People for Bikes Video

My first post today was pretty much a downer; talking about the latest bicycle fatality in Phoenix.

How about something more uplifting and positive about bicycling?

Here's the latest video from People for Bikes:

Better, eh?

Bicyclist Causes Own Death

Saw a news article on AZ Central about a bicyclist who was killed last night:

Phoenix bicyclist struck by cars, dies

It has been a while since I've seen a news report on a bicyclist killed in an accident.

"The bicyclist, 58, whose name was not released, was riding his mountain bike about 7:15 p.m. in a northeast direction across 7th Street from Purdue when he was struck by a 1991 Nissan Pathfinder driven by a 46-year-old woman, whose name was not released. The Nissan was headed north."

For those unfamiliar with Phoenix, 7th Street runs north and south, and Purdue Avenue comes from the west and T's into 7th Street. The bike rider was riding at an angle, in a northeast direction, crossing 7th Street and was hit from behind by the Nissan headed north in one of the three northbound lanes; or maybe the driver was coming up in the center, left-turn only lane.

"The victim landed in front of a 2005 Ford Escape, also traveling north, driven by a 33-year-old man, whose name was not released.

The bicyclist was dragged under the Ford until the driver stopped. The victim received fatal injuries."

Yeow, so I envision the bicyclist struck from behind, and because his wheels are headed northeast he is boosted, rolling, into the next lane over where he is run over and dragged.

"Police said neither driver was impaired and no citations were issued."

Huh. So neither driver was impaired, and they weren't doing anything wrong because neither of them were cited. And the cops didn't cite the dead bicyclist, either!

I wonder what caused this accident? (Scratching my head)

AHA! There it is! In the last sentence of the article! The REASON this bicyclist was killed:

"The bicycle rider was not wearing a helmet."

There you have it, Kids! Wear your helmet and YOU may be able to survive a pair of SUV's tag-teaming you on a busy street!

( Author's disclaimer: BluesCat is a BIG fan of bicycle helmets, for practical reasons --- he has rearview mirrors on all of his --- as well as safety reasons. He is NOT a big fan of "journalists" who include such information in their articles because he feels it redirects attention from the REAL issues of bicycle safety. )

New Commute Route: Through Hong Kong

Okay, okay, so it isn't through Hong Kong, but by Hong Kong ... the New Hong Kong restaurant, that is:

(giggle) I crack myself up ... Actually, I'm easily amused by myself. (That sounds somehow just wrong, don't it?)

No, all seriousness aside, I like this new route because it combines the crossing of two major arterial streets into one intersection.

Although I have nothing to back it up except for anecdotal incidents, it seems to me that the vast majority of my hair-raising exchanges with motor vehicles have taken place when we are meeting at the confluence of a major arterial and a collector street or a local road.

If I am the one on the arterial, and the motorist is the one turning right in front of me from a local road, more often than not I am the victim of the Invisible Two-Wheeled Vehicle Syndrome. They will pull out as if I'm not even there.

If I am the one making a right onto an arterial from a local road, the second he sees my blinking taillight, the motorist coming up behind me takes it as a signal to floor his gas pedal.

And motorists seem to have fewer qualms about blowing through a yellow light (or even a RED light) if the traffic signal is on a mere collector street crossing their MUCH more important path on a major road.

At the meeting of two major streets, even motorists seem to be paying more attention, and actually driving more cautiously, than anywhere else. Maybe it is the presence of all of the other big vehicles which can ruin their day if they collide with them. Or maybe it is all the pedestrians and city buses which are causing them to be more attentive.

Anybody else think that these intersections are safer for cyclists? Or am I all wet?

Fashion Square Bicycles

Last Saturday, I went over to Scottsdale Fashion Square to look for a Mother's Day present for Mrs. Cat. For those unfamiliar with Fashion Square, it is a very tony shopping mall near downtown Scottsdale, Arizona.

I don't remember ever seeing anything which has to do with bicycles in Fashion Square. Maybe, because of the price of oil or because of Bike to Work Month, we've finally hit some kind of tipping point for the well-heeled. I saw two bicycles on display there. One was probably the most exotic commuter-type bike I have ever seen:

The other was part of the display for a tourism company:

Granted, they were displays, but at least there were BICYCLES in the Land of Mercedes and BMW, and you could actually BUY that green bike!

It was a woman's shop, and it was filled with women, and I was in a hurry to get Momma Cat's present, so I didn't stop in to get any details.

Anybody know what kind of bike that is?

The New Speedzone

Some of you will remember that after my old wireless Specialized Speedzone computer fell off Bluetiful --- and got run over by her rear wheel --- that I "upgraded" to a Trek Incite 9i.

You will also recall, from that blog post, that I really wasn't all that impressed with the Trek, for a lot of reasons. Well, I am now even less impressed with the Trek, because less than a year from when I purchased it, it has given up the ghost.

I visited my favorite LBS, and saw that Specialized has redesigned the Speedzone:

The nifty stem mount is no longer available, but the computer slides sideways into mount:

Some of you may remember that the old Speedzone slid into the handlebar clip from the bottom, and that was why it was knocked out of its mount and was destroyed: RIP, Speedzone.

The new Speedzone mounted quickly. The only issue is that the ape-hanger handlebars on Bluetiful provide a very narrow mounting space next to the stem, so in order to slide the computer out of the clip I need to rotate the mount slightly towards the rear of the bike in order for it to clear the pinch bolt on the stem as it slides to the right.

Setup was a breeze, thanks to the excellent manual provided by Specialized. (The Trek manual was absolutely horrible, in addition to being incorrect!)

In addition to having a new design, and a new type of mount, the new wireless Speedzone also has an autoactivation feature when the wheel starts turning, which means no more getting halfway through a ride and discovering the computer hasn't turned on!