it’s citizens. A Plan to Limit Cars in Paris Collides With French Politics

Another e-assist article. Bultaco Brinco Is a Really Interesting E-Bike, but Not Exactly Cheap I used to have a ‘taco motor in my shifter kart… I don’t think this one would work the same. I like that the pedelec mode has a 100 km range, but I’m thinking there isn’t much assist in that mode. I built a bike with a lot smaller battery that had almost that range but used a constant pedal cadence mode and powered cranks. It is somewhere in the garage which means archeologists will be the next people to see it. At least I hope it’s in the garage. If it isn’t that means I had another bike stolen and I won’t even be able to give the police an exact year, much less a time of day…

And those were all the links I could find today, enjoy!

Billed @€0.02, Opus the unkillable badass Poet

Cyclist running red light t-bones family car and walks away from fiery wreck that leaves 5 dead, and the Feed

Everyone knows that “headline” is pure BS fantasy, right? Not even The Onion would post an article that stupid, but I get people searching for it who get sent to this blog… So I thought since they get sent here anyway, I would give them something to find and here it is: YOU’RE A BLOOMING IDIOT! The only mode of ground transport less deadly than riding a bicycle (to all other modes) is walking, and given the number of cyclists who die each year from getting knocked off their bikes by pedestrians it is almost tied. Cyclists kill very few pedestrians, and pedestrians kill very few cyclists. It’s the elephant in the room that nobody wants to talk about most of the time that is the big killer, motor vehicles. Of course around here we talk about it all the time… Anyway, that should draw a few clicks to the site, and spread the word about bicycle safety.

Another link to that semi hitting a cyclist riding on the shoulder of a NM highway. Cyclist dies in crash near Three Rivers on Saturday Same basic report, cyclist was riding in the shoulder when he “got tapped” by the semi and fell under the front wheel. Problem is there isn’t enough room between the front bumper and the front tire for that to happen. So, either there was some kind of spatial anomaly following the truck around, or the driver ran off the road and right over the cyclist. I still haven’t seen any crime scene pictures so I can’t even speculate what caused LEO to make such an outrageous statement.

A north GA cyclist is wondering “what happened” after going on a bike ride and waking up in a hospital with multiple broken bones. Bob Richards seeks answer to cycling mystery I’m in the “buzz job” camp myself, but all the cyclist’s injuries were to the right side of the body, the tell-tale bruise to the back of the left arm wasn’t found or if found was not reported.

Another salmon cyclist is killed in the most deadliest state in the US to walk or ride a bicycle. FHP: Cyclist hit by SUV dies in St. Johns County OK there is just so much “wrong” in this report I hardly know where to start… But yeah, don’t ride salmon for starters. Second drainage that leaves the bike lanes free of standing or moving water would be a help. Or just get the infrastructure “up to Dutch” in the first place.

A cyclist is seriously injured on the eastern side of the Great White North. Cyclist seriously injured in hit-and-run collision in N.B. and Cyclist seriously injured in hit and run in Berry Mills OK another salmon. That’s the first mistake. Second is infrastructure that apparently created a barrier to bicycle navigation with the highway that the cyclist thought using the highway was the best way to get around the obstruction. So don’t ride salmon to begin with, and get the infrastructure “up to Dutch” at least as far as getting bicycles over, across, or around whatever the cyclist took to the highway to get over, across, or around.

Not quite blaming the driver of the truck for the death, but yeah the guy driving the truck killed the girl. Cyclist Mathilde Blais’s death was avoidable: Coroner Notice the coroner didn’t state outright that the truck driver was the problem or place all blame on the driver, but mentioned that not moving over to the empty lane on the left was the primary cause of death.

Drunken hit-and-run in South Africa. Cyclist crushed but driver speeds off Drunks that leave the scene of an injury wreck should never be allowed to drive again. Drunks that leave the scene of a fatal wreck should never be allowed to breathe again. I’m still fond of the idea of running them and their cars through a car shredder on live TV with a camera inside the car.

