Things are going to be a bit busy around here for a while, now that I'm no longer amongst the unemployed. I'm working as an Internet Journalist for examiner.com/dallas as their Bicycle Transportation Examiner. I will be reviewing pay rides as well as commenting on local (well TX) bike wrecks. So not many blog posts for the next while.

It doesn't pay much, but it is money coming in, eventually.

I decided that I get better results when I use the older version of the blog post editor. Part of my other blog has been hand coding links and images into the blog template and posts and the new editor takes that away from me.

Anyway, I have been getting over a really bad cold the last 2 weeks, the fever spiked at 102.5F a week ago last Thursday, and the muscle and body aches reminded me of right after I was hit with the truck. Yeah, the old cliche "I felt like I got hit by a truck," only I know from first hand experience what that feels like (twice, but the first time was 35 years ago). Now I have been dealing with head and chest congestion, and a nagging cough that leaves for a while until I rehydrate and then comes back with a vengeance. That part has been slowly getting better as I watch my diet and stay hydrated with pots of coffee.

PSA, Opus

OK this is weird, for the last however long I have been here I couldn't use the advanced editor with my browser/OS combination, now all of a sudden I can?

Anywho that's not what I came here to talk to you about. I wanted to thank everyone for dropping in on my MySpace blog since 2006, and I wanted to tell you that my WordPress blog (same title, Witch on a Bicycle, look it up in Google) is really much better. For one thing you only have to click once to open a link! Yes there is no "PhishingWarning Page" when you click on a link in the new blog. Commenting is easier in the new blog as well, you don't have to be logged into anything. There is that annoying delay until I can review your comment and make sure you aren't saying anything derogatory or obscene, but other than that comments are easy to make, and if I know who you are I can flag you to have your comments automatically approved after the first one.

And so, after almost 600 posts to my MySpace blog I'm winding things down here. I'll still drop in every day to read my friends' blogs, and if I'm especially inspired I might put up another post or hundred. I'm compulsive, what can I say?

PSA, Opus

Yes, I admit it, I googled the name of my Wordpress blog. I know I'm just an attention whore, but the good part is my blog was second on the list of search results, and third, too. You just can't get validation like that, without spending lots of money.

On a similar note you need to be reading my WordPress blog, same title as this one but with less censorship and search engine viewable. And now you know how to find it, just Google "Witch on a bicycle".

PSA Opus

Well the Feed was certainly geographically varied this morning, from India to the UK, Seattle to the far eastern corner of Tennessee. There were also lots and lots of motorcycle wrecks again. Seriously you guys with the motors have to learn to ride those things better, and also not drink when you ride. The level of BAC that is legal as a cager will get you killed on a scoot. That's the bottom line of drinking and riding motorcycles, the level of impairment is magnified when part of the workload includes keeping the vehicle stable and rolling on its tires instead of falling to the ground or worse. Also drinking was involved with not being able to see and avoid cagers, many cyclists that were hit over the Xmas and New Year's holidays were hit by sober drivers violating the motorcyclist's right of way, but the riders were drinking and unable to avoid. Don't make me start another blog devoted to saving you scooter drivers' lives, we've already seen what a mess that made of my life just taking care of the bicyclists. ;)

First up is a notice from a Seattle blog about an APB and citizen's alert for a car suspected of being involved in e cyclist's hit-and-run. Hit & Run Injures Cyclist - SPD Looking for Car I have only seen 2 articles from this blog, but I like it. No bombast, no hate, just news for the neighborhood and make of it what you will. That's so unlike, say this blog.

From the Tri-State area of TN (TN, VA, KY) is a report on bike wrecks caused by dogs. Dog laws' bite varies I have been in communications with various cyclists in the area and the majority of them say loose dogs are a worse hazard than motor vehicles. They have a real dog problem out there.

From the UK a man has been charged in the death of a 10 YO cyclist. Man charged over cycle boy death And apparently this is as much information as we are going to get until the trial is over, as a result of UK media laws that prohibit releasing evidence to the populace to prevent "trial by media" that happens so much in the US.

And our final article is a report on police gone wild, using an "Interceptor Van" as a weapon, hitting and killing cyclists, motorcyclists, and anybody else that got in the way... Interceptor goes on rampage near Kalupur; one killed Apparently the driver of the van didn't like 2 wheeled transportation, as they seemed to be the only target for his destruction.

And that's the Feed for this morning, but keep an ocular organ pointed at this blog for further updates at any time.

Billed @$.02, Opus

Before I start today's post I want to thank Big Johnny over on Drunk Cyclist For linking to my Wordpress blog in his Blog Roll. That puts me in such rarified company as TPM Muckraker, Mad Blog Media, NYVeloCity, and a host of others. IOW I made the Big Time in Cycling Advocacy, and liberal politics.

Getting to the more normal subject matter for this blog, there was a memorial ride/walk in NYC for fallen cyclists and pedestrians, covered by two news outlets. Gathering Honors Cyclists and Pedestrians Killed on City Streets and Memorial Pays Tribute to Walkers, Bikers Killed by Cars As I have said before when this blog was hosted elsewhere, pedestrians are our natural allies, be nice to them. Remember them when commemorating those killed by automobile. Don't run into them when you're riding on the sidewalk, or they're in the crosswalk.

Colorado gets an indoor velodrome, which gets touted as, among other things, a place to ride a bike without having to deal with cars and trucks (but they still make you wear a helmet). Colorado's first indoor cycling track opens In all seriousness, track cycling is a great deal of fun, and you should give it a try sometime.

