More media attention

Yesterday Jason and I (Mo today) posted blogs about the cyclist that was hit in front of Doc's on May 4th. Well, it got a reporters attention over at KEYE. This is where you can go to read the story.



This is what really gets me....




“I really left it in the police hands, when I was taken away (in the ambulance),” said Solorzano. “I figured there were so many people there, there's no way they couldn't have gotten the whole story.”

Now, without a report or investigation from police, Solorzano and Shefman started a campaign asking those witnesses to come forward, to help piece together what they say really happened the evening of May 4th.

We have to get on the news just to try and get the cops to do THEIR jobs? This is total BS.


Again, if you have any information please let Lenore, or I know.






til next time



OLC

stages of.....

Beard Removal.


I broke down, just to fucking hot and it isn't summer. Not to mention that, it needed a trim because of the split ends. Yes, split ends in my beard.

Enjoy.













It will grow once more, just not right now.





til next time


OLC

Repost: Very Important!!!! ?Cyclist hit and needs your help!!!

Today my lawyer Lenore Shefman called me and asked me to post this up. Jason got all the details before I did, which is good because his blog draws so many more people, but this NEEDS TO BE POSTED AND REPOSTED.



Hey Fellow Cyclists,

This is the third case we have received over the past year where a cyclist was seriously injured and the offices eiher failed to take a report, failed to gather witness informtion, or failed to take driver insurance information. This is such a huge problem.

In this particular case, on May 4, 2009 at approx. 5:30 PM, a young man was riding his bike in the bike lane. As he neared the intersection of Academy and So. Congress, directly in front of Docs, an Audi moved from the left turn lane crossed over and made right hand turn into the cyclist. There were no less than 50 witnesses including EMT and Fire personnel having lunch at Docs. The officers responding to the call: Bloodworth #5117 and Johnson #6461 failed to follow a single protocol for an accident injury. They did not take the drivers information and they did not even write a report. The young cyclist was taken by ambulance to St. Davids, he sustained a broken hand, a complete and open broken collar bone, AC tear of his shoulder, back injury, and various nicks and scrapes as well as a mild head injury. They knew of all these injuries at the scene, yet APD did not even bother to write down the driver's information much less take a single witnesses' information.

This is so ridiculously unacceptable! If anyone has witness information, please forward it to our office. If you are on a blog and see any information about this incident, please let us know. I am amazed and overwhelmingly disappointed in the APD and their carlessness for the citizenry, specifically those of us on two wheels.

"I truly believe that in making honorable choices about our lives, we can acknowledge sacrifices we make and the risks we take and recognize that what others view as losses and foolhardiness are the nourishment upon which our spirits thrive." Derrick Bell, Ethical Ambition

The Shefman Law Group
604 Mission Street, 6th Floor
San Francisco, CA 94105
T: 415-357-3681
F: 415-357-3682
http://www.shefmanlaw.net
http://www.cyclistlaw.com

In Austin:
4015 Marathon Boulevard
Austin, Texas 78756
T: 512-386-8117
Toll Free: 877-366-7677
www.thelonestarattorney.com


Please if you have any information please contact Lenore or me. As a cyclist that has been hit a few times I understand the pain that this cyclist is going through. It is really saddening the way the city of Austin and it's police officers respond to a cyclist being hit.

What really has been getting me is the uproar that people are in over the Bicycle Plan. What people don't understand is that cyclist are not going away and we want to be safe when we ride. I know that this plan will help, and maybe would prevent accidents like this from happening if the general public was aware of the rights and were educated about cycling laws. That however is a post for another time.

Again, please if you have any info email me or Lenore.


til next time



OLC

Fundraising Bike Wash

So Jenn and I are riding from San Antonio to Austin this weekend for the Tour De Cure. I'm sure you're tired of hearing this, but you know, no one else is going to write about it, so I do. The ride is for a great cause and it will be our last one for the year I'm sure. That is not to say that we might not do anymore rides(benefits), but it can be a strain trying to plan the rides and it is a pain to ask folks for money.

So with that being said, we are having a bike wash this Thursday at Wahoo's fish tacos.





We don't care what you ride, we'll wash it. All the donations will go towards the American Diabetes Association. If you can't make it out to the bike wash, but still wanna donate, you can here and here.

Come out, get your bike washed and have some grub and brews at the same time!!!


Thanks and see you out there!!!!!


til next time



OLC

Bike month extended!!!

Saw this over at ATXBS and it bears repeating.


Jackalope Extends Bike Month

In the month of June, if you ride your bike to the Jackalope and mention to your bartender that you did (they will take your word for it), your Lonestars are only a buck for all of June. My buddy owns the place and wanted to keep bike month going so he’s giving the cyclists around town an extra reason to keep on riding.