And more of the flood of press surrounding the second person to die after getting hit by a bicycle this decade in NYC. Wall Street Cyclists Reassess Need for Speed After Death The cyclist’s GPS recorded a speed of 28.9 MPH shortly before the wreck or more than 6 MPH slower than required to get a speeding ticket in NYC (or about anyplace else), and more pedestrians died from motor vehicle wrecks in NYC since the wreck than have been killed by cyclists in NYC since the turn of the century. Remember that elephant in the room I mentioned at the top of the post? The one nobody else will talk about? Here is another article ignoring the elephant while screaming at the mouse.

And those were all the links about bicycles I could find.

Billed @€0.02, Opus the unkillable badass Poet

It’s finally HERE!! and the Feed

Yeah, I am a little excited now, if I was physically capable I would be doing the Snoopy dance now. I’m in the process of uploading the pictures from my phone to my computer and thence to the media center for this blog as I’m composing this part of the post. Fortunately I’m near the end of my phone month so I won’t wipe out my data limit for too long. Not that I do anything with the data part of my plan except send pictures to myself to post on the blog anyway, but there are a lot of pictures this time. The main thing this does for me is I now have the ability to create an accurate 3D model of the body for the cosmetic portion of the sim file, and for the CAD program to use for planning the frame.

It’s here!!

All the best presents come strapped to a pallet.

In the driveway.

Fra-geel-eh, must be from Italy

First peek.

Freed from the box.

In the house

Everyone needs a car body in their living room.

What was in the other box, or the rest of my B-day present to myself.

How it fits. Mrs. the Poet is not the world’s best photographer.

The body was delivered covered in sanding dust and dried mold release, which I wiped off with a damp rag before sitting in it, after using the vacuum cleaner to suck up the piles of it in the various crevices of the body.

Up first is an update on a wreck a half-day’s ride east of WoaB World HQ in the Beautiful Suburbs of Hell. Exclusive: Cyclist hit by SUV speaks out The article pretty much speaks for itself.

Hit-from-behind in AZ. Tucson hit-and-run kills cyclist; woman arrested Cyclist was hit from behind in a bike lane and then left for dead, charge that driver with murder. Obviously this is a serious infrastructure problem, because bicycle infrastructure done to the Dutch model keeps bikes away from motor vehicles as much as possible.

Wreck in CO is blamed on the victim. Denver Police: 10-year-old girl riding bike hit by car in Stapleton That’s interesting, the first version of the report blamed the cyclist for “swerving”, but the updated version doesn’t blame anybody and leaves the mode of the wreck out of the report.

A WY wreck has some interesting geometry. Man injured in car-bicycle crash early today in Riverton on Webbwood Road The narrative and the damages to the weapon vehicle suggest a hit-from-behind wreck, but the damages to the bike show more sideways damage than hit-from-behind damage, as do the resting points for the bike and the victim. They suggest the weapon vehicle was moving at an angle to the cyclist as if the driver swerved suddenly as he passed the cyclist. Notice the damage to the front wheel only with the rest of the bike looking pretty good, but the driver is claiming the sun was in his eyes so it will probably be an “accident”

Kill a cyclist, get a ticket? in OR. Pickup driver in Tillamook County crash that killed cyclist won’t face criminal charges So, only careless operation of a weapon of mass destruction?

Another hit-from-behind wreck in the Great White North. 62-year-old cyclist killed near Alexandria identified The shoulder of a road is not bicycle infrastructure. Protocols to avoid or reduce damages, and get the infrastructure “up to Dutch” to prevent.

Still in the GWN a wreck with no mode listed. Friends, neighbours mourn 62-year-old cyclist killed in South Glengarry Well, it has been established the cyclist knew what he was doing there, but the same can’t be said about the driver of the weapon vehicle.

Lots from the Great White North today as a cyclist left-crosses herself. Guelph cyclist injured and facing charges following a collision north of downtown Intersection protocols to avoid or reduce damages, and getting that infrastructure “up to Dutch” would prevent cyclists from sharing a traffic light phase with motor vehicles.

Our Daily Ted. Don’t miss this weekend’s most exciting bike event — the Huntington Park Gran Prix This looks like pure D fun.

Opening the Infrastructure! news with this tidbit from WA. Rules of the road: reducing stress for cyclists and drivers I like the bit about drivers needing to chill about things that are not only legal but required for cyclist safety.

