Do you get annoyed...

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swee'pea99

Legendary Member
Maizie said:
perhaps the direct risks for cars are smaller (i.e. less chance of injury in an accident), but I can't think of many (any?) health benefits to driving. Therefore, a car drivers benefits are a lot less than 20 times the risk.
Surely not. If you compare the stats, your risk of being injured/seriously injured/killed is massively higher in a car. There were some numbers listed hereabouts recently that were on fatalities on London roads overa five year period and IIRC those for car bods exceeded those for cycle-bods by a factor of over 100 to 1.

I'm pretty sure you're bang on in saying there are no health benefits to driving tho'.
 

ColinJ

Puzzle game procrastinator!
When I talk to my cycling pals, I always feel a bit lazy compared to them. I probably do about 3,000 miles a year on my bikes but many of them are doing 8,000+ miles.

It's a different story talking to non-cyclists though... Yes, they think that riding 5 or 6 miles is a big deal. As for riding over the kind of hills we have round here in Yorkshire - they think that I'm mad (especially because I'm a bit of a lardy lad).

In June 2007 I cycled down to Coventry to visit my mother. I had to ride over some tough Yorkshire hills to get to Holmfirth, then I tackled Holme Moss, Snake Pass and the entire length of the Peak District. After that I passed through parts of Staffordshire, then North Warwickshire before finally turning up at about 20:00. My mother's carer had just arrived and as I walked into the house with my bike she turned to me and said "Oh hi Colin - I see you've brought your bike down on the train for this visit." (She knows that I don't drive.) "No I haven't!" "She laughed - "What's that then, a pair of roller skates!" "No, it's a bicycle but it didn't come down on the train!"

She looked really gobsmacked. "What... you rode it down... from Yorkshire... how far is that!"

"About 140 miles, and 13,000 feet of hills!"

I tried explaining that anybody in reasonable health could do that if they put their mind to it and spent a few months building up the necessary fitness, but she wouldn't have it. I think most people are completely unaware of their own potential and that's why we get these "You did what!" comments.
 

marinyork

Resting in suspended Animation
Location
Logopolis
I think you're a good rider ColinJ, it's why I've not come on any of your rides (apart from when the car was broken into when I couldn't).
 

ColinJ

Puzzle game procrastinator!
marinyork said:
I think you're a good rider ColinJ, it's why I've not come on any of your rides (apart from when the car was broken into when I couldn't).
Fitness is relative...

This year, I've ridden with PaulB, goodspeed, Calum, trio25, Bokonon, colly, longers, Svendo, Blonde, amrushton and Alun off CycleChat. (Apologies to anyone I've overlooked!) I don't Alun would mind me saying that we are both at about the same level - getting fitter, but still overweight. The other riders are much fitter than us and always have to wait for us on the hills when we ride together. Despite that, the fact is that Alun and I are still much fitter than your average man (or woman) in the street.

As for my rides - they only tend to average about 10-11 mph once stops are taken into account. You'd be welcome to join us for one.
 

Maizie

Veteran
Location
NE Hertfordshire
[quote name='swee'pea99']Surely not. If you compare the stats, your risk of being injured/seriously injured/killed is massively higher in a car. There were some numbers listed hereabouts recently that were on fatalities on London roads overa five year period and IIRC those for car bods exceeded those for cycle-bods by a factor of over 100 to 1.[/quote]

In absolute numbers, yes, car driving is much more dangerous than bike riding. But I don't know what it does if you measure it in "death/injuries per journey" or "deaths/injuries per mile" or "death/injuries per road user of that type".

I work in a medical-affiliated field, surrounded by statisticians and data scientists. So I concentrated on the 'benefits' side, rather than the 'risks', as I know if I'm going to go down the 'statistically speaking...' route, I had better be darn sure I'm right :smile: Definitely the health benefits of car driving aren't 20 times that of the risks, whatever the actual quantifiable risks/benefits are relative to cycling!
 

yenrod

Guest
>Do you get annoyed......with people cooing about how far you ride

MOSTLY ITS ME GOING ON ABOUT HOW FAR I HAVE GONE AND THE REACTION IS = 'OH'....

:smile:
 
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