Quote:
Originally Posted by Guy Incognito
i realise that i am going to lose a lot of the small amount of man points that i have but you are all fucking mental.
I respect your bravery and love of the thrill, i get all that but being in control of a big ass bike is not something i would ever want or enjoy.
Serious questions: does it not constantly worry you that you are more likely to have an accident than a motorist or that you are less protected? Does thinking about being safe lessen the enjoyment of it? Doesnt the restriction of most roads frustrate?
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Honestly, it can get scary and it is a dangerous way to travel (where I am). But I stay as safe as I can, bordering on paranoid. It's a dense city, so traffic is never really going so fast that you'd be critically injured if hit.
The risk is somewhat thrilling, I feel very empowered. Getting from place to place with my own energy, feeling strong. Especially since I started riding year round. I took the past 10 days off because it was below freezing and quite icy, but I rode about 10 miles last night. Still some ice and snow, but pretty clear roads. I have kevlar tires, and they're really grippy, I was nervous because they have no tread, but the flat smooth surface actually works better in slick conditions.
Plus it's like, okay, I could've taken a cab to the show I went to last night, would've taken 20 minutes would've cost $15 or so...or I could've taken two trains for $2.25, 45 minutes to an hour travel time, plus about a half mile of walking. Or, I could walk out my door with my bike and get to the show in a half hour for free and also have a ride home. Fashion choices are limited of course, but I make it work.
Biking gets easier and more enjoyable with practice. My bike is not very big and pretty simple to operate. The key is finding one that fits. My mom never rides her bike, I tried to ride it and it was like pedaling through molasses. I keep trying to tell her that the bike sucks, but she just thinks I'm a snob. heh. Maybe I'll buy her a good bike for her birthday so she will listen to me for god damn once. :P