As of late last night, the news of Bill Ritter's bicycle crash had spread to hundreds of news outlets across the country. The accident occurred at 6 a.m. Tuesday at 23rd Avenue and High Street, where Ritter collided with another cyclist. Evan Dreyer, a spokesman for the Democratic governor, says Ritter fractured five or six ribs in the accident and began his recovery overnight in a hospital bed. He hit his head but, luckily, was wearing a helmet. And the governor "is still the governor," Dreyer tells The Denver Post. The incident made for an interesting day for Lieutenant Governor Barbara O'Brien, who took over Ritter's duties. When asked in jest if she would use her temporary power for executive orders to pardon any prisoners, O'Brien said, "I tell them, 'No, they got it all wrong. It's who I want to lock up.'" Ritter is in good spirits at Denver Health Medical Center, according to 7News, which points out that Ritter is a regular cyclist. State Representative John Kefalas' bill to encourage children to wear helmets while bicycling should have some built-in credibility now, despite a prank effort by state Representative Larry Liston, a Colorado Springs Republican, to insert an amendment that would force boys to wear "a crush-resistant athletic cup" while cycling, writes the Fort Collins Coloradoan.