More weird

I really don’t know how to possibly spin this, but my back hurts and I have another check mark on my frequent customer card for Charon’s ferry, and I have no idea if they are related because I have no idea how I got either one.

I now have 4 check marks on the back of my loyalty card, more than a third of the way there to my reward. I also have no memory of earning that latest check mark. When I went to bed there were only 3 marks on the card (I make it a habit to review the check marks on my card before I go to bed) and I woke this morning with a backache and another check mark on the card. And I also checked for surgical scars and it appears I still have both my kidneys, so that’s good and also not the source of my new check mark.

So now I have 4 marks, and only remember earning one. That’s not a good average, to be unable to remember 3 out of 4 times you died. Or maybe it is good, to not remember having died multiple times. I mean the time I can remember was pretty bad, what with the blood everywhere and going blind and passing out from the pain multiple times. That also may be why I can remember it, because the event left marks on my body. It might also mean the backache this morning was from sleeping in a bad position, not because I died during the night. The one may be entirely co-incidental to the other.

On more cheerful subjects, the TGS2 is not dead (kinda like me). The data I was able to extract from the process of scaling the picture has contributed to the design of the rear frame section. The frame is very simple, basically almost a straight shot from the front axle to the rear, the bottom rails particularly will be straight back 34″ apart all the way front to rear, 31″ inside width especially where my butt sits. The “short but wide” 32 gallon tank is 32″ wide and 14″ tall and 17″ front to back. The “narrow but tall” tank is 26″ wide and 18″ tall and front to back. So I have to make room for me, at 45″ from bottoms of my feet to the backrest of the seat, the steering linkage that sticks 6″ to the rear of the front axle centerline, the engine/transmission that is basically 25″ in front of the rear axle, and 32 gallons of fuel in 100″ of wheelbase or less. By my math I’m looking at 94″ of stuff between the axle centerlines before any crossmembers are installed between compartments to keep me out of the fuel tank and the fuel tank out of the engine. Using the same size tubing to make the crossmembers and the frame rails that makes the minimum wheelbase 97″, or 3″ of room to fudge the installation of the fuel tank and the driver’s controls. That 45″ measurement was with my legs straight out in front of me, so bending my knees could also change that distance a scoshi bit.

Making an abrupt change in subject, I managed to find the original track for “Autobahn” by Kraftwerk on YTM, the 22+ minute album side version. (For you younger people music used to come on vinyl discs with grooves that had the music recorded in analog format, and the longest playing format was the 33 1/3 RPM LP that held roughly 45 minutes of music maximum. The first release of “Autobahn” was as an entire 22:43 side of the LP.) This is my preferred version to get lost in. The ’70s were no place for ADHD until punk hit at the end of the decade… Another piece of music I like to get lost in was the long version of “Tubular Bells”, an excerpt of which was used as the theme for a scary movie you might have heard of, “The Exorcist”. Another piece from that era was Tull’s “Thick as a Brick”, that I first heard live in concert because none of the local radio stations would play it in its full 43 minute glory. My contemporaries used to call this “tripping music”, to be listened to while under the influence of psychoactive substances. I didn’t need those, I tripped just from the music.

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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

Grocery day again, and the Feed

This is another week of short rations until we get more money coming in later in the month. The taxes just about wiped us out this year. Fortunately we will have more money coming in later to cover such things as taxes and cable bills, etc. but for the moment we are diving into the strategic ramen reserves and the $1 frozen pizzas until that happens. That also means I get to make more than one pot of beans and rice per week, so yay? for that.

Up first is another link to the impact statement from the surviving cyclist of a pair hit by an insanely drunk driver. Cyclist who survived deadly crash gives victim impact statement The cyclist was still nearly wiped out and barely able to ride more than 3 years later, and the driver was still more than 3½ times the legal limit for being drunk and at the point that non-alcoholics would be unconscious. That is the part that gets me the most mad, because you KNOW this turd had to have made a habit of driving drunk to be capable of starting the vehicle and putting it in gear with that much alcohol in his system. How many times was he caught and let go before he killed one cyclist and destroyed the life of the other? More Cyclist says his life was ruined by crash

This strongly reminds me of the guy that tried to kill me, fortunately he is safely dead and buried. Salinas cyclist intentionally doored In case you didn’t see it the driver in this case drove over a curbed median in the process of crossing 4 lanes of traffic to get to the bike lane on the other side of the street just to assault the cyclist with the driver’s side door.

