Myths of Danger

From time to time my Daughter brings up sharks. You know, the kind that are going to bite you in half at the waist. I remind her that there are dangers much closer to home.

Do you know anyone that has been killed in a car accident? Nova Scotian's lost 83 people in road fatalities in 2008. Now that is down from 2007 by 16%, but the numbers are pretty much the same year over year. Allot of people are killed and many more injured in motor vehicle accidents.

People with little experience on bicycles love the drama of saying how dangerous it is to be on a bicycle. But the stats don't prove it out. You still have a much higher risk of dying of heart disease or cancer. So, not getting daily physical exercise is allot more dangerous.

Cause of Death Lifetime Odds

All figures below are for U.S. residents.

The more specific figures are based on 2001, the most recent year for which complete data are available. Other odds, indicated with an asterisk (*) are based on long-term data.

Heart Disease	1-in-5
Cancer	1-in-7
Stroke	1-in-23
Accidental Injury	1-in-36
Motor Vehicle Accident*	1-in-100
Intentional Self-harm (suicide)	1-in-121
Falling Down	1-in-246
Assault by Firearm	1-in-325
Fire or Smoke	1-in-1,116
Natural Forces (heat, cold, storms, quakes, etc.)	1-in-3,357
Electrocution*	1-in-5,000
Drowning	1-in-8,942
Air Travel Accident*	1-in-20,000
Flood* (included also in Natural Forces above)	1-in-30,000
Legal Execution	1-in-58,618
Tornado* (included also in Natural Forces above)	1-in-60,000
Lightning Strike (included also in Natural Forces above)	1-in-83,930
Snake, Bee or other Venomous Bite or Sting*	1-in-100,000
Earthquake (included also in Natural Forces above)	1-in-131,890
Dog Attack	1-in-147,717
Asteroid Impact*	1-in-200,000
Tsunami*	1-in-500,000
Fireworks Discharge	1-in-615,488

Back in the saddle, well, back to Blogging

Late fall has surprised everyone in Halifax with its light touch. Daily highs of 8-10C have been a blessing for cyclists. One of the hazards of cooler weather cycling is the reduced visibility of automobile drivers who have not cleaned off their windshields.

This morning while coming down the ramp to merge onto Hollis street from the Cogswell interchange, a motorist pulled his vehicle out from a parking spot in-front of me. Locking up my rear wheel, I skidded around him, while yelling. Once safely past him, I looked back to see him on his cell phone.

I almost lost my temper, but then I got off my bike and started to walk back. He muttered something about his window being iced up, and realized that I looked like a cop in my yellow windbreaker. I said "And you were on your cellphone" and he drove off. But not before I wrote down his VFF Red license plate number. You know, a Volunteer Fire Fighter should know better than to talk on his phone and drive his car.

Visit My New Blog

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I am currently transitioning off Google services because of privacy concerns. Please visit my new blog.

Thanks!

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Infamous Left Hook

Back on the fixie today after riding the 12 speed for the last three weeks (I blew through three Continental tubes in a week, and just parked it, parting rubber at the valves). Heading North on Chebucto at Oxford, some knob turns left infront of me as I was entering the intersection. Its nice to know that I can brake, maneuver and yell all at the same time. The passenger had curled herself into a ball for the expected collision as the car accelerated out of the intersection. But alas, I was safe.

My headlight was dead today, and I think this re-enforces the idea that headlights in daylight increase your visability. New batteries all around! Its really time to invest in some dynohubs..

Oh, and I took those conti tubes back to MEC.. I am sure Conti tubes were made in Germany last year, but these were all made in Taiwan.

Distance to date: Riding everyday, everywhere, fixed and free.

Its morning in America

Off-topic from cycling news...

I am totally not gaga over Obama, and Keillors article talks about immediate
pardons for Bush and Cheney.. like, war criminals should just be forgotten.
While America maybe jumping with Joy, there are 26 million people living in
an occupied Iraq, many without basic services such as water and electricity.
There are still hundreds of thousands of people who have lost brother, wives,
and daughters to Western Armies in our great colonial expansion into the
less-dark continents.. and as far as I can tell, we still don't have a plan
to extract ourselves in anyway more elegant than Saigon in 1975. Call me a
cynic in these our dark days, but today, even after Obama has been elected
President of the Empire of America, nothing has changed.