GETRUNTAH

Nobody Cares if You Live or Die Out There Have a Great Weekend!

It was a short week, so Im going to spare you the quiz, and instead remind you once again that when youre on a bike in New York City youre completely on your own:

The driver of this car chased @bryanbanducci and @shawn182 on their way home from work. The driver followed them at high speed for several blocks, threw a water bottle at them, and chased them into the protected bike lane on Flushing Ave in an attempt to run them over. We called the @nypd They said because the driver did not succeed in hitting them, there was nothing they could do. This is unacceptable. This is not #visionzero Drivers cannot use their cars to terrorize cyclists. The car is a Honda Odyssey License plate GUY1290 This dangerous aggressive driver needs to be stopped, and the police response is shameful. @transportationalternatives @billdeblasio @paulsteelywhite #visionzero #nypd @gothamist

A photo posted by Anna Maria (@annamariastyles) on Jul 7, 2016 at 7:11pm PDT

I suspect pretty much every cyclist in New York City has a story like this.  (Really, I suspect pretty much every cyclist everywhere has a story like this, except maybe in Holland where the worst thing that happens is someone taking up too much space at the bike rack with a bakfiets.)  Hey, I was already on the receiving end of a little completely unwarranted road rage this morning, and it wasnt even 8:30am yet.

I also suspect you scoffed as heartily as I did when you read that the NYPD said there "was nothing they could do" because "the driver did not succeed in hitting them."  This is because we all know that even if the driver did hit them theres a pretty good chance the police response would be the same.

You bet your ass youd better have a bell on your bike though, or else youll be in big trouble:


So far this year, motorists have killed 12 cyclists on New York City streets, an increase from five at the same point last year, according to the New York Times.

Other than a one-week initiative in May to keep bike lanes clear of motor vehicles, the NYPD hasn’t updated its usual approach to “bike safety” — ticketing cyclists who break the letter of the law but don’t endanger anyone.

Even after a driver was shown on video deliberately running over von Ohlen, inflicting fatal injuries, the local precinct responded by ticketing cyclists and handing out flyers.

And with that, Im going someplace where Im free from both addled drivers and draconian cycling crackdowns, and thats a little place I like to call "mountain biking."  So Ill see you back here on Monday, but in the meantime Im going to leave you with this:


Which, as far as I can tell, is the worlds fastest "bum bar" bike:


It may have taken well over a hundred years, but I think weve finally dialed in the design of the safety bicycle.

Available link for download

New Wendling at Stuart Ngs this weekend

What? Is it convention time already? Nope, its a new thing at Stuarts. He used to invite a few people to come over to Torrance if you were around town and check out his entire book selection (Ive never had the pleasure, though my brother Louie has and he raves about it). Now, Stuarts upped the ante by holding the first open house for the holidays. For you folks in L.A., the weekends of December 9-10 and 16-17, hes opened a new 1000 sq ft showroom for everybody to visit. Thats a picture of it above. More info here.


Claire Wendling. DESK. 64 pages of pencil drawings and sketches of animals and imaginary creatures and monsters. Exclusive to this edition are three new drawings, a Foreword by Mike Mignola, and a new biography of the artist (her first published biography in English)

Theres a new Claire Wendling book out. Their getting delivery at the showroom today and will be available this coming weekend. Everyone who comes by can pick up a copy. So, make plans, give yourself an early Christmas gift (I mean, really. Who else can give you the books you really want other than yourself, eh?).


Last weekend was a huge success. The place must have been mobbed. They got so busy they couldnt even run back to the house to grab the camera to take a snap. So,heres a photo from a few conventions ago of Stuart (left) and brother Steven (at right sporting a vintage Paper Biscuit shirt featuring dream girl Nina). They are good people. Oh, and them books are nice to have too.

Stuart Ng Books

Available link for download