Another assault with a motor vehicle and then a second assault after knocking the cyclist down, this time in FL. Woman alleged to have hit then spit at cyclist arrested The bail on this was only $5K for what amounts to an assault with a deadly weapon. And somehow it took from November to February to act on the arrest warrant. Is it any wonder that FL is the most deadliest state in the US to walk or ride a bike.

Misdemeanor charges have been filed in the death of a cyclist outside DC. WSSC driver charged in crash that killed bike rider Oops, I’m sorry, those are traffic tickets, so he may get fined a couple to a few hundred dollars for killing another human being with a light armored vehicle.

And a legislator in CA wants to have the first statewide helmet law. Senator calls for mandatory helmets for California cyclists Now get a helmet law for drivers and we’ll be all set.

And last link is a change to some CA infrastructure so that people not in motor vehicles can use it, too. Bike path gets green light on Richmond Bridge The really annoying thing is they are piggybacking another car lane in on this which costs twice as much as the bike/ped part of the deal, and barely mentioning that part of it.

Billed @€0.02, Opus the Poet

Yucky weather on Grocery Day, and the Feed

Yep, things are kinda slow around Casa de El Poeta today. All that has happened was really bad weather and buying groceries. And since we just dropped more than $2K paying the taxes on the joint, we were a little short when it came time to buy groceries so I don’t have any salty snacks this week. Eh, I will live, and it will give me a chance to see if my theory about excessive amounts of salty foods is contributing to the swelling in my leg that has been causing me to bleed from my scar line. This is NBD as I have been dealing with this pretty much ever since the wreck, just a touch more recently.

Up first is a link that brings me no real joy as the killer of a MD cyclist and bike builder is hit with more than a dozen charges in the DUI death. Episcopal bishop indicted on 13 charges, including homicide, in cyclist’s death There is no schadenfreude in this, there is only one life ruined and another ended prematurely. There is a slight satisfaction that the crime was treated appropriately but nothing else. More Episcopal bishop indicted in Baltimore crash that killed cyclist and Bishop Heather Cook indicted in Thomas Palermo death

More hit-and-run charges this time in CA. 20-year-old man charged in fatal Laguna Beach hit-and-run that killed cyclist and Driver charged with hit-and-run, manslaughter in Laguna cyclist’s death last year The windshield of the weapon vehicle was “smashed in” by the impact and the driver still continued on. Whiskey. Tango. Foxtrot?

In contrast we get this UK story. Driver “blinded by sun” found not guilty in cyclist death I’m still trying to figure out how someone could be blinded by a low sun at 1430. Even on 1/16 in England the sun should not be that low, according to this site the sunset time was 16:22 or nearly 2 hours before the wreck, or halfway between zenith and sunset. And looking up sun angles on Wikipedia I find the sun angle to be about 22° at noon so roughly 18° (22*sin(45)) at 1430, makes this a “possibly true”. I do these things in sorta “real-time” so you can see my thought processes as I find things out.

And while we are on the “drivers are killers” tack, here is what one LEO found in the UK about a driver who was unconscious when she drove into a cyclist. Stricter driver checks ‘would not have prevented’ cyclist death, sheriff rules Apparently she had just had only one such episode before and had not yet determined that any more were forthcoming… I’m sorry but how many times do you have to drive in an unconscious state before pulling a license for being unfit to drive?

And this tidbit from the UK shows drivers are still just as bad as they always were, if not worse. Sharp rise in cycling casualties revealed by latest road safety statistics – Government safety record slammed The UK uses the statistic of KSI (killed or seriously injured) to account for motor vehicle casualties so as to “weed out” the effect of the NHS on reducing fatalities, so when there is a change in KSI as opposed to just “fatalities” they know they are moving in the right or wrong way depending on the direction desired.

Still in the UK you would think the cyclists were the ones riding around inside the light armored vehicles weighing nearly 2 tons and killing or injuring people willy-nilly. Taxi leader says cyclists are the “Isis of London” I wonder how many taxi drivers have died after being run into by a cyclist on a bike, oh yeah that’s right, ZERO!

