Benjamin Fry
@bluejekyll.bsky.social
Rust, Rusty Bikes, and making everything safer.
East Bay Kidical Mass, Walk Bike Berkeley, Bike East Bay, and former member of SFBike.
Berkeley, CA.
East Bay Kidical Mass, Walk Bike Berkeley, Bike East Bay, and former member of SFBike.
Berkeley, CA.
Pinned
Benjamin Fry
@bluejekyll.bsky.social
· Nov 22
On Thursday, Nov 14th, I was riding home from BART. At Rose and Josephine in Berkeley, an intersection that I have always treated with care, and especially after dark, I ended up witnessing this tragedy. I saw a car hit a pedestrian (Ben I later learned).
Beloved, long-time Berkeley community member Ben Brown was the pedestrian killed on Rose Street.
Please consider donating to this GoFundMe to help his family with funeral expenses and travel.
gofund.me/c4cb551e
Please consider donating to this GoFundMe to help his family with funeral expenses and travel.
gofund.me/c4cb551e
I just went to the Berkeley Transportation and Infrastructure Commission meeting to recount this story.
That was hard. I barely kept it together. I hope I did Ben justice.
That was hard. I barely kept it together. I hope I did Ben justice.
Reposted by Benjamin Fry
The KSIs mount in New Jersey...
This year to date; 53 dead including 19 pedestrians, not one killed hit by or riding an eBike.
Every single one killed either in or by a car.
Are you sure eBikes are the problem?
#bikeped
This year to date; 53 dead including 19 pedestrians, not one killed hit by or riding an eBike.
Every single one killed either in or by a car.
Are you sure eBikes are the problem?
#bikeped
February 16, 2026 at 4:20 PM
The KSIs mount in New Jersey...
This year to date; 53 dead including 19 pedestrians, not one killed hit by or riding an eBike.
Every single one killed either in or by a car.
Are you sure eBikes are the problem?
#bikeped
This year to date; 53 dead including 19 pedestrians, not one killed hit by or riding an eBike.
Every single one killed either in or by a car.
Are you sure eBikes are the problem?
#bikeped
When you look ata map, the US is going to be represented as the tailpipe of the world.
“The U.S. no longer has emission standards of any meaning,” said Margo T. Oge, who served as the E.P.A.’s top vehicle emissions regulator under three presidents and has since advised both automakers and environmental groups…
“Nothing. Zero,” she added. “Not many countries have zero.”
“Nothing. Zero,” she added. “Not many countries have zero.”
With Latest Rollback, the U.S. Essentially Has No Clean-Car Rules
www.nytimes.com
February 16, 2026 at 2:30 PM
When you look ata map, the US is going to be represented as the tailpipe of the world.
Reposted by Benjamin Fry
Today East Bay Assemblymember Bauer-Kahan introduced the "E-Bike Accountability Act", proposing mandatory registrations & license plates for all Class 2 & 3 e-bikes.
Learn more & join us in opposition to this counter-productive proposal by signing our petition at bikeeastbay.org/SayNoToEbike...
Learn more & join us in opposition to this counter-productive proposal by signing our petition at bikeeastbay.org/SayNoToEbike...
Say NO to Mandatory E-Bike License Plates and Registrations - Bike East Bay
Tell the state legislature that increased regulation on legal e-bikes is counter-productive to traffic safety, sustainability, and equity goals.
BikeEastBay.org
February 13, 2026 at 9:55 PM
Today East Bay Assemblymember Bauer-Kahan introduced the "E-Bike Accountability Act", proposing mandatory registrations & license plates for all Class 2 & 3 e-bikes.
Learn more & join us in opposition to this counter-productive proposal by signing our petition at bikeeastbay.org/SayNoToEbike...
Learn more & join us in opposition to this counter-productive proposal by signing our petition at bikeeastbay.org/SayNoToEbike...
Reposted by Benjamin Fry
A female ICE thug posing as a distressed motorist in neighborhoods of Brooklyn Park (63% non-white), MN, to entrap good samaritans. This is the same MO Ted Bundy used to lure his victims to their demise.
