Running late again with a bank run and an RPG session, and the Feed

I had to go to the bank today so I had money for groceries tomorrow, then we had a character-creation session for the ShadowRun game this Saturday so I didn’t even get started creating the post until 2100 tonight. So, yeah you might not get to see this until after midnight…

We got two entries from Ted today, one that I’m glad I can just link to his site instead of having to create the links myself, and our Daily Ted. Daily Ted first. Guest Post: Beeline Bikes Expands Fleet of Mobile Bike Shops to SoCal, Offering a New Path for Mechanics. If I lived in L.A. I might enquire about this opportunity…

And this is the story I dreaded reading all the articles to create the links. Gardena police video released in shooting of unarmed man looking for his brother’s stolen bike Notice the races of the victims and the LEO. #BikePeopleMatter.

And while we are in that part of the country. Hundreds mourn Afghan refugee killed in Sacramento while biking This rider never should have been hit, much less died.

And speaking of hit-and-run drivers. Mother of Philadelphia Hit-&-Run Victim Remembers ‘Good Boy,’ Asks How Driver Didn’t See His Bicycle The scary part is she is not even considering the possibility the driver did see her son but decided he should “get out of the way” instead of the driver moving over to make a safe pass.

This effort would not even be necessary if we had single-payer health care in the US. Website set up to help injured Sugar Grove cyclist

From the UK another reminder that (your) life is cheap if you get killed riding a bicycle. Aspiring film star who killed cyclist, 18, in a hit and run crash while speeding in Audi he was not insured to drive is jailed for 20 months Considering this was a Daily Mail link the comments section was extremely anti-driver.

I am hopeful that this driver will be found guilty if she was in fact the driver of the weapon vehicle, and that she will get a much sterner sentence than the previous paragraph’s driver. Young woman, 21 charged over Kalamunda cyclist ‘hit-run’ The driver was drunk and unlicensed… Just shoot her and get it over with.

An outside agency is taking a hard look at NYC bicycle infrastructure. Six cyclists dead in NYC: where are the most dangerous spots for bikes? No conclusions released about the infrastructure, some about the relative vulnerability of cyclists when hit by cars. I need an actual sarcasm HTML tag for this next sentence: Did you know that a bicycle has no protection for the rider against getting hit by a motor vehicle? /s

Cycling is fun for us older people. Lynn Magdol: Love of bicycling rolls on unabated Yep, if I could still ride like I used to before “Chris Christie” grew on my neck I would love it too. I’m getting there.

And last link is to an e-assist bike that was built to handle the “first/last mile” problem with public transit. Tiny e-bike weighs 12kg and folds away in seconds The tiny battery lacks range, but this is a bike that range is not why it exists. The reason this bike exists is to get commuters to and from public transit, no matter what the terrain looks like between home or work and the transit station or stop, and then ride with the commuter on transit to be used on the last mile to the final destination for that trip.

And I managed to finish before midnight, now to proofread and tag and publish before midnight.

Billed @€0.02, Opus the Poet

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I was a bit worried about what I would find here today, and the Feed

I had a message on my FB wall that my blog was “not available” this morning, which made me a bit worried about not being able to post anything today. Obviously whatever was wrong this morning has been fixed because you can see this post…

First up, is cycling contagious? Heart transplant patient gets on bike for first time a week after receiving new heart from cyclist killed in road accident If I didn’t already know that I’m going to get autopsied and cremated as the final step in the medication study I’m on (unless I outlast the end of the study) I would donate my organs upon death. I would like to see what kind of things would happen to someone who got my heart. I couldn’t of course because you have to be dead to donate a heart unless you can regenerate like Wolverine or Feral (comics characters who can survive having organs removed and regenerating new ones that then can be removed in turn). I’m not that good.

This guy has a similar story to mine, except with much worse access to transit. After story of Detroit man walking 21 miles a day goes viral, his life is about to change and Buying this guy a car was nice. Buying a mass transit system would be way nicer.

Our Daily Ted. Morning Links: LA Weekly says LA driving is fun, LA doesn’t make the bike commuting list, and Lance lies again I had that link in yesterday’s Feed but at this point I’m just “Fuck Lance,” and don’t care.

One of my FB and Bikejournal.com friends went to court recently. Woman convicted of reckless driving, leaving scene after striking cyclist Obviously my friend was not the one convicted, he was the guy on crutches speaking to the judge.

Reporting like this really tweaks on me. Hitting cyclists could lead to felony charges under proposed bill This is a vulnerable users bill like the one that Gov. Goodhair vetoed here in TX back in 2009. It covers almost everyone not in a motor vehicle using the streets and roads, it just has a few cycle-specific paragraphs in with all the rest of the verbiage.

First of two FL links about dead cyclists. Family remembers cyclist

And the second link. Remembering a beloved Coral Gables cyclist This is a direct result of FL being the most deadliest state in the US (worse than the worst of the worst) to walk or ride a bike.

