Mrs. the Poet is out of town again, and the Feed

Mrs. the Poet decided she missed seeing the leaves turn colors as the seasons changed, so she’s taking a week to do some leaf-peeping on her relatives’ dime. So I’m batching it again for the next 8 days. Fortunately we have frozen pizza and ramen and plenty of dry beans and brown rice in the pantry, and since I’m the only one going to eat them I can make beans and rice as spicy hot as I want. So I will tomorrow. I had to make sure Mrs. the Poet had some spending money for her trip so I had to spend about 90 minutes going 7 miles round trip to the bank. But I got her the money and everything is hunky dory financially for her.

The Big Story today was the cyclist hit from behind by a bus in SF. Berkeley Cyclist Killed in Market Street Collision With S.F. Muni Bus and Cyclist Dies In Market Street Collision With Muni Bus also Muni Bus Hits & Kills Cyclist On Market Street [Updated] At this point I still don’t know what really happened except the cyclist fell and the bus ran him over from behind. We will all know more when the video from the bus is released, if it ever gets released.

Still in CA and still in SF. Cyclist Injured In Collision At Haight & Steiner The cyclist was observed by several witnesses to run a red light and hit an SUV waiting to make a left turn.

And still in CA our Daily Ted. Guest Post: A detailed look at commuting mode share in Los Angeles, and how bikes lanes fit in Gee I wish I could get guest posts instead of just leaving dead air when I can’t post.

Experiments in how to prevent bus wrecks ongoing in CA. Driverless Bus Testing Coming to Bay Area I don’t know how it would handle a bicycle falling over in front of it. The wreck from earlier this week would have been an interesting test for the AI.

Not out of CA yet. Cyclist Injured in Coast Highway Collision Survivable right hook situation, but only just barely.

Yep, more news out of CA. Murrieta Cyclist Killed by Suspected Drunken Driver in Lake Elsinore Another drunk runs another cyclist from behind 😛

Closer to home a cyclist rides up on a murder in progress on a bike path in Dallas. Cyclist witnesses man hacking at a jogger on a popular Dallas biking, jogging trail I have ridden this trail many times day and night and can vouch for how scary it is at night where the homeless people have broken the few trail lights. That underpass is especially dark and scary at night, and not all that nice during the day.

On the subject of cyclists and edged weapons, they grow some seriously hardy cyclists in KS. Lawrence man seriously injured in apparent stabbing, rides bike to hospital Yeah, that is like comic book tough there.

More on the OH cyclist killed in a hit-and-run. 70-year-old cyclist killed in hit-and-run and Lorain County fatal hit-skip witness: ‘The driver absolutely knew that he had hit this gentleman’ I’m going to go out on a limb here and predict that this driver has stated that instead of passing cyclists safely by slowing down and waiting for oncoming traffic to clear he would just run over the cyclist. I have seen too many people put that in public under their real names to not think it could happen IRL.

One of the good guys in the religious debates was hit by a car while riding his bike. Richard Dawkins debate organizer Larry Taunton injured in bike wreck The narrative sounds like a left cross wreck.

Over in MO we get a hit-from-behind wreck. Southwest Missouri bicyclist killed in collision with car Not much more information than that in the link.

Moving over to LA we get more information about that cyclist run over from behind on the shoulder of the road. Police identify cyclist killed in crash and Update: Baton Rouge police identify bicyclist struck, killed Sunday while riding on Plank Road; pickup truck driver accused of DWI Not much new information here.

Over in GA a cyclist is killed with a busload of school kids. Atlanta cyclist, 21, killed in collision with school bus and Bicyclist struck, killed on Ga. 400 Report is that this was a salmon cyclist going the wrong way on a freeway exit ramp for some reason. I just wish he hadn’t done it in front of a bus full of kids.

Moving up to MA. Cyclist seriously injured after pickup, bike collide on Bernardston Road Monday afternoon The wreck almost didn’t happen. Notice the lack of damage to the bike, the one good picture of the bike it looks like the chain is still in place. The driver in this wreck just barely tapped the cyclist. Kudos to the driver in this wreck on making it much less worse than it could have been.

This VT wreck was caused by a guy bombing a MTB trail and not knowing where the road crossings were. Cyclist injured after being hit by car in East Burke I know it’s fun, but you have to do a reconnoiter of the trail so you don’t go blasting through a road crossing in front of a car or worse.

When I filtered this NYC wreck they still didn’t know what happened. [UPDATE] Woman Killed By Tractor-Trailer Driver While Crossing Bushwick Street Now we know the victim was crossing with the light in the crosswalk when hit by a truck making a left turn.

Still in NYC, a person waiting at a bus stop is killed in a pinball wreck. Pedestrian Killed By Truck Driver “Didn’t Have Time To Run” SUV hit the truck, truck jumps the curb, the lady waiting on the bus is sitting on the bench where the truck went after it jumped the curb.

Hit-from-behind wreck in IL. ‘Incredibly energetic’: Belleville teenager riding his bicycle killed after car struck him I’m still trying to figure out how hitting a cyclist from behind is not a violation on the part of the driver.

Injury wreck in NV. Cyclist Injured in Accident With Car They say he ran the stop sign, but the geometry of the wreck says the cyclist misjudged the speed of the weapon vehicle. The bike was almost all the way across the intersection when the cyclist was hit.

Infrastructure changes at an intersection where a through cyclist on the main road was hit by a truck turning right. Improvements coming to intersection where bicyclist died Note that they don’t put a cop there to write ticket after ticket until the truck drivers stop running the stop sign at speed, they put in a bigger stop sign like the truckers couldn’t see the other one. And this one just floors me,”Carroll County asked the state to reconsider the bike route designation for Route 75.” Don’t make it safer for people who are using it, try to keep the bicycles away.

