What do you say when...
Originally Posted by
wphamilton
How do you respond to people who tell you, "I'm worried about you out there on a bike with all those crazy drivers and drunks?".
My adult son, starting to get more into commuting, asked me this weekend...
My first thought was you don't have to say anything - it's none of their business and they don't know anything about it if it was. But maybe a young guy, 21, can't get by with that as easily and needs to respond to that (passive aggressive commentary).
I settled on just shrug and say "works for me", and leave it at that unless they get obnoxious, although a snarky comeback is tempting.
How do you respond?
Since I was hit from behind with six weeks hospitalization three months off work,
I’m a poster boy for those concerns, I have posted:
Originally Posted by
Jim from Boston
...Personally, I find any discussions about cycling with motorists futile, especially those exchanged while en route, often with hostility.
When off the bike, e.g. at work they are usually pleasant, but vacuous, for example when I’m called a saint. When they complain, it’s often about cyclists riding two or more abreast, no lights, ninjas, etc…valid complaints IMO.
The most antagonistic remarks though that I try to assuage are taunts about what it would do to the driver if they hit me, most often spoken on the Winter when streets are icy or narrowed by snowbanks.
I learned my response from a long-ago thread, “When does Hardcore become Stupid?”
Originally Posted by
StephenH
Hardcore becomes stupid when it becomes dangerous...
In each case, it's not just the weather that makes it hardcore or stupid, it's the degree of preparation and knowledge used in dealing with the weather.
and
Originally Posted by
Reynolds
I just say "
It's not as dangerous as it looks from the outside".
Originally Posted by
Jim from Boston
...Of course I contend with their fears using many of those talking points as mentioned above.
One soft argument I read on Bikeforums is that cycling in traffic really does look dangerous to car drivers ensconced in their vehicles. Personally I feel pretty safe, well-lit, with unlimited vision with mirrors, and pretty nimble on my bike.
Nonetheless, I’m totally attentive to the cars around me, and I have a number of safety aphorisms in my mind to keep me alert (e.g., “Like a weapon, consider every stopped car loaded, with an occupant ready to exit (from either side).”).
Once though, I was standing on a busy intersection (Massachusetts and Commonwealth Aves) one Saturday night watching some happy-go-lucky student-type cyclists on Hubway Bike Share bikes, no helmets, riding along and laughing in traffic, and I thought to myself that really does look dangerous. 
Finally however, I have posted on several threads, even as a cycling advocate:
Originally Posted by
Jim from Boston
Frankly, I have posted that I would not be inclined to encourage, unless by example (nor discourage) someone to cycle-commute, but if they so chose, I would freely and gladly give any advice...
Public exhortations to cycle-commute, or utility cycle are well and good with no individual responsibility for bad outcomes, but I would not want the recriminations of a personal endorsement if something bad happened...
FWW, I’m not advocatin’ against, just sayin’ 