It remained unused in my pocket.

Cue the cyclists' blame game in 5... 4... 3...

Okay, seirously, I actually want to know if the cyclist had the right of way with a walk signal or if said cyclist was crossing against traffic.

The crazy dude who yells about everyone being communists was there, hassling the Uniformed Communist Oppressors.

His name is Juan, give him the dignity of using his name.

He was mis-identified a few years ago in a Stranger or Weekly article as having the name "Carlos".

Clearly the bicycle had too many and/or too few gears.....

I rode to work today, and it was a harrowing experience. Not only did the rain SUCK, but every driver was super angry at being stuck in gnarly traffic and watching me pass them by. Any number of circumstances could have combined to floor this poor biker. But the fact remains that if more people got out of their cars and onto bikes the commute would have gone faster, more people would have arrived at work with manageable blood pressure and stress levels, and that biker wouldn't have been lying on the ground.

You're a jerk Gomez.

@5 - So whenever a cyclist goes down, it's now necessarily the collective fault of drivers for not being cyclists instead?

Does cycling affect critical thinking skills? One could make a case for it, looking at Slog comments.

Does it matter that pedestrians downtown come close to getting hit by drivers who are not paying attention to what the hell they are doing? And a biker getting hit; amazed it does not happen more often.

Solution: Real Transit options (like rapid transit and improved bus service) in downtown and all over the rest of Seattle.

I've almost been nailed a few times in a downtown crosswalk (as a pedestrian) in the rain - people honking at me to hurry up and get out of their way (it's happened!). What are drivers so impatient about? They're sitting in warm, dry cars. I'm the one getting cold and wet. Everybody runs a little late when it rains. Chillax, peoples.

@6,
I'd say that whenever a kid gets an accidental bullet in his head from a clumsy relative, we can safely assign at least some of the blame to the NRA and related 2nd amendment lunatics.

I feel the same about cars. When someone is inevitably hurt as the result of some angry or careless driver, I feel like I can point a finger at a culture that values 2-ton death machines over every other form of transport.

It's all the cell phones.

I saw this too. Poor driver was a total wreck. The biker was obviously injured but conscious and moving her lower appendages.

@9 - Of course! Cyclists are magically exempt from any responsibility on the road; drivers are automatically at fault because they're drivers. Furthermore, your lifestyle is entirely sustainable without the indirect use of any motor vehicles whatsoever.

Good Lord, what delusions. If only we could unleash cyclist smugness as an energy source - we'd

... we'd be nearly self-sufficient in no time.

@3: I think we called him Pedro.
http://www.thestranger.com/seattle/Content?oid=7434

RE: My commute today.

Rode motorcycle per usual. Bicyclist took whole lane on 15th. UPS truck took up lane and a half the lane on Leary. Couple cars wandered over and took half my lane on Leary too. Still hate cars, hate trucks, and hate bicycles. Equally. Wanted to slap faux outlaw biker dude with joke skid lid instead of real helmet. Per usual.

i just ate several mc griddles

what a saint! you see, she *could* have taken a picture of the struck cyclist lying in the rain, but out of respect for the cyclist's dignity, she didn't. what a paragon of virtue!

of course, the fact that you thought about it, then saw fit to mention that you didn't do it, still makes you a rubbernecking prick.

Riding a bike in Seattle is dangerous.
Riding a bike in Seattle in the rain is more dangerous. Riding a bike in Seattle in the rain on streets trafficked by clueless, oblivious drivers is most dangerous.

Bicyclists have choices. A rainy day suggests considering alternative transportation choices. Russian roulette is a choice. As my folksy Montanan mother used to say: "You make your choices, and then you sign your check with a smile. Right or wrong - dead is dead."

@17

Hey Chandler. Are you always a complete ass or is this just a special Tuesday treat.

@12 - Cycling does apparently affect critical thinking skills, in that it grants some.

People make mistakes all the time. If you make a mistake in a car, you've got a high likelihood of maiming or killing someone. It's not magic - by getting behind the wheel you're choosing to take on a thousand times the responsibility of a pedestrian or cyclist.

So act like it.

Was it Pine or Pike? Your eyewitness accounts differ. I'm guessing Pine, since that's where Frye Apt/SPD Commie guy hangs out.

So really we should blame Nordstrom, who forced the city to open up the Pine St corridor.

It was Pine.

Thanks for the Stranger trademark random bolding; I continue to inch my way to fame one blog at a time.

Get real Gurldoggie. It was 50 degrees and raining this morning. Do you really think that any significant number of people are prepared to ride their bike in that kind of weather? For real?

I'll ride my bike a few miles for errands in decent weather. But I'm not commuting 10 miles in cold rain. I'll be happy to switch to any mode of public transportation whenever a reasonable option is made available, but I'm not getting on a bicycle in this weather for any reason.

I applaud the diehards that are willing to ride bikes in this crap weather, but you're delusional if you think you can guilt many more onto their bikes with your tirade.

Ian, stop posting. I thought you were home sick? Now get back to bed.

She must have been riding a fixie. I hear people who ride those bikes are just asking to get killed.

I'm so sad to read so many angry comments against bicyclists. Jeez, a woman was seriously injured. I hope she's OK.

Commenter #12, regarding "cyclist smugness," I'm so sorry you feel that way. I ride a bicycle every day to work, and I am very fun, smart, and attractive, and my friends are fun, smart, and attractive, and none of us will ever have sex with you. Keep up the good attitude, buddy! It'll get you far.

Do cyclists have the same rights as pedestrians in crosswalks?

