PG I've had the same thoughts during the last few years. (will be 72 in April) I was living in a high density area and although my past involvement in motorcycles taught me to anticipate the worst, I was getting less and less comfortable riding on the roads.
I retired last summer and part of the decision to move was to live in a more bike friendly environment. We now live within a mile and a half of a network of Rail Trails. The area is also very bicycle friendly with clearly marked bike lanes in a town that has mandatory traffic stops for pedestrians. I couldn't imagine life without some kind of outdoor exercise. Where I used to live it was difficult finding safe routes but not impossible. As others have said seek out the better roads. If you don't live near paved trails perhaps there are some close enough to drive to and bike from there? Read up on bicycle safety. Use a rear view mirror and lights, know your place in the lane, take "box turns", etc. It's not like it was when we were growing up. Try to make sure drivers see you and anticipate that they won't. Riding smart keeps it fun and enjoyable. -Dan On Thursday, January 30, 2020 at 7:34:28 PM UTC-5, PG wrote: > > I'm turning 67 in a week, and haven't ridden in a couple of months. The > last time out, a woman blew a stop sign at an intersection -- presumably > while texting, base on her body language -- and if I'd been 100 feet closer > to the intersection, I would have been creamed. I shook for a couple of > days afterwards, and haven't been motivated to go out since. As with most > of us, this isn't an isolated incident. > > My instinct is to quit riding. A couple things are behind that. Because of > my age, my reflexes, depth perception, and general eyesight are in decline. > > I only ride on the road, as mountain and trail riding don't appeal to me. > I guess I could start spinning at home to keep my fitness level up. > > I know the odds are that I will be fine, but even a minor accident would > take months to recover from. A major accident could result in permanent > damage. > > Am I overreacting? It's been several months and I've had no urge to ride > again. > > > Paul > -- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "RBW Owners Bunch" group. To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an email to rbw-owners-bunch+unsubscr...@googlegroups.com. To view this discussion on the web visit https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/rbw-owners-bunch/357a3534-707f-45b6-b93e-d9d442df1755%40googlegroups.com.