And speaking about chilling out… Diane Savino: “Hey, Find a F—ing Bike Lane and Get in It” If I had Danny MacAskills’ skills I could ride in an NYC bike lane. Assuming I could tell it was there under all the parked cars…

Back to the left coast with this bit of infrastructure. Motorists ticketed if driving within 3 feet of cyclists

Infrastructure from the UK. Cycling deaths and serious injuries down in 2013, says DfT They’re running out of cyclists… 😛

Different part of the UK. Series of cyclist deaths spurs on road campaigners

And those are all the applicable links and pictures for today.

Billed @€0.02, Opus the unkillable badass Poet

Back to the old composing page, and the Feed

As much as I like the streamlined look of the new composing page there is just too much missing from it for me to continue to use it. Automatic if you guys are paying attention we need to make getting to the classic composing page as easy as getting to the stripped-down new page. I don’t mind the missing tools as much as I mind that the new page strips out components of the site when I use it, or at least strips out components of the site when I access the site since I don’t know what other people’s experience is like. When I use the classic compose I get access to the share button so that I can send this to all the FB pages I have admin status for (not something I do every day, but something I do sometimes to specific pages that the post would be welcome at), but when I use the new page the share button is gone. This is not acceptable.

Also I spent an exciting hour watching Jens Voigt ride a bicycle in circles. #Shutuplegs indeed.

Up first, while I love being able to look at a crime scene picture and establish a narrative of the events leading up to that crime scene picture, I hate being right in this case. Cops: Audi on wrong side as bicycle hit The fact that the cyclist was hit on the passenger side of a vehicle driving on the wrong side of the road (and sources I can’t link to tell me he was riding in the right hand side of the lane) point to the fact that the cyclist literally had no place to go to avoid the wreck.

I REALLY want to see how CA LEO go about not giving any kind of ticket or anything to the driver in this report. Bicyclist dies after being struck on Freeport Boulevard Two cyclists, one killed in the bike lane, and less than 24 hours after a new law making hitting a cyclist from behind a mandatory fine of nearly $1K went into effect with great hoopla. I mean c’mon, he was hit in the bike lane, if that is not “unsafe pass” personified I don’t know what would be. Hit-from behind protocols to avoid, and enforce the legal infrastructure to prevent. Or install physical infrastructure that’s “up to Dutch”.

A wreck in NV. Cyclist killed in North Las Vegas crash identified and NLV Cyclist killed in intersection was at fault The thing that always bothers me about these wrecks is was the cyclist caught by a stale green? Or in other words did the cyclist enter an intersection with the green light and just not have enough time to clear it before cross traffic started moving, but with the pictures of the weapon vehicle and the bike I think that’s not the case with this wreck. The bike is so badly mangled that determining of the bike had working brakes at the time of the wreck is pretty much impossible unless the brake cables have heavy corrosion indicating they had been disconnected for some time. So I’m going to have to go with NLV LEO on this wreck because there is no doubt the cyclist ran the red into traffic. Why he ran the red is another question entirely, not in my pay grade.

More on the “great guy” that was drinking and stoned when he killed a cyclist in NM. Suspect in cyclist’s death appears in court Interesting that the driver has two previous assault charges in the past 3 years. Also interesting is the second charge has not been adjudicated yet when he was arraigned for this charge.

The most deadliest state in the US to walk or ride a bike tries to take out another cyclist. Cyclist critically injured in crash with Jeep in DeLand Another SWSS wreck with LEO accepting every word from the driver as absolute gospel. Protocols and Dutch quality infrastructure, and less gullible LEO, to prevent.

A PA cyclist collides with a stationary construction vehicle. Cyclist injured after crashing into truck in Murrysville No I can’t figure it out either. I have no pictures of the bike, and the picture I had yesterday of the truck is 404 now. I can tell you it was a Really Big Truck, about as large a vehicle as can be driven on the roads without permits and pilot vehicles, so I have no idea why the cyclist could not avoid it. Just pure speculation is that he might have been run off the road and into the truck but without some kind of witness to say one way or another I can’t say. I wish the cyclist a speedy recovery.