Exactly, No. 20! We must *demand* that the Mayor revoke Nordstrom's Overpriced Department Store License!!!

@15

You're a real humanitarian. I love that everybody was taking "YOUR" lane. You're my favorite kind of victim.

As for the unfortunate cyclist, I hope she will be okay. As one who rides often (even in the rain), I can attest to the need for a well-developed macro-cosmic sense of what's going on around you. I've seen loads of cyclists doing mind-bogglingly stupid things, I always want to try to wake them up to their stupidity and stupidity-induced personal danger.

Likewise, I want to affix a cell-phone disruptor to my bike so that motorists will pay attention to what's going on around them. I can't tell you how many times I've nearly been flattened by some schmuck on a cell-phone just sailing along not paying attention to the fact that he's guiding a ton and a half of steel down the street.

Protip: EVERYBODY PAY ATTENTION TO WHAT YOU'RE DOING.

Ian writes like Ian Todd.

-and-

@20, what are you referring to?

"So really we should blame Nordstrom, who forced the city to open up the Pine St corridor."

@19 - The vehicle size comparison is a red herring, and does nothing whatsoever to change the fact that a cyclist breaking the law is still ultimately at fault when hit by a law-abiding driver. Cyclists are not exempt from responsibility, unbelievable though that may seem to you.

And thanks to the Seattle cyclists that aren't self-righteous pricks about it, and do obey traffic laws. Both of you are very much appreciated.

@29

You're welcome.

@27 You're right. Lanes are stupid.

Seattle - Bicycle-Riding - Rain Slick Streets - Stupid Obtuse Drivers. Mom said: "You take your chances and you write your check with a smile. Whether you're right or wrong - dead is dead."

Wow....love the bicycle debates on slog. Brings out the asshole in both the bike community and the motorists.

Drivers ride in out of control death machines; and cyclists are nutjobs who refuse to obey the rules of the road.

Keep the hyperbole coming!

@25 - Yes, bicyclists have the same rights as pedestrians while they are in the crosswalk or on the sidewalks. By an odd quirk of the law a cyclists is considered a pedestrian when in pedestrian space (sidewalk, crosswalk) and a moving vehicle when in vehicle space (lanes, bike paths, etc.) So if a cyclist runs a red light on a crosswalk they get a jaywalking ticket and if they are in the road they get a traffic ticket.

@33 - From what I've heard all cyclists and drivers are both nutjobs who refuse to obey road rules while driving out of control death machines because, you know, it'd be terrible to think that some people are just assholes no matter what their preferred form of transportation.

@34: Cyclists have the same rights as pedestrians in the crosswalk, with the exception that they must yield to pedestrians and announce their presence to same. It's the same as if they're riding on the sidewalk.

That is, in Seattle. The state allows cities to make rules about cyclists on sidewalks, and presumably they extend to crosswalks.

Bikes must make up their mind. Pedestrian or Vehicle. No riding through the crosswalk at full speed against traffic. At least in this sad incident she was riding with the flow of traffic. If your going to ride the bike stay on the road. In the crosswalk get off and walk it or at least be very aware of cars entering the crosswalk to make a free right turn not anticipating a walker going 20 mph. Even worse when someone is biking against traffic into the crosswalk at full speed. Some use a bike as way of skirting traffic lights. Making a right turn is already hard enough with all the peds crossing on the flashing red don't walk.

"Bikes must make up their mind." No, we mustn't.

@28: THIS is to what I was referring.

I have thought for some time that bikes in croswalks coming off sidewalks are not a good idea - when they travel twice the speed of a walker they make it much more difficult to drive safety. Perhaps they should stop before crossing or nearly stop or walk in crosswalks particularly downtown.

This is not blaming or exonerating anyone but only questioning the wisdom of allowing bikes to ride on sidewalks downtown and cross streets in crosswalks at speed.

#12 funny link

I'd say that whenever a kid gets an accidental bullet in his head from a clumsy relative, we can safely assign at least some of the blame to the NRA and related 2nd amendment lunatics.

Similarly, whenever a cyclist gets run over by a motorist, we can safely assign at least some of the blame to the DMV, the AAA, and Chevron.

@14

Oops, yes, I stand corrected.

@41: "Similarly, whenever a cyclist gets run over by a motorist, we can safely assign at least some of the blame to the DMV, the AAA, and Chevron."

Yes. That's correct.

I've heard from people working at Nordstrom say the person on the bike was actually a man who landed on his neck and they believed died on impact. They say his body was wrapped up and taken into an ambulance. Apparently Nordstrom execs later came down and gave a revised story that it was a woman and she was perfectly ok. Call me crazy, but I think they're trying to cover it up for Elizabeth Hurley's arrival tomorrow...

I see a bizarre behavior in Ballard pretty regularly. Children riding bicycles will stop and dismount as they approach a crosswalk. Then, when the coast is clear, they'll walk across the street. Baffling.

5. Get over yourself.

So, anyway, do any of you argumentative assholes actually know if the light had changed or who exactly had the right of way or, you know, WHAT ACTUALLY HAPPENED? Or is everyone going to go ahead and pass judgment without actually knowing important facts as usual?

I stopped being a hostile driver many years ago. It really is a lot healthier for me. Drivers need to get real. Are you really going to be get in trouble at work if you are five minutes late? If you are, I am very sorry for you. I hope you may find a good job someday. In the meantime, Police should have real enforcement against hostile drivers. Most drivers in Seattle are OK enough. But it only takes one jerk to run you over or to get you in an accident.

i just ate enough hamburgers to kill a horse. i washed them down with a large batch of french fries.