Bad tubes

As much as I try to avoid buying bike parts off of Amazon, from time to time I do. There had been a bunch of deals of tubes like 8 for $25 or something like that. That's a good deal. So I bought some road tubes. They keep failing next to the valve stem. Very frustrating. So anyway, that's my PSA.

Tomorrow is the De Tour. Hope my tubes don't fail somewhere in Mohegan State Forest.

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It's the Culture, Stupid

"If I run into you, and you're on a bike, you're dead. My truck, we'll just bounce"

Laughter.

"They're so stupid. Why do they think they get to be up against cars."

More laughter.

That brilliant, mature, and sensitive exchange came direct from the mouths of Generation Y. The best and the brightest. The ones who are allegedly going to take the reins and lead the country.

I heard this conversation on Wednesday. Cringed. Made a conscious decision to not leave my office to interrupt and preach law at them. I bit my tongue, hoping they were not as assholish as they seemed.

After all, this generation is marked by the myriad and mirrored hall of self-representation. Their identities never static, never 100% honest.

Is there an app for curing stupid?

I stewed and went about my day.

Then yesterday, as I woke up, before I even got out of bed, I read about a time when those in a car did not just bounce. I saw photographs of a horrific one-car crash a few blocks from my house. The car's roof had to be removed in an attempt to remove the victims. The passenger died.

If someone so much as hears about a person getting mugged on Allen Place, he will avoid that area. But the Almighty Automobile? We have come to view accidents as an acceptable risk if it means a trip to the grocery store takes five minutes instead of twenty.

Later yesterday, sitting in the same office, I read that a cyclist was struck in Hartford.

Another.

Hit hard enough that he required CPR.

The photograph on news sites shows his belongings strewn all over the street.

The news, they don't even know how to deal with this kind of incident. The victim is at once described as a cyclist and a pedestrian. There is no rush to describe him. Most articles do not even try, giving no indication of sex, age, or race. The one that bothers to: male, somewhere between childhood and AARP.

One report states the driver stayed at the accident scene. Others don't say this. One comment suggests the driver's license may have been suspended.

The way our culture regards people using transportation outside of privately-owned vehicles indicates that we are all in critical condition.

Recklessness behind the wheel receives such a light slap on the wrist that one could believe no consequences could ever come for one's crimes. Motorists could slow down. They could stop. They could look where they are going. Really look. They could scan the roadway for objects beside other motorized vehicles.

They could think before they act.

Last night, for reasons unrelated to the car vs. cyclist accident, there was a large DUI enforcement checkpoint set up on Asylum Street. Even with ample media coverage of this, several individuals were arrested there.

They were especially warned to think about their actions, and several were still unable to put the safety of others ahead of themselves.

Of the three arrested for driving under the influence -- including one who had been driving with a suspended license -- what are the odds that all will be back behind the wheel within months, if not immediately?

Our culture fosters this mentality that if we can afford a vehicle, then we are entitled to drive. And to take that "right" away, we have to repeatedly and brazenly fuck up.

That's the message sent to those on foot or on bike: You have no rights. No recourse. Me in this car? I'll just bounce. No permanent damage. Read more!

For Rough Rides (that should not be)

When you nail a pothole that should have been fixed five years ago and wonder who to complain to (besides your friends and at The Beat Bike Blog) about the rim you just bent, there are now several options.

1. The Connecticut Department of Transportation is sponsoring a website which allows users to submit data about both bike accidents/crashes and unsafe biking conditions. The accident form is for any type of bicycle crash, whether or not a motorized vehicle was involved. The latter form allows users to provide the DOT with suggestions for how the situation can be improved.
2. SeeClickFix provides its users with the capacity for uploading photos of the issue in question. These concerns are published so that others in the community can view them, thus making a visible record of concerns. If an issue is reported on a particular topic or in a specific area, different entities are automatically notified. For items reported in Hartford, the 311 Call Center for non-emergency city services is contacted. Publicly documenting concerns is a way to cut through bureaucratic bullshit, or at least to prove that something requiring action has been reported on and consequently ignored by the City, State, or private entities responsible for fixing the problem.
   
