Riding a bike does not have to be as dangerous as it is in most places in the United States.
Here[1] is an interesting video on how the Dutch got their bicycle paths.
From the intro:
"The Netherlands has the world's largest number of cyclists, but it is also the safest place in the world to cycle. That is largely because of the perfect cycling infrastructure that can be found throughout the country. How did the Dutch get this network of high quality cycle paths?"