Not hitting on all cylinders, and the Feed

well, I tried. I set the alarm and tried to get up to go to the bank before the bad weather hit. I even dreamed that I did get up and made myself a nice hot breakfast, but what really happened was I hit silence on the alarm without ever fully awakening, and slept another 2 hours. How I did that is another mystery because I use my cell phone as my alarm clock, because I have trained myself to sleep through the alarm from the alarm clock after working 2nd and 3rd shifts while Mrs. the Poet got up at 0400 to go take the flavor out of children’s lunches. The thing is there is no button to turn off the alarm on the cell phone, just a red area on the screen that moves around depending on how you hold the phone so you have to look at the phone to figure out where the red button is before tapping that area of the screen. Somehow I managed to do that without ever coming fully awake from the dream I was having and just incorporated all of that into the dream. Anyhow, long story short I didn’t get to the bank to get money to buy coffee, so now I have to make do with other caffeine sources until tomorrow.

Up first is Our Daily Ted. Morning Links: The bi-coastal bikelash goes on, and good news on the medical and track racing fronts

Still in CA. Woman Riding Bicycle Struck, Killed by Car in Santee The narrative on this one screams SWSS. I mean “ she suddenly veered left across both northbound lanes,” is kinda the stereotypical “Suicidal Swerve”. Now assuming the narrative is correct and the cyclist did suddenly go from the curb to the inside lane in the blink of an eye, don’t do that, Seriously start making your lane change way early just so you don’t get caught out like this person.

Moving a little closer to home (but closer to Ted than to WoaB in the Beautiful Suburbs of Hell). Boy riding bike injured in crash The narrative is believable on this one, the kid went through the intersection without looking for cross traffic.

Remembering a MS cyclist. Kevser Ermin Tragedy Serves as Humble Reminder to Area Cyclists All that about how the victim was riding exactly as required by the law and the driver was 100% at fault, and the first hint about bike safety they give is to ride with traffic. SMH.

Our first link from WI for the day. Police: Man riding bike struck, killed in Milwaukee This is why you shouldn’t weave in and out of parked cars and should ride to the left of them instead, avoiding the door zone.

Another link about the infrastructure in WI. Traffic deaths in 2016 are up about 32% compared with last year Yay! more people getting killed with cars.

Update on a NM bike wreck victim’s recovery. Teen cyclist hit in South Valley says he doesn’t remember crash I remember everything up to the impact, them waking up after coming back to life and asking to be moved gently because I had broken the upper end of my femur. About the only thing I don’t remember was getting hit and then flying through the air and landing. This kid was spared even the little I went through.

More on the AZ wreck that killed NM cyclists. Ken’s Monday Ride honors two cyclist killed on Northwest side and Steller: Tucson’s obligation — to protect visiting cyclists

Looking very hard at the infrastructure in AZ. UA grad student seeks public opinion on cycling, pedestrian safety So, what changes would you make in your local infrastructure? For the Beautiful Suburbs of Hell I would like about a 15 MPH blanket reduction in the speed limits.

Another SWSS wreck in FL. Coral Springs bicyclist struck, killed in Parkland accident There are conflicting reports that put the wreck in the bike lane, or in the adjacent travel lane. Unfortunately the people relating the other reports did not provide links.

I get this as a straight male, I can’t even imagine how bad it would be for a woman. A Biker’s Guide to Dealing With Street Harassment

Infrastructure in Chicago. Curb-protected bike lanes rolled out in Chicago Still way shy of CROW Manual standards, but pushing the AASHTO Manual right against the wall and squeezing as hard as it can.

Another wounded veteran ride with a twist. Ft. Hood shooting survivor joins injured vets on biking journey The twist is that the guy who is the focus of the article was injured just about a day’s ride south of WoaB World HQ.

An example of how cyclists are considered in Oz. Woman falsely confessed to hitting cyclist to scare a man

And what that low regard can cause. Laws a win for cyclists everywhere That’s right, he actually thinks $400 fines for rolling a stop sign or red light on a bicycle and $300 for not wearing a helmet are a Good Thing. Stockholm syndrome cyclist.

And I was sent several variations of this, but since they all say the same thing I’m just including the first link in my inbox. Ostrich Goes Full ‘Road Runner’ To Chase Down Cyclists Seeing as almost the entire video showed the backside of the ostrich in front of the camera bike, yeah I’m not buying the “chase” scenario.