3. Calling 311 is a third option from Monday-Friday, 8-5. There is a map showing 311 open/closed cases, currently available online. It has been yanked from the City website in the past without explanation. A case number is assigned so that you can follow up.
   

What other ways can cyclists report poor street conditions and get results?
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cars kill more people than guns

The automobile, a tool invented to safely transport people with all its crumple zones, airbags, seat belts, safety glass, computers and various safety systems; kills more people every year in the United States than the gun; a tool invented to kill.

Huh? WTF? Yep.....the automobile is more deadly than the gun. Wake up! Scary huh?

It is true. Over the last few decades, roughly speaking.....

every year fire arm deaths are in the 30,000's and motor vehicle deaths in the 40,000's, check it....

year........fire arm deaths.......motor vehicle deaths

1999...........28,874......................41,717
2000..........28,663.....................41,945
2004..........29,569.....................42,836
2007..........31,224......................41,059

You might be saying this can't be true. I got my facts from Wikipedia and the CDC. I first read this in BikeSnobNYC's book (a great, great great read by the way!)

Automobile Deaths in the United States


This is a screen shot from the CDC website. There is no way to link the actual page due to the way the information is collected, but if you click here you can access all kinds of statistics.

Soooo. How is this possible? Its a symptom of how the whole paradigm is whacked! The police and politricks are full of "safety first" and "protecting people" with their rhetoric, while the real problem goes unchecked. There is a rarely enforced 3-foot passing rule in this state as well many others. There is no patience. There is no true regard for life and health. Where are the police? Where are the elected officials "concerned" for our safety?

Anyone can get a freakin' driver's license and go out and terrorize and maim and kill. Hmmm...lets get all crazy and Patriot Act about this. Lets compare to how many Americans die yearly from terrorist acts versus from automobiles. Think about it.

No, really, think about how whack the system really is. Safety is a mostly a bullshit buzzword. The reality is laws, attitudes and behavior put many, many things above safety. How many drivers swerve or drive or park in the "bikelane"? How much do politicians speak about gun-control and gun danger and guns and the young? How often do they speak of driving safer? Driving with more respect? It makes NO SENSE. None.

Ride safe. Remember that beeping revving car has absolutely no more right to the road than you. The fact that a car is more deadly, heavier, faster or more powerful than a bicycle does NOT give it more rights. The fact it costs more than your bike or may be in a hurry does not give it the right to bully you off the road. Call the police. Report bullying. Report unsafe driving. You have the right to be safe and pedal in peace. Ride Safe. Ride Smart. Read more!

Justice sandwich

CT Transit buses don't like bikes despite those front racks. Or at the very least, they don't like bikes in Hartford. Maybe they think bikes are taking their business. Who knows?

Anyway, back in September I was riding to work and dealing with a particularly unfriendly bus. I passed it around South Green's bus stop and then it passed me, then I passed it again. I guess the driver got mad about this, because when he passed me at Main and Buckingham, he slammed on the brakes in the middle of the intersection right after he passed me. I was force to switch lanes to avoid the bus, but there was a Rav 4 waiting for me in the other lane that had stopped because a bus had pulled out in front of it. I hit the Rav 4 and broke its taillight and dented the rear quarter panel. I was contrite and apologized. The driver was very concerned that I was going to take off.

Called 911, etc. The cops were initially nice. I admitted fault for hitting the car. They gave me a warning and right before I was about to leave, they changed their minds and decided to write a ticket for following too closely. I thought that was unfair, but despite being a fellow City employee, I avoid arguing with cops.

My renter's insurance (Liberty Mutual, they're good!) thankfully covered the Rav-4 damage, because the repair bill was almost $1000. I plead not guilty, because I figured taking evasive action to avoid an angry bus shouldn't warrant a $170 fine. My court date was today and I won! The State's attorney at first thought I was operating a motorcycle, but when I told her it was a bicycle she questioned how I could even receive a ticket for failure to signal a turn ((C.G.S. §14-242) which is what the ticket ended up being for, not sure why the cops told me something else). She also told me to be careful.

Anyway, thank you CT Judicial Branch for being lenient with me. Watch out of buses. Read more!

