Biking without a helmet (Page 2)

my last job was only about 8 miles from my house, one road, would have been AWESOME to bike commute.  i NEVER did because the road i would take would NOT be bike friendly.  no shoulders, only one lane each way, a bunch of impatient people, terrible condition, NO THANK YOU.

same with my new job...easily bike commutable distance-wise, showers and cafeteria at work, but crossing a 4-lane major road to make that last left turn?  OH HECK NO, have you SEEN how few people pay attention when they are driving???

i am NOT lazy, but i am also not willing to take that risk.  this town is NOT bike-friendly.  most towns aren't.

I think this is a big part of the problem. And of course, we end up with a chicken-egg problem - the planners don't want to spend the money to make an area bike friendly, because no one rides. No one rides because the roads are not bike friendly.

Of course, the ironic thing is that it was cyclists who first pushed to have paved roads instead of whatever conditions existed that were more easily managed on horse and buggy.

Wow. Just, wow.

Well, to be specific.  The actual PLANNERS want bike paths all over the place (I deal with it all the time).  And the landscape planners/archetects want to do grand beautification projects and spend millions on trees and ground cover.

But when the bean counters get to it, that's the FIRST stuff that goes from any public improvement project.  Lack of bike paths is due to lack of funds and public demands for those funds to be spent on other things.  Untill there is outcry for bike paths that louder than roadway improvements or repaving projects or bridge repairs, they likely won't happen as often as we would like.

That's awesome!  I get over 100 miles a week in and the bike and DON'T ride to work becuase I need to be presentable to clients or go to meetings in the day.  But I guess I'm lazy since I don't take the old roadie to the office.

Perchance he wasn't talking about you.

True. 

Tell you what, I will only respond to threads if it directly talks about me if everyone else follows the same rules.

But for some strange reason, people tend to respond in forums even if it's not about them.  Odd, really.

Nah, the all offended part makes it funny.

Who's offended?

Sorry, I meant to say lazy.

Who's lazy?

Try to keep up:

Keep up?  This thread is worth staying current on?  I leave that to you.

Personally, I have better things to do than keeping up to date on pointless threads...  Like anything

I'm sure you do, but thanks for taking the time to let us know.

Oh, like I don't? I'm offended. Or am I lazy? I can't keep up.

And no, that's NOT what she said!

I like your style, sir!

You're welcome!

True - I stand corrected. I can't ride corrected, since the bike paths weren't in the budget...

It never is.

It IS frustrating as a civil engineer and cyclist to see the plans at the beginning stages and get excited about the new major bike path they want to put in with the street improvment project, just to watch it slowy get squeezed out due to budget.

Sometimes I'm just thrilled to find a sidewalk much less a bike path.

But the number and quality of Florida's ditches is outstanding.

As are the number and size of alligators living in said ditches.

I'm not being picky...they do not protect you from a auto collision.

They protect you from a force equivalent to falling 6 feet. If your head falls 6 feet, you will be protected from injury.

In an auto accident, you could be subjected to a force equivalent to falling 10 feet, or a 60 feet. Now, the helmet will absorb 6 feet worth of energy... but the rest is on you. Being subjected to being hit and thrown 30 feet... you will most certainly be injured.

Again, I'm not trying to split hairs here. If you want that 6 feet of protection then wear one. I do. But the point is... as this thread has shown, that many believe one should wear a styrofoam cup on their head in traffic and they will be protected from head injury... that is false. If you want to be protected from head injuries involving auto collision, then you should be wearing a motorcycle helmet which is designed for such use.

I wear a helmet because I will take any protection I can get, and the odds are that I will hit my head within the design of the helmet, falling down, minor strike after driver hits breaks, me hitting his windshield...ect.  But I have no illusion of protection from a speeding car which is a very real possibility when ever I ride on public roads. And if you were truly concerned over such an incident... you simply would not ride on public roads instead of strapping a styrofoam cup on your head and assume invisibility.