And final link is a bit of uncommon sense from Oz. More people will cycle when everyone accepts cyclists’ right to be on the road

And I’m done for today.

Billed @€0.02, Opus the Poet

I’m inundated by links and I haven’t even half finished filtering the Feed

I had to stop and compose the opening paragraph before the Chromebook locks up completely. Way too many flash ads in the tabs and everything is closed except links that I hope to use in today’s post. I really need to see if this computer can be upgraded with more memory, because I rapidly run out of resources with all the flash running in the background. That’s what irks me the most, that this is blinking whirling image-swapping resource-hogging going on in tabs that aren’t even visible. When G-Mail has to reload, you know things have gotten bad.

Up first because I need to dump something and Ted is good to lead off with. Morning Links: Graphic testimony in the case of a fallen PCH cyclist; riding the Reseda protected bike lanes

And just as I was closing down the Feed this came in. Anaheim Hills bike rider died from solo fall last year; his family makes moving video calling for helmet use Hey, if a helmet would have made a difference in the wreck, promote away!

And just over the border from WoaB in Sooner land. Cyclist hit by pickup, injured The cause of the wreck was listed as “driver’s ability and age“.

This was caused by bad infrastructure. Bicyclist killed Friday in causeway crash and Bicyclist struck and killed on bridge on St. Simons Island causeway The cyclist was hit because someone parked a car in the bike lane, completely blocking it in both directions. This would not have happened had the bike lane in question been built properly with a solid barrier preventing motor vehicle incursions.

This cyclist was apparently not looking when he entered the intersection. Bicyclist killed in Tacoma intersection and Cyclist killed Friday in Tacoma identified The cyclist apparently went into the intersection completely oblivious to what was going on around him.

I used to race my 10-speed down this road, and had no problem keeping up with the cars. Cyclist injured in hit-and-run hopes to find driver of car responsible for crash But back then I was 16YO and fearless, our bike tires had much more grip compared to the car tires of the era and if I used the rim brakes too much I ran the risk of blowing the tires off the rims before I got to the bottom of the canyon. These days standard passenger car tires for “transportation appliances” have more grip than full-blown race tires had back then, and bike tires are about the same as they were 40 years ago as far as levels of grip are concerned. But that still makes the driver that sideswiped this cyclist a douche canoe for leaving the scene.

More on a FL ride for a cyclist killed riding on the road. Cyclists honor swim instructor who died and Ride to honor cyclists killed in collisions with cars

A memorial ride in MS. Bike ride and memorial honors cyclist, educates motorists

Stumbled on this report by accident. Kitchener women say they were stopped by police for cycling topless At least they weren’t stopped for Cycling While Brown, as that can get a person killed.

Followup to the memorial ride for the Canadian cyclist killed “winning” the door prize. Memorial ride held for cyclist killed in downtown Kelowna That was a large ride.

UK infrastructure news. Cyclist knocked off his bike at ‘dangerous’ Chichester junction calls for change I looked at the “street” where the car came from and I think that would be a good place to put some bike infrastructure and ban cars.

This came up a few hours after I finished Friday’s post. Cyclists banned from stretch of A19 – but is there a viable alternative route? The cyclist was hit in a designated bike lane, so they are going to ban cyclists from the bike lanes? How does that work?

And I’m finally out of links to crazy, which means I’m totally out of links I generally get one or two “not crazy” links a day on a good day.

Billed @€0.02, Opus the Poet

This is gonna hurt, and the Feed

I am taking a break from filtering because 1) my butt is getting tired, and B. my brain is getting slightly crispy around the edges as I deal with some monumentally stupid/trollish comments left on some articles, and π) I need to go hit something. I figure a punch-a-pillow break is better than any of my alternatives.

Up first because “why not?” is Our Daily Ted. Morning Links: Hollywood bike parking becomes a homeless site; a blogger argues bike lane air is bad for LA kids While bike lane air is “bad” the consequences of sitting in traffic in a light armored vehicle are orders of magnitude worse.

And Pt. 2 of Our Daily Ted. 22-year old alleged sidewalk rider killed in South LA hit-and-run How do they know the cyclist “swerved” off the sidewalk in a hit-and-run? And every time I see the word “Slauson” I think this. I used to watch that stuff when it was new. Yes, I already know I’m old…

Another link to the driver banned from owning a cell phone for 2 years. Cellphone ban for driver who killed cyclist is ‘a reminder every day,’ judge says The driver is allowed to use WiFi devices, but anything that directly connects to any cell phone system.

One of the most deeply held tenets of WoaB is “Don’t hit the pedestrians.” Pedestrian Suing Cyclist After Collision On Dearborn Street From the comments section the entire suit is a pack of lies intended to prey upon the prejudices of the (potential) jury, the pedestrian in question walked into the cyclist’s path while walking in the bike lane instead of crossing it, the equivalent of walking down the middle of a street, and the bike was equipped with two independent braking systems, fixie with a front brake. Still, DON’T HIT THE PEDESTRIANS!

OK this one is bizarre beyond words. Bicyclist injured in downtown Woodland accident Adrenaline can be a scary thing. It can make you really stupid, so that you get up and run away from getting hit with a car hard enough to smash the windshield hard enough to spray broken glass on the front seat occupants… Something got this cyclist wound up on adrenaline before he got hit, because there wasn’t enough time for any adrenaline from the wreck to kick in so that he could get up and run away from the wreck like that.