A deadly wreck in MA. Authorities Investigating Fatal Bike Accident in Malden, Massachusetts The cyclist was apparently having a medical emergency when he fell off the sidewalk under the garbage truck. This is a wreck that could be prevented with infrastructure, but in reality without universal medical care this would just result in the man dying someplace else from whatever medical emergency he was having when the truck ran him over. More Man struck, killed in Malden garbage truck accident

A spectacular wreck in the Great White North results in no injury for the cyclist. Cyclist not injured in supper-hour crash Intersection wreck that apparently the cyclist used the intersection protocols in to completely escape harm while scaring the driver half to death. Get that infrastructure “up to Dutch” to prevent. Note to the cyclist, if you’re a reader could you post a comment and tell us how you managed to avoid getting hurt.

Apparently the right hook is not illegal in Canada, just be aware of that. No charges laid in collision that killed cyclist in Dartmouth

From the UK a taxi hit a cyclist and a pedestrian and I feel bad for the taxi driver, and if that doesn’t get you to click the link I don’t know what will. Taxi driver critically ill in hospital after crashing into cyclist and pedestrian outside Old Bailey

A cyclist in Oz wins a minor “door prize” Trigger Warning! Bike rider says she could’ve been killed when doored on Brisbane road

Interesting Infrastructure! news from CA. Dick Spotswood: Bike path accident leads to calls for bikes to slow down I keep asking if the MUP speed limit is faster or slower than the CA school zone speed limit but I never get an answer.

More infrastructure news from CA. Olympic cyclist sues over the death of his wife, Debra Deem This is about the free right turn lane that allows drivers to make right turns without slowing down.

More on the CA enacting of the 3-feet-to-pass law. Three-foot buffer law for cyclists now in effect

Until we can get every state and city to adopt the CROW manual (still only €90!) We will need lots of these guys. Bike Scholarship Winner Saw Cyclist Fatally Injured Not that every bike lawyer needs to watch someone die, just that we need lawyers who have skin in the game to stand up for us.

Infrastructure news from the Great White North. Sister of woman killed in bike accident wants more protection for cyclists Hey I didn’t say it was good news, just news. This is a response to that other article about the woman right hooked in Dartmouth.

I don’t find these “jokes” funny, do you? Why do we still hear people joke about hitting cyclists?

Lifestyle in NC. Des Ark’s Aimée Argote plans memorial bike ride Friday night Seeing someone killed riding a bike changes you. Especially if that someone is you, but don’t tell anyone I said that. And Cyclists ask motorists to share the roadways

Our Daily Ted. Morning Links: The impact of CA’s new three-foot passing law; bike-friendly Brentwood poet passes away

And those were all the links I could find yesterday (this has been a Very Long Day).

Billed @€0.02, Opus the unkillable badass Poet

Late start to the blog, busy day, and the Feed

First off let me apologize for letting my personal life interfere with my professional life, but there was no way around it, In order to get Francis/es out of hock I had to get a truck there before they closed the shop. That meant during the day before 1500, and my ride to get Francis/es home had things that had to be done before he could get Francis/es. I gave the bike a quick test ride on the same street as the shop, and went through as many gears as I could manage in the space available and everything seems to be fully functional. There is a bit of difference in the braking power as the new rear brake is not yet bedded in to provide full stopping power, but from previous experience with this brake I know it won’t take many good hard stops before the brake shoes mate with the rear drum and the back tire starts locking up and skidding on command. I just wish I had a little more time to enjoy good brakes on the last hub before the malfunction dumped grease on them.

There were two Big Stories today that were carryovers from earlier in the week: Tha Canadian cyclist killed on a charity ride got Toronto cyclist killed near Brandon was on charity ride , Ont. cyclist on trek for WWF killed in crash and the outrage over Milt Olin’s killer getting a free pass: Bike Ride A Call For Action After Deputy Not Charged In Cyclist’s Death , BIKE RIDE MEMORIAL HELD FOR FORMER NAPSTER COO HIT, KILLED BY LA DEPUTY (You can tell it’s a HEADLINE because they typed it ALL IN CAPS) Incidentally, when I was making the link to that last article there was a footer banner ad about a program called “How To Get Away With MURDER”. Aside from being in poor taste, I think the linked article is a major spoiler for what you need to do to get away with murder: Drive a motor vehicle, kill a cyclist on the side of the road, claim you “didn’t see him” for any number of cockamamie “reasons” (“the sun was shining in my eyes through the back of my head” is my personal favorite), and then make inferences the cyclist should not have been on the road in the first place because it’s “too dangerous”.

