Cyclist killed in the Tower

wind on your face
grips in your hands
a humble saddle
road surface,
lost to so many, murmuring up your back
as your legs strummed the chords up and down

These days,
they go for thousands and thousands
the cars
the trucks
Smaug, these dragons passing so close
so close
They weigh so much.

We all started,
somewhere
on a bicycle

Our fathers and mothers
big brothers or sisters
ran along beside, then behind,
held us,
and let us go

Our friends pedaled while we sat
we rode the bars as we both went
wherever

we jumped the boards, ditches and curbs
living like birds for a moment
to land,
graceful as cats

Now, I can never tell you
how it felt,
Just this Spring
My first night,
on my old bike
someone gave me
still rusty and creaking
-after twenty years

I rode down the street like a drunken giraffe
in the rain
just feeling the wind on my face
the sound and the tread
resonating inside

Released
I had stolen back my youth
I was flying once more

I hope, before you felt the dragon strike you
you were flying too
simply a man at peace
with motion
that
the cold air
washed through you like a mountain stream

and when you woke up
God was smiling into your face
and said,
in your Mother's tongue
'...it's okay, it takes a while, you know, this sense of movement...
it stays with you for some time after you've stopped...
-you've had a nightmare,,, lie here and let me sing to you...'

tonight, I'll ride for you.

good night, older brother,
sweet dreams

Dead Cyclist Identified - Critical Mass Memorial Planned

Submitted by kurtz on Tue, 05/23/2006 - 14:06.

Bike accident victim identified
The Fresno Bee

(Updated Tuesday, May 23, 2006, 10:55 AM)

The Fresno County Coroner's Office this morning released the identity of a bicyclist killed last week when he was hit by a pickup truck at Fruit and Olive avenues just west of the Tower District.

The victim was identified as Eusiveo Cruz Vasquez Jr., 52, of San Antonio, Texas, who had been staying with friends in Fresno, a deputy coroner reported.

The accident was reported shortly after 6:30 a.m. on May 17.

Check FresnoBee.com for updates throughout the day and read The Fresno Bee tomorrow for further details.

- kurtz -

CRITICAL MASS MEMORIAL PLANNED:

We hope to have a "Ghost Bike" and plackard ready by this Friday, May 26th, to be installed at the corner of Fruit and Olive during the Critical Mass Ride (meets at Broadway Studios, 5:30-6pm, ride at 6:30). ANYONE interested in supporting Bicycle Awareness is highly encouraged to join us for Critical Mass.

The following is a brief description of the Ghost Bike memorial, taken from virtualresistance.com:

Beginning in June 2005, members of Visual Resistance have been creating small and somber memorials for New York City bicyclists killed by automobiles. Each time a biker is killed, a bicycle painted all white is locked to a street sign and a small stenciled plaque is bolted in place above it.

The installations are meant as reminders of the tragedy that took place on an otherwise anonymous street corner, and as quiet statements in support of bikers' right to safe travel. It was inspired by Ghost Bike Pittsburgh, which was in turn inspired by a similar effort in St. Louis. In recent months, Ghost Bikes have appeared in cities across the country, as well as in the UK.

Creating and installing ghost bikes is a sad and moving process. The death of a fellow bicyclist hits home, since we travel the same unsafe streets and face the same risks; it could just as easily be one of us.

Each time we say we hope to never have to do it again — but we remain comitted to making these memorials as long as they are needed.

Share the Road

Submitted by kurtz on Fri, 05/19/2006 - 11:36.

I was just made aware (and I may have been misinformed, so please if anyone can verify this, please tell me) that if you don't have a Reflectors on your bike (and no, according to my source, front and rear Lights do not count as reflectors), that you can be held at fault for a bike-car collision in CA.

The simple truth is this: we are treated as second class citizens on bicycles in traffic. Motorists are rarely aware of the rights that cyclists have as vehicles, and most police I have personally encountered are not fully aware of our lawful rights as vehicles.

