Elections, bike bombs, and bike goodies

Oops, it happened again.

Thanks so much for all of the discussion yesterday on vulnerable users. I reported then that a pedestrian walked straight into me even though I was at a dead stop on my bicycle.

Guess what — the same thing happened again this morning at the same location. The only difference was my speed — about 5 MPH instead of 0 MPH — and another pedestrian bumped into me.

The guy even looked straight at me, so I moved over so we can pass by each other. Just as I passed by he jumped like a startled cat and blurted a short expletive.

I believe two is a trend. If it happens again is this a conspiracy?


Bicycle news, bicycle blogs, bicycle links.

A Vietnamese man waits for customers behind his bicycle pump in the old quarter of Hanoi October 26, 2010. Hanoi, Vietnam's capital that marks 1000 years of its establishment this October, hosts the leaders from the 10 ASEAN states plus China, Japan, India, South Korea, Australia, New Zealand and others for the ASEAN summit this week.  REUTERS/Damir Sagolj (VIETNAM - Tags: SOCIETY IMAGES OF THE DAY)
A Vietnamese man waits for customers behind his bicycle pump in the old quarter of Hanoi October 26, 2010. Hanoi, Vietnam’s capital that marks 1000 years of its establishment this October, hosts the leaders from the 10 ASEAN states plus China, Japan, India, South Korea, Australia, New Zealand and others for the ASEAN summit this week.

In Toronto, the famously anti-bike Rob Ford won the mayoral election. Last September, he said, “ “Roads are made for buses, cars, and trucks—not for people on bikes. My heart bleeds for ‘em when I hear someone gets killed, but it’s their own fault at the end of the day.

Winnipeg elections and the battle over bike lanes Via Planetizen.

League of American Bicyclists suggests three questions for candidates in next week’s elections.

SF Supe David Chiu wants 20% of all trips in San Francisco made by bike.

More on Loranne Ausley, the cycling candidate for Florida CFO.

LA Times: Growing discontent on a better-connected L.A..

Banned pro cyclist Pietrio Caucchioli challenges UCI biological passport anti-doping program.

SURF Magazine’s letter of the week is about bike snobbery vs surf snobbery. Via Blacknell.

Cyclist victim of a hit-and-run regains his memory:

Mr. Vescio can remember the passenger in the truck, a young man in his early twenties or late teens, leaning out the window and hollering at him to “Get off the road!” Then the truck pulled ahead a bit and began moving to its right, cutting into Mr. Vescio’s lane of travel.

He can remember pushing his left shoulder into the side of the truck in order to keep his balance as it pressed him farther and farther to the right.

The Bike Scribble Katherine’s bike scribble on display at Interbike.

Utility cycling: Using a bicycle to hunt moose.

“I’ll tell you, a lot of people blow their horns, and some people scratch their head when they see me,” said Tom Linegar of Harbour Grace in eastern Newfoundland. “But I guess you don’t often see someone on a bicycle with a rifle slung over their shoulder.”

In Orlando, a bike riding teen shoots a dog with a BB gun.

Bikes, not bombs! Bicycle with battery and exposed wires prompts bomb scare at Mall of America:

A bike was found on one of the MOA parking ramps with a battery and several wires attached to it. The Bloomington bomb squad was called to inspect the bike that was chained to a railing.

That’s not to say there aren’t real bike bombs:

A worker rides his bike past the Bushehr nuclear power plant on October 26, 2010 as Iran began to load fuel into the core of its first atomic power plant some 745 miles south of Tehran. The Russian-built power plant is supervised by the United Nation's nuclear agency.    UPI/Mehr News Agency/Majid Asgarpour Photo via Newscom
A worker rides his bike past the Bushehr nuclear power plant on October 26, 2010 as Iran began to load fuel into the core of its first atomic power plant some 745 miles south of Tehran. The Russian-built power plant is supervised by the United Nation’s nuclear agency. UPI/Mehr News Agency/Majid Asgarpour.

Compare against car bombs in…

And beyond that, of course, is the usual daily carnage.

Bank robber getaway on a bike.

Maybe it’s just me, but a full suspension frankenbike seems like one of those things that could lead to a “hold my beer and watch this” famous last words.

Florida’s first bike share: B-Cycle Bike sharing in Broward County.

West Des Moines bike plan.

New York Fancy Pant Riders 1896.

Lovely Bicycle: A closer look at Italian city bicycles. Yumm!

Picasso’s “Head of a Bull” sculpture was fabricated from a bicycle saddle.

DIY bicycle pet carrier.

Feel good: Pinheads steal a bike from a physically disabled one-legged child. Local firefighters find out about it and deliver a new bike to the kid.

2 Comments

  1. The second collision is weird. Can you post a picture (or Google Maps satellite view) showing where you were, and where the peds were coming from?

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