Brexit and Witch on a Bicycle

Yes Brexit does have an effect on us here at Casa de El Poeta. One of our spawn is living in Edinburgh, and has naturalized. Now she gets to vote in the next Scottish Independence election. Hopefully this time they won’t allow the rest of the UK to decide if Scotland wants to leave.

But seriously, the pound had the worst single-day decline in value since Germany post-WWI, and I’m just guessing that the mark was worse during hyperinflation… Nope, this was even worse than that according to Wikipedia. The mark never lost as much in a single day as the pound did yesterday.

The money that the right was “promising” would go to the NHS? If it ever existed, the loss of value in the pound wiped all that and more. I’m more inclined to think it was a “political” promise, worth exactly as much as unicorn farts and fairy dust, only less real. After all unicorns did exist at one time (European rhinoceroses with single long horns existed at the end of the ice age) and their intestinal gas is now long dispersed, the £350 million per week to the NHS was pure fantasy. I’m not sure if my daughter still works for the NHS or not, but this will seriously effect her even if she’s no longer working for them. After all NHS is pretty much the only game in town, or not in town if you live in the countryside.

I suppose the takeaway from this is to beware the power of stupid people in large numbers, because they can hurt you.

PSA Opus

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I cooked dinner tonight, and the Feed

Well most of it anyway. We splurged and bought ³/₄ of a pound of chicken livers because I haven’t had chicken livers in years. Part of the reasons for that is Mrs. the Poet refuses to go through the mess and bother of cooking them, primarily because she can barely eat them. I wrapped about half a pound of bacon around the livers and fried them up, a preparation method that leaves the livers so that I love them, and Mrs. the Poet will at least have a couple of ounces total uncooked weight so she gets some protein in her meal. Anyway that takes a while to cut the bacon strips in half, wrap them around the livers, and fry them up. So I ended up losing about an hour from the filtering process preparing the blog post, but as this was Friday and I have to wait until after midnight to finish filtering I could afford to take the time out for cooking. And they were goooooood…

Up first is Our Daily Ted. Morning Links: Bike beats car in race to beach, Calbike wants your take on bike politics, and BMX legend dies

Still in CA. Bicyclist Suffers Major Injuries in Head-On Crash Near Jalama A person claiming to be the driver in the comment section said she was to the right of the centerline and the cyclist was on the wrong side of the road.

And speaking of that BMX legend, here’s a link off of my Twitter feed. Dave Mirra, BMX Legend, Dead At 41

Down in Houston a 3YO cyclist is run over by a driver that did not know he was there when the SUV started moving. Former UGA star Danny Ware fighting for body of son killed in Texas Again this is more of an issue with the blind spots of the SUV around kids.

In WI a kid-authored bill would make cycling the official state exercise. Kids Advocate for Biking to be State Exercise With two bike manufacturers in-state (Trek and Volae), this is really a no-brainer choice to make.

A bill presented to the FL legislature would strengthen the state 3-foot passing law and extend it to other road users. SPEAK UP FOR SAFETY OF PEOPLE ON BICYCLES, PEOPLE ON FOOT One of the major changes proposed is to put teeth in the law when a driver hits a cyclist from behind (or a pedestrian or any of the other classes of “vulnerable users”) substantial fines are levied against the driver.

More infrastructure news from FL. Recent accidents raises concerns for local cyclists It’s worth noting that of the recent wrecks listed none were the cyclist’s fault and would have resulted in the enhanced penalties in the proposed bill mentioned in the previous paragraph.

Update on an injured CO cyclist. Fort Collins cyclist hit by car remains hospitalized I do wish they would stop saying drivers don’t get hurt when they hit cyclists with their cars.

Death-defying report from NY. Police log: Dogs chase man on bike

Another link to the saga of the unlicensed driver in an HGV running over a cyclist wearing HiViz and blinky lights waiting at a red light. Lorry driver who killed cyclist jail appeal rejected Did he seriously expect to get a reduction in his sentence after having multiple driving convictions and driving without a license or insurance when he killed the cyclist? He’s lucky they didn’t find a way to increase the sentence.

Infrastructure-related wreck in Oz. Cyclist falls on deteriorating Bellarine Rail Trail amid calls for repairs It seems they can’t decide if the cyclist wrecked because the surface was bad, or because the surface collapsed underneath her.

New gadgets for the tool geeks out there. The 6 coolest accessories we’ve spotted this week That suction-cup bike carrier looks interesting.

And I think I don’t have any more links (checks) Nope, no more links.

Billed @€0.02, Opus

Yesterday was a busy day, and the Feed

Yesterday was another day spent mostly away from Casa de El Poeta, being a volunteer for the HRC and mostly riding DART. I had to miss morning services because it took all morning to get from home to the bowling alley where HRC was holding their fund-raiser (Carnibowl), specifically that part of the morning when morning services were held. I got done early enough to make it to evening services at church, and then home to catch up on my e-mails. I finally got caught up on those about 0145, so I decided to just bag it and head to bed.

