he fired a handgun at a bicyclist

"ComandanteBanana" wrote in message
...
[...]
PEOPLE LIVE IN FEAR OF RIDING A BIKE OR ELSE THEY WOULD BE ENJOYING
BIKING EVERYWHERE.

Go by Key West, and you will see a microcosm of what America could be.
Yes, bicycles (lots of them), scooters (lots of them), motorcycles
(mostly from outside), some SUVs (mostly from outside) and many EVs
all coexisting in relative peace.

Most small towns are suitable for cycling if you use a bit of common sense.
The trick however is in GETTING to Key West on a bicycle. It is like playing
Russian roulette to compete with motor vehicles on the road from south of
Miami to Key West.

Regards,

Ed Dolan the Great - Minnesota
aka
Saint Edward the Great - Order of the Perpetual Sorrows - Minnesota

"Peter Cole" wrote in message
...
[...]
The problem with "accident" reports (besides the implication in the name)
is that they're written by cops, a similarly biased source. Fact is,
cyclists aren't a hazard to motorists, but motorists are hazards to bikes,
pedestrians and other motorists. Ticketing cyclists is just so much petty
bull****. Your anti-cyclist attitude is just a pro-car bias, typical in
America's car dominated culture. Cyclists may be reckless, motorists are
homicidal. There's a vast difference.

The biggest single safety issue is speeding. Motorist compliance with
speed limits approaches 0 per cent. That's not even discussed, never mind
enforced. That's 100% "scofflaws" in my book (which would run out of
citation forms very quickly).

Excellent post Peter. You hit the nail right on the head. The truth is that
you cannot equate motorists and cyclists in the harm that they do. One is
negligible and the other is deadly.

Regards,

Ed Dolan the Great - Minnesota
aka
Saint Edward the Great - Order of the Perpetual Sorrows - Minnesota

"Opus" wrote in message
...
On Jul 28, 1:02 pm, N8N wrote:
snip
Balls. Speeding is a non-issue. The only reason the motorists are
"speeding" in the vast majority of cases is that the speed limit is
set at the 10th percentile or lower, when all safety experts, when
pressed, will state that the 85th should be used as a starting point,
and then the speed limit adjusted down only if there are non-obvious
hazards or other special conditions. Surely every road in the US
isn't so poorly designed that this has had to happen nearly
universally?

Drivers will drive at a speed where they think their risks are
balanced by the benefits of getting there sooner. However on some
roads (most) motor vehicles are the hazard to other users, so what
seems like a safe speed to a driver is in fact dangerously fast for
everyone else on the road, or even close to the road. At this point
the 85th percentile is just statistical noise because it only accounts
for motor vehicles and ignores every other road user.

Data from the NHTSA shows that in motor vehicle v bike/ped collisions
the fatal ratio at 20 MPH is 5% with 50% more injured seriously enough
to require transport, but at 40 MPH 85% die and 15% more are injured
enough to require transport, at 60 MPH 99% die, usually at the scene.
So at 20 45% walk away, 40 and above nobody walks away, and at 60
almost nobody leaves outside of a bodybag. That's for the people not
inside cars or trucks. And the problem is that drivers can't get this
through their thick skulls when they are the hazard they have to slow
down.

Opus has got it exactly right! The fact is that we are never as safe as we
think we are when we are on the road with motor vehicles. That is why I do
not mind ComandanteBanana's tirades against motor vehicles as much as some
others.

And just for the record the truck that hit me was doing an estimated
65 MPH. Yes I know I'm lucky, yes I got brain damage, and yes I'm
still ****ed they never even looked for the guy that tried to kill me.
I used to have a pretty good life, now I got ****.

I think your brain is functioning just fine. After all, you are keeping up
with me!

If you can't bicycle anymore, just give it up. There are hundreds of other
things you can do that you will enjoy. Remember one thing, the bicycle is a
fairly modern invention - and folks got along without the bicycle just fine
for thousands of years. Frankly, if I couldn't bicycle, I would just take up
walking and never miss the bicycle.

Best Regards,

Ed Dolan the Great - Minnesota
aka
Saint Edward the Great - Order of the Perpetual Sorrows - Minnesota

Still Just Me - wrote:

Sorry to hear. The motorist that tried to kill me did it by cutting me
off and stopping in front of me. Fortunately, the fact that they were
stopped allowed them to be identified in the police report. It still
****ed me off just a wee bit that the cop who arrived at the scene
immediately made disparaging remarks about cyclists to the car driver
and refused to put our statements at the scene into the accident
report.