And I’m all outta links, Maybe I can get to bed at a reasonable hour. Nahhh.

Billed @€0.02, Opus

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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

Another TGIF, and the Feed

I’m trying to get as much done as I can early today because we have a family friend visiting from England taking us out to dinner tonight. Since Mexican restaurants in England range in quality from so-so to vile we are probably going for Mexican tonight.

And while I start doing this in the early afternoon I know it won’t get posted until after midnight, so I’m just going to ask if you hugged your transgender friends yesterday for Transgender Day of Remembrance.

Up first because something has to be, NYC actually punished a driver for killing. SUV Driver Who Fatally Struck Woman On UWS Convicted Of Homicide And now we know what it takes to get a prosecution for killing a pedestrian or cyclist: Drive on the wrong side of the road, hit the victim with the right of way, and have the victim be the 4th person you have injured with your vehicle in 6 months.

Locally, go do this next week. Bike Friendly Richardson Presents: Black Friday Ride #7 If you’re not local, there are Black Friday rides all across the country, do one of them instead.

Bike Snob NYC tweets about parking costs that devolve onto business owners instead of car owners.

Why should drivers pay their share when local businesses can pay it instead? https://t.co/cHslFRzxe0 pic.twitter.com/av8MvY0MxK

— Bike Snob NYC (@bikesnobnyc) November 20, 2015

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Yet another link to the killer who got away with only 100 days for murder because he killed a cyclist with a motor vehicle. Stroger Exec Will Serve 100 Days For Killing Cyclist While Driving Drunk TANJ!

Down the road a few days ride from WoaB World HQ in the Beautiful Suburbs of Hell a cyclist is hit-and-run. Cyclist killed in hit-and-run crash Those of my readers local to the scene keep an ocular exposed for motor vehicles wuth heavy front end damage.

The first of Our Daily Ted. Morning Links: Sentence in Fiesta Island crash, red light-running SaMo driver, and a long list of bike events See the difference between being rich and connected and poor? More than 18 years in prison even when the victim survives, compared to 100 days for killing.

And Daily Ted part 2. Bike rider killed in midnight collision on Vincent Thomas bridge and another link Long Beach Cyclist Killed on Vincent Thomas Bridge

And Daily Ted part 3. Breaking News: Nine-year old boy killed in Irvine collision

The other big story is the coroner’s inquest on a cyclist run over by a heavy truck in Jolly Olde. Cyclist crushed to death after HGV turned left from ‘wrong’ lane at deadly junction and INQUEST REVEALS HOW WALWORTH CYCLIST DIED IN LORRY COLLISION and this, too Driver who killed cyclist was turning left from wrong lane The “money shot” for this story is this:“IMO this junction was deficient in that it did not prevent a careless collision but not so deficient that it causes the careful to collide,” he tweeted. Later adding: “Inquests into the death of cyclists never seem to me to be wholly satisfactory.”

Death by cop in OR is blamed on the victim. Cyclist on Highway 99 in Eugene struck, killed by on-duty Lane County sheriff’s deputy, Oregon State Police say and Opinion: Welcome to blame the victim season Cyclist was legally equipped and riding legally in the lane when the driver overdrove his headlights and ran the cyclist over, and they blamed the cyclist for not wearing the glow-in-the-dark clown suit.

While we are in OR here’s an infrastructure story from Portland. City finalizes plans for SE Clinton, promises two diverters by January They heard.

Trying to equalize the storage of actual human beings with the storage of motor vehicles in Portland. Commissioner Fritz questions city plan to legalize tiny homes near property lines, a perk currently given to auto storage Currently the only structures allowed to be zero lot line are garages, not even bike sheds which are garages for bicycles. “This is Amanda Fritz in a nutshell. If she didn’t have this job, she’d be on an HOA approving paint colors, issuing fines for ragged hedges, and questioning our commitment to Sparkle Motion.”

In NYC a woman learns to ride a bike in the city. Losing Your Fear Of Biking NYC: Braving Rush Hour This is supposedly the last article in the series, now that she has braved the perils of a Manhattan rush hour.

A deadly MI car/bike wreck. Warren police: Child on bike struck, killed Not much in the report aside from the dead cyclist, nothing on the mode.

I hate hit-and-run drivers. This one killed a cyclist in NC. Police seeking driver of truck that killed cyclist, left scene If you’re local, BOLO for a white pickup truck with front end damage.

