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#2 Rides and Events » 42nd Annual Moonlight Cruze Bike Ride Satu night, 2024-09-14 2:00am » 2024-09-07 23:53:38
- dougmc
- Replies: 0
It's that time of year again, and the ride you've been waiting for is coming ... the 42nd Annual Full Moon Cruze Bicycle Ride!
This year, the ride will happen on Saturday night/Sunday morning, September 14th/15th, 2024. We shall assemble at about 1:30 am at the James D. Pfluger Bicycle and Pedestrian Bridge (near Riverside and Lamar) and we'll ride out at about 2:30 am.
DO NOT BE CONFUSED BY THE DATE! This ride happens on Saturday night/Sunday morning, the night of the 14th and/or the morning of the 15th, depending on your point of view. Take a nap if you need one, but set an alarm so you don't forget!
If you only make one bicycle ride a year -- this is the one to make!
As always, the schedule for Austin's full moon rides can be found at http://cycling.frenzied.us/full-moon-rides
You can also follow us on Facebook, in the "ATX (((MOON)))" group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/155520658757
The ride is about 19 miles, and here is the route: https://www.mapmyride.com/routes/view/50119986
The pace is whatever you want it to be -- some will race between the stop points, but most will take it easy. Either works.
As always, ride at your own risk, having lights on your bike at night is a good idea and it's always a good idea to bring something to drink and enough gear to change a flat. This is not a supported ride, but we definitely do try to not leave a rider behind.
#3 Re: Other » Part of the Shoal Creek GB Trail is to be renamed "Chris Riley Bend" » 2024-07-29 22:22:59
Unfortunately, Chris Riley passed away last night.
He will be missed.
#4 Re: Justice Issues / Collisions » Zero penalty for driver who t-boned cyclist on Shoal Creek Blvd. 3/17 » 2024-07-18 13:28:12
It still doesn't answer one big question for Carlson: why when a car hits another car, a ticket is issued?
That's it right there -- Calson's assumption is wrong. Most of the time, a ticket is *not* issued.
In fact, when I think back to all the collisions I've been involved in (as a driver, passenger or rider -- fortunately, none as a pedestrian), only *one* has resulted in a ticket for anybody.
Police are reluctant to give tickets for things they didn't witness. Cops *can* give tickets if they didn't witness it, but they just don't like to -- and mostly what does get a ticket to be given is when the guilty party confesses to breaking the law to the officer, but the officer figuring out what happened can also trigger it (but even more rarely). And if they leave in an ambulance, that usually means no ticket for them either -- they *could* get a ticket later, but there is zero follow-up unless it's something more serious (like a DWI or worse.)
And this article is from 2017, but I'd bet it's even worse today with APD's "quiet quitting".
In the end, Carlson's point in going public with his story is to warn other cyclists. If they are ever hit by a car, the driver may not face any fines.
This warning is spot on, but it's not just about cyclists: drivers have the same reality.
Personally, my advice is to run a GoPro or something similar on your bike and a dashcam in your car, and to use it all the time. This won't usually do anything to help the police give tickets (but sometimes it does: sometimes the cop will look at the footage if you offer it), but it will make a huge difference when people (insurance companies, lawyers, you, etc.) start arguing about who has to pay for the damages.
#5 Re: Other » Part of the Shoal Creek GB Trail is to be renamed "Chris Riley Bend" » 2024-07-11 11:54:35
So, I was unaware of this, but there's a reason he's being honored now: He has cancer, and just a few months left to live.
Yesterday he had an "urbanist happy hour open to anybody who wants to celebrate the movement’s recent accomplishments" and I went to it without fully knowing what was going on. Chris was not there -- I heard he was being treated for his cancer, which I was unaware of. And now after bringing myself up to speed, I'm sad.
Tomorrow -- July 12th, 2024 -- this article mentions a 60th birthday party at 4pm at his house at 1310 San Antonio St from 4-9, and all are invited.
#6 Re: Justice Issues / Collisions » CA woman speeds through crosswalk, kills 2 kids, gets 15 to life » 2024-06-11 13:26:34
I couldn't find any reporting that said what the speed limit was.
Less than 81 mph, I hope.