This morning was interesting mostly because we got checks for a class settlement for getting ripped off by Wells Fargo when we had our mortgage through them, to the tune of nearly $800 total for the six years involved in the settlement.

Up first is part 1 of Our Daily Ted. Morning Links: Improving bike safety on Bouquet Canyon, less liability on bike paths, and doping gets mechanical

Part 2 of Our Daily Ted. Bike rider killed in South LA collision last week

And Part 3. And the winner is… I deliberately did not submit an entry for this because I have bikes I could ride with a little work and I thought that someone else should hav a crack at it that doesn’t have a bike. Ted agreed with me as you can read in his post.

Still in CA. Cyclist killed in latest hit-and-run Another article that is more concerned about the clothes the cyclist was wearing than the fact the driver left the scene with an injured person on the road.

Guess what happened in the most deadliest state in the US to walk or ride a bicycle? Bicyclist killed in Sarasota hit-and-run identified Hit from behind and hit-and-run, all it takes to make it a trifecta of Stoopid would be an impaired driver without a license.

Still in FL. Cyclist, 16, dies in hospital one week after wreck in Royal Palm Another wreck that blames a cyclist for not being in a crosswalk.

Cyclist down in CO. 53-year-old Ft. Collins cyclist injured in crash

Update on a cyclist down in NM. Bike ride organized to support injured teen

Over one state in AZ, another hit-and-run. Boy on bicycle injured by hit-and-run driver Another article erroneously suggesting that cyclists belong in a crosswalk.

More on that OH cyclist killed by an impaired driver. Cyclist dies after hit-and-run; driver to be charged with aggravated vehicular homicide, police say “The driver, Melinda Woodall, 34, of Amelia, tried to hide three bottles of pills in her bra after hitting 42-year-old Michael Prater of Cincinnati on Kellogg Avenue.” There was also drug paraphenalia inside the car.

This NY wreck looks like another serious case of windshield bias. Investigation nears end, driver to be ticketed in Hammond cyclist’s death Hit-from-behind and the driver will get… TWO tickets (not just one). TANJ!

VT infrastructure news. COUNCIL APPROVES CONTROVERSIAL BALLOT QUESTION ON BURLINGTON TRAFFIC CHANGE I want to know who put giving all the streets and roads over to cars up for a vote?

Another wounded veterans ride. Ride 2 Recovery helping local veterans cope with injuries and PTSD

A confessed candidate for life in prison over in Jolly Olde. Drink-driver admits causing the death of a cyclist in Walton crash I think I have made my opinions of drunk drivers known over the last 7 or so years I have been doing the blog here on WordPress. The thought of this waste of skin actually getting back out on the roads again just makes my skin crawl.

Also in Jolly Olde. Floral tributes at Great North Road in Newcastle after cyclist dies in hospital Sounds like a great guy taken too soon.

Even the best place in the world can be made better. Even Copenhagen Makes Mistakes

Over in Oz, another driver gets a serious case of the Stoopids when he sees a pack of cyclists on the road. Cyclist’s on-bike camera shows road rage incident in Glen Forrest If I wasn’t positive the guy that tried to kill me was dead and buried…

Still in Oz… Cars are ‘lethal weapons’: killed cyclist’s partner voices her anger and grief Anybody remember that Mythbusters episode where they compared driving while talking on a cell phone to drunk driving, with drunk driving coming out slightly better?

A wreck in Enn Zed. Cyclist avoids serious injury in riverside crash Hit from behind wreck that turned out not-too-bad considering. His ‘bent is now really bent, but a wrecked bike is better than a wrecked life.

And I’m outta links, time to proof and tag and get this thing published.

Billed @$0.02, Opus the Poet

Still just plugging along and nothing much happening, and the Feed

I’m still prowling the web for raw stock to build the Mini Sprint-T after failing to find local sources for single-project size lots of sheet, rod/tube, and strip polystyrene. None of the local hobby stores carry anything in plastic raw stock, and the local plastics distributors won’t sell anything resembling hobby lots of supplies. Deja vu all over again, this was the same thing that happened a few years ago when I was buying raw stock for making custom bicycles that I couldn’t get by cannibalizing bikes left on the side of the street.

Up first, NYPD decides hit-and-run is legal. Cyclist killed in Brooklyn hit-and-run and Brooklyn Cyclist Killed By Hit-And-Run Rental Truck Driver also NYPD: Still Defending Hit-and-Run Drivers to the Press [Updated] Why is it that when a crime is committed with a car NYPD falls all over itself to absolve the driver of criminal charges? This wreck was a hit-from-behind wreck after the cyclist crossed the intersection with no escape route. the way to the left was blocked by the truck, the way to the right was blocked by a high curb.

