Lost in OK

James Michael Hazzard, 20, who hit and killed Debra Miller last August, has pleaded no contest to negligent homicide and has been ordered to pay $20,000 in restitution to the family:

A driver accused of hitting and killing a bicycle rider on State Highway 51 west of Stillwater earlier this year has pleaded no contest to negligent homicide.

. . .

Special Judge Michael Stano deferred sentencing and judgment for one year, but required Hazzard to pay $20,000 in restitution by Jan. 3. The restitution will go to Miller’s family.

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The Oklahoman has a nice story about the bicycle giveaway provided by the Thunder on Christmas night:

On a Christmas night most folks left the arena buzzing about the Thunder’s 114-106 victory over the Nuggets and Kevin Durant’s 44 points, there were more than a hundred kids from the Oklahoma City Boys and Girls Club who walked out of the building with bigger memories. Lasting memories. Lifelong memories.

They received tickets as part of the Thunder’s “Tickets for Kids” program, and they thought that was their big present.

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So, with the help of my wonderful girlfriend Grace, I’ve been setting up makeshift photo booths at a variety of social events with friends and family. The picture quality isn’t usually great, but the captures are often fantastic. From the first shot which is usually a little stiff to the fourth shot when people have really loosened up, it’s a fun portrait exercise.

In any case, here are the results of these booth experiments:

David M. has reported on several of the bicycle mailing lists that his 2011 Black and White Specialized Roubaix road bicycle has been stolen from the garage of his Norman home. It is 52cm and it’s serial number is: STAT210C0931.  Any information regarding this bike should be reported to the Norman Police Department at (405) 321-1600 under case #2010-16566.   Below is a example picture of the bike in question:

This is a little late, but on December 4th, The Oklahoman published a neat photo essay about the Buck$ 4 Bikes assembly day event:

[caption id=“attachment_360” align=“aligncenter” width=“465” caption=“Photo By: Jim Beckel, The Oklahoman”][/caption]

Buck$ 4 Bikes is a program organized by The Salvation Army and the Oklahoma Bicycle Society, acquires and builds new bicycles for kids throughout the area.

In what I believe is a first for the state, the new I-244 bridge across the Arkansas River will allow for not only car traffic, but also bicycle and pedestrian traffic as well as future rail lines:

According to ODOT the replacement bridge will be “multi-modal”; incorporating a new section of the westbound highway, two dedicated future rail lines and an area for bicycle/pedestrian traffic into a double-decker style bridge.

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UPDATED 1/1/2011: This bicycle was recovered in perfect condition by the Moore Police Department.  Full details here.

Many of you probably met Jim Reading at some point.  He was a local cyclist who passed away on July 17th after a battle with leukemia.   Well, to make matters worse, on Monday his beautiful Red & Black Cervelo R3 was stolen from the family in Oklahoma City.  The family has set up a Facebook Page and a Twitter account to disiminate information about the theft.    The serial number for the bike is #CVR3512044.  It is a 2006 Cervelo RS Carbon bike, 56cm with a 2010 SRAM red front derailier, SRAM dual pivot road calipers, LOOK Keo pedals and a 2010 Mavic Ksyrium SL wheelset with one red spoke.  A picture of the bike in question is below:

Another cycling fatality occurred yesterday near the corner of Northwest Expressway and MacArthur:

Anthony Guzman, 14, was riding a 20-inch BMX bicycle in the 5700 block of Northwest Expressway when he tried to cross from south to north and was hit by an eastbound car.

Guzman was dead at the scene, said police Maj. Hugh Osborn. He lived in the area, Osborn said.

via Name of boy killed on bicycle in Warr Acres released | NewsOK.com.

The Oklahoma Gazette is reporting that Oklahoma City is beginning to lay down the first of many new miles of designated bicycle routes:

The city of Oklahoma City is laying out the first of what will be approximately 200 miles of new bike routes around town.

The designated routes are individual bike lanes or lanes shared by cars and bicycles, known as “sharrow” lanes — named as such because of the combination of “share” and “arrow.”

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There are reports in the news that SB 1329, which went into effect today, allows bicyclists to cross intersections on a red light when the street is clear:

Senate Bill 1329 allows motorcycle and bicycle riders to go through red lights at traffic lights that are engineered to detect motor vehicles.

In Tulsa, two types of automobile-detection lights are used - an underground loop tripped by the weight of a vehicle and a camera-based laser that turns lights green when the beam is broken by a vehicle, Murray said.

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