Things are a little better in MO, but not by much. “Ghost Bike” placed on SW Trafficway to memorialize cyclist struck and killed

And even in the UK they still have these, because bicycle death is pretty much universal in the anglophone world. Bike ride to be held to mark death of two fathers This death was particularly galling because the driver was trying to run from police for a traffic ticket.

And I’m out of links again.

Billed @€0.02, Opus the Poet

Some small measure of success, and the Feed

Dad is making small strides in his recovery, he managed to walk from the bathroom to the bed un-assisted and was able to sit down on his own. I still had to assist him getting his legs in the bed and getting up to his feet, but he may be able to start doing more for himself soon. He is also not taking the pain pills as often as he was, which can be either a good or a bad sign.

The big story today is the cyclist that was killed on a MUP in OH when he ran into an unmarked bollard in the middle of the trail away from any intersections. Cyclist dies after hitting barrier on B&O Trail and Barriers rethought after fatal bicycling accident also 179th mourns cyclist The really frustrating thing about this fatality (beyond that it was on one of the few SBR we have in this country) is that it was preventable. The bollard was both not properly marked and unnecessary. There was no intersection near that would allow a motor vehicle to enter the trail. It was just sticking up in the middle of the trail for no good reason. It could be removed tomorrow and not decrease the incursions of motor vehicles on the trail by any amount. All it has ever done is injure cyclists and now killed this one. Remove it and place a plaque beside the trail marking the site where this man died.

A wreck not far (by TX standards) from WoaB world HQ in the beautiful suburbs of Hell. Injured hit-and-run victim makes a plea for the driver to come forward Had Perry not vetoed the Vulnerable Road Users law in 2009 there would have been additional criminal charges that could be applied in this case. To avoid use the intersection protocols in the link at the top of my blog, with SBR and lowered speed limits to prevent such a wreck.

A wreck of unknown type in NJ, Cyclist injured in Gloucester Twp. crash At this point all that is known about the wreck is it was in or near an intersection, so intersection protocols to avoid, and proper infrastructure to prevent. Some legal infrastructure that makes hitting a cyclist a criminal matter when drivers are at fault would help considerably, too.

Another NJ wreck. Cyclist, 65, struck and killed by vehicle in NewarkZ Really bad road to be riding a bike on as the pavement is as much not there as it is there. Unfortunately this is pretty much the only through route in the area so all modes of travel have to use it regardless of how well it suits them, and right now I would say it doesn’t “suit” anyone, but motor vehicles would definitely be better suited to it that anything that tried to share it.

A wreck in PA injures a tiny cyclist. Child, 4, struck by SUV The child snuck out while he was supposed to be asleep and was hit because he was not conspicuous to the Texan driving the Supersized unnecessary Vehicle. I really don’t see any way to prevent something like this from happening with another 4YO in the future. Kids are kids, and as such do things that they’re not supposed to do and do unpredictable things.

A ridiculous sentence for killing a cyclist in NY. Woman faces jail in fatal accident with bike rider The woman worked in a hospital but couldn’t be bothered to stop and call 911 on her cell phone before going to work, and only gets 120 days in jail for leaving the cyclist to die, when prompt medical attention probably would have saved his life? What was this judge taking, and why isn’t he sharing with the victim’s family?

A cyclist is killed right outside his school in MN. Minnesota high school student struck, killed while riding bike and Teen Bicyclist Hit by Car, Killed in Minnetonka also Teen cyclist struck and killed Aside from getting hit right after he left the parking lot there wasn’t a whole lot on the mode of the wreck, so treat it like an intersection wreck and use the appropriate protocols.

That fatal wreck in SC has now been determined to be a right hook of the killed cyclist. Update: Crash Kills Cyclist In Simpsonville Not much to say here except that intersection protocols apply to avoid and decent infrastructure to prevent, and someone needs to take the license to drive away from commenter Bill Bush. (read the comments, but take a deep breath first…

In East Canuckistan a cyclist hit in a crosswalk is given a ticket… Cyclist injured in SUV collision Other than the cyclist being in the crosswalk and therefore in an intersection there wasn’t anything given about this wreck that would let me say how to avoid this wreck specifically, so intersection protocols to avoid, decent infrastructure to prevent and better awareness for drivers that there are bikes out there. Another link Injured cyclist to be ticketed for riding in crosswalk, police say

Sandy Eggo cyclists protest for better legal and physical infrastructure after a cyclist was killed on the same road and in nearly the same spot as a local newscaster was nearly killed 5 years ago. BICYCLISTS PROTEST OUTSIDE CITY COUNCIL CHAMBERS, CALL FOR IMPROVED SAFETY FOR RIDERS The cyclists were hit in a bike lane next to a 60 MPH road with a line of paint being the only separation between the two modes of travel.

And those are all the links that gave me fits today.

Billed @$0.02, Opus