Statistics do show more people killed in cars but more people drive than bike and more of the drivers spend a lot longer on the roads thereby exposign themselves to more risk. Also a lot of cyclists are not fully interacting with traffic which is actually less safe but limits the injury should they fall. I.e., putting along at 10 mph will make yourself more liekly t5o get hit on abusy street. If you stick to backroads you may be fine. But if you want to ride for transport you have to develop the ability to use different types of streets so you can do so safely if you have to, even if you’d wisely choose your route based on least danger or number of hazards. Example: a cyclist riding at a brisk mpace through a 4 way can be killed or injured by a left turning oncoming car. A cycling poking along at 10 mph can probably stop if the car cuts him off. However, if the briskly moving cyclist slows down from 20 to 10 mph, the car WILL cut him off because he will think the cyclist is letting him go… You have to be experienced and learn the skills to judge these situations.

I would rather ride at 20 and take my chances on my own eyes than going slow and trusting others to see me, though I do take precautions especially in the evening using many more lights than the number rwequired by law…

There are also risks peculiar to cyclists and to some degree motorcycles, such as drivers misjudging their speed when they’d be able to judge the speed of a car — or skidding out and falling. Open car doors, etc. All pose risks to two wheeled road users that cars don’t have to worry about. And how many times are you hit in the head with a bottle tossed out of a car doing 40 mph in your Toyota Camry?

While one should not hype the dangers of cycling, there are dangers out there, and one would be remiss to ignore them, especially since better education of drivers is usually the only way to fix them, except there will be nomove to educate drivers if no one knows they need it because no one talks about the dangers of a left hook or a car edging you into a ditch.

I’d say, mention the dangers, then add the numbe rof people killed driving or walking for a bit of perspective — keeping in mind the context, of course. We don’t want people riding with blinders to the danger — but we don’t wanna scare folks away from riding either.

Happy c0mmuting!

Hi everyone. On June 1 I am starting a job at a new office in downtown DC that will have about an 11 mile bike commute, one way. This will be 9 miles on trails and between 1.75 and 2 miles on city streets in downtown DC.

I did it this morning to both get the sense of it and how long it will take (52 minutes and I missed one turn and had to backtrack.)

What I am really hoping is that someone will have a suggestion for gyms in the downtown DC area which offer these “shower only” memberships. I am really interested in this as I generally sweat a good deal when I am doing even mild activity and while I am willing to do the sponge bath/handiwipe/baby powder thing when I get to work…..would be cool to have a way to get cleaner. Any help?

Until I got the Xtra, I used a trailer extensively. Bike trailers can be had for really cheap — I got mine brand new for about $80, and I see them pop up on Craigslist all the time as kids outgrow them.

You may also consider adding public transportation into the mix, if such is available. Eliminating a car from your life may not be the best option, but I am convinced everyone, no matter the circumstances, can certainly reduce their reliance on them.