What’s that bright thing in the sky? And the Feed

In case you can’t tell from my sarcastic headline it has stopped raining here at Casa de El Poeta and the sun is shining. As I type this the “feels like” temperature is a delightful 74°F with almost no wind. If I had a bike I could ride and someplace to go I would be riding it, instead of sitting here pounding on this keyboard. Believe me if I could be out there instead of in here on this day I would be. But, alas, I don’t have a bike I can ride right now.

Up first because I have ridden that intersection in the last decade… 74-year-old bicyclist injured in Allen hit-and-run The cyclist was hit because the weapon vehicle failed to clear the entire line of cyclists when trying to pass. Nothing the cyclist could have done about the driver not driving to conditions.

Next up, a PA cyclist is killed in a pinball wreck as she waited in line at a red light. Cyclist Killed In Oakland Crash and Man whose SUV was involved in fatal Oakland bike crash says he tried to help victim also Memorial Held To Honor Cyclist Killed In Oakland As with any pinball wreck there was nothing the cyclist could have done to avoid this one except to not be there. The actual wreck was with the car behind the cyclist, everything else was just bad luck.

More on the CA cyclist killed by a vehicle pulling out from a parking lot. Family of Boy Killed While Riding Bike to School Needs Help and Paddle out held in memory of 12-year-old Oceanside boy What little I know about this wreck indicates the driver was not looking when he pulled across the bike lane. I have one (and only one) report that the cyclist was caught in the driver’s side rear wheel, none of the other reports say which side of the vehicle the cyclist was killed.

Since we are in CA why not check out the Daily Ted? Morning Links: Ask for your $1,100 road rebate, and SGV Bicycle Education Center officially opens

Still in CA. Bicyclist killed in Redding identified LEO can’t figure out why a driver would hit a cyclist from behind, and the cyclist isn’t alive to give his half of the story. And the wreck has to be the cyclist’s fault somehow because he wasn’t wearing a helmet.

Portland OR infrastructure. ODOT faces ‘incompetence or dishonesty at the highest levels,’ former Metro president says

More PDX infrastructure. New Orange Line crosswalk raises concerns in SE Portland The biggest problem with this intersection? Cars have priority and cyclists have to use inconveniently placed beg buttons to get a signal to cross. After that drivers in one direction literally can’t see what might be in the intersection until they are almost on top of it, particularly in the lane next to the retaining wall.

From the city where my kids’ first babysitter moved after reaching retirement and where I worked for a while. Bicyclist Killed In Hit-And-Run Crash Nothing about mode, but there was a mention that the cyclist’s death might be related to another wreck nearby.

Another cyclist is killed by gunfire in OH. Man shot and killed while riding bicycle in Akron and Authorities identify man shot Saturday while riding bicycle in Akron At this point LEO have no idea why someone would shoot a man riding a bicycle and then drive away.

Apparently killing a cyclist in WI while driving drunk “doesn’t count” if the cyclist was drunk, too. Alleged drunken driver won’t be charged in bicyclist’s death Umm, the drunk driving part isn’t “alleged”, that part is established.

More on a NJ hit-and-run. UPDATE: Authorities Seeking Vehicle That Struck Bicyclist in Morris County Friday

Cyclist on a cross-country tour for neuromuscular diseases has a wreck in AZ. Spooner injured in fall during bike ride Maybe riding a bike with ALS for extended distances every day is not such a good idea?

Small-time jock is killed riding a bike in Chuck SC. A.C. Flora graduate killed in Charleston wreck His major achievement was backup catcher on the local HS baseball team that won State in 2012. That and quitting a state school’s baseball team to return to the local 4-year college to concentrate on his degree. The wreck report doesn’t make sense mainly because it’s another variation of the SWSS. Instead of “swerving” this cyclist “fell over”.

The most deadliest state in the US killed another one. Belle Glade man killed in hit-and-run accident The detailed description of the driver tells me the driver stopped and got out before leaving the scene. Local cyclists should keep an eye peeled for this murderer before you become his next victim.

Wreck in Cape Cod MA. Police identify bicyclist killed in Eastham Another SWCC wreck, as indicated by the damage to the weapon vehicle. I could verify she wasn’t “crossing” if I could get a picture of the wrecked bike. Or conversely I could validate the driver’s story.