And speaking of helmets here is another anecdotal account of someone that could have used one. Do Bike Helmets Really Save Your Life? That was exactly the situation that bike helmets are designed for, falling off the bike. And don't think that because you have been riding since the hobby horse was invented that you're immune from falling. It can happen to anyone, especially if there are squirrels in the area. Those little suicidal bushy tailed rats will throw themselves into your front wheel to take you out, even if it kills them. I wear a full face helmet when I ride, because getting my face sewn back on once was once too many times. The actual sewing of the face I don't remember, I think because I was either sedated or under general anesthesia for when they repaired my hip, but the healing up part I remember really well. About 5 days after they did it I was starting to come out from under all the heavy pain meds I had been on for all the other injuries I had; the leg broken in 2 places, the massive road rash, the compartment syndrome, the muscle death from the blunt force trauma... Anyway as I was coming out of all that sedation the stitches were starting to come out from where they had sewn up my face, which meant I was starting to heal up. Healing meant itching, and my face felt like someone had let their ant farm move into it, constant itching for days, but I wasn't coherent enough to know what was going on yet, I was still a bit out of it. So I couldn't tell people that my face itched like mad for several days.

From the UK is a report on Scotland that makes me envious. Aberdeenshire has the highest number of cyclists killed on the roads When I read the article I discovered that Scotland had 65 cyclists killed 2001-06. Texas had 48 cyclists killed in 2007 alone. I would love to have a problem of having an average of 13 cyclists killed per year, 48 was a recent low for TX. For the same period as the report for Scotland's 65 dead cyclists, TX had 300, with the lowest annual total being 47. Have I mentioned that TX needs to do something about the large number of cyclists killed every year?

From Oz we have the Amy Gillett Foundation ride, with masny current and former Tour de France riders participating. Road safety riders turn out to show solidarity Amy Gillett was a cyclist killed in a road wreck back in 2005 in Germany, and the foundation in her name is in the same business as my blog, trying to keep y'all from getting killed on the road. Check it out.

Also from Oz is something about a group with the curious acronym TAC. What the TAC does: $650m to fight road trauma I looked at all 40 pictures connected to the article, and I still don't know what the letters stand for.

And that's the Feed for today. Poke your head in periodically to see if I have any new updates coming in. I get this stuff at odd hours.

Billed @$.02, Opus

Yes, there wasn't much in the Feed first thing in the morning. I suppose that's a good thing if every bike wreck gets reported, but if it's just because nobody feels like reporting bike wrecks then that's a bad thing.

First up is a report from NYC about people with cars complaining because they are being treated like they are the problem (which they are). Downtowners debate D.O.T.'s grand bike plans The problem is traffic planning for the previous 5 decades has been exclusively car traffic planning, with bike and pedestrian facilities tacked on as an afterthought. Now there is no more room for cars because there has to be something to do once you get there by car otherwise why go? to increase the amount of people getting places they are going to have to decrease the number of cars moving through the area, because people are what spend money in stores and buy things, not cars. In fact people without cars can buy more things other than cars because they aren't spending up to 25% of their takehome income paying for a car and the things that accompany car ownership, like registration, taxes, insurance and interest on the car loan. It has been found that people that ride bicycles as transportation do spend more at restaurants than people that just drive, but not as much for gas to get there, so the total night out is still less for the bicyclists.

Also in the news is the report that cars are paying even less of their costs because of the recession. Motorists' habits spur call for tax increases You know I had to comment on this one in the comments section. I have been saying in my blog for years that cars do not pay their way on the roads, that everybody pays for the roads, even people without cars. Well now that sad fact is coming home to haunt drivers. Boo hoo! I'm sobbing for the poor (or soon to be poor) car owners.

And that's it for this morning.

Billed @$.02, Opus

Well my other blog over on WordPress is doing better, thanks to those of you who read both blogs. My final mileage for the year came to 1003 miles, and I'm riding my own bike at last instead of having to borrow bikes.

An Orlando area mom mourns after a year without charges being filed against the man that killed her son. A year of grief: Mother waits for driver to be charged in death of son, 15 The facts in the case are plain and raw: the driver was more than 20 MPH over the speed limit and drove over a curb and onto the sidewalk where the kid was riding to basketball practice. A year later still no charges filed, and until the criminal case is finished the civil wrongful death suit can't go on, meanwhile the statute of limitations clock is ticking.

And a man "falls off his bike" and gets hit by a car. Bicyclist killed in St. Pete There sure was a lot of damage to that bike for the rider to have fallen off into the traffic lane and then gotten hit. Maybe there was some debris in the road that caused the cyclist to crash, or maybe the rider had too much to drink, or maybe the driver was lieing through his teeth and just ran into the cyclist because he didn't feel like passing safely. Whatever happened, the cyclist is dead. Looking at the picture of the broken bicycle I'm thinking the bike took a hell of a hit, as the relationships of the bits and pieces are way off for an adult hybrid or road bike. The fork looks like it was completely removed from the bike, but the damage to the front wheel isn't that severe (the wheel is totally unusable but it looks like the hub could be salvaged and the rim isn't too badly tacoed). Now assuming the report was accurate and the rider fell off the bike in the middle of the street, what can you do to avoid finding yourself in the same situation? Well the best solution is to not fall in the middle of the street. And the best way to do that is to watch for debris in the road, and modify your line early so that you are not suddenly swerving in front of motor vehicle traffic. You don't want to be one of those "swerving cyclists" that keep getting killed.

And that's the first Feed of the new year.

Billed @$.02, Opus