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Comment by atsaloli | Hacker News Reader

I don't bike in Los Angeles because I have a family to provide for and I don't think it is safe at all. I do live close to work and I walk to work, because I like to keep a small footprint from both an economic (my expenditures) and environmental perspective; but my work is moving for the 2nd time in 8 years and it is not convenient to move house to follow it.

I do wish I could bike to work but I just don't feel safe. If there was a bike lane all the way to work, I'd feel safe enough to bike it.

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Biking is a safe activity –– very safe in fact. Good route selection is a big part of making it part of one's lifestyle.

Sometimes it's nice to have some strength in numbers; can you commute in with a coworker?

"In 2011, an estimated 48,000 pedalcyclists were injured in motor vehicle traffic crashes. Sixteen percent (or an estimated 8,000) of the pedalcyclists who were injured were age 14 and younger."

677 bicycle deaths vs 230 deaths for those walking. Interestingly many more pedestrians were injured than pedalcyclists injured in that same time period.

source: http://www-nrd.nhtsa.dot.gov/pubs/811767.pdf

If I was willing to risk biking to work, going with a buddy would be nicer. I just don't like the risk of body versus car.

If there were dedicated bike lanes going to work, I'd be in them.

As it is, I walk or take my car.

It's not as safe as driving.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Micromort

To say that it's safe on average is not the same thing as saying it's safe in Los Angeles. Biking is not safe in most of Los Angeles.

Where do you work? I live in LA and bike to work every day, but I live 3 miles away from work in Santa Monica.

I would never consider biking downtown, at least not yet.

I live and work in Burbank. I just don't like the risk of a soft human body on a bicycle colliding with a multi-ton car.

That might be something very difficult to rationalize away. Being an active cyclist is to be cognizant of the risks and minimize those risks (i.e. ride assertively on safe streets, use lights, etc.), while also utilizing a little cognitive dissonance.

I ride between 5,000-10,000 miles a year. I've had several crashes due to my own fault or other cyclists' faults in races. I've also been hit once and suffered a very minor broken wrist that healed in three weeks. I am pretty lucky.

Some of my friends have been in crashes with cars and they are all fine. It was scary at the moment and they got hurt, with some injuries such as a broken collarbones, but they're all still riding and healthy today.

Of course, they all LOVE riding bikes. If you don't love to ride bikes, it's tough to "get on that horse after it bucks you off," so to speak.

Right. Your reply only confirmed my reluctance. =) I don't have that LOVE for the bike, I think you're right, that's an important point.

I want a pony. =)

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