Emily,

I initially read of your accident on GirlBike.Com and immediately had all of my fears about crashing justified. Unleashed dogs have been my number one fear and complaint since I started riding. I live in a pretty small town in rural TN and there are lots of country roads that make for beautiful rides around here. Only problem is that there are lots of backwoods people who get these HUGE, nasty, mean dogs and let them run wild. It isn't often that my husband and I go for a ride that we aren't chased by at least 10 dogs. Thankfully, most of them are easily swayed to back off with a loud and firm "GIT! GO HOME!". But then you always have the persistent snapping-at-your-heels dogs that you can't shake and terrify you to death. And as much as I hate to admit it, it's the thought of How many dogs are on our route today? that sometimes makes me NOT want to ride my bike. Which just plain ... SUCKS!

I truly do wish you a safe and speedy recovery. And I hope that you can overcome the fear of riding the roads again. I like what nuthatch said about approaching riding in a way that will "give your heart a lift without all the worry". Sounds good to me.

Best wishes to you.