Won't Somebody Please Think of the Children?

While automobile accidents remain the #1 killer of les enfants, I am unaware of any progressive legislation that would ban minors from riding in motor vehicles. Back in my day, kids had to fend for ourselves. We could sit in the front seat or back seat. We were not restrained in special seats. Hell, I remember sitting on my parents' laps, both as a passenger and as a co-pilot.

Now, the bratties have to sit in car seats facing back until hitting puberty and stay out of the front seats until they cut their wisdom teeth. They are not forced to wear helmets yet, though it's doubtful that any of these measures are significant if, say, mom had some whiskey in her coffee and has to drive 85 mph in her SUV to get her spawn to soccer practice on time, and damn, there's a tree!

On average, four children die every day as a result of motor vehicle accidents and many others are injured. The scenario created above is not just snark. One in four child fatalities resulting from motor vehicle accidents involved the driver drinking. And, as we know, speed kills.

What can be done about that? Try to ban children under six from riding on bicycles that are controlled by adults.


"But wait," you say,"if only 1.7% of traffic fatalities involve cyclists, shouldn't the focus be on the bulk of the crash victims and causes? To that, I'd answer "Stop using logic. It's unamerican!"

Oregon State Representative Mitch Greenlick, sponsor of House Bill 2228 explained his own logic:

We've just done a study showing that 30 percent of riders biking to work at least three days a week have some sort of crash that leads to an injury... When that's going on out there, what happens when you have a four year old on the back of a bike?

The research looks at riders biking to work, but not necessarily at riders with child cargo. It makes total sense to introduce a bill before conducting relevant research. Totally.

I'm more interested in answering Greenlick's question though. Admittedly, I can be a less than responsible driver at times. I'm the same way on a bicycle. But, when I have had to drive other people's children, my driving habits changed completely. The radio volume is turned down low, I'm constantly checking all mirrors, there's more appropriate distance between my vehicle and others, and my speed is exactly where it should be. I come to a full and complete stop. I do this not out of maternal instincts, but out of utter fear of what the parents would do to me should my negligence result in injury or death of their children. I have not had the opportunity to tow children around via bicycle yet, but I know that my riding skills would be improved in the same way.

If we rarely hear about bicycle-vs-bicycle or bicycle-vs-tree fatalities, then what is really the issue here? Since we're talking about El Prez, some busybody got all up in his face about his decision to schlep some of his spawn via bicycle. Her concern was not that he would slide off the road into a ditch or that he would flip the bike by doing wheelies. It was that a car might slide into the bike. So, instead of doing something more useful, like holding up a gigantic sign telling motorists to slow down so they don't skid into El Prez and Lil Prez, she went after him. You know what that's like? It's like telling a female not to walk (or ride) alone at night because somebody else might rape her. And trust, having heard that sentiment more than enough, such comments are not welcome.

A Fact Sheet of death, mutilation, chaos, and destruction explains that motor vehicles were involved in 90% of deaths of children under 14 who were in a bicycle-related crash. But here's the catch: nothing on this fact sheet mentioned children as passengers on bicycles or riding in bike trailers-- these were all children commanding their own bikes. Look, kids are pretty stupid. Even if your kid is an Honor Roll Student, she's still stupid. That's the nature of children. Their brains have not matured. Their fine and gross motor skills kind of suck. They have no real grasp on mortality. There's a reason we do not let thirteen year old kids drive cars (anymore). Behind the wheel, they'd put too many others in danger; behind the handlebars, its basically only their own lives they are endangering. Adults are better prepared to handle both motor and pedal vehicles, so our "accidents" have less to do with physical development and more to do with laziness and irresponsibility.

Others have made comments on this proposed law already. Dave of Portlandize jokingly predicts, "And next it will be to make it illegal to cross the road with a stroller, because people pushing babies in strollers get hit at crosswalks by people driving." Later, he urges lawmakers to help give cyclists better access to roads if they are really serious about our safety. After the post on Bike Portland, someone asked whether people drive differently around cyclists with children than they do around adult cyclists. Another comment on that same post was particularly on the mark:

I still don't understand what Representative Greenlick expects me to do with my child, if I can't put him on my bike. Leave him at home? Never leave the house? Purchase a car? If this bill isn't anti-family, then it's anti-woman. It's certainly anti-bike and pro-car.