Lots of links from London today for some reason. Biggest danger to cyclists in London is themselves, says TfL board member as ‘Crossrail for bikes’ is approved Gee and all this time I thought it was all those cars and particularly trucks going around only semi-guided by the loose nut behind the wheel. 😛

Update on the most critically injured of the 20 cyclists hit by a stoned driver in CA. CYCLIST INJURED BY WRONGWAY DRIVER THANKS YMCA FOR HELPING HIS RECOVERY

While we are in CA let’s take a look at the Daily Ted. Morning Links: CD4 Livable Streets forum tonight, and the OC Register gets it very wrong on bike funding

And still in CA, a local police chief gets it wrong on helmets, but mostly right on the rest of it. From the Chief: It’s time to think bike safety

A stark reminder that the most dangerous thing in NYC is the motor vehicle. [UPDATE] California Man Killed By Hit-And-Run Driver In Queens He might have survived the first impact, but no way he could survive two.

Bicycle lifestyle in AZ. Third annual Arizona Unity Tour charity bicycle ride on Feb. 28

UK bicycle lifestyle ride. Memorial bike ride for two cyclists killed in Berkshire crash

I guess when something saves your life or your best buddy’s life you want to make sure it will be there for someone else if when needed. Cyclists raise over £100,000 for Yorkshire Air Ambulance

At least one city not in favor of assisted bikes. Bike lanes no place for motorized bikes Someone needs to look at the federal regulations that say e-assist bikes are bicycles, not motor vehicles.

And I’m out of links again.

Billed @€0.02, Opus the Poet

Postus interruptus, and the Feed

This post will be written in two parts because I’m going to another doctor today. This is a continuation of the treatment for my back pains caused by having one leg shorter than the other since my wreck. I will be leaving after 1400 and back about 1900 or so. I will add a travel story after I get back.

Up first is a report from CA on a cyclist hit from behind in the bike lane by a Sheriff’s cruiser travelling at a high rate of speed. Breaking news — bike rider killed in wreck with Sheriff’s patrol car and Bicyclist killed in crash with sheriff’s patrol car in Calabasas also Bicyclist Killed in Collision With Sheriff’s Radio Car and this too Bicyclist Struck And Killed By Sheriff’s Patrol Car In Calabasas still more Former Napster COO Killed in Crash With Patrol Car yet another link Former Napster exec killed on bike by patrol car OK I have read several thousand wreck reports and know that it takes an impact of 50 to 60 MPH or higher to cause laminated safety glass to shatter so that flying glass intrudes on the passenger compartment so as to cause facial injuries to the driver, which is the case here. So we can deduce the cruiser was moving at 70 MPH or higher (much higher) on a surface street while on “regular patrol”. Protocols in this case would have had no effect because of the high closing speed of the weapon vehicle, and the cyclist was already using appropriate infrastructure for the location. So the only way to avoid or prevent a wreck like this in the future is training and screening of people with deadly weapons. You would think the training and screening of people assigned with the responsibility of having firearms should be enough to prevent incidents like this, but evidence suggests otherwise.

The other “big story” today is a restaurant worker killed in Chicago. Bicyclist killed on West Side and Charges filed in bicyclist’s death: ‘Tragedy of epic proportions’ also Cyclist Killed in Crash Was Marine, Dreamed of Being a Chef As in the previous paragraph the cyclist was hit from behind with little to no chance to avoid the wreck. A parking-protected cycle track would have been the appropriate infrastructure for the site, but not implemented yet. I don’t know what infrastructure was in place or planned but the cycle track would have been the only thing that would have stopped the drunk from hitting a cyclist. If I read the articles correctly, the reason he stayed at the scene was the weapon vehicle was disabled by the wreck and unable to drive away. As in the previous paragraph that requires travelling at more than the posted limit by a large margin.

Also with more than one link is this wreck in Las Vegas NV. Bicyclist Killed in Accident At 0:45 in the video there is a light reflected from the seat-post reflector the cyclist “didn’t have” Coroner: Bicyclist killed in Eastern Avenue crash ID’d SWCC wreck so intersection protocols apply to avoid or to mitigate damages, and get the infrastructure right to prevent.