This IL story is a bit better than the one in an earlier paragraph. The ‘Wheel’ Deal: Flossmoor Cop Gifts Bike Crash Victim with a New Ride

I’m including this for a single sentence from LEO, the most sane thing I have ever read credited to a LEO. Cyclist killed by tractor trailer was on way home from work Did you see it, or has it been deleted? “Police say Goodrow was not wearing a helmet but suspect it would have made little difference.” Really, a styrofoam hat against 50K pounds or more of truck and trailer? And regarding the lights and reflectors the VA Vehicle code reads “… shall be equipped with a headlight on the front emitting a white light visible in clear weather from a distance of at least 500 feet to the front and a red reflector visible from a distance of at least 600 feet to the rear when directly in front of lawful lower beams of headlights on a motor vehicle.” So the rear reflector (without a light) was within the law, and the cyclist was hit from behind so the headlight was moot. The truck driver should have seen the cyclist but failed to pass safely.

From NYC another pedestrian is mowed down. 5-Year-Old Boy Struck By Driver On Prospect Park West

More on the Trek QR recall. 3 Reasons Why You May Have a Trek Bicycle Injury Lawsuit And I have one very good reason why you don’t have a valid lawsuit: in order for the “defective” QR to cause the problem it did you have to leave the QR in the open position. The equivalent would be to fail to tighten the lug nuts on your Chevy and then sue GM when the wheel falls off…

While we are in the figurative WI courtroom. Homicide charges loom for driver who hit, killed 2 bicyclists in Muskego I thought there must be foul play in order to hit 2 cyclists and kill them both…

More on the cyclist killed riding USBR 36 in IL. From the view of a cyclist The comments section was toxic. Literally toxic.

From the Great White North. Battlefield bike ride across Europe to aid injured soldiers If any of my Canadian reader$ feel $o inclined…

And court news from Jolly Olde. Bus driver in court over Washington cyclist’s death Still don’t know anything about what happened because of UK media laws, except that LEO think the bus driver “did it” whatever “it” was.

More on those detection systems planned for testing in London. Thermal cameras will watch for waiting cyclists and turn traffic lights green Typical comments about cyclists not paying a tax that hasn’t existed since 1937 in the comment section…

And one wonders what will happen to the program in the last paragraph in light of this report. Tories withdraw £23m of promised spending for cycling in latest cuts

Remembering a cyclist killed by an overloaded semi in Oz. Family honours Brisbane cyclist as memorial mural unveiled at accident site on Annerley Road The truck hit the underside of the bridge and fell on the cyclist riding to the side as the truck passed.

And trying to make the death mean something. Cyclist’s widow calls for inner city truck ban I see a workable compromise: Trucks move in the ban area by trip permit only with bicycle outriders fore and aft to keep the truck from running anyone over. Truck moves no faster than bicycle speed so no cyclists would be endangered by them. Make the permits non-profit (just administrative costs only) and the costs for the cyclists either on a per-mile rate or a per-job rate with a mileage or time limit per job and a new permit required for each trip in and out of the ban zone, each permit good for one round trip in and out of the ban zone. Cyclists get full employment, other road users are protected, and goods are still delivered to destinations inside the “no truck” zone.

And I’m outta links and patience. I wanna watch some tube and veg out.

Billed @€0.02, Opus the Poet

Grocery Day, and the Feed

I will be stopping the filter and post process to go shopping for comestibles today. I’m mostly recovered from yesterday’s travels and travails, except my neck is hurting more than usual and my arm still feels like a pincushion from trying to find a vein. There is also still a bruise where they nicked a vein but didn’t get a good stick. That spot is more uncomfortable than the other places they stuck needles in my arm. I still have not heard back from the doctor about what they found, if that is a good or a bad thing I don’t know.

Up first we have lots of Ted Rogers after the break yesterday. Morning Links: Upcoming bike events, new sustainability webisode, and a driver beats a bike rider with a bat Yeah, why use a bat when you already have a weapon that you can use with impunity, your car?

Today’s first Ted post. Morning Links: Turns out running a red light is no big deal, and you really can ride with your kid to Dodger Stadium So, they have bike parking at Dodger Stadium?

And the less-happy second post today. Unidentified bike rider killed in Bloomington collision Condolences to the victim’s family and other loved ones.

And the third post today is less fatal but no less happy. Action Alert: Panorama City NC sneaks in agenda item to remove bike lanes on Chase Street at tonight’s meeting I don’t know about CA’s Open Records law, but here in TX you can’t add items to the agenda after it has been posted.

Still in CA, 15 years after the feds said e-assist bikes are bicycles, CA starts to say the same thing, maybe. AB-1096 Vehicles: electric bicycles This bill mostly adopts the Federal standard except the “Class 3” allows EU e-mopeds to be operated as bicycles with certain limitations.

A TN wreck is felt throughout the community. Teen killed in bike crash remembered by loved ones and Loved ones remember teenager killed in bike crash The thing I don’t understand about this wreck is the cyclist was reportedly riding at the right hand edge of the road going the opposite direction from the weapon vehicle. IOW riding with traffic on the opposite side of the road. The driver was reported to have “swerved” to the far side of the road just before he hit the cyclist. So, why haven’t they filed murder charges against the driver?

More on the MI driver getting away with murder. Prosecutor seeks just sentence in bike death Turns out the walking dead man killer drunk driver will only spend 6 months in county jail, not the full year we had been lead to believe earlier and most definitely not the 2-5 years of sentencing guidelines.