Still in NYC is this counting of accumulated death and injury for last month. DOT: 1,445 Pedestrians and Cyclists Injured, 16 Killed in December [Updated] Vision Zero only works when LEO is signed on to enforce laws, but as we saw in the previous paragraph NYPD actively works to not enforce traffic laws that protect vulnerable users.

Our Daily Ted part one. Morning Links: Possible murder on Irvine bike path; public meeting tonight to discuss traffic in Griffith Park

That murder Ted was talking about. Police: Irvine man’s death on bike path is investigated as a homicide

Daily Ted part two. 69-year old bike rider killed in Calexico; first bicycling fatality in Imperial County since 2012

Still in CA. Caltrans seeks 5,000 volunteer motorists for mileage fee pilot program The proposed program will extract user fees from vehicles proportional to the damages done by the vehicle without depending on a gas tax since electric vehicles don’t use gas.

Also still in CA, red light running cyclists are a menace, drivers doing the same thing… [Update] State Senator Seeks To Reduce Fine For Red-Light Violation So the year after raising the red light fine on cyclists they reduce it for drivers who actually killed dozens of people in CA from failing to stop before making a right on red. RIiiiGHT

Seeing the MO flag on a 15 foot pole bill as the victim blaming it really is. WHY THE MISSOURI BICYCLE FLAG BILL IS NOT AS FUNNY AS YOU THINK

Up in the Great White North. Quebec coroner issues 3 recommendations after 2014 cyclist death

From Jolly Olde what appears to be a punishment pass. Maidstone cyclist captures near miss in Dean Street

Still in Jolly Olde, today’s our day for murder/attempted murder on the roads. Man arrested on suspicion of attempted murder after woman found injured in the road Don’t you just hate when the news outlet feels compelled to tell people that the person inside the light armored vehicle used to seriously injure someone was unharmed during the commission of the mayhem?

And burying the Big Story way down in the post, deliberate assault in Oz. Female cyclist injured in road rage attack on Beach Rd, Beaumaris and Coke bottles thrown at cyclists in shocking Beach Road attack also Woman hospitalised after shocking road rage incident Chuck a full bottle of cola soft drink at someone’s head should be classified as an assault, if not a terroristic act.

Are you worried that you are not as green as you could be on your bike? Is there such a thing as eco-friendly bike lube? As pointed out in the article, riding a bike is already seriously green even using the “worst” bike lubes, there is only a tiny bit to be gained by going to another kind of bike lube.

One thing heavily touted about driverless cars is eliminating drunk driving, but now you’re telling me that won’t happen? Are self-driving cars legal? And if so, can I drive home drunk in one?

More stupid infrastructure tricks. 12 of America’s Biggest Highway Boondoggles There are an uncomfortably large number of TXDoT projects on that list.

High hopes for e-assist bikes’ future. 1 in 3 bicycles will be an e-bike by 2023: Study Possibly too high hopes, the projections seem unrealistic.

Last link is something that is on every parent’s mind when their kid(s) is(are) out on two wheels. What to Do When Your Kid Crashes a Bike

And that’s all I got today. Apparently I missed Penguin Awareness Day, not that I need any more awareness of penguins with my name. More tomorrow.

Billed @$0.02, Opus

More stuff arrived, and the Feed

The new Crock Pot™, and the tires and engine for the Mini Sprint-T arrived via USPS this morning. I have already measured the tires and all I have to do to make them the perfect size is figure out how to inflate them on the wheels until the glue dries or otherwise hold the simulated beads of the tires up against the simulated flanges of the wheels. They are molded with the beads a scale 7″ apart (0.28) causing the sidewalls to be a scale 9″ wide (0.36) when they need to be 8″ apart and 10″ wide respectively. One way I can see of doing this would be to glue one bead to the outside flange of the wheel then put a tiny bit of AB expanding foam inside the tire to push it to the inside flange of the wheel, then glue it in place if needed.

The engine kit was fully chromed, as in everything on the sprue was covered in vacuum-sprayed aluminum. This will simulate a highly-polished aluminum block and heads which the 1:1 car will not have (as much as I would like to put an aluminum block SBC in the Sprint-T), but which will make the model stand out should I decide to put it in a car show.

Up first is a new world record that was set before I was born. Tarzan Rides the HAM’R Kurt Searvogel 75116 miles in one year. I have never even driven a car that many miles in a year. That’s 8.57 MPH average for the entire year, including all off the bike activity. That’s almost fast enough to make this a randonneur event of more than 120K km or 100 Paris-Brest-Paris rides.

Anyone need a cruiser bike for free? Let’s give someone a new bike, courtesy of Beachbikes.net Let me know if you’re the winner.

Still talking Ted. Morning Links: New laws are much ado about nothing, bad bicyclist behavior, and ride faster and save your sperm

Still in CA. San Jose: Downtown bicyclist killed in city’s first traffic death of the year The narrative does not indicate the cyclist was caught by a stale green.