I hate this hit-and-run just as much as the previous paragraph. Bicyclist killed in Everett hit and run accident “He was taken to Providence Medical Center in Everett and was expected to be booked into the Snohomish County Jail for vehicular homicide.”

Update on a CO wreck. Driver in Olde Stage hit-and-run that injured cyclist will be charged “Daniel Updike, 33, of Lafayette will be charged with leaving the scene of a crash involving serious bodily injury, failure to report a crash, careless driving resulting in injury, aggravated habitual traffic offenderand driving without insurance.” I would say the driver was very lucky the cyclist survived, with a rap sheet like that he would have been charged with murder if the cyclist died.

Update on a MN wreck. Health of Student Injured in Bike Accident Improves

A wounded vet ride down by San Antonio. Injured veterans get ‘geared up’ for Soldier Ride trip

And another ride in FL. Injured veterans gather for bike ride: ‘Good to be with the brethren again’

And another ride in CA. Cyclists raise money for injured veterans

Infrastructure from Hotlanta. Building a Bikeable Atlanta With an Eye on Equality

Over in Jolly Olde they are starting to repaircorrect a deadly collection of intersections that all dump together. London Bank junction to be transformed for cyclists, buses and pedestrians The previous form of the intersections was just kind of thrown together from the old Roman roads, not actually “designed”. The new plaza will actually be designed for all modes of transportation, and hopefully they will stop killing people.

Over on the Emerald Isle they’re recognizing the infrastructure is not up to the challenge. 200 people killed on roads across the Ireland so far in 2015, with six fatalities in the last week.

Over in Oz an anonymous cyclist chastises a driver without distressing her more than she deserves. Cyclist leaves note for P-plater: ‘You look too nice for prison’ Roundabouts are the most difficult bit of infrastructure for novices to negotiate in Australia.

And I’m out of links and ready to hit the hay, except we don’t have hay, we have an old worn out futon.

Billed @€0.02, Opus

This is gonna hurt, and the Feed

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Billed @€0.02, Opus the Poet

This post should be done by dinner time, and the Feed

Not much in the Feed folder today, and the grocery run was completed by 1300. So I have most of the afternoon unencumbered for filtering and writing the blog post.

I got some more parts for the Sprint T yesterday via Speedway Motors. These are the rear lower control arms that locate the rear axle fore and aft and also work with the upper arm to control rotation. The actual upper arm will depend on what rear axle I end up with but the lower ones are the same no matter what rear axle I use. There are two places to mount the rear springs on this arm to adjust clearance between the spring and the rear axle housing and also the effective spring rate at the wheel.

This is one of the front spindles. It connects the front wheel to the front axle.
By choosing this I will have a choice of three different brake calipers, 4 different brake hubs and 3 diameters of rotors, and 5 different bolt circles to mount the wheels. Three of the hubs mount directly to the spindle, but one requires machining an adaptor to fit over the existing spindle. Since I recently got access to a CNC lathe machining the adaptor became almost as simple as plugging in the dimensions of the adaptor and flipping a switch.

Up first is Our Daily Ted. Morning Links: Public Works says don’t ask us on Glendale-Hyperion; Ventura Grand Jury says cars are dangerous On that second part of the headline, can I get a “Doi!”?

There is no lower limit on IQ for getting a driver’s license in NY. Driver Crashes Mercedes Into UWS Restaurant While Fleeing Police And we can see what it takes to get arrested for a wreck in NYC, drugs and property damage.

And the victim of the wreck that led to “Cooper’s Law” is remembered by his classmates. “I Will Miss Cooper Every Day Of My Life”: Classmates Of Boy Killed By Cabbie Rally For Safer Streets This was the wreck that made hitting a pedestrian crossing in the crosswalk a crime all by itself in order to get reluctant DAs to file stiffer charges against killer drivers. It didn’t work of course, because the NY Supreme Court required a mens rea almost identical to first degree murder to convict of vehicular manslaughter…

What is the law about riding a bicycle on the sidewalk in CA? Dolan: Application of vehicle law to cyclists Depends on what town you are in and where in the town the bike is on the sidewalk…

More on the Marine handcycling from San Diego to Arlington VA. Town cheers injured Marine’s Ride Across America Did you see the shoulders on that guy? Wow!

Another link to the despicable woman who lied about being on her phone when she hit and killed a cyclist. Motorist was using mobile when she killed cyclist There is a circle of Hell just for people like this, a cacophony of strident ringtones, people talking at full volume, and the frequent but irregular shot to the head with a large clublike object being swung around by a blindfolded person on a noise-canceling headset so they can’t hear when they hit you while they talk to some distant person. I hope this woman goes there soon.