After that downer note, here’s something a little more upbeat. People passionate about pedaling discuss the city’s cycling future as part of NOLA Bike to Work Week

NYC still killing pedestrians and cyclists at pretty much the same rate as always. 35-Year-Old Mother Of Three Killed By Hit-And-Run Driver Near Her Brooklyn Home The victim was knocked out of her shoes, indicating a high-energy impact.

And yet another case of gross stupidity on the roads. Drunk Driver Allegedly Caught With Crack, Weed, And Child In The Car Felony Driving While Stupid…

Is your bike on this list? Then get in contact with me so I can understand how a QR can get caught in the brake disk and cause a fall. Trek Bicycles is recalling nearly 1 million bikes for a safety issue that resulted in one rider becoming paralyzed. and Nearly 1 Million Trek Bicycles Recalled After Riders Injured also Trek to recall nearly 1 million bicycles after injury reports I have been riding bikes with QR levers since the mid-’90s, and I have never had a QR lever even get anywhere near the hub, brake disk, or spokes. The only way a traditional QR lever could even get close would be if the QR was completely released and the wheel held on with the “lawyer lips” on the dropouts. So if you have one of these bikes share a picture of the QR in question so we can figure out how this is supposed to work.

Hasn’t this been tried out there at least once already? Ride Solutions ad campaign advocates awareness of bicycle commuters I could almost swear I remember a very similar campaign from a few years back from the same area.

Does anyone know what the deal is over at road.cc? I had three links queued up to post and I’m getting “access denied” on all 3 of them now. And a page just went up explaining what happened. Access denied

More bad infrastructure in the UK. Cyclist injured in crash at Oxford junction criticised by cycling group Just to clarify, it is the junction that was criticised, not the injured cyclist. The infrastructure is crap, the cyclist’s skills maybe yes maybe no.

I know bicycles are relatively low damage and non-lethal, but still DON’T HIT THE PEDESTRIANS! Woman scarred for life after cyclist knocked her over and raced off And don’t leave until the pedestrian has been tended to by emergency responders and details have been exchanged.

I thought there was no such thing as gun crime in the UK. Cyclist stabbed and shot dead in Peckham last night Not sure what triggered this, but the perps really screwed the pooch on this one. Shooting someone in the UK is not taken lightly.

Another link to the drunk driver that killed a cyclist while showing off his unregistered vehicle while driving without a license. ‘Show off’ driver Tykeran Hamilton jailed for 11 years for causing death of cyclist Alan Knight

Bike wrecks can be strange, the victim in this wreck died on the spot, but the bike was in good enough condition to be ridden away from the wreck. Fatal crash bike rolled out for road safety rally It’s almost as if someone decided they needed a prop to display to drum up awareness of bicycle safety.

Wounded Warrior ride in my state. Wounded Warriors bicycle into Keene Friday morning

And a similar ride in the DC area. April 24 26 Face Of America Bicycle Ride Brings Injured Veterans To Dc Region

Can you make people see you if they are not looking? HEADS UP! Then you need to use new “Spray On Meth”! Guaranteed to perk up even the most addled driver out there so they see you and your bike.

Is this ad sexist? If you have to ask, it probably is. Is this thing sexist? Introducing the “Bike Test”

OMG this is so Texas… Cartoon: Bikes and cars

I think I might be out of links. Yep, all done.

Billed @€0.02, Opus the Poet

Glad I dodged that bullet, and the Feed

Remember that camping trip I was going to go on and couldn’t? They are under a severe weather watch/warning for the second day in a row, and I’m reading reports that some camps have already been inundated once by flash floods with more wild weather forecast for tonight. I’m kinda glad I’m not in that weather tonight. I don’t mind getting wet in the rain but I prefer to enjoy communing with Nature while I’m warm (not hot) and dry. So anyway, it’s nasty out there and I’m not there to experience it.

Up first, I have been feeling a bit stressed because I haven’t been able to ride, so I can really relate to this video. SHED THE MONSTER I can vouch that a good bike ride is good for dealing with stress. Feeling angry? Go for a bike ride.

Followup to that article about the appeal of the weak sentence for killing a cyclist. Novi man’s jail term in fatal cyclist crash challenged Like I wrote yesterday, one year in county jail for killing a human being is ridiculous.

The drunk driver that ran head-on into a cyclist had drunk friends in the car. Passenger in fatal bicycle-car crash facing charge I am unsurprised that a chronic alcoholic has alcoholic friends.

The UK is starting to administer more severe sentences to killer drivers. Jailed: Man who killed cyclist, 26, in hit-and-run crash in Clapham and Careless BMW driver, who evaded police for five months, jailed for killing cyclist in Clapham crash Three years and four months I suspect is mostly for trying to hide the evidence. Consider the MI case posted above with the one year in county compared to the 3¹/₃ years in this case…

So what do you do when the infrastructure runs into you? Cyclist injured in collision with Bixi truck near La Fontaine Park The truck is part of the Bixi system in Montreal, that takes bikes from where people leave them to where people need them.

More on the failure to change deadly infrastructure before it killed again. Cyclist death: Why did Westminster Council put the brakes on safety scheme?

The politics of cycling in the UK. Election: What the political parties are saying about cycling Not going to make any suggestions here, but the Greens seem to have a better grasp of the situation with the UKIP seeing conspiracies on every bike path. There are many issues in every election, bike infrastructure is just one of them.

Looking at the lead picture it is indeed a wonder that nobody has been killed there. ‘Coldharbour needs to slow its cyclists’ says husband of hospitalised pub landlady See that doorstep only inches from the street? She stepped off that and got hit. I’m sorry injured pedestrian, but where you got hit you are screened from view until you step on the street. But, I will reiterate DON’T HIT THE PEDESTRIANS!