This is the big problem with bike/MV collision statistics, the raw data
is collected by the cops. There was an interesting article I read (can't
find it now) where an analysis was done of collisions in an urban
environment (NYC, I think) and the conclusion was that the "fault"
attributions were mostly reversed. For me, this goes a long way to
explain why "official statistics" in car/bike crashes differ so much
from my personal experience.

On Jul 29, 12:19*am, Chalo wrote:
ComandanteBanana wrote:

Go by Key West, and you will see a microcosm of what America could be.
Yes, bicycles (lots of them), scooters (lots of them), motorcycles
(mostly from outside), some SUVs (mostly from outside) and many EVs
all coexisting in relative peace.

If we just believe with all our hearts, then we can all be gay! *On
bikes! *Wearing Speedos and drinking girl drinks in relative peace!

Chalo

Hey, go all for it... Less competition!!!

On Jul 29, 12:35*am, "Edward Dolan" wrote:
"ComandanteBanana" wrote in message

...
[...] PEOPLE LIVE IN FEAR OF RIDING A BIKE OR ELSE THEY WOULD BE ENJOYING

BIKING EVERYWHERE.

Go by Key West, and you will see a microcosm of what America could be.

Yes, bicycles (lots of them), scooters (lots of them), motorcycles
(mostly from outside), some SUVs (mostly from outside) and many EVs
all coexisting in relative peace.

Most small towns are suitable for cycling if you use a bit of common sense.
The trick however is in GETTING to Key West on a bicycle. It is like playing
Russian roulette to compete with motor vehicles on the road from south of
Miami to Key West.

Regards,

Ed Dolan the Great - Minnesota
aka
Saint Edward the Great - Order of the Perpetual Sorrows - Minnesota

I know, the road to Key West is full of dinosaurs, ie. SUVs from
Miami, but the locals are probably happy with it because they bring
the money.

They become MORE TAMED though as they drive in the keys.

On Jul 29, 4:55*am, Peter Cole wrote:
Still Just Me - wrote:

Sorry to hear. The motorist that tried to kill me did it by cutting me
off and stopping in front of me. Fortunately, the fact that they were
stopped allowed them to be identified in the police report. It still
****ed me off just a wee bit that the cop who arrived at the scene
immediately made disparaging remarks about cyclists to the car driver
and refused to put our statements at the scene into the accident
report.

This is the big problem with bike/MV collision statistics, the raw data
is collected by the cops. There was an interesting article I read (can't
find it now) where an analysis was done of collisions in an urban
environment (NYC, I think) and the conclusion was that the "fault"
attributions were mostly reversed. For me, this goes a long way to
explain why "official statistics" in car/bike crashes differ so much
from my personal experience.

My next-door-neighbor's son (19 year old) was recently in a bike/MV
collision -- with a police car. It was the typical cruiser going
north, bike going south, cruiser takes a left and hits bike. It
seemed simple as explained to me in my front room, and then the facts
started to layer on: the kid was riding a fixie with no brake after
11:00 PM with no head light. Cop claims he did not see him, turned
and that the kid hit him. Kid cited for equipment violations (no
brake, no headlight) -- and a totally retalliatory citation for
reckless driving. I figure the cops are going on the offensive to
prevent a suit and will sue the kid for property damage. The kid had
some pretty serious injuries and wasn't wearing a helmet. O.K.,
Frank, Bill, Carl and everyone else -- this is not to say that his
injuries would have been any different, but the cops will find some
way to spin that fact in to a claim that the kid is a reckless
Bohemian on a fixed gear. His right of way was still violated, but he
is going to have a heck of a time getting past the 51% rule in this
state (claim barred if you are more than 50% at fault). The cops
clearly do not love cyclists, and in PDX, our political clout does not
sit well with a lot of people. I'm sure that in police reports, the
benefit of the doubt goes to the car driver.-- Jay Beattie.

On Jul 29, 1:08*am, "Edward Dolan" wrote:
"Opus" wrote in message

...





On Jul 28, 1:02 pm, N8N wrote:
snip
Balls. *Speeding is a non-issue. *The only reason the motorists are
"speeding" in the vast majority of cases is that the speed limit is
set at the 10th percentile or lower, when all safety experts, when
pressed, will state that the 85th should be used as a starting point,
and then the speed limit adjusted down only if there are non-obvious
hazards or other special conditions. *Surely every road in the US
isn't so poorly designed that this has had to happen nearly
universally?