The UK has crap bicycle infrastructure. Protect cyclists from obstacle course So, this is news?

Just Yikes! Eskom liable for cyclist’s burns Electrocuted through the forehead? And still able to function? Yikes!

Lights would be good, but you saw the cyclist, right? No helmet, no lights, decked out in black: Cyclist tempts fate on major Sydney road during 3am ride And once again the “invisible ninja cyclist” myth is busted by the very people trying to perpetuate it. They saw the cyclist well enough to take a series of pictures of her and even get gender and an age range estimate, so what’s the problem?

Last link is just for fun as a sometimes-troublesome immigrant is granted Japanese citizenship after more than 50 years of residency. Resident evil: Godzilla made official Japanese citizen

And I seem to be out of links today, but there will be more tomorrow. There is always more tomorrow. I need a “more depressed” font for that one.

Billed @€0.02, Opus the Poet

Strating to filter the Feed, and I’m alredy only semi-coherent

I’m recovering from not remembering to carry water with me on what turned out to be a very long trip today, but we have the bus ticket for Mrs. the Poet’s trip to NY, and the storage unit rent is paid. The trips involved for that were Home to Downtown Garland to get the money, Downtown Garland to Downtown Dallas to get the tickets (round trip TX to NY and back involves 11 separate tickets), the Downtown Dallas to North Garland to pay the storage unit rent then walking home from the storage unit because it’s only like a mile and a quarter and there are sidewalks the entire way. Total travel time was about 5 hours. Whee!

Up first because this is a stand-alone link and I need as much space in the Feed window as I can get with 5 days of links in there, Our Daily Ted. Morning Links: KPCC calls LaBonge a bike advocate, CicLAvia rolls, Kerry breaks a leg and Hövding sort of works

More on that CO cyclist shot to death. Colorado police link two shootings and Colorado Hunting for Shooter Who Killed Cyclist, Injured Driver in Two Attacks also Fatal shooting of Windsor cyclist linked to shooting of Milliken woman driving on I-25, police say There seems to be ballistic evidence connecting the two recovered bullets from different shootings. Otherwise there is nothing connecting the two victims.

Another story generating lots of links is the US secretary of State falling off his bike on a planned assault on the Col de la Colombiere. Kerry breaks leg in bicycle crash; returning to US Monday and Kerry hurt in bike accident; rest of Europe visit canceled The col is a frequent climb on the Tour de France most years, but the wreck was in a crowded peloton in the town at the base of the pass and Kerry never even got to the Col de la Colombiere. That’s rough.

Another big story is a drunk driver in far West Canuckistan hitting and killing 2 out of 3 cyclists riding as a group, and killing the passenger in his car. Three killed as alleged impaired driver hits cyclists on scenic road north of Pemberton and Three dead after vehicle hits cyclists also Cyclists killed in Pemberton crash mourned by friends this too Whistler cyclists Kelly Blunden and Ross Chafe killed in collision The third cyclist was initially reported among the injured but later reports state he was not hurt. You know what I think they should do to the drunk murderer, but Canada is much too polite for that.

Bicycles are so dangerous in Japan! Bicycles can be weapons, victim warns and Revised law obliges reckless cyclists to attend safety lectures

Why do you sometimes break road rules? Survey of 17,000 Asks Why Bicyclists Break the Rules of the Road I do because obeying the law 100% of the time will get you killed. I firmly believe in following road rules to be predictable and safe, but there are some things that if you do them as a cyclist you will get hit eventually because they laws were made for cars and bicycles cannot physically do some of those things even though they are required. Merging is one of the big ones for me, since I just can’t get up and go on my bike like someone can in a car. Someone very shortly after I merge is going to have to either slow down behind me or go around me, which is a violation of the merge law. And of course when they follow me I can’t see past them so I can do my next maneuver which is normally another merge to the next lane over so I can make a turn.

More on the UK cyclist killed by a HGV in London. Tributes paid to female cyclist who died after collision with lorry in South London And Health specialist is latest cyclist to be killed by HGV You know if six different kinds of cyclists were all killed by the SAME KIND of vehicle in less than 5 months in just one city I would be looking mighty hard at if maybe one of those vehicles was not suited for use in an urban environment, and I’m not talking about the cyclists.