This wreck was made to sound a lot worse in the headline than what actually happened. Two-year-old puppy dragged along pavement by cyclist As was pointed out in the comments a 2YO dog is not a puppy, and the wreck happened when the bike got tangled up in the extended lead which was invisible in the dark.

And a little UK lifestyle. Tiverton cyclist takes on the Big Battlefield Bike Ride to give Help for Heroes

Nothing like victim blaming/shaming to get more people riding bikes. /s Getting back on the bike? Responsible riders recognize the rules of the road Another “safety” article that most prominently mentions helmets…

With all the years FL LEO have been doing this ride you would think they would have more empathy towards cyclists. Florida Tour de Force bike ride helps fallen officers’ families

And I’m out of links tonight, thank [$DEITY].

Billed @€0.02, Opus the Poet

Lots of infrastructure news today, and the Feed

First off let me say that I went and did two personal PM errands today. First thing I did was to stop at my local nail spa and get my toes done. I have mentioned this before but I can’t get all the toenails trimmed on my left foot because the nerve damage makes the toes do weird things when I bend over and try to cut the nails. Basically I just can’t get the toes to unclench so I can get the clippers to the nails on the last 2 or 3 toes. Sometimes I can get that 3rd nail, sometimes not.

While I was at church tonight we had a man with a bullhorn show up across the street yelling at the Pagan Fellowship group about how we were lost and our journey could end if we would just accept Jesus. I took a picture but so far it has failed to show in my inbox to share.

Up first is a dumbass who failed the firearms handling course about as bad as you can fail it. Florida Cyclist Dies After Gun in Pocket Goes Off Accidentally I don’t know why he was packing heat (I have a suspicion that he was going to see if SYG applied to cyclists threatened with death or injury by motor vehicle, but that is just speculation on my part based on personal experience), but the reports all seem to say the gun discharged “by accident” while in his shirt or jersey. More Police: Florida man riding bicycle is killed when handgun in jacket pocket accidentally fires OK that one changed between filtering and composing, they now say it was in a jacket instead of his jersey.

More on the victim of a hit-and-run in Chuck SC. Bicyclist who was killed in North Charleston was doing everything right, family says Apparently a hit from behind on a guy lighted like the proverbial Christmas tree with 3 rear-facing blinkies. Seriously, this has all the hallmarks of a murder by motor vehicle. I’m betting that when they catch the guy he “didn’t see” the cyclist and “didn’t know” he hit anyone.

We get a two-fer on Our Daily Ted. 51-year old San Diego police detective died from solo fall earlier this month after being taken off life support and Weekend Links: Marathon Crash non-Race is back on for Sunday, along with a long list of upcoming bike events The Marathon Crash event is actually doing the LA Marathon organizers a huge favor by sweeping the course prior to the running race.

A little bit of cycling lifestyle from Beantown. Friends mourn for Cambridge songwriter, activist I had to click the link to find out which country’s “Cambridge” had this wreck. So many dead cyclists, so little safe bicycle infrastructure.

I stopped doing wreck reports, but this one is unusual. For one thing there are no cars involved. Cyclist did wheelie on road and hit pair on tandem That’s right, this is a bike-on-bike wreck caused by someone doing something stupid.

The timing on this wreck is too perfect to be on purpose. Spectator causes cyclist to crash hard by grabbing her handlebars and The horrific moment a SPECTATOR flicked his arm out from the crowd and knocked cyclist off her bike as she sprinted for the finish line You can’t see the spectator’s head until the cyclist hitting his arm pulls him around, but he is plainly facing away from the fence just prior to the impact when his arm comes up from the top of the fence and has a “WTF?” look in the fraction of a second he’s facing the camera. Although why he would be on the fence at the finish line of a stage expected to produce a bunch sprint and is not paying attention to the cyclists in the sprint is a mystery. My guess is he was looking for another cyclist in the pack instead of the group in the sprint. Still super stupid thing to be doing however.

And another UK driver uses the Universal Get Out Of Jail Free card when he hits a cyclist. HGV driver who killed cyclist found not guilty of dangerous driving You remember that one, right? “I didn’t see him” when I ran over him with tons of deadly force.

Another article I can’t link to right now suggests the spectacle of private prosecution in this death shamed prosecutors into taking this case for the government. Dead cyclist’s family win review over driver who killed dad on Regent Street The reason I can’t link to the other article is shortly after I read it the first time the site went down for maintenance and put a big 404 page where the article was before. Anyway this was another case of a driver exercising the Universal Get Out Of Jail Free card to “excuse” hitting a cyclist that was plainly in front of her for 200 meters before the wreck.

One thing the UK has that we don’t here in the US as a result of them having Universal Health Care is this little life-saver. Injured cyclist saved by new London Air Ambulance procedure There is something about the nature of calling for air ambulance in the UK that they take getting the victim there with less damage more seriously than their US counterparts so they have better equipment on board the chopper than our crews have. The only thing I can think of is there is absolutely no costs reduction or “moar profits” motive for the UK service, the only thing they are judged on is survival rate and secondarily on saving other body parts.

You know back in the day one of the criteria you used to judge a city by was the condition of their streets, mostly on the smoothness of the pavement. Streets Department: Digging its Way out of a Pothole Still a thing, but not as big a thing as before apparently. Maybe less money on tanks for crazy cops and more on pothole maintenance?