Digging into a bit, it happened somewhere on Truinfo Canyon Road, and the speed limit signs I found there say 45 mph -- and even that seems high from what I can see of the road on google street view.
I'm reminded that recently CA floated the idea of requiring cars to audibly notify the driver if they were driving X miles over te speed limit.
My 2023 car has a visual warning for this. It's a nice feature -- the camera catches speed limit signs and displays it on the dash for me, and flashes if I exceed it by an amount that I can configure.
Not that I need it to remind me that maybe 81 mph is too fast for any road with a crosswalk.
In any event, what I find more amazing is that she was charged and convicted of murder ... and without DWI charges, though an earlier article mentions that she had a single margarita. Progress?
#7 Other » Part of the Shoal Creek GB Trail is to be renamed "Chris Riley Bend" » 2024-05-29 23:03:27
- dougmc
- Replies: 5
This email came across the Austin BAC mailing list last week regarding a dedication of "Chris Riley Bend" :
https://groups.google.com/g/austin-bac/c/_OcsJONC8MY
Basically, the segment of the Shoal Creek Greenbelt Trail between West Avenue and 5th Street will be renamed "Chris Riley Bend".
(If you've been riding around here for any length of time, you'll probably recognize that name!)
They were looking for people to support the ordinance in person at 1pm Thursday 05/30 at City Hall, though I haven't heard anything about that in a week, so I *assume* it's still on but don't know for sure.
#8 Rides and Events » International Ride of Silence 2024 - Wed 05/15 -- Austin City Hall » 2024-05-15 11:59:06
- dougmc
- Replies: 0
Join bicyclists worldwide in a *silent,* slow-paced bike ride to HONOR those who have been injured or killed, to: RAISE AWARENESS that we bicyclists are here and have a legal right to use the public roadways, to demand that car drivers SHARE THE ROAD *safely*, and to insist the Cty of Austin "Do More, Faster" to PROTECT BICYCLISTS.
UPDATE as of May 9: We wil have some great guest speakers starting at 7 pm: a cyclist attorney, a safe cycling advocate, a family member of a hit and run victim, and an Austin City Councilmember. Also, some giveaways. We ride rain or shine. Let's turn out in large numbers, y'all!
...
This is tonight, sorry for the late notice.
#9 Re: Other » About the Bicycle Austin forum » 2024-04-15 16:08:39
Well, FluxBB is no longer supported and traffic is low, so I'd probably shut the forum down. If there's a good migration path to phpBB or something else I might do that, but I'd want to stick with something that is being maintained for security reasons.
That said, there's so much good stuff here that I'd keep it archived however it turns out. I've already archived the forum in case it disappeared, so that would be easy to put up in place of the forum itself. I'm not sure what else I'd do with the domain, but I definitely wouldn't want this all to just disappear.
If that works for you, sure, I'll take it.
#10 Re: Commuting/Routes » Questions on Travis Country Circle to Barton Skyway route » 2024-04-08 19:19:30
The City of Austin has talked about adding a pedestrian bridge over the greenbelt, but so far that hasn't happened. There's sidewalks now on the Mopac frotnage road most of the way between Wm Cannon and Barton Springs going north -- not ideal for biking, but acceptable if you don't like taking the lane. Going South there's fewer sidewalks and more places where you have to take the lane. It's sort of a chicken-egg problem, as most cyclists are scared off by Mopac over the greenbelt, so there's few cyclists to show the need for this bridge and further bicycle improvements north and south of it, but I do think that if the bridge was added they'd see a lot more traffic, which would help pave the way for other improvements.
Ran into this again, fourteen years later.
* Seven years later, the city built that pedestrian bridge. Two of them, in fact -- over the greenbelt and 360. And they are great.
* And in addition to to that, they're more recently improved the VC trail South of here, added sidewalks on 290 out towards the Y, etc.
* Still a lot to do, however.
#11 Re: Other » About the Bicycle Austin forum » 2024-03-29 11:07:59
When will the move happen? Even if the site isn't brought up again, it should definitely be archived for posterity or for bringing up again later.
Yeah, I'd take the database and any other assets that go along with it, and yes I'd keep emails safe.
#12 Re: Justice Issues / Collisions » Cyclist sued by the company whose van nearly killed him » 2024-01-11 12:51:12
That's definitely not how trademarks work in the US, but this was the UK, so things could be different.
