You say this in jest, but depending on your locale and transport needs, you could consider a motorcycle or bicycle. The interface is a bit like riding a horse, just more 21st century (obviously).
Modern bikes come with ABS and fuel injection, and tires these days are great. Motorcycles don't come with any of the annoying road-car nanny-state stuff. Riding a bike is cool too.
This would be a dream.
I live in a reasonably deserted/seasonal neighbourhood, so it has a neat 2-lane divided avenue down the middle, but it is usually very empty (a car maybe every minute).
This doesn't mean I can ride anywhere but the very edge of the asphalt, almost tripping my pedals on the sidewalk rise (I forget the word in English), since drivers love to pick up some speed in the avenue and drive at frankly disrespectfully close distances, even though they could have almost entire lane of distance to a cyclist.
> This would be a dream.
Or the kind of urban nightmare where motorcycles (sorry, battery assisted bicycles) are rushing down sidewalks at 20 mph, barely missing baby carriages, dogs, and other humans.
The curb?
There is no truth to this: First, riding a horse is a _cooperative_ enterprise. You have to communicate with another living being and convince it to do what you want. It is not just a matter of pull one way to go in that direction. Second, the horse has a survival instinct. With good communication that instinct is lined up with your desires. A motorcycle, on the other hand, does not care whether it or you survive anything.
I am far from being a competent rider, but I'd rather be on a horse.
The wife and I enjoyed a tourist horse ride. Because of my motorcycle past time I was assigned "the fast horse".
The enjoyable leisurely ride out only had a minor disagreement regards a path shortcut under a low hanging branch.
The ride back included a gallop in shallow lake waters.
Apoplectically incompetent I hung on for dear life trying to balance standing crouched in the stirrups while we proceeded to overtake everyone thanks to the horses own plan.
Thankfully the lead guide called forwards telling it to slow and it was someone else who fell off into the shallow water as we came to a stop.
I am far from being a competent rider - either horse or motorbike - but I'd rather be calling the shots!
To each their own. :-)
With a horse, you get to communicate and convince. Also, stretching your legs and not squeezing would help.
> To each their own. :-)
Definitely.
Which is still, while perhaps not as “atrocious” as plural “orders of magnitude”, without doubt something people considering riding bikes be fully aware of and prepared to accept the risk/consequences of.
I personally believe you can manage that risk. But I might be bullshitting myself because I want to ride because I enjoy it a lot. 32 years and approaching 1 million km on the bikes I own with my most serious injury being a dislocated shoulder is a fun/consequence ratio I’m happy enough to live with. (I suspect my decision there might be different if I had children or other similar responsibilities…)
Risk management is a personal thing. If you are lax about it, expect lax outcomes - which explains a proportion of the 10x worse figure, but not all of it clearly. Some risks you can't mitigate much and humans with a metal shield around them are predictably better off.
Regards kids... I gave up my bike for $$$ to move cities. Upon first kid birth, I bought another bike off a guy who was giving it up because his wife was having a kid.
My friends joked that it was clear his wife loved him more than mine loved me. :-P
But I missed riding, my wife has no issue and the logistics justified the cost. I am still wanting to add ride cameras though.
Enjoy! Best wishes for safe riding.