Other towns also face infrastructure issues. SUPPORT BIKING IN TYSONS ON MONDAY As this town repaves they have the golden opportunity to install semi-decent bicycle infrastructure at a far lower cost than at a later date.

A cycling blog reposts (I hope with permission) a news article on why a reporter no longer rides a bike to commute. News-Press Sunday 3/8/15: biking safety feature:
Why I stopped riding my bike on the road Spoiler: It’s cars.

What is causing most of the wrecks between cars and bikes, and cars and pedestrians, in SF? It ain’t a lack of helmets. PRIVATE AUTO RESTRICTIONS CLOSER TO COMING TO MARKET STREET Yep turning vehicles factor in to more than half of the injury collisions with motor vehicles.

Is an open pit mine sending more than 6 semi-trailer loads of sand an hour over a grade crossing really a compatible industry for a bike trail? Vote on Open Pit Mine by Elroy Sparta March 16th I didn’t think so either, because every truck load they send out requires an empty truck to cross the other direction first, so that is a truck crossing every 5 minutes or less unless they hold trucks so that the do both crossing movements at the same time.

Someone has been delaying completion of this bike trail for almost a decade. Stop the delay: Build the Burke-Gilman Trail Seriously, this thing has been “studied” one way or another since 2002, just build the damn thing already! For the accountants in the bureaucracy, think of it this way: The medical costs of the 45 people injured due to this languishing the last 5 years is more than the costs of construction for the 1.5 miles of the connector.

And last link is a little humor: 20 problems only modern roadies have

And I am finally devoid of any more links to include.

Billed @€0.02, Opus the Poet

Changes made to Francis/es, and the Feed

Well I swapped out the seat that came on Francis/es for something that fits my butt a little better. The Planet Bike seat that came with Francis/es was not a bad seat, it was just the wrong seat for my butt. This is no more a criticism of the bike than saying the shoes they gave you with a uniform were the wrong size is a criticism of the shoes. The seat did not fit my butt, YMMV as your butt is not the same size/shape as my butt. Now the problem is my knees hit the handlebars and I have them as high up as they can go and the seat as far back as it can go, so now I have to build that extended stem so I can sit up straight and not hit my knees on the handlebars. 😛

Murder by motor vehicle in Houston. DEADLY HIT-AND-RUN: PICKUP DRIVER SOUGHT AFTER CYCLIST KILLED IN NORTH HOUSTON Hit-and-run is a felony in TX, any death that happens during the course of a felony is murder in TX, therefore hit-and-run that kills a cyclist is murder by motor vehicle. QED. No mode given in the article or in the video, and I couldn’t see enough of the wrecked bike to even take a wild guess at the mode.

A semi kills a cyclist in NM. Cyclist killed by semi-trailer near Tularosa and Semi hits, kills bicyclist in Otero County The narrative on this one makes zero sense, they are claiming it was a sideswipe but also that the cyclist was hit by the front tire of the semi. The two statements are geometrically impossible. By the time the front bumper of a semi is even with the handlebars of a cyclist in drop bars the front of the tire is roughly even with his hip. There is not enough space for a cyclist to get hit by the tire if the trigger event is the bumper hitting the handlebars causing the cyclist to fall in front of the tire. I suspect distracted driving or deliberate assault. The cyclist was riding on the shoulder of a lightly-travelled US highway. Even the most paranoid of cyclists would slack off a bit riding there. Hot-from-behind protocols to avoid or reduce damages, and get the infrastructure “up to Dutch” to prevent.

And the most deadliest state in the US to walk or ride a bike claims another one. Hit and Run: Bicyclist found dead in Lakeland ditch Assumed hit-from-behind it’s the most common way to commit hit-and-run. Protocols to avoid or reduce damages, and get the infrastructure “up to Dutch” to prevent. And crush any vehicle used to commit hit-and-run, with the driver inside if the victim dies. Yes, I’m a little “testy” after filtering the Feed today. I think the most disturbing thing in the link was the notice that killing a cyclist is a $164 ticket as long as you’re sober and remain at the scene, license not required.

And from one FL death we segue to the aftermath of another death. Friends, John Carroll classmates mourn Vero teen at Fort Pierce prayer service They’re killing them so fast they don’t even have time to bury the last one before the next one gets killed. The cyclist was hit from behind while riding in the bike lane and forced over the guard rail into the water below where he drowned. I place this one in the classification of “murder” because the driver had to leave the road to even get to the cyclist, and because of that guard rail that the cyclist was knocked over this becomes a wreck that was “unavoidable by human cyclists”. If they find the murdererdriver they need to throw him over the side of a tall bridge into deep water.

An injury wreck in L.A. CA. 2 bicyclists injured in Los Angeles collision The cyclist were hit by a vehicle that ran the red light, making the number of people on the one bike immaterial compared to the running the red light and nearly destroying two human beings. Not something that can be avoided by human cyclists and as the existing infrastructure was ignored by the driver of the weapon vehicle changing the physical infrastructure won’t help either unless the changes made hitting the cyclists physically impossible at any time. I’m thinking bollards that rise up out of the road in all directions completely blocking the intersection during a separate “scramble” phase for cyclists so that red light runners only destroy their own vehicles, not fragile human bodies.

Still in CA LEO publically identified the cyclist killed in a hit-and-run. POLICE IDENTIFY DRIVER, CYCLIST IN FATAL OCEANSIDE HIT-AND-RUN Now if they would just arrest that driver, or “discreetly” release name and address and normal time of driving to work…

Still rocking it in CA with “What good is a law with a mandatory penalty that isn’t enforced?” At least one Bay Area cyclist has died since the three-feet law went into effect Not only died, but died in exactly the kind of wreck the passing law was supposed to prevent, or punish if not prevented.