In the articles on this matter, it was stated over and over that the introduction of this bill was a way to start a conversation-- though many have been wondering if the way to begin discussions is in the most extreme way possible. Would it make more sense to begin it in a way that acknowledges that child bike passengers may be vulnerable and that there are several approaches one might take to address this, such as mandating reflectors or flags on trailers, or ticketing motor vehicle operators for traveling too closely to bicycles carrying children?

Since this bill pertains to progressive Oregon and not to our Land of Steady Habits, we don't have to all panic at once. What's more, we can rejoice (just a little) that there is now a warrant for the arrest of a driver who not only hit and killed a cyclist last month, but then sped off with his tail between his legs. There's no bringing back the victim, but this is beginning to sound a little bit more like the justice we have come to expect. Read more!

Reflect on This

American exceptionalism and auto-centric culture go hand-in-hand. These foolhardy beliefs make me want to get back to investigating handlebar-mounted weaponry. Maybe a bayonet?

A local teenager was recently struck and killed while riding his bicycle. For possibly the first time ever, the newspaper had the decency to not delve into the blame game, leaving any mention of helmets, reflectors, or distracted driving out of the article. They even used this as another reason to support better treatment of pedestrians and cyclists. Fucking unheard of! And the first comment on that editorial?

I totally agree however even though stated, more emphasis must be put on bikers. I leave the house in the dark every morning. On my way I pass people on bikes with no rear (maybe no front) lights, dark clothing and maybe a reflective stripe on their shoes. This is on country roads that aren't that wide and curve around. Often you see them very late and although not difficult to avoid a moment of distraction and it would be tragic. They may have the right to use the road, but they also must use it safely.

I see dark cars with tinted windows often driving with no lights on. Sometimes the annoyingly loud music is the only indication that a car is nearby. Those with hearing impairments would be at total loss. Typically, because such motor vehicle operators can not be bothered to either fix or turn on their lights, they also can not be bothered to stop at intersections or pay attention to others on the road.

All of this is to say, what the hell is your point? Most suburban and rural cyclists make themselves visible from outerspace with neon racing gear, reflectors, and lights. Urban cyclists are a more diverse lot, but even people who are more difficult to see are not invisible. If one is driving his vehicle with headlights on, he should be able to observe people, animals, and other objects that might also be on the street. I drove rural Connecticut for years and never hit anything while I was driving the speed limit. I mention this because I killed an opossum and the guilt with haunt me for as long as I can remember it locking eyes with me that split second before I crushed its head with my tires. I was going well over the speed limit on a winding country road. If I had been driving more slowly, I would have had the ability to miss the creature. Every time other animals -- squirrels, dogs, cats, raccoons, deer, chipmunks, and one emu -- darted in front of me, I was able to avoid contact. I could be wrong, but not one of those bastards was equipped with reflector vests or lights. Read more!

Ur Doin it Wrong

I was doing an internet search to find out some boring facts about bicycle usage, and the top website results all had something in common -- they either mentioned fatalities or included some sort of baloney like "you can ride in CT if you don't mind feeling like you are taking your life into your own hands." It's like some unwritten rule exists that every conversation about riding has to allude to danger, helmets, and hellish drivers. I swear it's all to keep the masses complicit in the destruction of the environment by coercing them back inside their cars via stories of bicyclist fatalities.

Whatever. Sometimes bike crashes are hilarious.

For instance, Snooki, some creation out of Jersey that I do not understand entirely since I lack cable tv, but whose existence I know of thanks to Perez Hilton and TMZ, tested the boardwalk with her face today. And of course, you can watch it, over and over.

No, you're not a bad person for mocking someone who is famous for being an obnoxious partygirl. Read more!

Attention Motoring Public!

This is a stop sign. It means you are supposed to stop.


I share this because I have had two incidents on two consecutive mornings where a motorist's failure to heed this very simple directive has put me and others in harm's way.

