Post by seacid on Jul 24, 2007 10:54:05 GMT 8
Bicycling Is Not Dangerous: What I've Learned As A Bicycle Commuter
Written by Brian Sorrell
July 20, 2007
A year into marriage, my blood pressure still sky high, I decided to
take positive action and fix myself up. My goal was to strengthen my
heart and lower my blood pressure, so that I might stick around
happy and healthy for longer than my then-current path would have
allowed. I would do this by riding a bicycle.
My commute is a 4-mile round trip, so a) it does not take
significantly longer to bike than to drive, given traffic control
and b) it is puzzling that I had not started sooner. I had not
started sooner because I was concerned that if I did not drive, then
my vehicle would not be available to me all day and what if I
desperately needed to use it? Slowly, it dawned on me that I never
actually need to use a car during working hours. And those occasions
when I thought that I did were excuses to get out of the office more
than actual needs.
At first, bicycling with traffic is an incredibly scary thing — and
it should be! Cars are big and loud and comparatively difficult to
control, when considered alongside a bicycle. Learning to navigate
among them on a two-wheeled vehicle that is less than 1% of their
weight takes a shot of courage and patience. Successfully riding in
automotive traffic takes a special set of skills that builds over
time and experience.
When I tell people that I ride a bicycle to work, many suggest that
bicycling is dangerous. Riding on the wrong side of the street, on
sidewalks, weaving in and out of cars, chatting on the cell phone:
these activities make bicycling appear dangerous. Just as you would
not expect a safe car ride on the sidewalk, or against traffic, or
while chatting on the phone, you should not expect a safe bicycle
ride under similar conditions.
If you ride responsibly according to the rules of the road, your
chances of being killed on the bicycle are remarkably low.
Obviously, this does not mean that you definitely won't be the
unlucky one to get mashed under the tires of a steel beast operated
by a text-messaging teenager — it's just that the chances are lower
than you might have been led to believe. (Everyone's got a pet
statistic and a favorite comparison, like "less of a chance than
being stung by a killer bee". Statistics and clever comparisons,
however, are not relevant to basic riding skills; the novice rider
needs to get it out of her head that cycling is inherently dangerous
and get into her head how it is done safely.)
Article Available at:
blogcritics.org/archives/2007/07/20/213700.php
Written by Brian Sorrell
July 20, 2007
A year into marriage, my blood pressure still sky high, I decided to
take positive action and fix myself up. My goal was to strengthen my
heart and lower my blood pressure, so that I might stick around
happy and healthy for longer than my then-current path would have
allowed. I would do this by riding a bicycle.
My commute is a 4-mile round trip, so a) it does not take
significantly longer to bike than to drive, given traffic control
and b) it is puzzling that I had not started sooner. I had not
started sooner because I was concerned that if I did not drive, then
my vehicle would not be available to me all day and what if I
desperately needed to use it? Slowly, it dawned on me that I never
actually need to use a car during working hours. And those occasions
when I thought that I did were excuses to get out of the office more
than actual needs.
At first, bicycling with traffic is an incredibly scary thing — and
it should be! Cars are big and loud and comparatively difficult to
control, when considered alongside a bicycle. Learning to navigate
among them on a two-wheeled vehicle that is less than 1% of their
weight takes a shot of courage and patience. Successfully riding in
automotive traffic takes a special set of skills that builds over
time and experience.
When I tell people that I ride a bicycle to work, many suggest that
bicycling is dangerous. Riding on the wrong side of the street, on
sidewalks, weaving in and out of cars, chatting on the cell phone:
these activities make bicycling appear dangerous. Just as you would
not expect a safe car ride on the sidewalk, or against traffic, or
while chatting on the phone, you should not expect a safe bicycle
ride under similar conditions.
If you ride responsibly according to the rules of the road, your
chances of being killed on the bicycle are remarkably low.
Obviously, this does not mean that you definitely won't be the
unlucky one to get mashed under the tires of a steel beast operated
by a text-messaging teenager — it's just that the chances are lower
than you might have been led to believe. (Everyone's got a pet
statistic and a favorite comparison, like "less of a chance than
being stung by a killer bee". Statistics and clever comparisons,
however, are not relevant to basic riding skills; the novice rider
needs to get it out of her head that cycling is inherently dangerous
and get into her head how it is done safely.)
Article Available at:
blogcritics.org/archives/2007/07/20/213700.php