Over in OR. Man hit while bicycling near Western Oregon University is last Oregon road fatality of 2015 This was the guy hit by a drunk driver then knocked into oncoming traffic by the impact.

Should we celebrate? NYC Traffic Deaths Decreased For A Second Straight Year In 2015 Now if they could just do something about the SUVs driving through crowded sidewalks and killing people, and the drivers not even getting a ticket…

Hit-and-run down in MD. Cyclist killed in collision with car in St. Mary’s County and UPDATE: Bicyclist in California Killed in Hit and Run Accident The picture shows a bicycle hit straight from behind, but I can’t read the speedlimit sign visible in the picture because of excessive glare from the camera flash reflecting from the sign.

There was also a DE wreck. Cyclist Injured in Crash on Bay Rd. in Frederica The street views show a highway with a 55 MPH speed limit and driveways running right into the road, or IOW a “stroad”. The wreck narrative indicates a cyclist trying to get to or from one of the commercial establishments on the opposite side of the road. There were not many crossing points in the median.

A Detroit-area cyclist is killed. Canton cyclist hit by car, killed Sunday I know riding a bike feels like magic, but we can’t “appeared all of a sudden“. The victim was there all along, just because you didn’t process his existence until impact doesn’t mean cyclists can violate the laws of physics. If the driver didn’t see the cyclist, then it is highly likely the driver was driving too fast for conditions. The video indicated the cyclist was “crossing”, but the text does not and there were no pictures of the bike that I can use to determine the direction of impact. So until otherwise treat this as a cyclist not allowing enough time to get clear of the street.

The most deadliest state to ride a bike kills another cyclist. Port Richey bicyclist killed in crash on U.S. 19 Again the cyclist was “in the intersection” but no direction of travel was given. So this could be any mode of wreck that just happened to be in an intersection. And I looked up the intersection claimed for the wreck and I strongly suspect either a stale green or excessively short green as a possible cause of the wreck because the one street is basically just an access road between shopping centers.

A PA cyclist appears to have been right hooked or left crossed. Elderly cyclist injured after being hit by car Friday night The narrative is not specific, but it is highly suggestive as the cyclist was not accused of either having not enough lights or running a traffic control and the driver was “trying to get on a ramp” to a highway.

A bit of the kind of bicycle infrastructure in Boston that we don’t think about until we need it. Boston Bike Cafe Has Transportation Equity on the Menu This is a local creation intended to support the commuting cyclists in the area who can’t affotd a car or even transit.

Speaking of “too poor”, lets not leave out “too stupid”. ‘Nervous’ cyclist found carrying drugs and knife is jailed to ‘wipe the slate clean’ Lights would have prevented a stint in the Grey Bar Hilton. Just sayin’.

Still in Jolly Olde a cyclist recovering more than 3 years after the wreck gets a hefty payout. Cyclist wins £100k payout for collision that left him in wheelchair for four months As in my wreck he was found to have torn ligaments long after the wreck.

Apparently the writer didn’t re-read his opening paragraph when composing the last few. Lycra lout cyclists, stop! On city streets bikes are for transport, not sport But in the opening paragraph she said,”Cyclists trundling along under 8mph had far more incidents and near misses than the fast mob.”

Still in Jolly Olde this cyclist repeats an epic charity ride. Larne cyclist to repeat epic 500km Swiss cycle challenge It’s not the distance, it’s the mountain passes climbed that make it “epic”.

And it’s almost midnight and I’m outta links.

Billed @$0.02, Opus

My car is shipping east, and the Feed

According to the Amazon Package Tracker my model kit left Anaheim headed east in a slow semi trailer at 0508 PST, but my take is it went into said trailer at 0508 and probably is leaving as I type this. Now it is possible that they loaded the trailers yesterday and it left this morning but as I am always prepared for the worst while hoping for the best I’m gonna stick with “tossed into the trailer at 0508” scenario. That and the fact that I worked in such a facility many moons ago back when I was a strapping young poet with few marketable skills besides the ability to run a MS-DOS computer and muscles to here. And for those not old enough to remember MS-DOS was a text-based OS with a command line interface, and you had to remember the commands to use to get the computer to do things. And also which floppy disk was program and which one was data for that program. I’m going to let you Google what a floppy disk is. It was a dark time when the internet was still controlled by DARPA and BBS ruled the cyberscape… Again they are not supposed to have the package with my car here any sooner than Wednesday, and no later than next Monday, so there is still lots of time yet.

And 74 years ago today because of a paperwork error that caused Japan’s Declaration of War to be delivered late, Pearl Harbor was attacked without warning. When you read the links today you’ll know why I made “paperwork error” a thing in that paragraph.

Up first because FloriDUH! Driver ‘killed cyclist while receiving sex act from female passenger at the wheel’ There was a news outlet local to the wreck with another article about the wreck but oddly enough the web page was “not responding” when I tried to load the article… Now this definitely falls under the heading of “things cyclists have no control over”.

