I'm sorry you got hurt in such a traumatic way. Thank God you are alive! It just wasn't your time to go, that's for sure. You have some nice paved trails down near you- maybe you'll feel more comfortable riding them while you recover.

People ask that question "Is it worth dying for?" about a lot of sports. Truth is, you're probably more likely to die in a car accident, but are you going to give up driving?

(Not to mention, I started riding seriously partially in an attempt to lose weight. I was _one point_ away fro being diagnosed with diabetes. To me, that's like a death sentence. So what's riskier, quitting healthy exercise and staying home, or being out there, with some measure of risk?)

I was afraid to ride on the road for a long time. I still don't think it's safe, but I do what I can to minimize the danger- wear a mirror so I can see what's coming up behind me, keep a close eye on any traffic, etc. I used to only ride paved trails, but then I wanted to ride every night, and I just couldn't drive 40 miles every night to go ride. So I was forced out on the road.

I get off highly trafficked roads ASAP and choose other routes. I try to ride when there isn't as much traffic. I try to ride roads with better bike lanes/more room.

Still, your accident was caused by failure of other riders to relay information. That's a problem when you are riding in a group of strangers- you can't predict their behaviour. It probably wouldn't have happened if you had been out by yourself- you would have had plenty of time to see the obstacle and act accordingly. _But_, if you don't know how the people you are riding with will act in terms of informing you about road debris, potholes, sand, etc, then you need to drop back to where you can see for yourself and have sufficient reaction time.

I don't know...I'd be scared, too, if I were in your situation.

I posted a brochure about bike safety for law enforcement that had some statistics about how many cyclists were involved in accidents, and in those accidents, who was at fault, the car or the cyclist, and of those accidents, what the mortality rate is. It really isn't as dangerous as you think, but any cycling death gets a lot of notice, or we cyclists tend to notice it more. But it wasn't the car's fault that it almost hit you, in fact that driver should be commended for being able/aware enough to avoid you!! So there are some good drivers out there.

Nanci