An Interesting Two Wheel Ask MetaFilter Question

realpseudonym asks: Is it safer to do a 5 mile commute on city streets on a bicycle or a motorcycle? on Ask MetaFilter.

Let's say we have a 5 mile commute along fairly busy 4 lane city streets. Cars are parked on the curbs on both sides of the streets. Some of the streets are very commercial with cars coming in and out of driveways. There are city buses.

Assume that I am a perfect driver, and that accidents only happen because somebody doesn't see me or sees me and misjudges how close they are to me.

Am I safer riding a motorcycle with full safety gear (going up to 35 mph) or riding a bicycle with only a bicycle helmet (up to 15 mph)?

My first thought was that the bicycle is obviously safer because of the lower speeds involved. On the other hand, I thought the motorcycle might be safer because you move at the same speed as traffic; whereas on the bike, angry drivers will constantly be trying to pass you.

All other things being equal, it is an interesting question and one that I don't think has a perfect answer.

I'm both a biker and a cyclist. I ride a streetbike and an off-road bicycle primarily. Yes, I do ride my bicycle on the street but not as a general rule. I either ride to a trail or am crossing a road to get back onto a trail.

My quick response to this is the motorcycle because I have far more control over a less controllable environment on my motorcycle on the street than I do with my bicycle. In the woods, I have yet to see a tree jump into my path. I have yet to have a branch suddenly appear and knock me off my bike.

I think a motorcycle is probably going to be safer on the commute. Now keep in mind that this question doesn't ask about total cost of ownership or anything but the factor of safety in doing one or the other over the same stretch of road.

If the question were framed differently, say that the commute was the same length but the bicycle was able to make the journey through a park system without other vehicles then the bike wins hands down since it is far harder to get run over when there aren't any cars around.

I'm interested in what other cyclists might think about this question given the framing. Please reply in the comments.

A Dozen Deadly Motorcycle Safety Myths Busted

A Dozen Deadly Motorcycle Safety Myths with my comments for flavor..

These are all expanded upon in the link above but here's the rundown:
Myth 1: Other Drivers Don't Care About Motorcyclists - Actually, other drivers don't care about other drivers either so its not really any big news.
Myth 2: Loud Pipes Save Lives - The only way loud pipes would work as a safety feature is if they faced forward and then the bike would look ridiculous, breathe like crap and probably still offer no greater safety. Loud pipes annoy people, period.
Myth 3: Motorcycle Helmets Break Necks - And seat belts break sternums if the impact is hard enough. If your neck is going to get broken by your helmet whipping around then you have almost no chance of survival in the first place.
Myth 4: Helmets Block Your Ability to See or Hear Danger - You can hear a car that's about to hit you? No, you can see them and that's why situational awareness is so important. Keep your head on a swivel and know what's going on around you, your helmet is no impediment to using your senses at all.
Myth 5: A Helmet Won't Help in Most Crashes - Um, what? I've been three motorcycle accidents over the last 20+ years of riding. If I'd not had a helmet on in any of them, I'd be a vegetable. At best.
Myth 6: A Helmet Will Leave You Brain Damaged in an Crash When You Would Have Simply Died - More likely you will be paralyzed and alive instead of being dead because your head will not have been crushed.
Myth 7: A Skilled Rider Should Be Able to Handle Almost Any Situation - A skilled rider is prepared, a skilled rider is dressed properly, a skilled rider wears a helmet because he/she knows that you can't control every situation. Accidents can and do happen and it is far, far better to be prepared for the worst than to hope for the best.
Myth 8: If You Are Going to Crash, Lay It Down - If you lay it down then you have crashed. Simple as that. Bike brakes slow you down far more effectively than sliding on your side.
Myth 9: One Beer Won't Hurt - Legal limits mean nothing, if alcohol impairs your senses then it can be the difference between crashing and having your wits about you enough to avoid it in the first place.
Myth 10: It's Better to Stay in Your Lane than Split Lanes - If I couldn't split lanes then I might as well drive my car for all the good it does.
Myth 11: I'm Safer on the Street than on an Interstate - The interstate has everyone going the same direction, streets have side streets, traffic entering and exiting and all kinds of other distractions and obstructions. This one is just stupid.
Myth 12: A Skilled Rider Can Stop Better with Conventional Brakes than with Anti-Lock Brakes - Anti-lock brakes pulse far, far faster than any human could ever think to pump their brakes. There's a reason every single test shows anti-lock brakes annihilate conventional brakes. Not only for braking distance but maintaining control during the hard braking.