February 15, 2026 at 10:35 PM
A female ICE thug posing as a distressed motorist in neighborhoods of Brooklyn Park (63% non-white), MN, to entrap good samaritans. This is the same MO Ted Bundy used to lure his victims to their demise.
Help stop the misguided attempt to license bikes in CA, it will only lead to making it more difficult for people to adopt bikes. We don’t need new laws, we need the existing classifications of e-bikes to be properly enforced.
bikeeastbay.org/say-no-to-ma...!
bikeeastbay.org/say-no-to-ma...!
Say NO to Mandatory E-Bike License Plates and Registrations - Bike East Bay
Tell the state legislature that increased regulation on legal e-bikes is counter-productive to traffic safety, sustainability, and equity goals.
bikeeastbay.org
February 14, 2026 at 4:53 PM
Help stop the misguided attempt to license bikes in CA, it will only lead to making it more difficult for people to adopt bikes. We don’t need new laws, we need the existing classifications of e-bikes to be properly enforced.
bikeeastbay.org/say-no-to-ma...!
bikeeastbay.org/say-no-to-ma...!
Great comments from Slotkin here. But I don’t for one minute believe the DHS doesn’t have a database of people they deem risks.
Remember that thing about getting access to your FBI file? Is he saying the FBI doesn’t have a DB on people in this country they consider risks? Does he know what a DB is?
Remember that thing about getting access to your FBI file? Is he saying the FBI doesn’t have a DB on people in this country they consider risks? Does he know what a DB is?
SLOTKIN: So the fact we have ICE agents saying out loud to people they're trying to arrest that 'we're gonna put you in a database,' they are making that up?
LYONS: We do not do that
LYONS: We do not do that
February 12, 2026 at 11:00 PM
Great comments from Slotkin here. But I don’t for one minute believe the DHS doesn’t have a database of people they deem risks.
Remember that thing about getting access to your FBI file? Is he saying the FBI doesn’t have a DB on people in this country they consider risks? Does he know what a DB is?
Remember that thing about getting access to your FBI file? Is he saying the FBI doesn’t have a DB on people in this country they consider risks? Does he know what a DB is?
Teachers should at a minimum make more than police. It’s about investing in the future, this graph is probably similar for lots of cities, not just San Francisco.
February 12, 2026 at 3:55 PM
Teachers should at a minimum make more than police. It’s about investing in the future, this graph is probably similar for lots of cities, not just San Francisco.
Reposted by Benjamin Fry
A US Marshal who is part of Trump's surge of feds in DC shot and killed someone in DC yesterday evening and there is barely any coverage and not a single post on here yet about it? wtop.com/dc/2026/02/u...
Member of US Marshals Service shoots, kills person in DC’s Mayfair neighborhood - WTOP News
Members of the U.S. Marshals Service shot and killed a person Wednesday afternoon in Northeast D.C.’s Mayfair neighborhood, a law enforcement source told WTOP.
wtop.com
February 12, 2026 at 1:51 PM
A US Marshal who is part of Trump's surge of feds in DC shot and killed someone in DC yesterday evening and there is barely any coverage and not a single post on here yet about it? wtop.com/dc/2026/02/u...
Kurt Cobain was murdered?!
February 12, 2026 at 5:07 AM
Kurt Cobain was murdered?!
So, assuming all this info is true… You being a safety conscious FAA person ask a simple question,
“So, could this anti-drone tech possibly mistake a civil plane for a drone and shoot it down?”
Military: “not likely, we have tested to 95% accuracy.”
FAA: “HOLY CRAP! SHUT IT ALL DOWN!”
“So, could this anti-drone tech possibly mistake a civil plane for a drone and shoot it down?”
Military: “not likely, we have tested to 95% accuracy.”
FAA: “HOLY CRAP! SHUT IT ALL DOWN!”
February 11, 2026 at 11:39 PM
So, assuming all this info is true… You being a safety conscious FAA person ask a simple question,
“So, could this anti-drone tech possibly mistake a civil plane for a drone and shoot it down?”
Military: “not likely, we have tested to 95% accuracy.”
FAA: “HOLY CRAP! SHUT IT ALL DOWN!”
“So, could this anti-drone tech possibly mistake a civil plane for a drone and shoot it down?”
Military: “not likely, we have tested to 95% accuracy.”
