I will never make this decision, even after what happened last Saturday. If my DH had not stopped to use the porta potty, we may have well been in the group that was hit. My little crash caused more damage to my bike than me, and while I'm sore, I made it a priority to get right back on my bike. I did a fast, short ride with DH Wed. afternoon and this morning we took a very early, short ride at about 5:15 AM, getting back at 6:00.
If I made the decision not to ride on the road, I would have nowhere to ride. There are 2 bike paths within 10 miles of my house. One is the most crowded trail in the country; it's mostly a commuting trail, but even midday, on a Wednesday, it's busy. That's an 8 mile road ride to the start. The other is about 5-6 miles away and while not crowded, at least some of the time, there are 2 weird road crossings in a busy area that I hate. I feel safer on the road, as I've had close calls and verbal altercations on both of these trails. Plus, I find riding the same route over and over is extremely boring. I have a few short routes I do, like this morning or when I am squeezing in a ride during the week and I have to vary them. I have a friend who has a second home on the Cape and she rides the Cape Cod Rail Trail (early in the AM) like 3-4X a week. I couldn't do that.
I am not giving in to fear or crazies. The more people out there, the more aware others will become.