That said, from what I've read that's not how they work there either.
Either way, Cornices Centre is hopefully getting a first-hand education on the Streisand Effect. Would have been a lot easier for them to just go "sorry about that, we've had a chat with the driver and he'll be safer in the future."
#13 Re: Justice Issues / Collisions » Person alleges cyclist intentionally hit their dog on off-leash trail » 2023-12-21 10:56:09
I suspect this is not the first time he has intentionally targeted a dog to "teach the owner a lesson."
I guess this is the flip side of cyclists often thinking that somebody hit them intentionally (as in, on purpose, they *meant* to cause a collision) -- this person thinks that the cyclist hit them or their dog intentionally.
I mean, both things are *possible*, but incredibly unlikely -- a mistake is much more likely.
It's kind of surprising that Nextdoor is actually letting me see things this time, and I see that the commenters are eating it up.
"Show his face. I’m on the trail all the time 🏃🏽♂️ if I see him - I will clothesline him off the bike 🚴"
Lovely. Now some cyclist is going to get "clotheslined" (intentionally, this time) because they happened to sort of look like somebody else. Or maybe Alonzo is just another internet tough guy (probably even more likely, but still.)
#14 Rides and Events » Tour das Hugel Nov 11th, 2023 7am under Mopac at Stratford Drive » 2023-11-06 01:15:22
- dougmc
- Replies: 0
The Tour das Hugel is scheduled to happen this Saturday, November 11th, with wheels down at 7:15am under Mopac on Stratford Drive.
The organizers have not made an official announcement with all the details for 2023, but it's likely that most of the details will match previous rides, so I've included what they've said about 2023 so far and then the 2022 details here. Check their Facebook group for any changes.
2023
Howdy Folks!
We're excited to announce that TDH is on for 2023 and will be taking place on Saturday, November 11th. We’re also excited to announce that @breakfastclubatx & @fctn_rcng will be returning to partner with us! Did someone say biscuits!?
More details to come in the following weeks!
Let us know if you have any questions. See y'all soon! #TourDasHugel #Cycling #BikeATX
2022
Reminder that we'll be meeting tomorrow morning @ 7:00am under Mopac on Stratford Drive.
Rollout will take place @ 7:15am.
Rest stops are as follows:
Rest Stop #1: The return of the Breakfast Club Biscuits @ Terrace Mountain. This stop is at about mile 16.
Rest Stop #2: This rest stop is being provided courtesy of Weaver Technologies racing. This will be a dual rest stop located at mile markers 70 & 88. Rest stop is located at River Place & Sun Tree Cove.
Also, for those not on Strava, the route can be found via the link below.
https://www.dropbox.com/sh/j2m25i91umva … t3ALa?dl=0
Finally, reminder that that this ride is largely self-supported and that this is a challenging day in the saddle on open roads. Ride at your own risk. Let us know if you have any questions. Thanks!
For updates join their Facebook group at https://www.facebook.com/tourdashugel
#15 Re: Justice Issues / Collisions » Drunk driving culture » 2023-09-22 13:58:02
Well, the "three strikes law" is explicitly meant to put people away for the rest of their lives, with a penalty of 25-99 years in prison. If very often does result in excessive penalties for crimes that aren't that bad.
Even actual murder -- a first-degree felony -- has a lesser penalty, only 5-99 years in prison.
For intoxication manslaughter, that's a second-degree felony, so the penalty is 2-20 years.
Scott Allan Taylor got the maximum, I guess. And his case is very much the exception -- it seems like a lot of drunk drivers who kill people don't even get convicted of intoxication manslaughter -- they don't get charged at all, or they plea bargain to some misdemeanor or something. Or the juries acquit them because reasons.
#16 Rides and Events » 2023 ATX Naked Bike Ride 09/30 7:15pm Pease Park » 2023-09-21 16:12:21
- dougmc
- Replies: 0
We will begin to gather around 7:15 and expect to depart just after sunset. Approximately 8:00.
Decorate your bikes with lights, glow sticks, etc. Speakers for music are a plus!
The ride is fairly easy with rest stops about every 15 min. All in it takes about 2 hours. If you have any question please post them here!
We are also looking for a few volunteers.