A GA cyclist is killed by a drunk driver. Police: One dead, biker seriously injured in drunk driving incident Sorry, but when I was filtering this link I saw the driver was doing 86 MPH when he hit the cyclist and saw there was a death and assumed the cyclist was the one that was killed, but it turns out the passenger was the one that died, so far. Hit from behind wreck, but because of the speed involved there would have been nothing the cyclist could have done to avoid the wreck with the built environment. Get the infrastructure right to prevent a future wreck, but to be honest I’m not sure what that should be. The location speed limit of 45 MPH suggests a parking-buffered cycle track would be the thing to do as far as physical infrastructure is concerned, and recycling vehicles used by drivers with multiple DUIs as part of the legal infrastructure changes to prevent a similar wreck.

An Aussie cyclist struggles to remain on this side of the veil. Young boy fighting for life after being hit by car while riding bike And that is the entirety of what I know about this wreck.

Is Australia about to be the first Anglophone country to actually place a blind driver on trial for killing a cyclist? Driver to face trial over cyclist death Apparently so. The combination of a lowered sun visor, shades, and still hitting a cyclist because the driver was “dazzled” was just pushing it too far for the prosecution.

Infrastructure! news from FL. More bicyclists getting hurt in Broward, Palm Beach counties The most deadliest state in the US to walk or ride a bike gets worse, and they still wonder why.

Similar news from CA. High rate of cycling injuries in San Luis Obispo may be a “call to action for decision-makers” It took them three tries to pass a 3-foot passing law and get their Governor to sign it and they wonder why so many get hurt?

A plea for IL drivers to have sense. Drivers, give teen bike riders like me a break This is from what would be classed as a “strong and fearless” cyclist.

Infrastructure news from the UK. Boris Johnson: ‘Death protests’ risk scaring cyclists off the road No Boris, 6 cyclists killed in 9 days does that quite well enough all by itself.

Also from the UK. HGV mag: ‘Our driver killed a cyclist! Read our tragic story.’

With the recent ice storm a set of these on the erstwhile Snow Bike would have been nice. Good friend of my installed 450 screws in his tyres to ride in winter !!!

Last link makes you think. DEAR MOTORIST

And those were all the links about bicycles that gave me fits today/tonight. I should add that it was terrible trying to get to the clinic today as the quick routing required taking the train at least part of the way and the trains were at a standstill here in Garland because of ice on the catenary, meaning no power to the trains.

Billed 2€0.02, Opus

Up all night, and the Feed

All the computer not working business and other things going on in my life (mowing lawns, cooking, going to meetings) has seriously disrupted my sleep schedule. I was tossing and turning up past 0400 this morning, which kind delayed my getting up (I’m going to set the alarm for tomorrow so I’ll be more productive come Saturday). That also put me behind on the composing the post part of the day, which then stretches the day out on the evening end of things.

A MA cyclist is hit. Andover cyclist injured in Ipswich Oops, sorry about that. Make that “hurt” rather than “hit”. The injured cyclist overlapped wheels with another cyclist and went down, suffering injury. To avoid, just use a safe following distance behind the bike in front of you.

A SWCC wreck in IN. Cyclist injured after being hit by vehicle in LaGrange County The cyclist was hit when the driver went off the right side of the road to miss him? And the cyclist was removed from the scene with massive orthopedic and brain injuries? Since I can’t see the bike to establish directionality of the impact I have the sneaking suspicion that this was a case of not seeing the cyclist until you hit the cyclist and then running off the road near an intersection. I’m not going to say the wreck didn’t go down exactly as reported, just saying I can’t see the evidence and I have seen too many “crossing” cyclists hit squarely from behind to find this report 100% plausible.

Another link to the DUI hit-and-run in MI. Hit-And-Run Driver Charged With DUI, Killing Cyclist The driver was so blitzed he couldn’t maintain control to flee the scene… and the most he could get if they “stack” everything is 15 years. TANJ!

A wreck in OH. Student Critically Injured By Truck While Riding Bike at OSU Nothing on the mode or location of this wreck so nothing I can say about how to avoid getting crushed by a dump truck on the roads. As of the posting of the original link there was nothing released about the wreck. More Two Bicyclists Struck in Two Days at OSU Seriously, do they even test drivers in OH before they give them a driver’s license? Or is it a matter of being able to pay the fee and getting the license? Because where I’m sitting it doesn’t look like they are paying too much attention to making sure drivers don’t hit vulnerable users on the roads. The second cyclist was hit while riding with the right of way in a crosswalk.