A relatively simple wreck in GA. Athens cyclist injured by motorist Every driveway and parking lot entrance/exit is an intersection, use intersection protocols to avoid or reduce injury, and get that infrastructure “up to Dutch” to prevent. At least in this wreck the driver got a ticket for failing to yield to traffic in the road.

This MI wreck is certainly lacking in information. DeWitt bicyclist dies after being hit by car Nothing on mode, direction or anything except the cyclist died and the driver was uninjured. Well whoopty-doo for the driver! Infrastructure “up to Dutch” to prevent a similar wreck because more than 90% of the wrecks I have solid reporting on could be prevented by doing that. Updated report just in is this was a hit-from-behind wreck of a very conspicuous cyclist (full reflective gear and bike plus lights (and a helmet)). Bicyclist killed near DeWitt remembered So, protocols to avoid or reduce damages. And Infrastructure to prevent.

Another article on the cyclist stabbed to death riding in FL. Cyclist on ‘bucket list’ trip fatally stabbed The description of the suspect sure sounds like a person who was mentally ill.

Another link to the MO cyclist killed while training for the MS 150. Cyclist killed Sunday morning while training for MS 150 Nothing changed except the URL and a picture or two.

A cyclist is hit from behind in the Great White North. Cyclist hit by truck If that picture is the road where the cyclist was hit there are serious issues to be dealt with. Just look at the “alligatoring” of right wheel track all the way to edge of the road with a sudden drop-off at the edge into an eroded shoulder. The sane place for a cyclist to ride would be the left wheel track to get away from the mess of the right track, the sudden drop at the shoulder and the oil trail that kept the “alligatoring” of the right wheel track from progressing across the entire road. Mode of wreck was not released as of the posting of this post, but the damages shown on the bike and the scene as shown in the pictures that went with the article point very strongly to a buzz job, so hit-from-behind protocols to avoid or reduce damages (even for a road in as bad a condition as the picture showed), and get the infrastructure “up to Dutch” to prevent. Or at least for [$DEITY]’s sake fix that road! Find out who was driving overweight vehicles on that road and make them pay for rebuilding it, because the roadbed has been damaged and needs repair before throwing new asphalt at it…

Lots of Infrastructure! news from CA today. Family of local bicyclist killed by driver pushes for change in new state law This change would not have saved the cyclist who was killed, as the driver who killed him was trying to squeeze between the cyclist and a car on the left going the same direction and hit the cyclist with the trailer being towed that was wider than the tow vehicle.

Also from CA. Bike Safety an Issue in Fullerton After Teenager’s Death The trail just dumps cyclists out in the street after a long down hill section that cyclists may hit 50 MPH right before the end of the trail. Warning signs are needed to bring the riders back to “I’m in the street again” mindset and some way to safely slow the cyclists down before they enter the street.

Infrastructure from Seattle WA. Another Cyclist Has Died—So Will the City Council Finally Fund Bike Safety Improvements? Remember I was writing about the one guy on the City Council who personally blocked funding bike infrastructure? The dead cyclist is his legacy.

An uncomfortable part of the legal infrastructure. Niche on wheels Technically this is an ambulance chaser, but he works for us which makes him smell a little better.

Legal infrastructure in the UK. ‘I suffered serious injuries in crash with another cyclist but police took no action’ Actually that is a lack of legal infrastructure in the UK.

Lifestyle in the UK. Widows’ tributes to husbands killed by driver Remember this driver, he was sleeping while he should have been driving but the truck was still moving…

Lifestyle in the US. Injured Veterans to Cycle 355 Miles for 2014 Ride 2 Recovery Minuteman Challenge

Last link, I never bought one of this guy’s bikes, they were more like the sports car when I was buying the recumbent GT machines, and AFAIK he has never built a cargo bike (the SUV of the bicycle world), but the bikes he built and later supervised the building of were nothing short of works of art. Giovanni “Nani” Pinarello, founder and innovator, dies at 92 The closest thing I can compare him to is a bicycle Ferrari (the Man not the machine).

