Ryan Lipscomb was biking home from school when a delivery truck turned in front of him. Ryan slammed on his brakes, fell off his bike and slid underneath the wheel of the truck, which then drove over his head.

Ryan is fine.

"I didn't see it coming, but I sure felt it roll over my head. It feels really strange to have a truck run over your head."

Yeah...ok...I'll take his word for it. Obviously there's a lot of luck here, but also some good technology. Though his helmet was crushed, it managed to protect him enough to keep his brains on the inside of his head. While he's got all kinds of scrapes and a concussion, he is not dead and that makes me want to write a nice letter to the folks that make bike helmets.

Via The Capital Times

Stupid little innovations are driving the shift: Fenders, keep the mud off your back. Bigger thinner wheels and lighter frames make commutes faster and easier. Storage space lets you take your groceries home or your bags to work.

Finally, we've got some cooler innovations. Automatic transmissions make biking simpler, and electric motors make it a breeze. Biking is becoming easier and more widely accepted form of transportation. The Schwinn pictured above, part of a new line of electric commuters, is actually an alternative to an automobile. For small town living, there's simply no reason to have a car.

These bikes have a lithium polymer battery that you remove after riding, and the plug in inside your house. So there's no need to drag your bike to the nearest socket and leave it there overnight. And with one charge lasting over 60 miles, it's unlikely that the bike will run out of juice before you do. And while $1,500 might seem like a lot for a new bike, it's pretty frakkin' cheap for a new car.

Via MetaEfficient