FAA: “HOLY CRAP! SHUT IT ALL DOWN!”
So important for e-bike access. And as others have pointed out, e-bikes have given more access to people with various disabilities.
February 11, 2026 at 6:45 PM
So important for e-bike access. And as others have pointed out, e-bikes have given more access to people with various disabilities.
As a tax payer, there’s a ton of crap the government uses my money for that I don’t agree with, this is right up there as one of the dumbest things I’ve seen.
Although, now that I think of it, I bet most of the money the Feds spend I don’t agree with, a that goes back across administrations.
Although, now that I think of it, I bet most of the money the Feds spend I don’t agree with, a that goes back across administrations.
Trump to direct Pentagon to buy coal power to revive industry
President Donald Trump will unveil plans on Wednesday to use government funding and Pentagon contracts to sustain US coal-fired power plants.
President Donald Trump will unveil plans on Wednesday to use government funding and Pentagon contracts to sustain US coal-fired power plants.
Trump to Direct Pentagon to Buy Coal in Bid to Revive Industry
President Donald Trump will unveil plans to use government funding and Pentagon contracts to sustain US coal-fired power plants as he seeks to drive domestic reliance on the fossil fuel.
buff.ly
February 11, 2026 at 2:55 PM
As a tax payer, there’s a ton of crap the government uses my money for that I don’t agree with, this is right up there as one of the dumbest things I’ve seen.
Although, now that I think of it, I bet most of the money the Feds spend I don’t agree with, a that goes back across administrations.
Although, now that I think of it, I bet most of the money the Feds spend I don’t agree with, a that goes back across administrations.
Reposted by Benjamin Fry
NEW – Q&A: New UK onshore wind and solar is ‘50% cheaper’ than new gas | @mollylempriere.carbonbrief.org
Read here: buff.ly/IDBhecw
Read here: buff.ly/IDBhecw
February 11, 2026 at 2:04 PM
NEW – Q&A: New UK onshore wind and solar is ‘50% cheaper’ than new gas | @mollylempriere.carbonbrief.org
Read here: buff.ly/IDBhecw
Read here: buff.ly/IDBhecw
Reposted by Benjamin Fry
Something to keep in mind the next time the city tries to repurpose parking and drivers complain that every last car is necessary at all times. The storm was two weeks ago.
February 9, 2026 at 2:42 PM
Something to keep in mind the next time the city tries to repurpose parking and drivers complain that every last car is necessary at all times. The storm was two weeks ago.
Reposted by Benjamin Fry
Reflective Jackets Are In-Stock! Get one before they’re gone...again.
The last batch of our reflective jackets sold out in 48 hours.
Sizes Junior 11 and 3XL are sold out. We are running low on 2XL’s.
bikelaneuprising.com/product-page/reflective-windbreaker
The last batch of our reflective jackets sold out in 48 hours.
Sizes Junior 11 and 3XL are sold out. We are running low on 2XL’s.
bikelaneuprising.com/product-page/reflective-windbreaker
February 9, 2026 at 8:00 PM
Reflective Jackets Are In-Stock! Get one before they’re gone...again.
The last batch of our reflective jackets sold out in 48 hours.
Sizes Junior 11 and 3XL are sold out. We are running low on 2XL’s.
bikelaneuprising.com/product-page/reflective-windbreaker
The last batch of our reflective jackets sold out in 48 hours.
Sizes Junior 11 and 3XL are sold out. We are running low on 2XL’s.
bikelaneuprising.com/product-page/reflective-windbreaker
Is this what paid protesters look like?
February 8, 2026 at 10:10 PM
Is this what paid protesters look like?
The football I’m watching today.
February 8, 2026 at 4:23 PM
The football I’m watching today.
Reposted by Benjamin Fry
New paper finds that US bike deaths have "trended toward lower-density suburban areas" rather than central cities
Those killed tend to be poor and non-white.
Lesson: The suburbanization of poverty could be contributing to the surging number of cyclist fatalities.
doi.org/10.1016/j.jc...
Those killed tend to be poor and non-white.
Lesson: The suburbanization of poverty could be contributing to the surging number of cyclist fatalities.
doi.org/10.1016/j.jc...
