Giving up riding in the city

I am looking for perspectives on riding bicycles inside Atlanta, and the associated risks.

I will lead by saying while riding in Midtown this past Tuesday I had the fortune of misjudging a driveway joint, which actually was about 3" high instead of flat.  The result is road rash on elbow, knee, and several bruises.  My hand stopped clicking today which is a plus.

While this crash was clearly my own fault due to mis-judgement on my part, it has made me think at a higher level about riding bicycles inside Atlanta.  Here's what I realize now more than before depositing my skin onto the sidewalk:

- I spend more time navigating through traffic and stopped at lights than enjoying the ride.

- I find myself in perilous conditions where getting hit by a car is more of a WHEN vs. IF question.

- If I want to enjoy myself and get a good workout, I should remove myself from dangerous riding conditions.

Also, I am on a mountain bike, and if I was to get a road bike, there would be no way to ride without trashing the bike given the roads (at least as I see things).

Have any of you had similar concerns or made a concious decision to not ride in the city?

My thought is now to just throw the bike into the back of my pickup and find some suitable riding roads, i.e. Silver Comet or some woods trails on the mtn bike.

I am an avid motorcyclist and I truly feel that riding a bicycle here is more dangerous that the motorcycle in the city.  That says something (not good) about bicycling here in the city, i.e. if the goal is fitness and fun, its just not worth it.  I hate to say it, but it sems like the reasonable point of view.

Thoughts?