* 2 people with truck who are willing to follow behind and help with any issues that occur.
* 1 or 2 experienced bikers to lead the pack. Please contact me here is you are interested in helping out.
Please RSVP here so we will have a feel for how many people to expect.
After party location TBD
Event date: Saturday, September 30, 2023 at 8:00 PM to Saturday, September 30, 2023 at 11:00 PM CDT
Event location: Pease Park, 1100 Kingsbury St · Austin, TX
We will be under the tree just down the path from the play scape/park area.
Here is the meetup event. but you'll probably need to be a member of the meetup itself to see it.
#17 Re: Justice Issues / Collisions » Drunk driving culture » 2023-09-21 14:53:25
I think a lot of the inconsistency comes from "there go I but for the grace of God" thinking.
One bad decision? The jury thinks back to the time where they drove drunk themselves (as you said previously: it's a culture) and realizes that it's just luck that kept them from being before a jury themselves. So they identify with the accused far more closely than they identify with the victim.
But seven convictions? Well, they (mostly) haven't even been convicted once (still luck, of course), so they have a much easier time not identifying with this guy.
Also, there's the "three strikes law", and the way that 3rd and subsequent DWI convictions are a felony, so that sounds like the three strikes rule working exactly as intended.
#18 Rides and Events » 41st annual "Moonlight Cruze" bicycle ride Sat night, 09/24 2am » 2023-09-16 14:38:14
- dougmc
- Replies: 0
It's that time of year again, and the ride you've been waiting for is coming ... the 41th Annual Full Moon Cruze Bicycle Ride!
This year, the ride will happen on Saturday night/Sunday morning, September 23rd/24th, 2023. We shall assemble at about 1:30 am at the James D. Pfluger Bicycle and Pedestrian Bridge and we'll ride out at about 2:30 am. (Don't be later than 2:30am!)
DO NOT BE CONFUSED BY THE DATE! This ride happens on Saturday night/Sunday morning, the night of the 23rd and/or the morning of the 24th! Take a nap if you need one, but set an alarm so you don't forget!
If you only make one bicycle ride a year -- this is the one to make!
As always, the schedule for Austin's full moon rides can be found at http://cycling.frenzied.us/full-moon-rides
You can also follow us on Facebook, in the ATX (((MOON))) group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/155520658757
The ride is about 19 miles, and here is the route: https://www.mapmyride.com/routes/view/50119986
(One change from the traditional route: the Randals that we used to stop at is closed and fenced off, so we'll be stopping at the closed (but not fenced off) Burger King nearby.)
The pace is whatever you want it to be -- some will race between the stop points, but most will take it easy. Either works.
As always, ride at your own risk, having lights on your bike at night is a good idea and it's always a good idea to bring something to drink and enough gear to change a flat. This is not a supported ride, but we definitely do try to not leave a rider behind.
If you want to help get the word out, download the flyers and print some out and put them up at your favorite bike shop, community center, bulletin board, or whatever! Also, tell your friends, post on social media, etc.
#19 Rides and Events » Violet Crown Trail - North Community Celebration (Sat 07/29 9am) » 2023-07-29 00:06:32
- dougmc
- Replies: 0
Sorry about the late notice -- this event is happening nine hours after I'm posting it :/
From Facebook at https://facebook.com/events/1424731161655792/ :
Event by City of Austin Capital Delivery Services and Hill Country Conservancy
Home Depot Blvd, Sunset Valley, TX 78745
Join the City of Austin, City of Sunset Valley and Hill Country Conservancy to celebrate the completion of the Violet Crown Trail – North project! This one-mile extension of the Violet Crown Trail system connects Home Depot Boulevard to MoPac just north of William Cannon Drive. With the completion of this segment, the Violet Crown Trail is now contiguous from Zilker Park to Slaughter Creek.
The celebration will include:
• Remarks from elected officials and a ribbon-cutting ceremony at 9:15 AM
• Live performances from the Crockett Cougar Band
• Complimentary popsicle treats to keep you cool
• A family-friendly bike ride led by Ghisallo Cycling Initiative
• An interactive nature walk led by Hill Country Conservancy
• Kids projects & activities from The Home Depot
Don't miss out on this exciting occasion as we revel in the completion of the Violet Crown Trail North and embrace the spirit of community, nature, and adventure.
