Commuting - Wise or Wuss?

Yesterday, I took an entirely different route home. This route involves the overpass I have described before as the closest thing we have around here to a hill. I have ridden this overpass with no sweat on previous rides early on weekend mornings and holidays, but it is a high-traffic spot at rush hours. As I approached it yesterday at 5:00, I waited a while to see if I could get enough of a break in traffic to ride over. After a while I gave up and walked my bike over. The overpass is just two lanes with an always trashy shoulder that is only about 2 feet wide. I thought I had also notice pieces of broken 2x6 in the shoulder when I drove over it Sunday. I was taking NO chances. Yeah, theoretically we have the same rights to the road as motorists, but more often than not discretion is the better part of valor when you are on a bike.
Regards,
Raymond

Rainman,

You ARE NOT a wuss.
Better safe than sorry when it is you vs. an SUV or semi. Or even a Yugo!
Only a crazy person would take chances on a bike.
I live in Atlanta with way too much traffic so I know how you felt.
You made the right choice!

Ron

One live Rainman, (There could ONLY be ONE!!!) is far more valuable, than one Flat Rainman smeared on the front of a Yugo! (Do they still exist?!) Discretion is a subset of Wisdom, my friend.

It is frustrating that we pay for the roads, yet the BDCs still rule! When I am king they will pay for their arrogance!!! :p

Thanks, guys. I knew it was the right decision for me. Too many people waiting for me at home to take unnecessary risks!
Regards,
Raymond

I agree, becoming a statistic is not neccesary. You made a wise decision, and are here to talk about it. It is always better to be safe then become road pizza.

Yep, you did right.

It's a shame there aren't some nice hills for you to practice on, down there in New Orleans. I could probably send you a couple from KC and they'd never be missed. All you would have to do is pay the shipping charge and accept delivery via UPS.... :confused:

Rainman,

You are not a wuss. You are a courageous man of pioneer stock.
Anyone who rides a bike to work is my hero, because I know how it is. You are literally out there alone, surrounded by people who drive a car everywhere. Even when they are careful, they know absolutely nothing about bike commuting (or any kind of biking) while you know as much or more than they do about driving. That is what makes you wiser than they.

You are wiser because you know all their moves. You know how they're thinking much of the time and what they will probably do next. You must take charge (as you did in the example you mentioned) because you are the most skilled and learned person on the road.

It has been shown that statistically, a well-trained cyclist takes a smaller risk on the road than the average driver. Factor in the built in advantage of increased health benefits and you are indeed far wiser than all of them.

Here are some figures:

Fatalities per million exposure hours

Cycling: 0.26
Motoring: 0.47
Swimming 1.07
Motorcycling: 8.80

The cycling figures include all types of cyclists, including the untrained and children.

Also, there are perhaps 40 times as many motoring deaths as there are cycling deaths in the USA each year.

Here's the link:

www.kenkifer.com/bikepages/health/risks.htm

You will live to cycle another day! ;)

Maybe it was the upcoming storm, with attendant low air pressure and high positive ions, etc.--I don't know; people were unusually dense on the road this evening. It occurred to me that if the cars were being driven by a computer program, instead of by individual humans, anybody would say it was a very bad program.

What a frightening realization, that two or three tons of steel are being propelled down the road by somebody who has basically no idea what he or she is doing--somebody who should never have been licensed to drive in the first place. Multiply this by hundreds and you have rush hour.

We certainly have to watch out for ourselves!

Rainman, we would never think you are a wuss. You made the best decision. Never base your decision on what we might think of you, we will always think the best!!! No matter what you do.

Originally posted by JonR
[BWe certainly have to watch out for ourselves! [/B]

Amen, JonR! Uh, and, gee, as much as I would LIKE to have a few of those hills, I don't think my credit card has enough credit limit left to pay the shipping. Too much bike stuff on there already. :)

Pete, thanks for the stats. After Cheryl's post about Theo, I was wondering how the numbers stacked up. You provided the answer!

Regards,
Raymond

Sometimes there is a fine line between being wise and tombstone courage (the kind of courage that lands you under a tombstone!) Sounds to me like you took the wiser path! Good for you!