I commute to work by bike most days, probably average 4 days a week. I have a co-worker who also rides sometimes. He used to commute by bike too, fairly regularly. We also go on weekend rides once in a while. He has not been riding a lot lately. He is one of those who seems to have a thousand excuses why he was not able to ride in to work. Well, it really does not matter to me. I ride because I want to. I don't care who else rides. The thing that got me today though, was him talking about cyclists getting hit by cars. He was talking about cyclists getting hit from behind and how careless drivers are. Then he mentions how crazy he was to have been riding his bike on the road these last few years. He talks like he is never going to ride on the road again. I dropped the subject, but down inside it kind of got to me. It is hard enough for the regular driving masses to even consider riding a bike to work. But, now I have a seasoned biker who is now scared to ride on the road. I can appreciate the concern he might have, but doesn't everything in life has some risk? Isn't driving your car an inherently risky endeavor? Aren't there something like 40,000 people killed each year in America from auto accidents?
I guess I am just still in a traffic rant, but where does it end? Everyone keeps complaining about how bad traffic is, but they just keep on driving. Do people not realize that they are the problem? Until people stop driving so much, none of these issues will get any better.
I am reminded of an article I read a while back on culturechange.org. It was something about horses and cars. If the rider of a horse let go of the reins, the horse would do its best to avoid trouble. If a driver of a car let go of the steering wheel, the car was all to happy to go crashing into the nearest obstacle in its path. Not that I am for going back to riding horses...well, almost.
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In my experience, good route selection minimizes the danger of getting hit by a car. The problem is that many car-centric communities make good route selection impossible. Older cities tend to have a network of interconnected quiet streets, which are generally great for cycling. Newer burbs tend to have abandoned this idea of interconnectedness and instead funnel all traffic through town on high-speed thru-streets, and all the quiet streets are dead-ends.
Agreed. Route selection can make a big difference. Around here we have some pretty good routes. There are many, many miles of roads with bike lanes...not that bike lanes actually make you any safer. But, they do give the cyclist a small extra piece of real estate on many roads. Bike lanes are a whole 'nother subject. I just find it a bit perplexing how many people view riding on the roads as a dangerous activity. At some level I know it is an excuse to let themselves rationalize not wanting to do it. If people wanted to truly rationalize dangerous activities, I doubt they would ever drive or ride in a motor vehicle.
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