Limits - Intertwingled: Information Changes Everything - page 109

bumped into this realization a few years ago while trying to better my health. It all began with a
Sunday morning ride on the Potawatomi trail. I was rolling down a hill when my front tire hit a
root. My bike and I flipped end over end until the trail hit my back. Lucky to escape with
bruised ribs, I decided trails were too risky, so I shifted my rides to roads. A few weeks later, I
was hit by a car. It wasn't a bad accident. Only my bike was hurt. But it sure got my attention.
I'd been enjoying my rides, but my overall goal was health. Is it safe to ride a bike? I needed to
answer that question.
It took hours of searching, reading, and thinking to reach a conclusion. First, I had to figure out
the politics. Cyclists and environmental groups have made “bike to work” into a movement. Cit-
ies around the country are building bike lanes and bike share systems. This is an exciting step to-
wards a healthier society, but the interests of the individual and the community aren't always
aligned. And the commitments to cycling that people and politicians have made has created a
powerful, cultural bias. The media repeats “cycling is safe” like a mantra, but is this the truth, or
is it the result of cultural self-justification and the manufacture of consent?
Popular articles were no good. I had to dig for statistics. I also realized I had to be realistic. Do
you ride on trails, sidewalks, or streets? Do you live in Amsterdam or New York? Do you wear a
helmet? How often do you drink, text and ride? No statistical sources isolate these variables, so
there's no answer to my question. I set my sights lower, asking “Is it safe for me to train for
triathlons by riding the roads of my community?”
The evidence suggests the answer is “No.” In the United States, motor vehicle crashes are a lead-
ing cause of death. On a per trip basis, for adults age 25 to 64, riding a bike is four times more
deadly . cxli By my calculations, each trip is relatively safe. I'm not afraid of riding to work on a
whim. But if I routinely ride on the road for years, there's a good chance I'll be hit.
Figure 5-10. The probability of death per trip.
If I had to choose between road cycling and never cycling, I might take the risk, since I'm safer
on a bike than on a couch. Low fitness is the single strongest predictor of death. Exercise lowers
the risk of heart disease, diabetes, cancer, asthma, arthritis, anxiety, and the flu. cxlii But I'm lucky
to live in a town with a dedicated bike path. Now that's the only place I ride.
It began with a map and vision of a 35 mile border-to-border trail along the river. Today it's a
reality that connects communities and protects people. Behavior is shaped by the context we cre-
ate. What we build changes who we become. But we often don't know what to build. We're bet-