February 8, 2026 at 3:26 PM
New paper finds that US bike deaths have "trended toward lower-density suburban areas" rather than central cities
Those killed tend to be poor and non-white.
Lesson: The suburbanization of poverty could be contributing to the surging number of cyclist fatalities.
doi.org/10.1016/j.jc...
Those killed tend to be poor and non-white.
Lesson: The suburbanization of poverty could be contributing to the surging number of cyclist fatalities.
doi.org/10.1016/j.jc...
Reposted by Benjamin Fry
I hope Dems begin to see that moderate or progressive, AIPAC is not our friend.
They endorse January 6th insurrectionists. Yet if you so much as suggest the US uphold its own Leahy laws, no matter your record, they will work against you.
They endorse January 6th insurrectionists. Yet if you so much as suggest the US uphold its own Leahy laws, no matter your record, they will work against you.
February 6, 2026 at 2:52 PM
I hope Dems begin to see that moderate or progressive, AIPAC is not our friend.
They endorse January 6th insurrectionists. Yet if you so much as suggest the US uphold its own Leahy laws, no matter your record, they will work against you.
They endorse January 6th insurrectionists. Yet if you so much as suggest the US uphold its own Leahy laws, no matter your record, they will work against you.
Reposted by Benjamin Fry
Dems are now overperforming the 2024 lean of red districts by, uh, 30+ points in special elections
I’m not sure “apocalyptic” is sufficient to describe how the environment is starting to look for the GOP in November
I’m not sure “apocalyptic” is sufficient to describe how the environment is starting to look for the GOP in November
RESULT: Democrat Chasity Martinez wins a special election for a legislative seat in Louisiana, 62% to 38%.
This was a district that Trump carried by 13% last year, so a big overperformance by Dems, but the seat was already Dem-held.
This was a district that Trump carried by 13% last year, so a big overperformance by Dems, but the seat was already Dem-held.
February 8, 2026 at 3:18 AM
Dems are now overperforming the 2024 lean of red districts by, uh, 30+ points in special elections
I’m not sure “apocalyptic” is sufficient to describe how the environment is starting to look for the GOP in November
I’m not sure “apocalyptic” is sufficient to describe how the environment is starting to look for the GOP in November
Reposted by Benjamin Fry
Holy shit. You MUST watch at least the last 5 minutes of this. It's breathtaking.
I’m having a hard time thinking of an interview between two human beings I enjoyed more than tonight’s interview of the great Ian McKellen by the great Stephen Colbert. Every moment of it was a pleasure that I highly recommend… but then came the most REMARKABLE ending that you really HAVE to watch.
"There's Nothing I Enjoy More Than Acting In The Theater" - Ian McKellen EXTENDED INTERVIEW
YouTube video by The Late Show with Stephen Colbert
youtube.com
February 6, 2026 at 12:43 AM
Holy shit. You MUST watch at least the last 5 minutes of this. It's breathtaking.
Reposted by Benjamin Fry
‘One officer told me that I "had no chance of returning to Minnesota" and that "the best thing for (me] is self-deportation." …
She offered me $2600 to self-deport.
I refused.
I wanted to talk to my attorney.
They didn't tell me the judge had already ordered my release and return to Minnesota.’
She offered me $2600 to self-deport.
I refused.
I wanted to talk to my attorney.
They didn't tell me the judge had already ordered my release and return to Minnesota.’
![…
25. This Cibola jail was horrible. It was cramped. I was chained up again.
The officers mocked
me and called me their enemy. They laughed at me. I was kept at the jail for what felt like around three hours. I wasn't given an explanation for why I was there.
26. Security
guards then put me on a bus. I think it was around January 27.
No one said
anything about where I was going. I was handcuffed. It felt like the middle of the night. It was freezing cold in the bus because the driver had the AC on. We had no jackets. The bus eventually took me back to El Paso in the carly morning of Tuesday, January 27th.