Closer to home, a convicted underage drunk driver is caught on video at a drunken party violating his parole. ‘Affluenza’ teen who killed four in drunk driving case seen partying it up in new video My loathing of this particular walking canker-on-the-ass-of-society is exceeded only by my loathing of the judge who accepted the “affluenza” defense and basically let him go.

Our Daily Ted expounds on crap bicycle parking amongst other things. Weekend Links: Deplorable Gold Line bike locker, distracted beach biking, and a 17-mile non-CicLAvia ciclovía

Meanwhile in NYC. SUV Driver Kills 30-Year-Old Woman On Fort Greene Sidewalk None of the charges reflect that he was driving on the sidewalk and hit 3 people, killing one.

Now in America’s Paradise they aren’t fooling around. Driver high on meth gets stiff sentence in cyclist’s death What I was heartened by were all the comments saying that the sentence was weak, not “stiff”. It makes me think that maybe killing a cyclist while sober will get treated the same way at some time in the future.

Now since this guy hit two people and killed one, maybe they put him away for a long time, too? Bicyclist Killed, Pedestrian Injured In Lawndale Crash Or maybe they just give the guy a stern talking-to and send him on his way?

What better way to honor a fallen cyclist than by replacing him or her with dozens more cyclists? Event honoring cyclist killed in Hanover donates 60 bikes to kids We are like they heads of the hydra… Only worse.

Over in KS another gorram hit-and-run. Cyclist injured in hit-and-run on Topeka Boulevard If the location given on the map embedded in the article is accurate, all I can say is “why?” That location was shown as the frontage road for the major road, and the cyclist was hit from behind, then left to fend for himself. Standard diatribes against hit-and-run “drivers” apply.

Infrastructure in MD. Montgomery County pushing forward with Bicycle Master Plan A plan with no budget is nothing.

And this article is why I don’t see anything from the preceding paragraph ever actually getting built. Davidsonville man spared jail time for assault on cyclist after crash Only a $142.50 and 15 hours in community service for assault with a deadly weapon, assault, and leaving the scene of a wreck? And the second assault was after he broke the man’s arm with the deadly weapon, meaning he had no way to defend himself. Has everyone in the damned court gone absolutely bonkers?

Meanwhile in Canuckistan. Friends of cyclist killed on rural Alberta road raising money to benefit widow and young daughters If you’re local to this WoaB strongly encourages contributing to the event.

In the same city, 2 links of infrastructure news. Cycle track complaints have significantly decreased, 3-1-1 data shows The only ones left complaining are the severely entitled drivers.

And whaddya know, build it and they will come. Women cyclists already surpassing cycle track targets They seriously understate the increase in women cycling going from 23% to 32% as an increase of 9%, my calculations are that’s a 39% increase in women.

First link from outside North America is a bit strange. Taxi driver and passenger assaulted by cyclist in Govanhill OK the cyclist beat up two people. Two questions” 1) How could he beat up people inside a light armored vehicle? I’m assuming the doors were locked while the vehicle was in motion. 2) There were 2 of them and only the one “of slim build” cyclist how did the cyclist manage to beat up two against one? And again they were inside a light armored vehicle while he was out in the weather. Methinks there is much more to the story than is presented in the press. The delay in reporting the incident also raises red flags.

In the meanwhile, this wreck is being treated as attempted murder. Police treating cyclist being knocked down as attempted murder and Cyclist in critical condition after collision which police are treating as attempted murder The driver attempted to run over a LEO while escaping the initial wreck, which led LEO to decide the wreck may have been deliberate and no “accident”.

And more on the idiot doing more than 50 MPH on a curve posted as safe for 30 MPH and hitting a cyclist on the opposite side of the road. Dangerous driver who killed Ormskirk cyclist jailed for two years The “I was being tailgated” excuse is as flimsy as a wet Kleenex.

But they let this guy slide almost completely. Driving ban and curfew for driver who killed cyclist Again I would put the “ban” in quotes because it’s only a ban if someone is checking on him. Otherwise it’s a minor inconvenience at worst because he has to driver exactly within the laws to avoid getting pulled over.

But in this case where the driver was a danger to other drivers… Dash cam footage of dangerous overtaking lands driver in jail in UK first No one was killed, or even injured in this incident, but the driver got 8 months behind bars and a 4 month longer driving ban than the killer in the previous paragraph. TANJ!

Meanwhile in Oz… Cyclist killed in collision with car at Bennett Springs and Male cyclist dies after being hit by car in eastern Perth suburb of Bennet Springs

And as insane as it sounds I have run out of links.

Billed @€0.02, Opus (I may switch that back to US$ if the exchange rate keeps changing).