And in TN another blind driver gets away with nearly killing a person. Bike-riding teen struck by vehicle: Boy, 13, sustained minor injuries after collision at busy intersection near I-65 The driver “didn’t see” the cyclist in the road in front of her that the truck driver in front of her had no problem avoiding. Also a hit-and-run: “Smith told police she circled back to the intersection to see if the teen was OK, the report said.” Circling back to check on the victim is not the sane thing as stopping. Since the direction and lane position of the cyclist was not mentioned it must be assumed the cyclist was riding where he was supposed to be in the wreck. That makes avoiding the wreck pretty hard to do.

A wreck in IA caused by a driver not watching the road, again. Ernest Phillips injured in bicycle-pick up accident Hit from behind by a distracted driver, use the protocols to avoid, and fix the infrastructure so that freaking blind drivers die in a raging fire don’t actually get behind the wheel and drive. Also the article blames the cyclist for not having a flag (not the law), not wearing hi-viz clothing (not the law) and not having a taillight (not the law, a reflector visible from 300 feet in lawfully aimed low beams is required), and no mention about if this was an AM or PM wreck.

I’m having a serious Whiskey, Tango, Foxtrot response to this link from the Great White North. Shot cyclist was also victim in Danzig St. shooting OK, after reading the entire article the cyclist was shot because he was selling crack cocaine in another seller’s territory, his riding a bike just made him easier to shoot than if he was driving a big SUV.

Another GWN death that does not make a whole lot of sense after seeing the scene and the vehicles. Cyclist killed in Innes Road crash The weapon vehicle is almost pristine, to the point that I can’t identify a point of impact. And the bike is equally pristine except for the fork being broken and the downtube having a couple of bends. Since the cyclist was not mentioned as riding salmon, I’m going to assume that he wasn’t (because MSM outlets like the CBC just love to mention every possible law and a few imaginary ones broken by cyclists, see the previous paragraphs), so this one looks like the cyclist was forced off the road into an immovable object that resulted in blunt force trauma to kill him. One thing is for sure, that bike was not hit from behind. I don’t know how to avoid with the current state of infrastructure, but separating cyclists from motor vehicles away from residential areas would have prevented this wreck.

I have a LifeStyle link to a ride in Charleston SC. Charleston Preservation Society Preservation Pedal Running with the Paul Revere theme, “The tourists are coming, the tourists are coming!”

More lifestyle from OH. Cyclists Take Ghost Ride To Honor Man Hit and Killed on Bike

And last link, what do electric bikes and Pamela Anderson have in common? Eurobike Report: Electric Bikes and Pamela Anderson

And those are all the links that gave me fits (bicycle related) today.

Billed @$0.02, Opus

Well that was unpleasant, and the Feed

I wouldn’t go as fas as to say that yesterday was “doubleplus unfun”, but I have had days that were better. Because of some issues I mentioned from earlier in the month I had to hang around the office for longer than anticipated and I missed the cattle call (my agent said not to worry, he was there with another client and I was not what they were looking for in the slightest, they didn’t even interview unless the meat was mostly bald and totally white-haired), and I didn’t get someplace with food until after 1600 (4PM). I then spent the next roughly 45 minutes stuffing my face, with a woman flirting with me for about 20 of those minutes (hey I did say I worked as a model, there’s a reason for that). Also I got confirmation of my high metabolism, I weighed 198.0 when I got to the office, but 196.2 when I left and I didn’t give that much away in specimens. Apparently when I’m hungry I go into fat metabolism with a vengeance, but I don’t think I had enough activity to burn 3600 Calories an hour.

After I got done with that I had to get to a meeting of the Faith Development committee for the upcoming Full Moon this Friday, and the installation of the new Patron and Labor Day service. As the full Moon coincides with the 11th anniversary of my death, I will lead part of the ritual where we celebrate Life and Being Alive, because I may have died, but I’m not dead now, Woo! Also as part of the Labor Day service we will devoke the service with music from The Call, “Let the Day Begin”. Read the lyrics and you can understand why we chose that ditty to honor those who work and earn a living.