My friend, who has been a local cyclist here for well over 20 years, wants to show some love for the scene.

If for some crazy reason you don’t know where this establishment is located here is the site .


Thanks Jason.....



til next time


OLC

Warriors....come out and rideeee!!!!

Tonight!!!!!





I'm a warrior, come and find me and the gang. Holla at Mim's to get all the details.....


MAYS RIDE!
WARRIORZZ COME OUT AND PLAY!!! THIS RIDE IS GOING TO BE MUCH DIFFERENT FROM THE PAST RIDES. WE WILL NOT BE MEETING AT DONNS DEPOT. I HAVE ASSIGNED DIFFERENT GANG LEADERS FROM THE WARRIORS MOVIE, JUST GET IN TOUCH WITH ANY OF THE PEOPLE BELOW TO JOIN THEIR WARRIORS GANG. EACH GANG WILL HAVE A SEPERATE MEETING SPOT AND SEARCH THROUGHOUT THE CITY FOR THE WARRIORZZ! IF YOU DONT FIND US BY 12:00 WE ALL MEET UP AND DRINK AND RIDE! HERE ARE THE GANGS SO FAR...(I WILL BE ADDING MORE AS MORE PEOPLE RESPOND)

ROGUES-JASON ( http://www.myspace.com/livewirerc )
LIZZIES-JAMIE ( http://www.myspace.com/phetusjamie )
FURIES-ALLIE ( http://www.myspace.com/betterway )
RIFFS- EVAN ( http://www.myspace.com/14627893 )
PUNKS-open
BOPPERS-open
HIGH HATS- CHRIS ( www.myspace.com/chris_swaim )
HURRICANES- ANNIE ( http://www.myspace.com/anniegetyergun )
TURNBULL ACS-open

If you'd like to volunteer to lead one of the open gangs please let me know! Thanks!!!



see ya tonight



til next time


OLC

go to City Hall this Thursday & SIGN THIS

As for the City Hall portion of this post, Yellow Bike says it Best, so this is directly from them:

"First, we apologize for breaking our own rule of emailing you only once a month. We feel this reminder is a worthy exception, and we hope you'll agree:

This Thursday, May 21st, Austin City Council will hold a public hearing on the 2009 update to Austin's Bicycle Master Plan. The update outlines a long-term strategy for making cycling a safer and more viable mode of transportation in Austin. We need to be there, because those who are against it most certainly will. Here's what you can do:

Show up to the hearing.
The public hearings section of Thursday's council meeting begins at 6:00pm. Go to City Hall (301 W. 2nd st.), pass through security, and head to the southwest corner of the main lobby. The Bike Plan hearing is fourth on the agenda, and will definitely not happen before 6pm. If you're afraind you might miss it, come out anyway.
Group rides to City Hall leave from:
-Bouldin Creek Coffee House (1501 S. 1st) at 5:30 pm
-Treasure City Thrift (E. 12th & Salina) at 5:30 pm
-Epoch Coffee (221 W. North Loop) at 5:15 pm

If you can't make it,
go to City Hall any time between now and the hearing. Go through security and ask to use one of the computer kiosks in the main lobby. You'll need the update's item number, which is 61 PH. Locate the item and sign up for or against it."

Please try to show up for this, everyone!! I know how many of us went to City Hall to support East Side Pedal Pushers when that whole fiasco went down, so please, let's have a presence at this meeting and let the city know there are some passionate cyclists in Austin just lookin' for some city love (and improved cycling infrastructure/laws).

Now, to the SIGN IT portion:
This is letter written by Mr. Blumenauer, congressman from Oregon, urging for increased federal support of national multi-modal transportation methods which would incorporate walking and cycling into our transportation system. I would suggest you read the letter, it's got some interesting facts in it that you may not be aware of. Other than that, you can either write a letter to your congressman, or use nifty text the League has already supplied for you to urge congress to hop on the bandwagon and support alternative transportation methods. When you click on the link, you will have to change your zip code. There is a link that says "Change Address" - click on that to change your zip unless you live in 78702 area. Hopefully we can get enough support of this to see some great outcomes!!

Hope to see you all on Thursday.

Until then,


Ride Safe

Fast Folks Grand Opening and other stuff

I had fun at the Fast Folks Grand Opening!!! Good people, good times. Les and I actually won something form the raffle!! WOOHOO!! Free beer, margaritas, all that good stuff!!!

