Good work – good on you! We tend to forget that the great infrastructure we see did not just “happen” – it’s the result of hard work by dedicated volunteers like you. Thank you :)

Average Joe and Maggie, hello!

I’m one of the many Montréalais et Montréalaises who have been fighting for decades for the network of bicycle paths and lanes you have observed. We have won a lot of infrastructure to “eliminate the danger at the source”, but there is a long way to go.

Hi Kyle, thanks for contributing to the conversation and for making some good points. I am confused though – when you say “for anyone to advocate for helmet mandation because of a serious incident is inappropriate. Please don’t use emotional arguments to convey messages about helmet laws” – are you lecturing me personally, or just making a general point? If it’s a general point, I could not agree more – but if you are lecturing me, please check back to what I wrote in the post – I am saying that I personally will be wearing my helmet, and that I personally think they keep people safer – but that is an awfully long way away from campaigning for mandatory helmet laws! I am completely opposed to those, and in fact believe that if Vancouver continues to have those, it will kill the new bike share program – apart from the broader and more serious problem that such laws are proven to discourage cycling in general, hence being detrimental to health instead of promoting health. Just last week I was not even sure whether I wanted to wear my own helmet, so please don’t accuse me of being part of a bunch of pro-helmet-law campaigners … if that’s what you were doing.

I am glad to hear that you were fine after the incident, but for anyone to advocate for helmet mandation because of a serious incident is inappropriate. Please don’t use emotional arguments to convey messages about helmet laws.

Because the stats show, that riding a bike is EXTREMELY safe, and that the goal is to get people on bikes. Helmet laws do not do that, they discourage cycling.

Everyone knows that you are more likely to be killed in a car than any other place. So why are there no laws to make people wear helmets in cars? Simple – because that would remind people that cars are dangerous, and big business does not want that, because they want people to spend money on cars, gas, insurance, roads, etc. But if were logical, we would never get in a car without strapping on full face helmets. Maybe body armor as well!

Thanks VBG :) I hope that is my last accident too. it was my 2nd time over the handlebars and I did not enjoy it any more the 2nd time. But I did find the response of other cyclists heart warming too!

THANK you Ray! I have packed spare batteries as well after that experience. I am impressed by the miles you have logged, I will get there one day :)

Great to hear from you again Graeme :) I remember you talking about that accident before. I am in the process of examining light systems too. More and more electric bikes are coming out with integrated light systems, but this has not caught on with regular bikes yet. I bet it will in time though …

I could not agree more that it focuses attention in the wrong place. I feel it is just an excellent cop-out to avoid spending money on the safe infrastructure we need, and to point a finger of blame at cyclists instead of facing the economic reality that motorists get more infrastructure for their tax dollars than cyclists do.

Hi Melanie, nice to hear from you. Sounds like a horrible accident – I am glad you had the courage to come back – I sometimes wonder if I would. Maggie has commuted by bike for a total of about 6 weeks in her entire life, and has flipped over the handlebars TWICE in that time (both at the age of over 50, when these kinds of acrobatics become that much more risky). I have commuted by bike for a total of about 12 YEARS in my life, and have never yet flipped over the handlebars, nor had any kind of accident worth mentioning. I LIKE to think it is because I am a better cyclist (I am a man after all, and my ego gets in the way of reality once in a while). But the truth is that a) I have been LUCKY as hell and b) my wife is much more courageous and daring than I am! I often tell her she has the knees of a 10-year-old boy (slim and covered with scrapes, bumps and bruises from all her escapades!) While I on the other hand have the knees of a middle aged man, which is not nearly such a good thing to have!

Very interesting that the EMTs were so thankful that you had your helmet on. I think those people would make some very interesting contributions to the helmet debate if they were asked. Obviously they see some pretty horrific sights. I remember I once dated a nurse and she used to get furious whenever she saw people not wearing seat belts – because she was one of the people who had to deal with the horrifying aftermath of people who had flown through windscreens face-first. She said that was one of the most awful sights a person could ever see – people with their faces shredded to ribbons, who could have been intact if they had just buckled on a seat belt. She told me about that 30 years ago and I have not forgotten her words to this day – it was just so chilling and graphic. We seldom think about what people such as EMTs and nurses go through on a daily basis, dealing with the aftermath of accidents, and I can see why preventable harm would upset them.

Thanks for the input on lights – sounds like you have found a couple of good ones, especially the front light. Those Niteriders are not cheap, though! However, life is not cheap either – I think lighting is an area where money should be no object …