Originally Posted by
Big Paulie
Every time I ride, I'm reminded how fragile I am. I'm sure it's the same for you. So no, there's nothing threatening to me about cyclist fatality stories. I get enough of a reality check everytime I hit the road.
But, every story of a cycling death becomes a rehash of the same basic factors. Poor road design for bikes, arrogant or inattentive or drunk drivers, and erratic cycling...all followed by an inadequate law enforcement reponse. And the details of each story are so thin, it's hard to draw any kind of constructive conclusion. We never really know what happened, or who's at fault.
Again, a thread titled "Cycling Fatality" is impossible to ignore on an emotional level, for me at least. It's hard to skim past it without being effected. But it doesn't make me any smarter or any safer out on the road. The futility of it all just bums me out.
To put it a better way, it's a hell of lot easier to ignore a thread titled, "What kind of Bike Should I Buy," than a thread titled, "Another Cyclist Killed."
If anyone wants to delve into safety matters, there's an A & S forum for that purpose. I think we should take advantage of it on a voluntary basis.
Dude: Two comments and then I am out of this discussion.
1. Far from being reminded how fragile I am when I ride, I am reminded how great it is to be the center of the universe and how nice all those things around me look, sound and smell, and how cool it is they are all there for my personal enjoyment. Oh and how pretty my bike is and how great I look in lycra
and that kind of stuff too. I'd take the bet that's pretty much how you REALLY feel when you get on the bike too.
2. I think you should take a solemn oath to never read another thread that has the words dead, death, crashed, injured, killed, morte or any of their synonyms in the title! You'll feel better!