Up first because I got to it first is a report on a cyclist that left-crossed a speeding car who was then left for dead. Lakewood cyclist injured in hit-and-run near Cleveland’s West Boulevard Eastbound cyclist making a left, westbound driver hits her an keeps on going. I suspect the driver either was a sociopath, or had some other reason to not hang around (no license, no insurance, registration not paid, you know all those things that drivers do to “pay for the roads” that don’t actually pay for the roads). The irony of this is the cyclist was at fault in this wreck, had the driver remained on scene there would have been no repercussions against the driver unless there was some reason to ticket the driver not related to the wreck. To avoid use the intersection protocols paying particular attention to making sure you can clear the intersection before making that left turn. To prevent make it so cyclists and drivers are not trying to occupy the same space at the same time, i.e. get the infrastructure right.

From the most deadliest state in the US to walk or ride a bike 8 years running, they killed another one. Jacksonville bicyclist dies of injuries suffered in Saturday accident Until LEO release the directions of travel for both vehicles in this wreck I can’t say what happened or how to avoid it. At this point there are two scenarios presented: 1) cyclist “turned left” and was hit from behind aka SWSS, 2) Cyclist turned left in front of vehicle coming the opposite direction AKA “left cross” only the cyclist left crossed the other vehicle. Either one could be prevented with getting the infrastructure right and the second one could be avoided by using the intersection protocols.

A PA wreck that doesn’t make a whole lot of sense. Bicyclist killed in crash on Creek Road What this reports sounds like to me is there was a powerline touching the truck where the cyclist couldn’t see it and when he “came in contact with the truck” it electrocuted him.

More information about the cyclist hit from behind in OH. Bike Community Rides To Remember Bicyclist Killed in Crash Still nothing about which direction he was in relation to the intersection, and lots of really stupid comments about cyclists “asking for it” by riding in the road. More Family of bicyclist killed Tuesday: ‘People need to be careful watching out for bikers’

From The Great White North a bike wreck that almost killed a 2 YO that wasn’t even riding the bike. Child escapes serious injury after bicycle carrier run over in Cambridge Driver turning from one street to another fails to yield to the bike that was already there and hits the bike and the trailer behind it carrying the 2 YO victim. Driver arrested. To avoid use intersection protocols, to prevent use Dutch infrastructure models.

Still in the GWN a US cyclist is injured. Cyclist critically injured in Niagara Parkway crash At this point they don’t know why the cyclist crashed, but they do know what didn’t make him crash: he wasn’t hit by a car and he didn’t hit the other cyclists he was riding with. They are also pretty sure it wasn’t excessive speed because the other 2 cyclists he was with didn’t have any problem and the cyclist used that route regularly without any problem. As a guess I would say that flying insects are the most likely cause for the wreck, getting hit in the face by a bug will cause a startle reaction that can cause a wipe-out. Add speed to the startle and you get a major wreck.

More from Canuckistan on the cyclist that hit the driver’s side view mirror and went under a cement mixer. Cyclist killed on Whyte was U of A track athlete and Cyclist killed in mishap on Whyte Avenue today also Edmonton cyclist loses control, dies under wheels of cement truck I would really like to see a picture of the pickup truck from that wreck, because this story just doesn’t make a whole lotta sense without it. Just how far out did it extend and how much further than the standard mirror for the truck? how high was it from the ground? The reports have mentioned it hit him in the head and that he was trying to duck under it when he went under the cement truck. So many questions, so few answers.

A cyclist is killed in Guyana, but the article is behind a paywall… Good Hope cyclist killed on the spot From what I can read of the article the cyclist was hit from behind and died immediately, or the cyclist was hit head on and died immediately. Either way this is a dead cyclist we are dealing with and almost no information about it…

An unusual brake design has a manufacturing defect that may cause the brakes to lock unexpectedly and the rider to fall. Eecycleworks Recalls Bicycle Brakes Due to Fall Hazard The design looks sound to me, but brakes that break when they are supposed to be braking is “doubleplus ungood”. And a really bad pun.

LifeStyle as two cyclists train for the Paralympics. Cycling pair riding toward gold It’s not about racing, it’s about two guys riding a tandem bike.

And that is all the news that gave me fits today.

