Take the Lane

Court stalls decision on bike-killer appeal

I hate to come across as bloody-minded, but I can't believe that this case has had to go to appeal.
Last year, Peter Howe, 42, of Geary, N.B., killed Robbie MacRitchie, a 23-year-old riding along the side of the road. Howe had consumed 24 bottles of beer, refused an offer to stay over at a relative's house, climbed into his car and drove off, veering on to the shoulder and nailing MacRitchie.
To his credit, Howe pleaded guilty to impaired driving causing death. To the discredit of the court, he got two years house arrest. To the credit of the prosecutor, the sentence was appealed. And now, after hearing the appeal this week, the New Brunswick Court of Appeal is thinking about it.
What is one to think about this? The defence has argued that the road was dark and MacRitchie was wearing dark clothing. Is that enough cause to blame the victim? He wasn't asking to be killed.
The Crown says that house arrest isn't much of a message to send to drunk drivers. The Crown wanted three or four years jail time.
I'm not really an eye-for-an-eye kind of guy, but holy doodle, if two years house arrest is the only punishment for drinking a whole case of beer and then killing someone, we've just announced open season on the vulnerable users of the nation's highways.
Here's hoping the New Brunswick appeal court has more sense than the trial judge.

Too much cycling bad for bones

Too much cycling can be bad for the bones, according to a study to appear in the journal Metabolism.
Pam Hinton, associate prof of nutritional sciences at the University of Missouri-Columbia and co-author of the study, says that male cyclists appear more likely to have lower than normal bone density, compared to male runners.
Her comments were reported recently by the Los Angeles Times.
Her study looked at the bone mineral density of 27 cyclists and 16 runners, aged 20 to 59. She found that 63 per cent of the cyclists had osteopenia of the spine or hip, compared to only 19 per cent of the runners.
Osteopenia is bone mineral density that is lower than normal, but not yet osteoporosis. Getting osteopenia is usually a good warning signal that something in one's exercise regimen or diet had better change.
Hinton said she was alarmed that some of those with osteopenia were in their 20s and 30s, and this a condition normally found in post-menopausal women.
Hinton said that bone density can be maintained by putting some load-bearing exercise into your routine. Play basketball or soccer, run, skip rope or walk.
Some of the study participants told Hinton that the muscle contractions that occur when pedalling and standing on the pedals should account for some impact. "But the pedal is moving with you," she told the Times. "You don't have the earth resisting your body."
Just as with everything else, variety is the spice of life. For strong bones, add some variety to your exercise routines.

Critical mass in the rain

Wish I could have joined these riders for today's Critical Mass ride, since it is always a pleasure to ride with people who are having a good time, even in the rain.
But the job that helps me pay for bicycles kept me at my desk. Heavy sigh...
The photo was taken by David Bebee, Record staff.

Here's my bike #2

Here's a low-rider trike that would rock. Jeff Schmidt of Rebel Cycles of Kitchener sent this photo of his trike. He writes that, "I've been riding my trike since May of 2006. Since then, I have ridden it to work every day without fail.
"My goal was to never take my car to work ever again, and so far, I've been successful! Of course, I use it for all sorts of errands whenever feasible, and starting next spring, my wife will have one of her own to ride around on, too.
"Will she be bitten by the recumbent bug as hard as I was? I guess we'll see..."

Here's my bike #1

David Hobson sends us this picture of his bike, just to remind us that we can ride all winter.

 

Costumed critical mass ride on Friday

If you are a Facebooker, you may have read the notice in the group Critical Mass Waterloo, but if you aren't,
be advised that there is a Halloween-themed Critical Mass ride tomorrow (Friday, Oct. 26) in the streets of Kay-Dubya.
Cyclists will gather at 4:45 p.m. in Waterloo Park (near the bandshell).The ride begins at 5 p.m.
Riders are invited to bring their best Halloween costumes, noisemakers and other paraphernalia.
It should be fun, and a bit less anarchic than the Car-Free event last month.

Died on a ride, #17

This will undoubtedly spark debate about two of The Big Subjects for urban cyclists: riding on sidewalks and wearing helmets.
A 64-year-old Kitchener man died today after he fell off his bike while riding on a sidewalk on Strasburg Road, near Bleams Road. Police said he wasn't wearing a helmet.
According to the police report, the man swerved to avoid a pedestrian, lost control of the bike and fell off his bike, striking his head. He died at the scene. No name released yet.
You already know where I stand on helmets. If you are T-boned by a transport truck, a helmet won't help you. But sometimes a helmet will help. The desire to look out for our own best interests should be enough motivation for all cyclists, youths and adults, to wear helmets.
As for sidewalks, well, I don't know all the details. There is a bike lane on Strasburg, although it runs out just before Bleams, and some cyclists may feel uncomfortable at what is, indeed, a busy intersection. If he had been on the road, would he have had to swerve for a pedestrian? Would he have lost control?
Oh, the questions for which we will never have answers. And a life lost.

Moron of the Week, #7

Oh please. Someone talk to this guy. Thirty-something, today around 4 p.m., heading east on Block Line Road in Kitchener, on a mountain bike.
Block Line has bicycle lanes, on both sides. But you, my friend, were beetling along the sidewalk, downhill toward the changing traffic lights at Strasburg Road, slalomly between the lady with the jog-stroller and the kid with the backpack -- making true friends of them, I'm sure -- then zipped through the crosswalk while the cars waiting to turn tried to figure out what you would do next.
Which, it turned out, was to whip over into the bike lane after all.
You were not a good advertisement for the two-wheeled alternative. I suspect all the peds and motorists had the same thought: "Stupid cyclist."
For helping raise the profile of cyclists everywhere, you are our Moron of the Week!

To ride is to live

I've been off the bike for a few days due to one thing and another, and all it takes is that return to cycling after a short absence to remind me how much I love it.
The freedom of the ride. The power in the downstroke. The bike practically leaping out from under me as I stand to climb a hill. The twitchy front end. Is this thing alive?
I am free. I am mobile. I am breathing fresh air. Why did I wait so long to ride again?

Died on a ride, #15 and #16

A poster (thanks, Geoffrey!) sent me a note about one Mississauga cycling death, but there have been two cyclist deaths there this year.
A 26-year-old Mississauga man died Aug. 17 after being hit by a Mississauga transit bus two days earlier. Peel police said the bus apparently had the green light when the cyclist entered the intersection and struck the passenger side of the bus in mid-afternoon. No charges were laid. Although the man's injuries did not appear serious, he died in hospital two days later. Peel police are checking to see if they can release his name to the public, and I may have some more info about him then.
On Saturday, Oct. 13, 31-year-old Hai Yen Gao of Mississauga was hit by a dump truck and died the next day of her injuries. Police are still investigating this case, and are particularly trying to determine who had the right of way, so aren't releasing any details of the incident. The Brampton Guardian, however, reports the dump truck was turning right when it hit her.
Checking the right before turning right has got to be Driver Education 101.