View the event location: bit.ly/3CVhOp6. Walking, biking, and public transportation encouraged!
Parking is available in the Sunset Valley Home Depot parking lot.
Learn more about the project at AustinTexas.gov/VioletCrownTrail.
Learn more about the Violet Crown Trail at VioletCrownTrail.com.
#20 Re: Justice Issues / Collisions » Drivers, not cyclists, are the real scofflaws » 2023-07-26 15:01:51
Nicely put!
Nationwide, drivers who run red lights injure about a quarter million people and kill nearly a thousand people every year.
With 41,259 people dying on US roads in 2007 (to use the data that you'd have been thinking of when you wrote it), I'm surprised that so few died specifically from people who ran red lights.
#21 Re: Rides and Events » World Naked Bike Ride 2023 » 2023-06-11 13:09:09
As far as I know, the organizer has been "KStyles" on the meetup group for at least the last few years. According to Meetup, he lives in Houston, and I've met him and he seems a nice enough guy, but I don't know anything about him beyond that.
There's also a Facebook group, but that hadn't been updated since 2019, but now there's a recent comment that says
no, it is not the same date every year. We are exploring options for this year, considering mid-September. Keep your eyes open, will share more soon.
... so that's promising, but then again, I think we saw something similar in 2021, when the ride finally happened in October.
And for completeness, there's also Instagram and a web page. though I don't know if they're all run by the same person(s).
I'd say do message the organizers in these places and offer your services. If there's no response after a while you could plan a ride without their involvement, but it would reach a lot of the previous riders if it could at least be advertised in the previous places, and things tend to get ugly if the previous organizers decide they don't want to pass the reins on after all.
#22 Re: Justice Issues / Collisions » Citation... » 2023-06-10 00:57:52
Mr Houston does civil work, mostly personal injury. I tend to doubt he takes traffic ticket cases at all.
(That said, he did a great job on my own personal injury case five years ago.)
There are traffic law lawyers who take traffic ticket cases and run them assembly-line style, and their costs tend to be comparable to that of a traffic ticket, but ... it still doesn't save money -- even if you win, which is still not guaranteed, unless you're in a case where the ticket will cost you more (like because of a CDL or something?)
If you think you can make a good case yourself (without a lawyer) for not having broken the law, and taking a day off to do this is worth a chance, it's worth a try, and you can also try to make a deal with the prosecutor first rather than going to trial at all, and if your evidence is good they'll just throw it out there.
Otherwise, I'd suggest the $135 or just paying the fine, whatever it is -- low-level criminal courts (including traffic tickets) tend to not be too fair to those accused unless they spend way more than the fine on lawyers, so the winning move tends to be to just pay and move on.
#23 Re: Other » Chronicle cover story: "The Joy of Bicycling in Austin" » 2023-04-21 01:30:16
The whole CM "faction" thing is definitely not about obeying vs. breaking traffic laws -- both sides are perfectly willing to break them when convenient, as has always been done. It's about control.
And the 22 page "call to action" story got way more bizarre in the hours after this article was written. It might be worth your time to read up on that.
And yes, it's a great article -- and I'm not just saying that because I'm in that last picture.
#24 Re: Bike Lanes / Facilities » San Diego and Houston close streets to car traffic » 2023-04-06 18:39:29
https://www.houstonpress.com/news/five- … d-11512688
https://www.gaslamp.org/promenade/
Think it'll ever happen here (besides Sixth Street overnight)?
We've done it for one day, "Ciclovia" style, under the name Viva Streets -- for the 6th street or Mueller areas -- but it's been a while.
But to do it permanently? UT did it with Speedway, but other than that? No time soon, anyways.
#25 Re: Rides and Events » Cedar Park Active Transportation Tour - Saturday March 25, noon » 2023-01-28 14:17:08
Tom Wald (on your board of directors) is likely to be a pretty good resource, as he's been involved in the social rides in Austin for over a decade. He's not usually leading or organizing them, but I think I've seen him do that too.
Outside of that, any advice that SCA and RBA give would be pretty generic, stuff you could just find online about how to do a social ride. That said, what they might have to offer is experienced manpower and advertising -- RBA especially has made a point of running rides like this for community organizations.
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