Yeah, all those scary “speeding cyclists” in Central Park would not even qualify for a ticket. Many Racing Cyclists Are Still Under Central Park’s Speed Limit Even the ones exceeding the limit are only going about 5 over and tickets don’t start until more than 10 over…

Still in NYC. Lower East Side Grease Spill Causes Trouble For Cyclists Nasty smelly mess that was bringing down cyclists by the bus loads until someone did something about it. As for what you can do in the same situation, you will fall down so try to stay tucked up so you don’t break an arm or hand.

Lots of links to this improbable report from MA. Cyclist killed after crashing into truck in Wrentham and Cyclist Struck And Killed By Dump Truck In Wrentham also Cyclist Dies After Getting Hit By Truck In Wrentham I’m going to classify this as a SWCC because the cyclist did not live through the impact, much less long enough to let anyone know his side of the story. The driver could have drifted into the cyclist’s lane and hit him before swerving off the road and into that tree or pole or whatever. Looking at the scene in Google Street View I’m going to go out on a limb here and say it is quite likely that the truck driver swerved when he hit the cyclist in his own lane because that utility pole is right at the corner meaning the truck would have had to start swerving well before getting to the intersection to wipe the pole and a tree. Even the excuse about “The cyclist may have been blinded by the sun” doesn’t seem to fit unless that was the world’s quietest dump truck. The geometry just doesn’t fit the narrative.

Drivers want to hit cyclists in the UK so bad they drive off the road to hit Ghost Bikes. Memorial to cyclist killed at Mancunian Way junction destroyed after car smashes into it Seriously, this is the third time in 13 months that something bad has happened at this intersection, first the cyclist was hit using the crosswalk, then someone coming to tidy the memorial was brushed back in the crosswalk, and now the memorial itself was smashed. Cars are driving too fast for this intersection and someone has already been killed, how big a body count do they need?

And even the best riders in the world are no match for an idiot with a motor vehicle. St Helens cycle-crash victim named as former international cyclist David Hitchin

Not much on this one from Oz. Cyclist left with serious injuries after crash south of Sydney

Another wreck in Oz. Tributes flow for stalwart killed in cycling crash The slight bit of information on the actual wreck sounds like a buzz job. Hit from behind protocols to avoid or reduce damages, and get the infrastructure “up to Dutch” to prevent.

Left hook in Enn Zed. Christchurch cyclist dies under a truck Even the cop that showed up incidentally knows this was just the driver driving into a space he couldn’t see was safe to drive into. I suppose if the cyclist was really good on the bike and had extraordinary levels of SA intersection protocols might have resulted in a survivable wreck. Dutch levels of infrastructure would have resulted in a semi truck never getting anywhere near a cyclist.

Our Daily Ted is not good news today. Morning Links: Victim and suspect identified in Oceanside hit-and-run, charges filed in PV road rampage It may be a few days until we get another Daily Ted.

Speaking of that infrastructure. Deaths Expose Chaos of Central Park’s Loop

A little bit of lifestyle from MA. Falmouth bike ride is a new mission for an injured vet

And I have managed to run out of links before I ran out of sanity, hurray!

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

The truck is LATE! and the Feed

OK my birthday present to myself seems to have gone missing. Tracking from the vendor said the truck left their warehouse late Wednesday morning and was expected at my house about 1800 +/-. It is currently 1540 as I type this on Thursday afternoon, and not even a call to verify I will be at the house for delivery. The vendor has my land line number that has only rung once today for someone trying to get money from someone else, I have called my land line from my cell and verified working status, and my stuff is “out there somewhere”. My level of frustration is climbing by the hour, I think partially because this is something that has been almost 50 years in coming. I have wanted a Bucket ever since seeing my first Fad T with a psychedelic panel paint job in 1969. A T Bucket is Car, distilled to essence. Four wheels, an engine, steering, brakes, and a place to sit, that is what a T Bucket is. If it isn’t part of Go, Whoa, or Which Way it isn’t on a T Bucket, which is what I like about that particular kind of car. And now mine is missing before I even got to see it. 😥

ETA I got another e-mail from the vendor saying my stuff will be delivered tomorrow and that the Wednesday by 1800 e-mail was sent in error.

I’m really hoping this is pure karma and not anyone “helping”. Driver who fatally struck cyclist dies in crash I prefer to think that karma ran over his… that’s why there was no witnesses or evidence.

An SC cyclist apparently ran a stop sign just before getting killed. Coroner identifies cyclist killed in Spartanburg Co. wreck and Officials identify cyclist killed in Boiling Springs collision Intersection protocols include waiting at stop signs to avoid getting hit. This wreck took place at the boundary between residential and rural in a mostly-rural area, in the Dutch model there would be a bicycle highway running parallel to the road where the cyclist was killed that would be reached before the cyclist reached the highway and eliminated the need to cross the highway.

A NE cyclist is killed by a drunk driver. Bicyclist Killed In Crash South Of Lincoln Mode of the wreck not given, but the intersection makes it possible that intersection protocols might have been of use. Getting the infrastructure “up to Dutch” including the penalty for drunk driving and for killing a cyclist would have prevented this wreck, most likely.

More on the pedestrian death in Central Park. Cyclist-pedestrian crash deaths rare, as are resulting lawsuits and Did a Cycling App That Turns Casual Rides Into Time Trials Play a Role in the Central Park Bike Death? Ugghhh! If the media would spend anywhere near the amount of ink on people getting killed by people driving on the sidewalk (about 50 a year in NYC) as they did on the third cycling death since 2006 then maybe there would be fewer people killed by people driving on the sidewalks. I mean there have been more people killed by lightning in Central Park than there have been killed by bicycles in the entire city… Not that I am minimizing this death. It is tragic, and deserves every bit of attention paid to it.