Drivers will drive at a speed where they think their risks are
balanced by the benefits of getting there sooner. However on some
roads (most) motor vehicles are the hazard to other users, so what
seems like a safe speed to a driver is in fact dangerously fast for
everyone else on the road, or even close to the road. At this point
the 85th percentile is just statistical noise because it only accounts
for motor vehicles and ignores every other road user.

Data from the NHTSA shows that in motor vehicle v bike/ped collisions
the fatal ratio at 20 MPH is 5% with 50% more injured seriously enough
to require transport, but at 40 MPH 85% die and 15% more are injured
enough to require transport, at 60 MPH 99% die, usually at the scene.
So at 20 45% walk away, 40 and above nobody walks away, and at 60
almost nobody leaves outside of a bodybag. That's for the people not
inside cars or trucks. And the problem is that drivers can't get this
through their thick skulls when they are the hazard they have to slow
down.

Opus has got it exactly right! The fact is that we are never as safe as we
think we are when we are on the road with motor vehicles. That is why I do
not mind ComandanteBanana's tirades against motor vehicles as much as some
others.

And just for the record the truck that hit me was doing an estimated
65 MPH. Yes I know I'm lucky, yes I got brain damage, and yes I'm
still ****ed they never even looked for the guy that tried to kill me.
I used to have a pretty good life, now I got ****.

I think your brain is functioning just fine. After all, you are keeping up
with me!

If you can't bicycle anymore, just give it up. There are hundreds of other
things you can do that you will enjoy. Remember one thing, the bicycle is a
fairly modern invention - and folks got along without the bicycle just fine
for thousands of years. Frankly, if I couldn't bicycle, I would just take up
walking and never miss the bicycle.

Best Regards,

Ed Dolan the Great - Minnesota
aka
Saint Edward the Great - Order of the Perpetual Sorrows - Minnesota- Hide quoted text -

- Show quoted text -

I could easily take on this invention...

http://www.trikke.com/Trikke-Showroom/hp

I'm sure I can get a better upper-body workout, burn more calories in
less space (ie. stay in parks, etc), and so stay away from killer/
stressful traffic, but then...

I WILL MISS THE BIKE FORUMS!

On Jul 29, 5:08 am, "Edward Dolan" wrote:
snip
I think your brain is functioning just fine. After all, you are keeping up
with me!

If you can't bicycle anymore, just give it up. There are hundreds of other
things you can do that you will enjoy. Remember one thing, the bicycle is a
fairly modern invention - and folks got along without the bicycle just fine
for thousands of years. Frankly, if I couldn't bicycle, I would just take up
walking and never miss the bicycle.

I used to be a spoken word poet, in the 8 years since the wreck I have
done 2 performances and written exactly 3 poems, where before I was
doing 3-6 performances a month (some paid, some just showing off) and
writing as many as 5 poems in a single day, a minimum of 15 poems a
week. I used to be a voice actor, now I sound like Forrest Gump's
stupid brother. I used to make my living by having a confident, but
welcoming voice, telling people how to fix their computers over the
phone. All my transferable skills hinged on being able to communicate
verbally, and now sometimes I can't even talk. Mostly I can't find the
words (aphasia) but sometimes I can think of the word but can't say
it, and I can't find the technical term for that. I don't know that a
technical term for this condition exists.

However I can still ride my bike, I have ridden my Stratus as much as
150 miles in a single day, and now that I have the seat fixed on Gigi
I can ride much further than the 8 miles I was limited to by "seat
issues" before. I have already made several 20 mile jaunts across town
without pain. If I quit cycling the terrorist won, and I refuse to let
that happen.

Walking is another kettle of fish entirely, after about a mile I'm
pretty much done for the day, unless of course I have to get
somewhere. Then I just lean a little more on my cane and keep plugging
until I arrive, but the side effects aren't pretty...

Still Just Me - wrote:
On Tue, 28 Jul 2009 20:47:48 -0500, Tom Sherman °_°
wrote:

Still Just Me - wrote:
[...]
You might want to read about this guy for a little motivation. Read
his detailed story on his "accidents". Ignore the formality of his
current web site and his apparent success and look at where he came
from and what he accomplished by controlling his focus.

http://www.wmitchell.com/


I hate inspirational stories. People that get a raw deal should be angry
and bitter.

Makes you feel like a real underachiever, doesn't it?

I hate it when the more fortunate try to placate the less fortunate
through various forms of propaganda. Much of life being not fair is due
to greed.

--
Tom Sherman - 42.435731,-83.985007
Positive psychology, which claims to be able to engineer
happiness and provides the psychological tools for enforcing
corporate conformity, is to the corporate state what eugenics
was to the Nazis. - Chris Hedges