As for the other stuff, we're going to be hosting another Bike Wash pretty shortly. This time, we're trying to raise a little bit of cash to help Les and I out in our fundraising efforts for the Tour de Cure. We're almost to our minimum donation of $150 each, and we would love a little help out on the lodging/transportation services to San Antonio. I'm not sure when ( I know it will be next week sometime) or where (we're scoping places out) this will be held, but we'll keep everyone posted.

Just in case you want to be friendly, you can help Les out.

Until next time,


Ride Safe

Polo Short

Played polo yesterday for the first time since breaking my back and leg. I had a blast and it should become apart of my normal Sunday afternoon once again.

ATX Bike polo Social Club 5/10/09 from Les Bennett on Vimeo.

Go on Thursday or Sundays!!!!!



til next time


OLC

Bicycle Film Festival '09

Just saw this.....



We are going to 39 cities this year. Let's have fun together!











Memphis MAY 29-30

New York JUNE 17-21

Bike Ride NY to Philadelphia JUNE 26

Philadelphia JUNE 26

Pittsburgh JULY 2-4

Minneapolis JULY 8-11

Richmond JULY 10-11

SF JULY 14-18

Detroit JULY 17-18

Oakland JULY 19

Portland JULY 31-AUGUST 1

Austin AUGUST 5-9

San Diego AUGUST 8

Chicago AUGUST 12-15

Toronto AUGUST 19-22

Orlando AUGUST 21-22

Seattle AUGUST 22

LA AUGUST 26-30

Milwaukee AUGUST 28-29

Washington D.C. AUGUST 29

Zurich SEMPTEMBER 2-6

Lisbon SEPTEMBER 9-13

Vienna SEMPTEMBER 17-20

London SEPTEMBER 23-27

Las Vegas SEPTEMBER 25

Copenhagen SEMPTEMBER 30

Paris OCTOBER 7-11

Milano OCTOBER 14-18

Auckland OCTOBER 22-24

Denver OCTOBER 28-31

Melbourne NOVEMBER 5-7

Sydney NOVEMBER 11-14

Tokyo NOVEMBER 19-23

Miami DECEMBER 3-6


Dates for Houston, Boston, New Orleans, Boulder, SLC and Montreal will be up soon !!


There you go folks.... August 5th-9th, what are you doing?



til next time



OLC

Side saddle pics

Bike Polo today!

Bike polo is following Sexy Sunday at Eastwood park today. Be there!!

Cross Club #11

Just some pics that I took during Brian Davies Cross Club 11.

Cross Club #11 from Les Bennett on Vimeo.

Sorry for the delay....



til next time

OLC

What REALLY grinds my gears

People exiting a driveway/shopping center/streets and waiting for the last second to stop as I ride my bike by in front of them.

People who drive their cars to close to me.

People who drive to close and then pull in my lane for some unknown reason.

People in Diesel trucks that as hey go by, they feel the need to floor it and leave me in a cloud of their black emissions.

People who can't wait 10 seconds.

People who throw bottles of full and empty water bottles at me.

People who think they own the road because they are in a bigger vehicle.

People who drive and take out their frustrations on a cyclist.

People who cut me off in their cars.

People like Zack Coleman.

Crackheads who steal bikes.

Crackheads who steal bikes and then ride them in the bike lane the wrong way so I have to go out in traffic.

Cyclist who think they are better then you because they ride a four thousand dollar bike.

Cyclist who are so full of themselves they don't waive to say hi, nod their heads or God forbid even lift a finger to acknowledge another cyclist.

Cyclist who fly through stop lights and give other cyclist bad names.











til next time


/Rant



OLC

This Weekend

If you're a lady, you know you want to race!!!! Saturday, at the Capitol, 2PM. Be there.

The flyer is everywhere, so I'm not going to repost it here (again), but it looks like it will be a ton of fun. I am going to be out there and hopefully win something cool!! There are a TON of sponsors!! Good job on getting things all together for this race!

As for other things going on this weekend, tomorrow is election day for Austin's next Mayor!!! Do your research and go vote! Polls are open from 7am-7pm and you can find your polling location here. If you don't know your precinct, you can use this nifty tool to type in your first and last name and everything about you and where you should vote will appear on the screen. Whats scarier is this is public information... I'm going to dig myself a hole and live in it pretty soon. Enough of me being paranoid...

Go vote, and come race!


ride safe kids

Most excellent indeed.....

Can't fucking wait... super stoked!!!!



Fatty's going to try and win...be ready






















til next time


OLC

One year and counting

One year ago today, the start of bike month, was when I was hit by the '85 Dodge Ram van. It compressed and broke my back in five spots. I'm not riding today, but you bet your ass, I'm riding like fuck tomorrow.