Our Daily Ted. Morning Links: Charges filed in death of randonnuer Matthew O’Neill; pro cyclist honored for abandoning race

Some good Infrastructure! news from NM. $1M to boost Santa Fe railroad crossing safety for pedestrians, cyclists

Legal Infrastructure in DC. What is “contributory negligence,” and why is it such a big danger for cyclists and pedestrians?

A little infrastructure from NYC. Why Do Cyclists Ignore Red Lights?

A little infrastructure news from Oz as they get ready to implement a 3-feet-to-pass law. Cyclists welcome tighter rules for motorists overtaking bikes

And that’s all the links I found today.

Billed @€0.02, Opus the unkillable badass Poet

My birthday present to me is coming, and the Feed

I went ahead and bought the body for the Sprint T (or the simulator for same) and the e-mail came in the order was shipped this morning and should be on my driveway by this evening. Yay! I will take many pictures of the box and contents when they arrive. And if it gets delivered before I finish the post they will be at the bottom of this post. I’m so excited I’m practically “squeeing” and jumping up and down, which is kind of silly for a person of my advanced years. Yes, I’m admitting I’m getting too old to act like a kid getting a new toy, but I’m still acting like a kid with a new toy anyway. So there! 😉

Up first is a report from Oz of a cyclist going off the road and into a tree, because there were so many links to the story. Well known doctor critically injured in cycling accident also Alstonville cyclist critical after crashing into tree and GP fighting for his life after bicycle crash at Alstonville Right now the cause of the wreck is practically a state secret, but such wrecks are very seldom this serious without a motor vehicle in the works somewhere. It looks like a “punishment pass” or maybe a “buzz job” that caused the cyclist to leave the road (not much difference between the two in practice, it’s just a different intent prior to the wreck) and they cyclist found a tree in his escape route while employing hit-from-behind protocols. Unfortunately life is not like Hollywood, where the stunts are planned in advance to the nth degree. Real Life™ is a constant series of “winging it” and hoping for the best, and sometimes that means you run into trees trying to get away from hoons in cars. Get the infrastructure “up to Dutch” to prevent.

Next is from someplace I haven’t lived for at least 53 years… Bicycle rider killed in hit and run in Clarksville and Police find vehicle in Clarksville cyclist fatality Again LEO are not releasing the mode of the wreck, but the location suggests a hit-from-behind wreck, so protocols to avoid or reduce damages, and get the infrastructure “up to Dutch” to prevent.

Update on the bike-on-ped wreck from last week from the paper of record. Woman Hit by a Bicyclist in Central Park Dies OK now seriously, I would dearly love to see this much attention paid to any of the other pedestrians killed that week, but they were killed with motor vehicles.

A PA wreck from the police blotter. Sentinel police log for Sept. 23 You have to look for the report, but being a blotter report there isn’t much on the mode or anything else. The driver appeared to be sober at least.

A rash of wrecks in Chucktown SC. Pedestrian and bicyclist injured in downtown hit-and-runs The cyclist was hit by a right hook, so intersection protocols to avoid or reduce damages, and get the infrastructure “up to Dutch” to prevent.

A CO wreck approaches closure. Driver who injured ex-pro cyclist pleads guilty Now a suitable sentence… like crushing his car and pulling his license for life.

A wreck in AK. Cyclist injured in Fairbanks bike-truck collision This report is so biased I don’t know what happened except the cyclist was hit riding on the road, “outside the area designated for bicyclists“, whatever that is supposed to mean.

Serious wreck in Canuckistan. Cyclist injured in crash on Sargent Avenue in Winnipeg It looks like the cyclist ran the stop sign, or stopped and went without seeing the car that hit her. That would indicate intersection protocols to avoid in particular the part about stopping at stop signs, and getting the infrastructure “up to Dutch” to prevent. The geometry and physics of this wreck are interesting. Notice the front wheel was separated from the bike in the wreck but there was little to no damage to that wheel, the lack of damage to the front of the weapon vehicle, the proximity of the weapon vehicle to the intersection where the cyclist was riding, and the cyclist’s shoe sitting in the street. Some of those point to a high speed at impact (front wheel separation, cyclist’s shoe) and others strongly indicate a low speed for the weapon vehicle. And all those cans with no damage are also an indication that the weapon vehicle was not going very fast at impact. I counted 11 of 12 cans with no damage in the picture. Very strange…

There is some question of was the rider even where he was supposed to be in this wreck in the Great White North. Five injured when Gatineau bus collides with cyclist I think the wreck was hit-from-behind, but no confirmation on that. I strongly feel that this wreck showed how badly this city needs infrastructure “up to Dutch” to prevent wrecks.

LEO on bike wreck in the GWN. SIU called in after Brampton cyclist seriously injured Because of LEO involvement the only thing we know is it was at an intersection so assume something in the intersection protocols will help avoiding or reducing damages, and getting the infrastructure “up to Dutch” will prevent a similar wreck.

This little gadget could make a difference in the aftermath of a wreck. Polaroid’s Teensy, Cheap, and Durable “Cube” Camera Is Good News for NYC Bikers

Closing with this link. What to do if you’re hit by a car while riding your bike

And as of right now my order from Speedway hasn’t showed up yet.

Billed @€0.02, Opus the unkillable badass Poet