Ibis and Fat Cyclist Work Together To Fight Cancer

From today's Ibis Cycles Newsletter:

We've got a lot of Ibis news coming at you very soon, but we wanted to send this news as a stand-alone newsletter so it doesn't get lost in the shuffle. It has a lot to do with bikes and Ibis, so please read on.

Many of you may know about our good friend Elden Nelson. He writes a very popular and funny blog called Fat Cyclist. Unlike many blogs, Elden's has a purpose, and that is to fight cancer.

Elden lost his wife Susan to cancer this year. It was a very long and difficult, tear-jerking battle that he chronicled beautifully in his blog. She was young and they have 4 kids.

However, Elden spent no time feeling sorry for himself. Even before Susan's death, he put his energy into fundraising efforts that benefit cancer research. As we write this, this year "Team Fatty" has raised $695,290.00 for the Lance Armstrong Foundation -- a record amount. We think that's an incredible accomplishment.

Last year Ibis helped him raise $40,000.00 by raffling off a Silk SL road bike. All of that money went to the Lance Armstrong Foundation. Every penny. This year we're doing it again, but a little differently.

We at Ibis appreciate your attention to this. It's for a very good cause, cancer affects all of us.
Raffle Details

* Winner chooses any complete Ibis he or she wants. Choose from:
o Mojo SL
o Hakkalügi
o Tranny
o Silk SL
* Choose your size and color too.
* The winner also gets a ride with Elden "Fatty" Nelson, Scot "Chuck Ibis" Nicol and our super duper special guest, Andy Hampsten.
* Winner then gets a plane flight from wherever they are to wherever we collectively decide we want to ride, as long as both are in the US of A.
* This raffle is only open until midnight (Mountain time) Tuesday, Oct 20.
* Raffle tickets are $5 each. That's all. The more you enter the greater your chance of winning.

You can read a lot more (and funnier) information about the raffle on Elden's site.

Chuck even spewed a bit about it.

If you could (after you personally donate), please spread the word to your friends, co-workers, fellow slackers and maybe any websites, twitter, facebook, blogs or wherever else you feel people might like hearing this story and be willing to help.

Don't leave it up to others to donate. Do it yourself and pass along the word.

DONATE

Not Convinced? Look at the Bikes the winner will get to choose.

MTB: The Ibis Mojo SL


Road: The Ibis Silk SL


MTB: The Ibis Tranny


Cross: The Ibis Hakkalügi


Convinced now?
DONATE

Which is to say, for a mere $5 that you were probably going to waste at Starbucks, you can enter into a raffle for a fantastic cause with a chance to win a fantastic bike of your choice. This is what is called a win-win situation. I know what bike I'm hoping to be able to choose with my donation. What about you?

Cycling for change: After-school program helping thousands of Pajaro Valley children get fit

Cycling for change: After-school program helping thousands of Pajaro Valley children get fit.

Stephen Alfred seems to be making the most of some forced downtime from his racing career by working to impart some of his love of the sport of bicycling to local kids.

Regardless of his suspension, the program he is working in the Pajaro Valley Unified School District is a good one.

While the linked article may make some data mangling conclusions about the rates of obesity here and elsewhere, the underlying fact is that kids these days do not get enough exercise. And many kids don't grow up riding bikes as we did when we were young. Two things that add up to unhealthy children.

Not only is it long term cost effective to get kids healthier now, it is better for their mental and emotional development as well.

I wish I had some extra time to volunteer to work with him and his program.

Update: As BicycleDudeGuy points out, the linked article above is out of date and, about one year after the first article was published, Stephen Alfred received a lifetime ban from the sport of cycling. Regardless of the professional issues he has faced, I really like what he is doing in the school system and hope he is able to instill some of the passion for cycling that he has had.

The Cruzbike Silvio - A Racing Recumbent with Standard Parts

The Cruzbike Silvio - form and function in a front wheel drive

For many, the words “recumbent bicycle” conjure the image of a strange-looking vehicle with the rider set low to the ground achieving less than remarkable speeds. That perception could well become a thing of the past with the Cruzbike Silvio, the world’s only recumbent racing bike that is not only fully compatible with road bike components, but aims to eliminate many health problems associated with standard cycling.

Um yeah, this thing may alleviate genital numbness but is not going to, in any way, shape or form, going to alleviate the image of recumbents as strange looking vehicles. This looks stranger than most recumbents. I do like that it works with standard off the shelf parts. But I'm not going to be running out to get one anytime soon either way.