Since we are discussing the UK anyway. Man arrested over Walton-on-Thames cyclist death and Updated: Arrest made after female cyclist in her 50s killed in tanker pile-up in Surrey The van driver was driving a commercial vehicle without license or insurance.

And still in the UK. Man who killed Horsham cyclist convicted of causing death by careless driving After they let him out of prison they are going to deport him. Harsh, but not as much as he deserved.

I think we have found the poster child for the Asshole Association. Cyclist Hit by Vehicle on One Year Anniversary that Matthew Harker was Struck and Killed Seriously dude, don’t hit-and-run and then get on Facebook and claim the victim was at fault. When you left the scene it became your fault. You might have been able to claim the victim was the author of his own demise had you stayed at the scene, but as soon as you ran you assumed the fault in the wreck because under the law the innocent don’t run. And don’t post about it on Facebook

This is another wreck at a spot that has seen several this year in Portland OR, America’s Copenhagen. Driver cited for crash that injured bicyclist on SE Powell Blvd. This was the same intersection as the cyclist who lost his leg was riding when he got hit just a few weeks ago and not very far from where a cyclist was killed last week. Some people think there may be a problem. Is Biking Getting More Dangerous in Portland? Just for the record I don’t think cycling is getting more dangerous, I think this is what happens when you have something that doesn’t happen very often in the first place and sometimes you get a dry spell and some times you get a few more. What I also think is this area was overdue for a serious bike wreck because of the infrastructure.

Here’s another surprise, a former highway department that still thinks its primary job is to build highways. Coalition Accuses Los Angeles Transportation Authority of Tunnel Vision Gee, build a tunnel under a city in one of the most earthquake-prone areas in the world, or move more people more safely for $4 BILLION dollars less. What to do, what to do…

Bouncing all over again today because too many open links makes navigating the composing page a nightmare, a cyclist in Canuckistan makes a claim for injury after hitting a pothole in the dark and crashing heavily. Cyclist suing City of Edmonton for $152K; claims pothole-related injuries This is apparently a different cyclist from the one last week that was only suing for 5 figures instead of the 6 that this one is suing for.

Hey, let’s blame the victims in MA. I-Team: Bicycle Citations Up, Accidents Down In Brookline Remember that line from a few paragraphs back: “bike accidents are so seldom that there is a lot of noise in the statistics about them”? Same thing applies here, there is most likely no causality between the tickets and the reduction in wrecks, only correlation. since most of the wrecks reported in the media the cyclist was not at fault, this large a reduction would mean that ticketing cyclists was changing the drivers’ habits. Exactly how that would work is a bit on the shaky side.

Now this is a clickbait headline that works. When Will the U.S. Embrace This Simple Change to Make Cyclists and Pedestrians Safer? I hate to be the ones that tell them but the UK law they are talking about has so many loopholes that all 6 of the HGV that killed cyclists in London this year were not equipped with the devices.

So many ghost bikes it takes a team from the local bike club to keep them maintained so they don’t get stolen or taken away by the city/state. Duke City Wheelmen refurbish bikes Someone once suggested that we chain white cars everywhere someone died in a car wreck, which I think would be a great idea. Just think how many cars that would take off the roads with 35-40K deaths a year. And the reminder that cars can kill inside and out…

How some of those wounded veteran rides are supported. Hundreds of cyclists support Ride 2 Recovery I would ride in one of these rides.

And then there’s this guy. Double Amputee Starts 52-Day Cross-Country Fundraising Journey to Arlington on Bike He’s not riding to Arlington TX from SD CA, he’s riding all the way across the hot part of the country, in summer, with only his arms to power the bike.

Two links from Oz. A simple request from a cyclist’s partner: there’s no contest between a bike and a car and Doctor Henri Sueke, killed in Rose Bay cycling crash, had just arrived from UK

I have been hit more times, but this guy definitely has worse luck on a specific date. Cyclist badly hurt in hit-and-run again, 5 years later to the day

Lifestyle in AZ. University mourns professor killed on bicycle RIP fellow cyclist.

And what I hope is the last new RoS link for this year… Friends, family of bike commuters killed in February joined hundreds in Thursday’s Ride of Silence

And I am beat, fried, toast, a cinder, past my freshness date… TIRED! and I need to get my toes done before I ruin another pair of socks. I’m just lucky that I haven’t ruined any of the bicycle socks I treasure, just the ones that don’t have any particular meaning or memories attached to them.