We’ve been here 7 years now, and the Feed

November 23rd is significant for a number of reasons beyond being the day JFK was shot in 1963. It’s also the day I started posting my blog here after getting more or less kicked off of MySpace for having excessive links 7 years ago. I dual posted for about a month with the link to this blog at the bottom of the old blog on MySpace and went from 800 readers per day to about 50 (but on the other hand I’m still going, has anyone heard anything about MySpace in the last year?). I have gotten some recognition from my peers since moving to WordPress, sometimes had enough readers to actually get a few bucks from advertisers, and gotten some free stuff to review a few times. Overall it has been fun, but there have been a few times when it got so overwhelming I just wanted to walk away and read web comics and ride my bike. But I persevered, got some counselling, and just put my head down and kept going. Which brings us to today. But before I do today, 52 years ago I was rudely awakened from my nap in the kindergarten class of Iliahi Elementary School in Wahiawa, HI to be told that the President had been shot and killed in Dallas. My immediate question was what country was Dallas and when were we going to go to war with them.

Ordinarily I start inside the US and work my way out, but today the story closest to WoaB World HQ in the Beautiful Suburbs of Hell is in Mexico City. Protesters demand traffic safety in Mexico City after cyclists’ deaths and Mexico City made itself more bike-friendly—and cycling accidents went up Part of the problem seems to be drivers as one of the cyclists was hit from behind by a bus in the shared bus/bike lane. I don’t see how cyclist education would do anything to prevent that.

Baby steps towards justice for a cyclist killed in NYC. City Fires Contractor Responsible For Tree That Killed Cyclist In Red Hook This is the first stage, firing the contractor. Then comes charges, prosecution, and eventually a brisk rap on the wrist, followed by a lawsuit that bankrupts the contractor.

Still in NYC a local newspaperfishwrap wets its pants over the prospect of an Idaho Stop law. The NY Post Is Terrified Cyclists Might Someday Be Allowed To Cautiously Run Red Lights Not the best picture to illustrate the article, a salmon cyclist holding a demitasse of espresso while riding with one hand and holding a shopping bag to the handlebars.

And in the meantime real killers are allowed to stalk the streets unimpeded. MTA Bus Driver Strikes Pedestrian In LES Crosswalk Since the victim was in the crosswalk I’m going to assume he had the right of way until proven otherwise.

Back to the other side of the country for Our Daily Ted. Morning Links: LAPD still looking for hit-and-run cyclist, and a bike rider critically injured in SoLA hit-and-run That “hit-and-run” should be in quotes in the headline, because the cyclist hung around until everybody else left and nobody took his contact data… Even the cop looking for him says as much.

Still in CA a memorial to a 9 YO cyclist killed with a van. Irvine grieves for boy, 9, struck and killed on bicycle Apparently they are assigning a large part of the blame to the driver on this wreck, because every time they mentioned motor vehicle operators the words “slow down” were in close proximity.

A bit of infrastructure news from the war zone in CA. Vineland Bike Lanes: So Much Space, So Much Failure It’s really hard to ride in bike lanes when they are full of cars. Too bad CA isn’t a “Stand Your Ground” state so that cyclists could shoot drivers in the bike lanes with their deadly weapons deployed against the cyclists.

A ninja cyclist is hit in PA. Cyclist injured in State College The cyclist had the right of way, but because he was riding ninja the driver couldn’t see him to yield he got hit and blamed for the wreck.

A driver failed to take care of his diabetes and killed a cyclist during a hypoglycemic blackout. Delivery driver who hid the fact he was diabetic from his employers at Currys PC World killed a cyclist when he blacked out at the wheel during a hypoglycaemic attack Yes they spell it with too many vowels, I think it’s to make up for the lack of them in Wales. Anywho they gave him almost 4 years (44 months) in prison for the killing (and I suspect for withholding the information about his diabetes).

A government official in the UK who seems to get most of his news from Fox gets called out on his misinformation. Cyclists pose more dangers than motorists, claims transport minister Fortunately, more rational heads prevailed and called his BS. There are in fact 63 pedestrians killed by motor vehicles for every one killed by cyclists, and 46 injured by motor vehicles for every one by cyclists. And even on sidewalks the ratio is highly skewed in favor of cyclists by more than 34 to one.

They caught a hit-and-run driver in Oz, and they don’t seem likely to let him go cheap or easy. Geelong man charged over alleged hit-and-run that killed cyclist “Azzopardi was remanded in custody and scheduled to appear again in March.” So Aussie cyclists will at least get most of the Austral Summer minus this threat to life and limb.

Another article on how your city could save $$ by increasing the bike share of traffic. Planning for Less Driving, Not More, Would Lead to Big Savings And it doesn’t take much to realize these gains, just enough people on bikes to slow down motor vehicle growth 1% will do it.

And vehicles like this will help it happen. HISTORY BICYCLE CAR

And I’m outta links again. Program note, I will be away from the internet for tomorrow and Thursday so no post until Friday.