And, for this poor guy who got killed on Olive/Fruit, he may be treated as an afterthought just because of his social standing. So what if the guy didn't have any ID, and was wearing a cowboy hat instead of a helmet? He's a Human Being that died from Massive Head Trauma by a pickup truck that weighs a minimum of 3500lbs. I think we all know that he died horribly, no matter how clinically his fate was described. The news article alone dismisses his death to focus on the stress the vehicle driver was experiencing, as well as the loss of business time for the local stores at that intersection.

I guarantee that if the victim were a pillar of the community biking his way to an office job on a $4,000 Lance Armstrong-mobile, a young child on his way to school, or even a college student en route to class, the media coverage (and possibly public perception of the aggressiveness of the police investigation) would have been different.

So, an anonymous bicyclist dies on the street, most likely at the fault of a motorist, and the citizens of Fresno County are no more aware of the dangers for cyclists than they were last week.

If you are a cyclist, as it's been written here before, please be careful on the streets. Watch drivers and ride aggressively and defensively. Be wary of parallel-parked cars (and their opening doors), especially in heavy traffic, and be especially vigilant at all intersections. People everywhere still run red lights, and drivers hardly look Right when they are turning Right. Make the drivers who may be a danger Look You In the Eyes before you engage them in a potentially hazardous situation, even when you have the Right of Way.

Even though you lose some cool points, please wear a helmet when you are in heavy traffic.

If you are a driver, please recognize that there are bicycles on the road everywhere, not only in Fresno, but in Fresno County, and the State of California. Please check your side rearview mirrors when your turn, and buy an earphone for your cellular. Even though we're not as big as your car, truck, or SUV, we have the same rights on the road as you do, and you will save your lives by respecting those rights.

If you are a careful driver riding with a careless driver, please do not let that person get away with violating cyclists' rights. Ignoring a motorist's carelessness could have horrible results.

I urge every person in Fresno County to join cyclists as we ride en masse each month. Ride in pairs or packs whenever you can, and try to make the following events to meet more riders and make more drivers aware of the pedal pushers on the streets:

Bike Hop (Art Hop on Bikes)
First Thursday of Every Month, at Re-Cycle on Van Ness Ave ( http://www.myspace.com/re_cycle )

Critical Mass
Last Friday of Every Month, at Broadway Studios, just north of the Fulton Mall between Broadway and Fulton Ave ( http://bikepunks.org/index.php?option=com_content&task=blogcategory&id=2... )

Food Not Bombs
An opportunity to Ride Bikes and help feed those in need, meeting Every Sunday at the Fresno County Courthouse ( http://bikepunks.org/index.php?option=com_content&task=blogcategory&id=2... )

There are many weekend rides to the country and the Foothills. If you choose to ride, please wear a helmet and ride with a group. Especially the Millerton Lake and Kaiser routes.

Many more rides are constantly being planned, and can be found here:

http://bikepunks.org
http://fresnocycling.com
http://fresnobike.org
http://tri-sport.com/page.cfm?PageID=37

The cars in China share the streets with over a Billion bicycles. I'm sure that the vehicles of the United States can learn to co-exist with a few million.

No Citation

Submitted by AttyKendall on Thu, 05/18/2006 - 15:24.

I have spoken with officers regarding the citing of motorists that are involved in collisions with cyclists and I believe they are markedly anti-cyclist. It is clear to me that accident investigations involving cyclists will virtually always end up with a conclusion that the motorist is not at fault.
This is a major problem for cyclists in this community, and may be as important for us to focus on as bike lanes or bike racks. You see, if nobody ever hears about a driver being cited for being involved in a collision with a cyclist, they will not pay attention to cyclists, figure they are always in the wrong, and not use as much caution. This affects every single cyclist, men, women, and children.
If there's something the cycling community should get active about it is objective crime scene reporting by investigating officers.
Unfortunately, no matter how distraught this motorist is about the collision, we will never hear the cyclist's side of the story.
The cycling community should show its outrage, and demand to know the facts of this case - let cycling experts help determine fault here.
[Also remember that the investigation may not be complete and a citation may still be pending.]
I don't know if it's ironic or not, but the cycling community is currently working with the City of Fresno to put a bike lane on Fruit, and here we are during Bike to Work Week. (See you tomorrow at 8am at Manchester!)

Fresno Famous