Billed @€0.02, Opus the unkillable badass Poet

Did lawnmowing things &tc, and the Feed

My contribution to the lawn mowing today was walking the mile and a quarter to buy the gas, and mowing the fence line and up beside the house where you need more upper-body strength than Mrs. the Poet can muster even on a good day. I still have problems with my back when I walk too much, and between getting the gas, mowing the fence lines and going to the bank to get grocery money without having to pay an ATM fee at the store I came real close to maxing out my available miles. I had a little lay-down after I got home from the bank and meditated for a bit, then pulled the steri-strips that had come off my back off of where they had gotten stuck to my shirt. There aren’t many of them left over the incision site, but I haven’t noticed any pain or leakage from the incision so I guess we are still good on that. Speaking of pain while the little sharp pains from the edge of the dent are still there they were less noticeable than even yesterday, so that is also good.

I managed to get Blue moved to a cleared space in the garage where I could get some tools on him which also cleared access to Francis/es to allow it to be used if needed. So far the only work I managed to get done was changing the seat cover on Blue, but as I wrote earlier I had things to do away from the house that kinda drained my energy, so maybe I’ll get more done tomorrow.

Up first, I have a link to the PDF version of the FHWA guide on segregated bike lanes. Federal Highway Administration SEPARATED BIKE LANE PLANNING AND DESIGN GUIDE WARNING, this is a gov’t document written by engineers who were paid by the word and it comes in just over 99MB.

Our Daily Ted. Morning Links: 3 important bike meetings, 1 last endorsement in WeHo, and what to do at CicLAvia Pasadena

Another example of why FL kills more cyclists than any other state in the US. UPDATE: Cyclist hit in Sanibel crosswalk listed in fair condition Note the response of the LEO representative: “Sanibel police chief William Tomlinson said bicyclists in Sanibel’s 25 miles of mixed-use pathways have the option of riding crosswalks, but suggested that walking a bike is safer.” The cyclist was hit crossing with the signal after one vehicle had stopped to let him pass but the weapon vehicle failed to stop. The driver that hit the cyclist did not obey a traffic control, but the cyclist should have walked his bike because… damned if I know.

Over in Jolly Olde while the infrastructure is sometimes truly awful, it is marginally safe if the drivers of large vehicles look out for and don’t run over the people on bicycles. Two lorry drivers face court over deaths of cyclists killed in separate crashes at City blackspot

And idiots with a badge are not limited to the state of Florida or even the US. CTC critical of police response to death of Merseyside cyclist Cyclist had a measurable amount of alcohol in his blood post-mortem so the other drunk that drove nearly 200 feet on the wrong side of the road to hit him was initially let off the hook.

And this guy walked away from what was initially believed to be a minor collision with a cyclist, then died a few days later. Peter Craig: Super fit newlywed killed after freak collision with cyclist while in marathon training DON’T HIT THE PEDESTRIANS! Seriously, do everything you can to not hit pedestrians, then exchange information after if you do hit one. Not saying that was what happened here, just general advice.

The cyclist video recorded “jumping” a red light and hitting a bus had equipment failure. Bus driver defends cyclist filmed crashing into his double-decker after jumping red light Broke the front brake and locked the rear on slick pavement and WHAM, there’s the bus.

There are still good people in the world, they are just sometimes hard to find. Members of public tried to lift vehicle off trapped cyclist Unfortunately there were either not enough people or too much SUV to get the car off the cyclist without heavy specialized lifting equipment. Fortunately the fire crew that showed up for the call was so equipped and the cyclist was extricated and sent to hospital.

More on that ride in the Great White North to protest cuts in Workman’s Comp. Injured Workers Stop in Kingston During 600 km Bike Ride to Draw Attention to a Compensation System Being Dismantled by the Liberal Government Are the Koch brothers active in Canada too?

And another wounded/injured veteran ride, this time in Jolly Olde. 100 wounded heroes lead cycle races Note to reporter/headline writer, these are social rides, not races. There are no winners except the people served by the money raised. There are no losers except the people who could but don’t choose to participate.

And I’m out of links again.