Remembering a cyclist killed in PA. Cyclists ride in honor of man killed in Kensington hit-run

Don’t hit the pedestrians! Pedestrian hit by bicycle, suffers serious head injury Nothing about the cyclist except that he or she hit the pedestrian. Nothing about the mode, except the pedestrian was hit by a cyclist. Looking at the other articles on the site makes me think this media outlet is not cyclist-friendly.

I’m still trying to wrap my mind around a driver cutting off a cyclist riding where the law tells her to ride is not at fault in her death. Apparently I’m not the only one. Memorial ride for Halifax cyclist killed in crash calls for changes to infrastructure, education I think the first round of “education” needs to be about bicycle law with the people charged with enforcing it. You can’t turn right and run over a cyclist without the driver being at fault.

They almost missed hitting the cyclist. Cyclist injured in near-miss collision with car near Queenstown Almost but not quite missed the cyclist, as the Black Knight said [Monty Python]”It’s just a scratch[/Monty Python]

Next time someone tries to give you grief about how cyclists don’t pay for the roads, give them this link. The True Costs of Driving Because of declining gas tax revenues combined with inflating materials costs and labor, the share paid by drivers has declined precipitously over the last decade. The last year that drivers paid for “their” streets and roads was 2 years before I was born. I was born in 1958, and drivers last paid their weight in 1956.

And I’m outta links, finally.

Billed @€0.02, Opus the Poet.

Advertisement

My lump has a name now, and the Feed

I got a suggestion in the e-mail for a name for my lump, which I have been comparing to a GOP presidential candidate. The suggested moniker is “Chris Christie”. Whaddya think? Now as to why there was no post yesterday I just could not muster up anything to say. I wanted to write, but just could not come up with anything I wanted to share. Sorry if I disappointed anyone.

And before I forget, I hope you had a happy Star Wars Day (May the 4^th).

Up first is Our Daily Ted. Morning Links: Photographic proof of bikes in Hollywood, ride LA with Phil Gaimon, and transvestites on bikes

The Big Story today is someone has been disrupting travel on Oz by putting tacks in the bike lane. Stop the tacks: Kew Boulevard cyclists say enough is enough and Angry cyclists fed up with tack attack on Yarra Boulevard Why has this not been treated as a terrorist’s attack on infrastructure? And the culprit(s) have been busy, re-tacking the route between the 11PM sweeping and the start of the protest ride against the tacks. The expense of all those tacks means that if there is a single suspect he probably has access to a lot of money, or he lives very simply to afford the endless mounds of tacks he spreads on the streets. And why call a blowout an “explosive decompression”?

It’s hard to believe that it has already been a year since a bicycle tourist was stabbed to death in a random attack. Festival honors cyclist killed on ride to Florida last year and Festival honors cyclist killed on ride to Florida last year Same headline from two different stories. Apparently the killer was off his meds or something because there was just no provocation for the attack, he just walked up to the victim while he was talking on a cell phone and stabbed him.

Another Southern killer of cyclists faces court in AL. Parker pleads not guilty in criminally neglect homicide case He hit 3 cyclists, if it wasn’t “criminal neglect” it was on purpose and he was undercharged. If this case was in TX he would have been charged with Felony DUI and since there was a death the prosecutor could seek the death penalty.

Riding season starts in Upstate NY after a very bad winter for the roads. Potholes or not, Rockland bicycle season hits high gear This sounds like fun.

Getting the word out on NYC’s pedestrian right of way law. Families For Safe Streets Demands Accountability From Bus Drivers Look before you turn.

Trying to get NYC drivers to slow down is a never-ending struggle. Jarring New Vision Zero Ad Tries To Make Drivers Less Sociopathic

Sometimes it feels like a war out there, and I’m not the only one who noticed. Bikes vs Cars: why it’s war between cyclists and drivers on city streets They have: light armored vehicles that would be classified as WMD if they were deployed against soldiers in wartime. We have: cameras and styrofoam hats. I don’t like this war…

Lifestyle in MI. ‘Ghost bike’ removed by city, replaced by activists

Lifestyle in IN. Mayor’s Ride kicks off National Bike Month events

More lifestyle this time from NE. Blood Drive Honors Former Millard Educator Killed While Biking Put some of that good cyclist’s blood in circulation.

There is something I want to say very badly about this link, but I will take the high road and not do it. President Bush’s 2015 W100K bike ride: Healing the invisible wounds of war

And those were all the links I had to share today…

Billed @€0.02, Opus the Poet.