And those are all the links that gave me fits or giggles, mostly fits but I did giggle once or twice.

Billed @€0.02, Opus the unkillable badass Poet

[Monty Python] “I’m not dead (yet)” [/Monty Python], and the Feed

Yesterday was the 13th anniversary of my death, but to use another Python quote “I got better”, so hence the blog. Seriously I do this blog so that nobody else has to go through what I went and continue to go through. The small community that has sprung up around this blog is enough for me to keep going even when it’s obvious that I’m attempting to demolish a concrete wall by banging on it with my forehead. I regenerate (slowly) but any damage I can inflict on the wall remains. Like rain eventually made the Grand Canyon, if I keep persevering long enough that wall will come down. I will have a flat forehead and a terrible headache, but the wall will be no more. And I know that is a terrible metaphor for what I’m doing, but after all this time banging my head against that wall, I can’t think of anything better. Besides, do you know what kind of abs banging your head against a wall gives you? 😉 Titanium Nitride abs (abs of steel is so 20^th Century). Now we have a lot of links to cover, so let’s get busy.

But before “getting busy” a quick note about the U.S. holiday today. We celebrate Labor Day on the first Monday in September because there was “too much Communist involvement” with the rest of the world’s celebration on May 1^st. As we go into this celebration of American Labor this year the median CEO wage is more than 52 times the median worker wage and more than 350 times the minimum wage. To place that in perspective there are a few hundred people in the US who make more in a week than half of the rest of the population makes in a year, and nearly as much in a day as the low rung on the totem pole make in a year. I’m not going to make any judgment on the morality of those ratios, but the ratio of the incomes of the French nobility to the median French income just before the French Revolution was somewhere around 40:1…

Up first by way of most links (barely) is more on the cyclist left-hooked in Seattle. Cyclist killed days before city to upgrade notorious bike lane and Bicyclist killed in collision in downtown Seattle also Dead cyclist was new mom, well-regarded attorney also this Memorial grows for cyclist killed in Seattle accident still more Woman hit and killed by truck was well-known attorney and not least but last link Cyclist killed in Seattle was ACLU lawyer I’m going to be honest here, I normally shed no tears when lawyers get killed, but this lady was one of the good ones. Maybe not “good” in terms of number of cases won, but definitely “good” in terms of the cases she worked on and won. And she didn’t have to die, the markings and signal lights that would have prevented the left hook were delayed by a sphincter of a city council member for over a year…

Down the road from that Seattle wreck an idiot takes the life of a cyclist in OR. Texting driver arrested, bicyclist killed on Highway 30 identified and Cyclist killed in reported hit-and-run on Highway 30 near Rainier also Driver in fatal hit and run with cyclist near Rainier identified by Oregon State Police The cyclist had no time to react when the driver went off the road and onto the shoulder at speed making protocols moot. That only leaves infrastructure with any chance at having any effect on this wreck. That and crushing the cars of people who have wrecks while texting, my opinion of drivers that text is only slightly higher than DUI because they are both about as deadly as the other…

UK reaction to the LACSD killing of Milt Olin. LA sheriff to face internal investigation after hitting and killing cyclist while typing on mobile computer Their reaction is similar to US cyclists. And even gear-heads are unhappy about this driver getting to text and kill. Outrage: Cop Who Killed Cyclist Not Facing Charges Granted they are a green gear-head blog, but still more tilted towards driving than to cycling.

A driver in VA that has killed behind the wheel once already finally gets some serious prison time. Woman convicted of reckless driving in incident that hurt cyclist Charges are still pending on the hit-and-run portion of the wreck. The narrative of the wreck is just so hard to read as the injuries were so very similar to my wreck 13 years ago…

Hit and run in the Great White North. Cyclist remains in critical condition after Saturday crash The wreckage of the bike shows the cyclist was hit from the right, indicating one of the vehicles was running the red light (or the cyclist was caught by a stale green and the driver failed to yield). So intersection protocols to avoid or reduce damages, and get the infrastructure “up to Dutch” to prevent.