Billed @€0.02, Opus

I’m back (sorta) and the Feed

OK one thing I know for sure is if I ever get a 9 to 5 job in downtown Dallas this blog is doomed. Seriously the exhaustion levels of taking the DART rail and fighting the crowds to get there, plus whatever I would be doing for “work”, and the fighting the crowds on the way home… By the time I got home Wednesday and yesterday I was just pure beat with most of that being from the trip, as I hardly did anything as a volunteer just sitting around waiting for someone to need me (I was relegated to a backup position because I don’t stand up so good). So work will have to be work-from-home for me, assuming I can even find work. Oh I think I forgot to say what I was volunteering for: I was working the Out and Equal Workplace Summit.

Up first is a PSA web site to tell drivers to watch out of cyclists and pedestrians, cyclists to watch out for pedestrians and drivers, and pedestrians to take cover until the shooting stops. Look Out Texans

LEO who got a cop’s wife out of DUI Homicide charges by blaming the cyclist continue their smear campaign against the victim. Report reveals cyclist killed in crash was impaired I can’t believe someone in the comments section was trying to say she wasn’t drunk enough for vehicular homicide.

Our Daily Ted. Morning Links: Guilty in North Fig hit-and-run and meth-fueled Fiesta Island crash, & still more Coronado madness

Our Daily Ted, part 2. Breaking News: Bike rider killed in apparent Sante Fe Springs train collision Avoiding collisions with trains is so easy in principle, sometimes hard in practice. In this case the cyclist may have been on the wrong side of the crossing guards before the train got there as there is up to 175 feet from the crossing guards to the far side of the tracks.

Still in CA, sorta good news. Driver found guilty in Fiesta Island crash that left cyclist paralyzed Now that she’s guilty, what happens next? “(U)p to 18 years” implies she could get a lot less.

Haven’t left CA yet. Court Offers Plea Deal Over Cyclist’s Death Only one year in county jail after “witnesses described seeing Randluby’s car drift out of traffic lanes and flee a mile from the collision with his head out the window because of a cracked windshield“? With a one year sentence amounting to 6 months because of overcrowding in CA jails and prisons this is an insult to the victim’s family and friends.

On the other side of the country from that wreck another driver is charged in a cyclist’s death. Man indicted for May crash that killed teen cyclist on Talbot Avenue One thing from the article I don’t understand is the “bloody trail” the driver left when he fled the scene. Nevermind I just read it again and the driver fled his disabled vehicle on foot while leaving a bloody trail. That implies a wreck at a high rate of speed and/or a secondary collision near the time the cyclist was killed.

Lawyer ad from PA directed at cyclists. New Information for Pedestrians and Cyclists Revealed Take the information with a large grain of salt.

First link from north of the border. Boy, 14, struck and killed while riding bike in Fredericton At least they admit that helmets can’t prevent all deaths in the body of the article.

Also from the Great White North. Red-light running cyclist seriously injured Again LEO take the word of the only witness capable of speaking at the scene as gospel.

Still in the GWN. Cyclist dies after being struck by propane truck Wednesday morning The bike looks like it was hit from the side with the tacoed front wheel, but the one picture also looked like showed it missing the left pedal (Going to the HD image and blowing it up did reveal a broken crank arm or pedal shaft).

OK this is strange. Pedestrian may have chased, injured cyclist who reportedly slapped him, police say Slightly misleading headline there, he wasn’t a pedestrian when he chased the cyclist, he was armed with a motor vehicle.

Proof that Canadians are much more polite than we are in the US. YouTube video shows Calgary driver honking at cyclist for doing nothing wrong “What are you talking about? That driver laid on the horn for almost a full minute.” Yeah, and in Dallas he would have just run the cyclist over (don’t ask me how I know).

Prosecution of drivers is spotty in Jolly Olde particularly when a cyclist is hit, but it does happen sometimes. Lorry driver faces court over death of cyclist who was hit by Crossrail truck

Still on Jolly Olde. Jodie Rogers, 11, tragedy: Mum calls for cycle helmets to be compulsory Nobody told her that bicycle helmets only protect the head, and none too well at that.

Nearby (or at least by Texas standards). Cyclist found injured on Buttertubs Pass dies in hospital Apparently they can’t tell the difference between a medical emergency and a buzz job.

Boy, do they charge light in Finland. Motorist charged with Helsinki cyclist’s death sentenced to 4.5 years for manslaughter Deliberately using his motor vehicle as a weapon doesn’t count as murder when the victim dies?

Drivers in Oz will have to exercise judgment? Heaven help us all! Cycling law changes: motorists face judgement calls I wish I was kidding.

From Enn Zed, another wreck where they can’t tell if the cyclist was actually hit by another vehicle. Cyclist killed in Christchurch crash

And I’m all out of links from today (I deleted the links from Wednesday and Thursday from the Feed Folder). I will see you again Sunday.