Billed @€0.02, Opus the Poet

It took a long time to get in “Writing Head Space” and the Feed

You know how things get sometimes? When you are the only one who has to work and everyone else has the day off and wants to play? That was my situation this morning as I was trying to get my head into that metaphorical “space” where I can write. My daughter is visiting from Scotland, and had not made her appearance at Casa de El Poeta yet. But that did not prevent Mrs. the Poet from intruding on my preparations for composing this post pretty much constantly. I understand her point that I need to interact with my family, but I have to work, too. Especially after yesterday’s sloth-fest of more than 18 hours of uninterrupted TV motorsports, if I don’t get back to writing right away I will get lazy and just stop doing the blog. Then one more anchor I used to maintain my sanity will be down the tubes, or more precisely untied and abandoned. And I kinda like having this particular level of sanity, being attached to the “real” world and doing what I can to make a difference. I think this is just sane enough, and at the same time just crazy enough to think I can actually make a difference. I’m in the “sanity sweet spot” here.

The Big Story today is a driver charged with murder in the death of a cyclist in KY. Police: Driver charged with murder after hitting, killing bicyclist and Cyclist killed after being hit by vehicle also Authorities say Kentucky man killed after being hit by vehicle during cycling event and even Cyclist killed after being hit by vehicle and this Bicyclist hit by drunk driver during race, dies this also Cyclists remember man hit and killed during Georgetown’s Horsey Hundred I’m wondering if the driver in this case might have said to the LEO that stopped him or posted something publicly to the effect that he was going to deliberately run into a cyclist or group of cyclists. If either is true given the speed he was charged I would say that he probably admitted he was targeting the cyclists to the LEO that stopped him.

This CA woman still can’t bear to see where her husband and partner died. She can’t visit the ghost bike, not yet I understand this. I still have a problem with driving or riding past the site of my wreck, and that was 14 years ago. I can do it, I just would rather not. And her husband’s death was a heck of a lot more recent than 14 years.

Update on a cyclist injured in Portland. Schwinn, nurse help injured cyclist to get back This was the cyclist who lost a leg in a left-cross wreck a few weeks ago.

From NYC a child is severely injured going to get ice cream because “FU, Cars are more important”… 7-Yr-Old Getting Ice Cream Struck By Hit-And-Run Driver In The Bronx I mean seriously, you stopped and then you ran the kid over again? You deserve to spend the rest of your days listening to kids crying on an endless loop. Over and over again with no relief. I can see giving the driver some leeway if she had just stayed at the scene and helped with the first aid, but running the victim over a second time? Foxtrot Uniform Charlie Kilo Yankee Oscar Uniform with barbed wire.

I keep telling these people there is a simple way to do this, and the technical parameters are available for €90 translated to English. Greensboro officials, cyclists seek safer roads (VIDEO) Seriously dudes, the CROW manual is like 40 years of what works and more importantly didn’t work, distilled into one volume. They didn’t stop motor vehicles so much as tamed them and put them at lower priority.

This is one of the reasons I keep writing about sidewalks not being bicycle infrastructure even when designated as such. Pavement cyclist faces charges and media backlash after hitting toddler in incident caught on CCTV I also agree with the comment about now will we hear the same thing about people driving on the sidewalks? Because since this cyclist hit the little girl and skinned her face slightly 2 people were killed by someone driving on the “pavements”.

And something for your irony-poor blood. Cambridgeshire schoolgirl injured in crash during cycle route protest The kid was injured by a cyclist while protesting the non-existence of non-existent bicycle infrastructure…

Fund raising ride for a wounded soldier ride. Portman to bike in ‘Honor Ride’

And I’m not real sure of the point of this ride in Canada. Injured Workers Kick-Off 600 km Bike Ride in Ottawa to Draw Attention to a Compensation System Being Dismantled by the Liberal Government and Bike-riding injured workers to make stop in Cornwall Are they trying to say that the system that the government is trying to destroy allowed them to recover from their injuries to the point that riding 600 km is only slightly harder than it would have been before they got injured? Because I can see someone saying that if they can ride 600 km they must not be too injured and should not have gotten benefits.

And I think I have run out of links for today. Yep, nothing left in the other window.

Billed @€0.02, Opus the Poet

Well this is disappointing, and the Feed

All my life I have wanted to go to Indianapolis to see the 500, until yesterday. Neither will I ever go to watch the Brickyard 400 even if I get to go for free, all expenses paid. Why the sudden change in desired objectives? Indiana passed a law allowing discrimination for religious reasons. The reason this law was passed is to “protect” people from having to serve gay people getting married, but the stoopid sheeple writing the law couldn’t make it that narrow without danger of getting it immediately shut down. This widens the scope of the law so that anyone can discriminate against anyone for any reason even including things like race, gender, long hair on men and short hair on women, or riding a bicycle instead of driving a car. And it would allow Sharia law for Muslims because that is a deeply-held religious belief. So, until this law is repealed or overturned, Indiana is a no-go for me. I might watch the races on TV still, maybe.