Another hit and run in Canuckistan this time. Hit and run leaves cyclist seriously injured It is fortunate that the sidewalk cyclist was not seriously injured in this wreck, but aside from that there was just so much wrong with this wreck I scarcely know where to start. Cyclist position, riding the sidewalk, wrong. Since sidewalks are not bicycle infrastructure drivers are not expecting to see cyclists on the sidewalks (particularly in Canada where most sidewalks are prohibited to cyclists). Driver failing to yield to traffic on the sidewalk, wrong. Even when someone is technically in violation for being on the sidewalk that still does not relieve the driver of the obligation to yield to traffic on the sidewalk. Both operators leaving the scene, wrong. Even though the cyclist left the scene to seek medical attention he still should have hung around for LEO to report the wreck and make it official that he needed medical attention.

UK readers have you seen this low-life? E-fit released after road rage driver targets cyclists in Knockholt This driver has been identified as deliberately using his vehicle as a weapon against cyclists (and possibly pedestrians). He is considered armed and dangerous, as long as he is behind the wheel.

Final results in a UK wreck. Lorry driver who fell asleep at wheel and killed two cyclists on charity ride jailed The sentence is a little over 4 years per death, but by UK standards for killing a cyclist this is practically a life sentence. Given that there were sentences of 300 and 160 hours of community service handed down last week for killing while driving distracted (and one for 5 years in prison) 8½ years for killing two at once seems like forever. But also given that he did almost the exact same thing just a few weeks after the fatal wreck, minus the dead cyclists, prison seems the only way to stop him.

And even in the Holy Land, drivers seem to be unable to remain at the scene of a wreck. Be’er Sheva: Bike Rider Seriously Injured by Hit-and-Run Driver Nothing on the mode of the wreck, just noting that another victim had died shortly before this one was hurt…

Infrastructure! news from Enn Zed. The cycleway that hasn’t been built – how slow can they go? One fatality and multiple injury wrecks because of missing infrastructure and they still haven’t built it yet? Is there any mechanism in Enn Zed for prosecuting for deaths due to inaction?

Kinda sorta infrastructure (because the video has been removed leaving only a few lines from the transcript. Firefighter killed on I-84 prompting local cyclist group to take action I don’t know what the problem is, I can’t click on anything that shows the video, and only the first line of the transcript shows when I click that button…

CA infrastructure news. Central Coast Cyclists Ask For More Bike Lanes And I see that the first comment is a demand that taxes be raised on cyclists to pay for infrastructure they should have been getting all along.

These bike lanes would power up your e-assist bike and your iPhone at the same time. These “Power Lanes” Could Charge An E-Bike (And Phone) As You Ride The idea is distributed power would be cheaper than making everyone carry batteries (the suggested storage media is supercaps that weigh about 5 pounds and have virtually no cycle life).

Lifestyle in CA. Memorial for Chula Vista man killed while riding bicycle It might just be me but I think a suitable memorial would be the rotting corpse of the driver welded inside the car that killed the cyclist, but then I’m a bit biased from personal experience.

Lifestyle from Canuckistan. Whyte Avenue memorial honours life of cyclist, while urging people to share the road It really should be up for more than just the day or two…

Just plain fun. “You’re probably going to work and don’t have time to talk.”

And those were all the links I could find on this labor day. Turns out there were a lot of duplicates in the Feed.

Billed @€0.02, Opus the unkillable badass Poet (now we’re cooking with gas, badass gas)

A post about minority relations, and the Feed

I will freely admit I am old. Not as old as some people think, but still “up there” in years. I’m 55 about to be 56 in a few weeks, and I have Seen Things. I saw That Other Armstrong walk on the moon with Buzz Aldrin. I saw Robert Kennedy shot on the TV news by Sirhan Sirhan. I saw JFK laid to rest in Arlington. And I saw protests against racial discrimination and institutional poverty in the Deep South disrupted by goons wearing cop badges. It has frequently been said that for a middle-class white dude to understand what it feels like to be a minority all you need to do is throw him on a bicycle and give him a destination across town, which I understand viscerally (hey, in just a couple of weeks I’m going to celebrate surviving someone trying to kill me for my mode of transport, so I deeply understand). But I have never seen cyclists get the kind of treatment the people in Ferguson are getting on a daily basis from people they pay to “protect” them. Seriously if I was living in Ferguson MO right now I would be suing for return of taxes on the grounds of not getting what I paid for. The “riots” I have seen on the videos coming out of there seem to be mostly the PD or people dressed like the PD except in camo and wearing masks running amok in residential areas, shooting up property and setting fires with burning tear gas grenades. What little PD violence I have seen against group rides like Critical Mass pales in comparison. I mean people are getting shot in Ferguson.

