Chipmunks are worse than squirrels. I've had them run out in front of my from nowhere, making me swerve to miss them. I'll occasionally see a few dead ones on one of the trails over here.

slicing bagels sends 10,000 people to the emergency room ever year

And I thought I was the only quack that did this. I've only ever had one squirrel that DIDN'T head up the nearest tree at the sound.

I have to admit that i go through this from time to time. sydney's death was a prime example, it made me not want to ride on the road. There have been other times as well. But I keep riding. Usually I don't think about it and basically I know that riding is a pretty safe activity.

One thing you might ask yourself is why you never think twice when you hear about someone being KILLED in a car wreck every day, yet who ever stops to consider why we don't give pause? We are so used to people being killed that we simply don't even think about it unless it is someone you are close to.

Even then everyone drives to the funeral without much concern. I think it is that cycling is not mainstream and so it is easy to view it as more dangerous than other activities that the general population participates in.

Millions of American men die in their fifties from heart attacks, strokes, diabetes...conditions that are the result of being over-weight, eating the wrong sorts of foods, and spending long hours on the sofa in front of the TV.

In contrast, folks who ride bikes 250 days a year or 300 days a year, and eat a healthy diet usually look and feel ten years younger than most of their peers. At age 55, they are in better health than many folks who are age 35. And, although cyclists who ride only 20 or 30 days a year are involved in a significant number of injury causing accidents, serious injuries are rare among those who ride 300 days a year. Folks who ride every day become highly skilled at anticipating situations that could cause an accident, and when they are "surprised" by something on the road, have good bike handling skills that reduce the chance of serious injury.

Yes, even the best and most skilled cyclist MIGHT get a serious injury or might get killed. But, the number of men who ride everyday who are killed in a riding accident is likely to be less than a hundred or so a year. Contrast that with the MILLIONS of men who die from spending too much time on the sofa.

No.

Looking at it pragmatically, being out of shape has a pretty good correlation with a reduced lifespan, and a *big* correlation with higher quality of life as you get older.

Compare that with a chance of an accident (with a car or wildlife), and it's easy to make a choice.

Looking at it more spiritually, I cycle and I downhill ski for the sheer joy of it. Giving that up really isn't an option.

i hate getting flys in my eyes.

I use "sporty" looking safety glasses. They look non-industrial, are aerodynamic-ish, and are wonderful for keeping flies out of your retinas. Bonus: Branches and stuff on the trails are not a concern anymore, optometrically.

Also good for flying squirrel impacts, or the occasional seagull.

Flys in the eyes is easy. Glasses.

Flys in the mouth while sucking wind up a hill I can't figure out.

Ummm...

Got it.

Dust mask/surgical mask/gas mask etc.

Never got one in the spokes, but it doesn't sound at all unlikely. One hit the edge of the path, took one quick look, and ran right under my front wheel. Could have been in the spokes just as easily. I never gave a passing thought to giving up on riding.

Keep riding; just ride disc wheels.

Went over the bars on an old 3-speed once. Fractured my jaw and dislocated my shoulder. I quit riding for a long time, but that was a couple decades ago. I got nicked by a car a few weeks back, but I can't imagine not cycling now.

Less than a month after starting pilot training we had a terrible mishap where both the instructor and my classmate were lost along with the jet. A lot of people were fairly shaken, myself included.

About a week later when we were getting ready to get up flying again, one of my classmates said that he couldn't...not after what happened, not with a wife and kid at home. I do not think ill of him for his decision, but I do question it...after all, he could get hit by a car tomorrow.

Sometimes to do things we love we must dare certain heights. And to do that you do risk falling. But is it so hard to fall, so bad to fail? Sometimes fortune turns against you, sometimes you fall, and yes, sometimes you die. But there is another alternative...

Sometimes you fly.

I love this. Thanks.

I watched an over the bars accident once and let me tell you , they are ugly. A middle age 250 lb. man went through a mud slick at the bottom of an under the bridge dip. The mud turned his front wheel sideways and he launched. His hands 'stayed back' searching for the bars. He landed on his eye and the weight crumpled up behind . If it weren't for the mud, he would have broken his neck for sure. Regardless, he had serious head injuries. Ugly.
I ride a LWB recumbent now, which reduces the chance of an over the bars accident. bk

I just read in the latest Berkeley Wellness Letter that 80,000 Americans a year are sent to the ER due to lawn mowing accidents.

This is definitely making me reconsider mowing the lawn. Better to play it safe, let it grow, and instead go for a long ride Saturday morning.

Think astro-turf

Make sure to always wear a helmet and no headphones when mowing. You can never be too safe. You might hear something that will save your life.

Laugh if you will, I've seen a house here in Denver with Astroturf!!

more Canadians die from ride-on lawn mowers accidents than die riding on bicycles (and that includes children riding bicycles) and more Canadians die from choking on ball point pens than die on bicycles.

The worst part would be the embarrassment of having that in the obit: Area man dies in Bic-related accident.

Ack!


Wrong way lawn mower ahead!
Dang freak ain't even running the mandatory blinky in the front and rear.
And where the heck is the front mounted $500 HID on a $200 lawnmower?

Signal signal you fool! left arm out. Signal your stops! Other lawnmowers in the yard may get confused.

Health benefits of cycling !!!! 45 years old and weight less than I did in college, low cholesterol, low triglycerides, low blood pressure (with a tiny bit of medication), it doesn't get much better.

My sister gets after me about cycling safety... she's obese and diabetic... by her own admission, her lifespan is cut by 7 years, statistically speaking.

Who is safer?