December 3rd, 2019: Contingency Plan

Snowy and wet gives way to windy and cold today:

Tuesday Cloudy, then gradually becoming mostly sunny, with a high near 39. Wind chill values between 20 and 30. Breezy, with a northwest wind 16 to 20 mph.

Tuesday Night Increasing clouds, with a low around 32. Wind chill values between 25 and 30. West wind 8 to 14 mph.

Sunrise 7:02am

Sunset 4:29pm

So how was your commute yesterday evening?

At this time of year it's always good to have a contingency plan, such as being able to fold up and hit the rails when the weather gets ugly:

That's what I did after my radio show yesterday, which you can listen to here:

If you've had a vexing encounter with a city fleet driver, any inattention or hostility on their part is not for want of a good training video:

It's heavy on the bike content, and it even promotes the Dutch Reach:

In all, the video focuses on what's truly important--unlike this Post article taking Citi Bike to task simply for posting photos of people riding bikes:

The bike-share service’s Instagram account is packed with shots of smiling cyclists — sans helmets — riding as though they were out on a countryside jaunt rather than dodging potholes and taxi drivers on the mean streets of the city.

And this is bad why?

The five boroughs have tallied more than two dozen cyclist deaths so far in 2019, including that of a Citi Bike rider, who was struck in April — the second fatality of a Citi Biker since the service launched in 2013.

The rider they refer to here is Victor Ang, killed by the driver of a UPS freight hauler who partially severed his leg.

It's hard to imagine a helmet affecting that outcome.  It's similarly hard to imagine that a helmet would have saved Dan Hanegby, who was crushed while riding a Citi Bike by the driver of a coach bus, or the Citi Bike riders who were killed by the terrorist who drove a truck onto the West Side Greenway.

Yes, it's highly doubtful helmets would have saved any of these victims, though it is entirely possible helmets could kill the ebike bill:

 The bill’s supporters expected Cuomo to submit some chapter amendments to the bill, and that kind of tinkering has yet to come. “For a good while, it was our understanding that the governor's office would have chapter amendments to propose and we haven't heard back about that,” Ramos told City & State, adding that two concerns she’d heard include speed limits and the fact that the bill doesn’t require the use of helmets while riding.

There's some irony for you.