Vision? Zero!

Great news!

New York City has more or less achieved "Vision Zero!"

Well, if you factor out all of the murderous drivers, of course:

If NYPD’s goal is encouraging cyclists to help prevent traffic deaths and serious injuries, we have good news: New Yorkers who ride bikes have all but achieved Vision Zero. In fact, cyclists were Vision Zero pros long before the initiative launched in NYC.

From 2000 to 2013 (the most recent year for which official bike crash data are available), cyclists killed eight New York City pedestrians, according to DOT. During that time frame, drivers killed 2,291 people walking. There were two reported incidents in which people on bikes struck and killed pedestrians in 2014, when DMV data show drivers killed 127 pedestrians.

All told, cyclists fatally struck 10 people in NYC in 14 years, compared to 2,418 pedestrians killed by drivers, making cyclists accountable for .4 percent of pedestrian deaths.

The above was in response to the following (now deleted) tweet:

I'm not saying the police shouldn't ticket cyclists, but I am saying they shouldn't be tweeting, because if you're going to constantly put your foot in your mouth there are more discreet ways to go about it.

As for Vision Zero, it doesn't seem to be working out all that well.  It's enough to make you want to check out a Citi Bike and skip town--which was working out great for this guy until he reached Oklahoma:

Apparently, it’s not just Big Apple motorists who hold a grudge against Citi Bike users, as a Manhattan man found out the hard way while riding one of the two-wheelers cross country.

Ooh, the "reporters" at the Post aren't even bothering to conceal their bloodlust with this one!

Jeffrey Tanenhaus, who quit his job as an event planner in early August to embark on the Citi Bike trek, saw the ride take a bloody turn in Oklahoma this week when he was punched in the face by a bike-hating pickup driver.

I didn't know there was any other kind of pickup driver.

He noticed a pickup truck slow down as it came up behind him and, having grown accustomed to being a roadside curiosity, Tanenhaus assumed the motorist wanted to ask a few questions about his bike, which has a New York license plate affixed to the front.

How endearingly naive.  If a pickup truck were to slow down as it came up behind me as I rode through Oklahoma I'd just assume the driver was preparing to knock me out, tie me to the bumper, and take me for a drag.

“But the guy just starts launching verbal abuse at me — how much he hates bikers, and I need to get off the road — a lot of expletives thrown in there, a seething rant about bicyclists,” he said via telephone Wednesday.

The pickup driver then sped off. “[It was] the first time hostilities had been exhibited in the whole time riding,” Tanenhaus said. “I wasn’t even in his way.”

Ah, but you were on a bike, which is the same thing.

The bully then “got out of his truck and punched me in the face,” Tanenhaus said.

I'd have just assumed the assailant was Keith Maddox, but last I heard they locked him up:



Anyway, I was kind of nauseated by the somewhat gleeful tone of the Post article, though I suppose I should at least be happy that they didn't mention whether or not the victim was wearing a helme(n)t.

As for me, I'd never, ever want to ride across the country.  I mean seriously...America?!?  Don't you watch the news?  Drivers shoot 4-year-olds here, for chrissakes!

Not only that, but I don't have a cause to ride for, like this guy does:



And yes, he is riding for a cause.

Care to guess what it is?

I'll wait:


Well, if you guessed to "raise awareness about domestic sex trafficking" then you're correct:

Half way point in miles! 2/5th of the way done in time. Bicycling the four corners of America to raise awareness about domestic sex trafficking

Though he might want to tone it down a bit in deference to the victims:

Speaking of riding for really long distances, the 2016 Tour de France route has been unveiled, and you're never going to guess what it is:

SURPRISE, THEY'RE RIDING THROUGH FRANCE!

I didn't see that one coming.

Also, totally unlike years past, there will be some giant climbs:

Notably for the hosts, the finish to the 12th stage on July 14, France’s Bastille Day, will take place on the epic Mont Ventoux, a windswept, 15.7km climb that averages a punishing 8.8 percent gradient.

Yet there will also be some flat stages in the beginning for the sprinters:

The opening stage is almost certain to end with a sprint finish, as are the third and fourth stages.

I'm not sure why they refer to the route presentation as an "unveiling" when at best it's just a reminder.

Just once I'd like them to announce that the Tour de France will last for four days, be contested entirely on prone bicycles, and go nowhere near France.

Equally as unsurprising is that Toyota is recalling a bunch of cars again:

Though I was kind of surprised by the reason:

TOKYO — Toyota is recalling 6.5 million vehicles worldwide to fix faulty power window switches that can potentially catch fire, the automaker said on Wednesday. It is the fourth recall involving that component since 2009.

Wow, so you open the window and the switch goes on fire?  That's practically James Bondian!  Flaming window switches seems like the sort of thing it would be hard to design on purpose, let alone by accident--though apparently it's because there wasn't enough grease:

The automaker has had trouble sourcing window switches made with the right amount of grease. Earlier recalls for the part, which is made by a Japan-based supplier, Tokai Rika, were ordered because too much heat-resistant grease was used to coat the switches’ internal mechanisms. This time, the parts were found to contain too little grease.

Shameful.  That would never happen at Cipollini, where the man himself lubes every moving part of every bicycle with his own secretions:

Makes the competitor's ceramic ball bearings seem like rubbing two pieces of sandpaper together by comparison.

Lastly, here is an emphatically locked bicycle that was spotted recently in Manhattan by a reader:

That is Pee-Wee Herman-level security.

Let's hope it was more effective.