And so on. And so forth.

thedependentclause:

Here is the bike Elyse Stern was riding on Friday night when she was hit by Juan Ricardo Hernandez-Campoceco, who was driving drunk. 

I would like MPD Sgt. William Palmer to explain to us all how a helmet and lights would have prevented Hernandez-Campoceco from doing this to Stern’s bike with his car, killing her instantly, and continuing on his way without even slowing down.

I would like Palmer to explain to me why, when “one of the key ­lessons here is prevention,” he immediately mentions a helmet and lights, without saying anything about harsher drunk driving laws. Sure, let’s talk about bike safety, but let’s also talk about how physics, the legal system, and our culture ensures that, no matter who was at fault, motorized transportation will win out in terms of bodily harm, police reports, and a media that still portrays cyclists as outliers and freaks. Explain to me why that is.

I would like Palmer and, by extension, anyone beating the helmets / lights / get-off-the-road / cycling-is-inherently-unsafe drum, to explain how a helmet and lights would prevent Hernandez-Campoceco from getting behind the wheel drunk. Explain to me how a helmet and lights would prevent Stern from having to ride through one of the busiest and most dangerous intersections in town at 2 a.m., an intersection she nonetheless had every right to use.

Or perhaps you could explain how easily preventable tragedies like Elyse Stern’s death are maybe not the most appropriate time to point out what she was doing “wrong,” when the above photo makes clear that doing everything “right” and riding safely and being a Model Cyclist almost certainly wouldn’t have prevented her death.

Explain to the trolls in comments sections far and wide how a person has every right to ride her bike on a city street at 2 a.m., especially if that’s her primary mode of transportation, and how getting killed by a drunk driver should never be an acceptable risk of riding late at night.

Explain to them, to all of us, how her ride home would be safer if our city had more bike lanes and motorists understood what they mean. Explain why even responsible, conscientious motorists have revealed to me, through experience and in conversation, that they don’t understand basic laws governing bicycle use within traffic.

Explain how helmets and lights and encouraging cyclists to “follow the rules of the road” are supposed to prevent accidents when, in every fatal car/bike collision in the Twin Cities for at least the past five years, as near as anyone can tell, the cyclist involved was obeying the rules of the road, and in most cases wearing a helmet. The families of Dennis Dumm, Audrey Hull, Thomas Malloy, and Virginia Hauer are patiently awaiting your lecture about lights and helmets.

Explain why, in the majority of the countless instances where my safety on a bike was jeopardized by a motorist, it was by a “professional” motor-vehicle operator, such as a taxi or school-bus driver. 

Explain how helmets and lights might not even be necessary if we had more bike paths; if motorists drove the speed limit and didn’t get behind the wheel drunk or take calls or text while driving; if motorists didn’t hate cyclists just for exercising their equal right to the roads (which cyclists pay taxes on too, so let me just save you the time of trotting that one out); if motorists didn’t intimidate cyclists by passing too close or tailgating or honking or yelling at them in order to “teach them a lesson,” always justifying their actions by saying they’ve seen some cyclists ride unsafely or illegally, so therefore apparently all cyclists should be afraid, all the time.

Explain how our culture has accepted all of that as the norm for a city that’s consistently ranked among the most bike-friendly cities in America.  

Ha ha, April Fools—I know you’re not going to do any of that.

Suddenly, Corner Coffee was overtaken by a ukulele gang. It all happened so fast. at Corner Coffee – View on Path.

katrinawollet:

After moving to Minneapolis a year and a half ago, I was immediately confronted by the difficulties of breaking into a new city and community of people. I found that learning a new job was hard and finding a new apartment was harder and making new friends the hardest.

Lonely and disappointed, I decided to put all my energy into the things that I was most passionate about, from writing to biking to backpacking. Last year, as I explored my passions, I had the luck of finding the biking community 30 Days of Biking (30DOB) through a good friend and 30DOB advocate, Kurt Stafki.

What started last year as a simple commitment to bike every day in April has turned into a 30DOB content specialist position and advocate role, and mostly a new outlook on biking communities. Through 30DOB I am proud to say I met a community with a common interest—biking.

Even more, I am proud to say that through 30DOB I’ve met a new group of friends and my best friend, acquaintances in my industry and baristas at my local coffee shop, a new community of people in my new home and a worldwide community of joyful cyclists online. While Minneapolis was initially torturous and isolating, I found a reason to stay (and love) my new city.

This week I couldn’t be more proud to see the launch of our new 2013 30DOB print by Adam Turman.

“The print this year is all about bikes and their environment,” explains Mr. Turman. “There are tons of different types of bikes; these are just 30 of them. There are tons of different environments to ride in; these are just 10 of them. Whatever you ride, wherever you ride—that’s great! Whether you’re bicycling in the mountains on a full-suspension, riding past a train on a TT, or getting from point A to point B on your fixie, just ride and make the most of it. Have fun, be safe, and we’ll see you out there.” 

Have you pledged to ride your bike every day in April? Join our community of joyful cyclists at http://30daysofbiking.com/.

The smell of a fresh Koosh Ball. Instant nostalgia. – View on Path.

Chicago, you’re alright. You can stay.

That John Denver was full of shit.

Mega lens flare and a mega blue sky in Aspen.

Join me on Wander! I Just launched kstafki’s Wanderlog http://kstafki.onwander.com on Wander, come explore strange new worlds with me.

A snowy Minneapolis as seen from the suburbs.