And just for the record, this witch is a straight ally, not LGBTQA or any of the other initials in any of the acronyms used. I’m a dues-paying member of the Human Rights Campaign (HRC, the guys with the equal sign as their symbol) and you can go into the list if pages in the header to find a link to The Gay Marriage Challenge, where I invite people to make a logical case against same-sex marriage as damaging somehow to straight heterosexual marriage. So far the only serious attempt managed to shoot his case in the foot twice.

Up first today is Our Daily Ted. Weekend Links: Bicyclist voices heard in Griffith Park flap, but not in San Diego; Seattle driver doesn’t give a f*** The thing I liked about the Seattle bike lane video is the driver didn’t just move over to the parking lane right next to the bike lane she was parked in, she flat-out left completely.

Still in CA SFPD blames a dead cyclist for running a red light when there was a witness statement made to both them and the news media that the weapon vehicle ran a red light. SFPD investigation into bicyclist death called into question This just a couple of years after blaming cyclist Amelie Le Moullac killed in a right hook wreck without looking for the video that showed the truck driver at fault, which was found by a local bicycle advocacy group just hours before it would have been erased. Yeah SFPD, nobody is going to believe you when you make statements that contradict witnesses after that previous SNAFU.

Another link to the possible judicial collusion averted in CA. Attorney who had pled in death of cyclist withdraws his plea This situation just screams “We got caught” setting up some kind of sweet deal for the perp, something like time served, probation, or [$DEITY] forbid, deferred adjudication.

Do you have a hard time getting your brake levers where you can reach them? Lever Position Don’t forget to bring your yard or meter stick to the party.

Assault with a deadly weapon is perfectly fine when the weapon is a motor vehicle. Driver Who Rammed Minneapolis Protestors Charged With Traffic Offenses Someone in the street protesting something that you don’t like? Just drive right over them. No problem aside from a few tickets. The driver rammed through the demonstration at speed injuring several of the protesters.

Prosecutors in Oz go all out in punishing a drunk driver that killed a cyclist. Drunk driver Joseph Haenga sentenced to five years for causing death of champion cyclist Brynt McSwain Five years for killing a human being… TANJ.

We will never manage to pay off building suburbs with tax revenue from building suburbs. Study: Annual Cost of Sprawl in America Adds Up to $4,500 Per Person

Since they aren’t allowed to follow the Dutch blueprints for the wheel, Portland traffic engineers have to do some trial and error to reinvent it. City removes portion of N Rosa Parks bike lane to allow right turns> Actually what they are doing is trying to prevent right hooks. That’s something the Dutch have very nearly eliminated without resorting to mixing zones.

In other infrastructure news (from WI, where Scott Walker has just deleted the bike infrastructure budget)… Second Fatal Crash On Sheboygan Highway The report is not that there was a crash, or even that there were two crashes, what is interesting (for a traffic engineer) is the two fatal wrecks happened within a few feet of each other, meaning this may be infrastructure related.

Another link to the lawsuit filed in the death of a Vancouver West Canuckistan cyclist possibly pushed off a MUP by a pedestrian to be killed by a bus. Antonina Skoczylas, cyclist killed on Stanley Park Causeway, lawsuit launched I said at the time those sidewalks did not look wide enough to use as MUP coming off the bridge, and there is ample room for a bike lane there.

On the one hand he’s a pompous windbag with zero regards for the safety of cyclists even when he is one, on the other hand he’s a funny guy on the telly. Jeremy Clarkson on his bike in every sense – but who should replace him?

And very seldom is the victim of a bike wreck an awful person, unfortunately. Tributes paid to Michael Beard killed in Lincoln cycle crash

An e-assist bike can make your Silver Years more Golden. Electric bikes make inroads in the U.S. The ones I experimented with were set up to keep my average speed as constant as possible so I could route plan based on my cruise speed without assist on flat roads with no winds.

They experimented with co-ed team pursuit on a velodrome with four randomly selected teams. Mixed men and women track event tested at UCI World Cycling Centre The experiment seems to have gone well.

Another wounded veteran ride. Local veterans injured in combat participate in The Warrior Ride Cycling seems to be very therapeutic for combat injured vets.

And I’m all out of links again, finally.

Billed @€0.02, Opus