Billed @€0.02, Opus the Poet

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Billed @€0.02, Opus the Poet

Grocery day again, and the Feed

Still looking at a low-budget grocery day, but we’re still cool. Just waiting for Mrs. the Poet’s retirement check and all, taking the money out of my massage budget. I can live without massage for my neck a lot better than I can without food. And I made beans and rice again last night so we are good for food, except things like dairy and produce anyway. The budget will cover the stuff we need to buy this week. So don’t worry, I’m not going to starve, or anything like that.

Up first are two links to a little girl getting hit in CT. 10-year-old on bicycle struck by car, critically injured and 10-year-old on bicycle struck by car, critically injured in Bridgeport At this point I don’t know how many “witnesses” were not driving the weapon vehicle, so tentatively categorized as a SWSS with the option to downgrade to “kid acting like a kid”. I strongly suspect “kid”.

Solo wreck in CA, unknown if the rider just “fell down” or if he had help falling. Update: Bicyclist identified who was killed after crashing his bike, hitting light pole in San Clemente and Ted’s take on the wreck. Orange County bike rider killed in solo fall; 50th bicycling fatality in Southern California this year That’s one of the problems with bicycles, you can be killed in such a way as to leave zero evidence.

While we are at it Here’s Our Daily Ted part 1 (which came after part 3). Morning Links: A little LADOT bike lane slight-of-hand, more Rowena fallout, and how bicycling makes lives better Yeah, the Beautiful Suburb of Hell uses “lane miles” to count bike lanes as well…

Daily Ted part 2. Man walking bike killed by train in Placentia Monday night Did he not see the other train coming, or did he assume the first train would finish in time to get off the other track?

Speaking of bike/train wrecks. Police: Man, on bicycle struck, killed by train near St. Louis I have lost count of how many times I posted this, but avoiding getting hit by a train is easy-peasy: Just stay off the tracks until you are sure there are no trains coming.

The citizens of NYC won’t give up on finding the driver of the weapon vehicle that killed a cyclist on City Island Bridge. Who Killed Gabriela? And now we know why there were different vehicles listed in the early reports, nobody could tell what the weapon vehicle was. Even with a video.

Still in NYC. Interactive Map Helps You Publicly Shame Bike-Lane Blockers I’m afraid I’m going to have to agree with one of the comments, this will eventually just be a map of bike lanes.

Also in NYC is a strong demonstration of “correlation is not causation“. Spike in Tickets to Cyclists on UWS Leads to Drop in Injuries, Police Say While they are chasing down cyclists running red lights in a clear intersection, there are drivers violating pedestrian right of way and getting away with it, speeding and getting away with it, turning right on red through a crowded crosswalk and getting away with it…

Another article on the DIY DOT in Boston. A Guerrilla Bike Lane Made With Flower Pots Forces A City’s Hand That someone had to do this should be a deep shame to the city.

A MI driver sees a hit-and-run and calls it in while trying to do first aid. Traverse City Man Discovers Injured Cyclist After Hit and Run, Calls 911 The cyclist had a head injury and was walking away with the broken bike and refused assistance until LEO showed on the scene. They have a loose description of the weapon vehicle.

A wreck of unknown mode on OK. Prague bicyclist killed in evening crash Well it was an SUV and a bike at an intersection. And that pretty much covers all we know now.

More on the man killed in the NC pinball wreck. Man killed cycling just months after escaping homelessness Dang, that’s rough. Just got off the streets and into a safe place to live and gets killed on his way home…

And then there is this wreck in SC. Cyclist hit, killed Tuesday night on Wadmalaw Island SWSS wreck. What more can I say?

An IA cyclist is remembered. Ankeny ride remembers killed biker

This wreck is reminiscent of Larry Schwartz’ wreck lo those many years ago. Cyclist injured after being hit by a truck’s mirror The thing this cyclist had going that Larry didn’t was the relatively low speed of the weapon vehicle.

“Debate” on restricting cyclists because there may have been one pedestrian death from a cyclist some time in the past. Cyclist debate for Faversham town centre and road.cc’s take on it Faversham councillors keen to rid town centre of ‘arrogant and fast’ cyclists Interesting that the only mention anyone can find on the web of this pedestrian fatality is the article from Kent Online about the debate where the councillor brought it up. Not saying he was lying, just not being specific about the century this fatality took place.

Someone took this guy’s picture, and they were the last ones to see him alive except for the driver who killed him. Poignant last picture of cyclist before he was fatally injured

Meanwhile in Oz. Vic man arrested over cyclist hit-and-run Typical, hit a cyclist then hide out for a while untill all the drugs and alcohol are gone from your system so all you get will be a gentle caress upon the wrist.

This is a future that can’t come soon enough for me. Self-Driving Cars vs. Cyclists: What Does the Future Look Like? Basically autonomous cars are going to drive like we all think the stereotypical grandma does, and cyclists and pedestrians are going to be safer for it. I would even give up the right to my Sprint-T if it meant that I could get anywhere I wanted by bike safely.

And I’m all outta links now, whee!

Billed @€0.02, Opus the Poet