Billed @$0.02, Opus

Up too early for two days of busy busy, and the Feed

Yep, the next two days will be interesting to say the least. Today I have the blog post to do, the lawn to mow, a toilet to repair, and a pot of beans and rice to prepare. The lawn and blog post are self-explanatory, the toilet has a broken fill valve that won’t stop running, and today is bean day. Tomorrow I have an appointment with the Lab Rat Keeper followed immediately by a cattle call for a modelling assignment. I don’t get many of those any more as I’m starting to reach the age where “mature” bleeds into “senior citizen” and I don’t fit the “look” for the senior citizen jobs (still have most of my hair, still have the broad shoulders and narrow waist that got me the jobs as a “fit mature man”, and I don’t have easily detectable grey or white in my hair). I haven’t let myself go enough to get the “senior” jobs, but gravity is working long enough on my face to keep me from getting the “fit mature man” jobs. I could get the “fit mature man” jobs for several more years if I had a lift, but if I had the $$ for surgery like that I wouldn’t be going to cattle calls, they would be calling me.

Up first is not a bicycle wreck but has many of the same mechanics of a bicycle wreck. Car runs down NH memorial ride cyclists, killing 2 Driver went into a procession of 200 motorcycles, some with large American flags. If they couldn’t hear, or see 200 motorcycles and avoid them, how do they avoid hitting anything?

They found the driver that killed a cyclist in MA. Police interview driver of truck involved in fatal cycling incident in Wellesley Notice I didn’t write “caught”. At this point it looks like the driver of the weapon vehicle in this hit-and-run will get away with out even a ticket. More Neighbors remember Wellesley Cyclist killed in crash This was the wreck that I couldn’t tell what happened because the pictures of the wrecked bicycle were two mangled wheels and part of the rear triangle sitting on the side of the road and no other bike parts visible. I still have no idea what the mode of this wreck was from the little bit of the bike I could see.

A cyclist is hit in MD by a bus travelling in the same direction. Cyclist dies in Ocean City accident At this point that is the only information being released by LEO about the wreck other than the name of the cyclist. There’s a link near the bottom of the blog about the person that was killed, who he was when he wasn’t riding a bike. More Nacho Mama’s Owner Killed in Ocean City

An OH bike wreck where at this point LEO have no idea what happened. Road reopens near airport after cyclist struck I don’t even know if the cyclist was riding on the road or standing next to it or riding next to it. Nor do I know which direction either vehicle was going at the time. None of that information has been released yet. More Bicyclist Serious Hurt In Eastside Crash another link Hamilton Road Reopens After Bicyclist Struck also Bicyclist Struck Near Port Columbus OK after reading all the latest links and seeing the wrecked bicycle, the cyclist was hit from behind near an intersection and was in a lane not near the right edge of the road. This tells me he had either just made a turn or was preparing to turn when he was hit, the information about whether he was approaching or leaving the intersection being left out of the reports. So, intersection protocols to avoid, and get the infrastructure right to prevent.

From Jolly Olde a cyclist is injured by a trail booby trap and he’s not the first. Chopwell biker injured in wire sabotage I don’t know how to avoid stuff like this without staying away from the sites that have been booby trapped, which is exactly what this terrorist wants. I don’t know why UK authorities are not treating this like an act of terrorism. If someone placed wires at neck height on a B road (minor road that still gets lots of car traffic) it would be an act of terror particularly if it caused death or serious injury…

The victim of a MD bike wreck is remembered by the community. Vigil for Nacho Mama’s Owner Killed Bicycling Still nothing about the wreck other than he and a bus came into conflict going the same direction.

When the first man to walk on a physical body not on this earth died there was some confusion among the publicly educated. Neil Armstrong Died, Not Neil Young (And He’s Not A Cyclist) Actually I don’t know if that person was publicly schooled, home schooled, or went to a private school. But I would bet they aren’t very old.

Another bicycle “safety” program that begins and ends with “wear a helmet”. Youth in Salem County will be rewarded for practicing bike safety

From WI as the numbers of cyclists goes up, the numbers of injuries goes down and the deaths stay the same. Community Conversation: For bicycling, safety’s in numbers The number of injuries is a good way to track bike wrecks as most bike/motor vehicle wrecks result in the cyclist getting injured. Those numbers are going down. Cyclist counts in urban areas are going up, the combination of the two is a confirmation of the “Safety in Numbers” hypothesis that as more cyclists hit the roads drivers become more aware of cyclists and are less likely to hit one. The death toll remaining flat confirms that even if any individual cyclist is less likely to get hit, motor vehicles are still deadly deadly things and can kill, so the ratio of injured to killed is going down, not a good sign for the infrastructure design. If the infrastructure design is working for bikes that ratio of injured/killed would go up as the wrecks would be less serious and more survivable.

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

Billed @$0.02, Opus