27. I was put in a cold cell where I had to sleep on the bare cement floor. Around 10 in the morning my cellmate asked to speak to an ICE officer. Three officers came into the cell so I had a chance to speak to them too. One officer told me that I "had no chance of returning to Minnesota" and that "the best thing for (me] is self-deportation." She told me that if I fought my case, I would spend two to three more months here in El Paso. She offered me $2600 to self-deport. I refused. I wanted to talk to my attorney. They didn't tell me the judge had already ordered my release and return to Minnesota. If I hadn't managed to talk to my attorney who told me a while back that I was ordered released. I might have given up at this point and signed the self-deportation forms because the conditions were so unbearable.
…
30. When I was taken back to the detention center from the airport, after missing the flight, I overheard an ICE officer saying in English, "the judge in Minnesota wants this one back." I was put in a cold jail cell again until early next morning (January 28). But again no one had told me directly that a judge had ordered my release
…
32. When I arrived in Minneapolis, I was handed off to ICE
… I had to sign lots of papers saying that I wasn't going to be a part of any "groups." I didn't know what they meant by "groups." They never told me why I was detained](https://cdn.bsky.app/img/feed_thumbnail/plain/did:plc:5cn3kbi4g5blrtahon34xbu4/bafkreiccqxmfncofjqinoveiqscwale2ox5xpiqt46veqjdh3jmimkrxhq@jpeg)
February 5, 2026 at 6:04 AM
‘One officer told me that I "had no chance of returning to Minnesota" and that "the best thing for (me] is self-deportation." …
She offered me $2600 to self-deport.
I refused.
I wanted to talk to my attorney.
They didn't tell me the judge had already ordered my release and return to Minnesota.’
She offered me $2600 to self-deport.
I refused.
I wanted to talk to my attorney.
They didn't tell me the judge had already ordered my release and return to Minnesota.’
Everyone can play a part in helping prevent this from getting worse. You don’t need violence to try and touch people’s hearts and convince them to do something.
It’s good to find examples for others to follow that can help lead everyone to a better place.
It’s good to find examples for others to follow that can help lead everyone to a better place.
Highlighting the speaker who stood in front of the Surprise mayor and told him to consider what the Mayor of Ohrdruf must’ve thought before he died by suicide: “He might have thought ‘how is this my fault I had no jurisdiction over this’ maybe he said ‘this site was not subject to local zoning.’”
February 4, 2026 at 2:41 PM
Everyone can play a part in helping prevent this from getting worse. You don’t need violence to try and touch people’s hearts and convince them to do something.
It’s good to find examples for others to follow that can help lead everyone to a better place.
It’s good to find examples for others to follow that can help lead everyone to a better place.
I really wanted to correct this sign. The crosswalk is not new, the paint is new. All corners where streets meet with sidewalks in California are considered to have crosswalks, some are marked.
It should just say NEW PAINT AHEAD or nothing at all. Literally the pedestrian rights have not changed.
It should just say NEW PAINT AHEAD or nothing at all. Literally the pedestrian rights have not changed.
February 2, 2026 at 11:52 PM
I really wanted to correct this sign. The crosswalk is not new, the paint is new. All corners where streets meet with sidewalks in California are considered to have crosswalks, some are marked.
It should just say NEW PAINT AHEAD or nothing at all. Literally the pedestrian rights have not changed.
It should just say NEW PAINT AHEAD or nothing at all. Literally the pedestrian rights have not changed.
This should be illegal.
Since everyone and anyone seems to be running for Governor, I’m going to throw my hat in the ring and run on a platform that makes it illegal to pave streets without fixing the street after there are tragedies like this.
All streets should be safe streets.
Since everyone and anyone seems to be running for Governor, I’m going to throw my hat in the ring and run on a platform that makes it illegal to pave streets without fixing the street after there are tragedies like this.
All streets should be safe streets.
Road repaving next to where a child was killed in Pacific Beach
Spending millions to let cars go faster; no sign of safety upgrades
Spending millions to let cars go faster; no sign of safety upgrades
February 2, 2026 at 11:29 PM
This should be illegal.
Since everyone and anyone seems to be running for Governor, I’m going to throw my hat in the ring and run on a platform that makes it illegal to pave streets without fixing the street after there are tragedies like this.
All streets should be safe streets.
Since everyone and anyone seems to be running for Governor, I’m going to throw my hat in the ring and run on a platform that makes it illegal to pave streets without fixing the street after there are tragedies like this.
All streets should be safe streets.