This is what normally happens when cyclists protest, from a half-day ride to the east of WoaB World HQ in the Beautiful Suburbs of Hell. Riders Up: 200-plus cyclists show support for riders injured on roadways and Hundreds gather for Vigilance ride to remember injured, killed cyclists I wonder how they got the precise number of riders for the first link (213).

A cyclist was killed in SC and the criminal case drags on. 2 years later, family still waiting for trial to begin in cyclist’s death It seems quite cut-and-dried to me, but then I have been hit several times on my bike and have not been at fault yet. I wonder what could be “more important” than putting someone on trial for killing another human being? Bounced checks?

More on the cyclist left-hooked in NYC. Livery Cab Driver Arrested After Bicyclist Killed In East Harlem and Bicycle rider killed in East Harlem by cab whose driver allegedly had suspended license: police sources Driver still unlicensed, still uninsured, still breathing, all of which are no longer applicable in the case of the victim. This report has made it plain that there was nothing the cyclist could have done to avoid this wreck as the driver pulled alongside and turned (left) right over him.

Still in NYC here’s an update with a little more information about a deadly wreck last week. Cyclist struck and killed by ambulette in Flushing Wednesday He either left-crossed himself, or the car passed him right after the turn and did not leave enough room. I’m still not getting good information about the geometry of this wreck.

More about the SF cyclist killed by a driver running from police who weren’t chasing him. Zachary Watson: Cyclist Hit by Driver Fleeing Cops Dies and Cyclist And Exploratorium Employee Zach Watson, Struck By Driver Of Stolen Minivan, Has Died The victim was not riding his bike when hit but was in the process of locking it up. So a completely unavoidable wreck for the cyclist and one that no kind of infrastructure upgrade could reasonably prevent.

Another CA bike wreck that as I compose this is low-information. Cyclist seriously injured in collision in Chula Vista As I read the report at the moment all I really know is the cyclist was seriously injured in an intersection wreck. So intersection protocols apply at the moment, and infrastructure would probably (95% confidence factor) prevent this wreck.

A young (6YO) cyclist is killed in MN. UPDATE: Authorities Continue to Investigate Fatal Van Versus Bike Crash The driver is invoking the Drivers Get Out Of Jail Free card (I didn’t see him) but it is unknown what factor that will play in this wreck. The location is in a residential area of single-family houses so the driver should have been looking for kids coming from driveways as there is no other place to ride a bike except driveways and the street. Notice the complete lack of accommodation for anything other than motor vehicles in what should be a street for kids to run wild, with no through traffic.

Another link to that wreck in Enn Zed, but no more information (yet). A cyclist was seriously injured when her bicycle was hit by a truck near Napier The narrative now reads as a hit-from-behind wreck so I’m assuming applying the protocols could at least minimize the damages. Getting the infrastructure “up to Dutch” would prevent the conflict that resulted in the wreck from ever happening.

Our Daily Ted. Morning Links: What DTLA can learn from NYC, guilty plea in Fallbrook hit-and-run, new distracted driving app

Infrastructure! news from Bicycling Magazine. Roundabouts Versus Stop Signs

How to get bike parking at your local store. The Story of the ShurSave Bike Racks This assumes that management actually has fucks to give about customers who arrive by bike, unlike my local store who still haven’t installed a bike rack in spite of another customer’s bike besides mine getting stolen because there is literally nothing solid that bikes are allowed to lock up to. We have trees and the handicapped parking signs that are physically available, with one off-limits because it is bad form in TX to lock to a tree and invite someone to cut down the tree to steal the bike, and the other off-limits because locking to the handicapped parking sign blocks access to the handicapped spaces.

Lifestyle from the NYT. My Life in Bicycles

More e-assist bike news. E-bikes face uphill climb As one wag pointed out in the comments, climbing is the play to strength for an assist bike.

And those were all the links I could find pertaining to the subject matter of this blog, today.

Billed @€0.02, Opus