Late yesterday morning, I was in West Hartford when a driver lost control of his Pathfinder, slid rapidly though a stop sign and found a very short path into the passenger side of the borrowed car I was driving. The resulting impact spun the car into the front of an oncoming dump truck for a second, more destructive, impact. The car is probably totaled, but all of the humans involved were remarkably unscathed. Amusingly, this was one instance where I wish I had been wearing a helmet, as it would have cushioned the side-glancing headbutt I gave the driver side window midway through this bout of Car Pong.

I was understandably a bit rattled after this, but I was perfectly comfortable (if a touch more vigilant) when I was back on my bike a few hours later for my afternoon and evening plans. Even yesterday evening's scary black ice was tolerable at a very slow, careful pace.

Almost exactly 24 hours later, I was biking north on Hudson Street downtown when a speeding green Jetta overshot the stop sign as I reached the corner of Linden and Hudson. We both slammed on our brakes. He managed to come to a stop in the crosswalk. I managed to lock up my front wheel on some loose gravel/salt mixture, wash out and lay myself and bike down on the left hand side. I was up in an instant, as nothing gets the adrenaline pumping like realizing, "Oh crap! I'm laying down on a busy street!" Again I was happily uninjured, and continued on my way with only a slightly cocked handlebar to show for the incident. The Jetta driver displayed a look that might have resembled one of concern or surprise before driving off without comment. Hey, thanks for that.

It was only seconds later that I watched a woman careen around the Pulaski Circle in her black Mercedes with a cell phone at her ear before turning off without signaling. I saw that one coming and was completely unsurprised. I marvel at how someone can drop a condo's worth of coin on an automobile and won't pony up a few bucks for a Bluetooth or some other headset. The headsets these days are durable enough to withstand any chronic cranial-rectal insertion conditions that some drivers appear to suffer. I don't think there is anything to be gained by turning into a militant car-hating bike zealot, but some days some drivers make that sort of moderation very difficult. I digress.


Stop signs are usually placed at a corner for a very good reason. In the case of the corner of Hudson and Linden (pictured above) there are two compelling reasons for there to be a stop sign. Not only is Linden a minor side street to the busier Hudson Street, but there is what traffic engineers term a big ol' honkin' blind spot there in the form of a brick building smack-dab on the south side of the corner (traffic engineers are a folksy lot). It's nigh-impossible to see who or what is coming from the left until you reach the stop sign. Whomever it is, it would really be bad for all involved if you were to hit them.

In closing, motoring public, look both where you are going and where you would like to go. Slow down. The few seconds you save by driving like an idiot can cost you and others a lot.
Thanks.

Ride safe.
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Bicyclist Down

(Disclaimer: This is not a photo from the accident, nor is it from West Hartford)

The Courant reported this morning that a bicyclist was struck by a car along Boulevard in West Hartford and although in a "dazed" state was otherwise not seriously injured. These types of incidents are always disconcerting, however, the fact that the accident took place two blocks from my house and along my daily commuter route makes it all the more unsettling. I know we cannot take more from the incident until more details come out but as I travel this route daily and as it is a major thoroughfare for bike commuters I can personally attest as to the need for 'real' bike lanes on this central artery connecting West Hartford and the Beat. Cars move far too quickly along this road and while there is a nice wide shoulder and decent road quality throughout the route the fact that parked cars and bikers share the same portion of this infrastructure it leads to a dangerous tendency for bikers to move between the road and the shoulder according to whether parked cars are in their way. I know this is one of the biggest taboos of bike commuting and a very dangerous practice, however, the road is too busy with auto traffic in both directions to take the lane all the time. This increases the propensity for the rider to constantly move from the road to the shoulder to allow drivers to move past at their rapid pace in order to decrease the likelihood of pissing them off and inciting an altercation. I have found myself many times frantically looking over my shoulder to check the lane while coming up upon a car parked in the parking shoulder... oh I mean bike lane... in order that I might take the lane without getting run over or hitting the parked car. This makes for a dangerous situation and an unstable bicycling experience. I have been fortunate thus far not to have been hit, to run into a parked car, or to simply dump it as I was glancing over my shoulder, but it seems someone this morning was not. Lets just hope they are ok and that the driver was not on their cell phone. Read more!