I am a guitar teacher in Los Angeles. I commute (by car) from Hermosa Beach to Torrence (about 6 mi) 3 times a week. I would love to start commuting by bike, but I am a little worried about strapping my solid bodied electric guitar on my back. My instrument is worth about 2000 dollars, and I don't have the cash to just replace it. While I don't worry about it that much on the commute to Torrence, when I resume my teaching job this summer at UCLA, the 20 mile commute provides a greater chance of some sort of an accident. Also, at UCLA, I will be transporting an equally expensive but far more fragile acoustic guitar with me.

I guess the real question is if I strap the guitar on my back with a soft (but with 1" of padding) gig bag, if I got in an accident where I fell to either side, do you think the guitar would sustain much damage? If so, are there any precautions you recommend I take?

Thanks,
Chris