Riding a bike can tend to make you ride calmer side streets not to deal with any non-sense but that could also be a setup for shady characters to prey on you. Nononsenseselfdefense guy would definitely be against this idea esp. at night, but the funny thing is the only time i was nearly jumped was actually sticking to the main highway at night with just a few cars around. You're damned if you damned if you don't and living in CA you aren't even allowed to defend yourself