I used to bike to work daily in Manhattan for years—rain or shine for two hours or more daily. Drivers really don’t want to hit you. It’s a headache even if t

I used to bike to work daily in Manhattan for years—rain or shine for two hours or more daily. Drivers really don’t want to hit you. It’s a headache even if the driver doesn’t get charged, and experience bears this out; it’s also not enough. What kept me alive while weaving through traffic with zero incident was going on two facts: I’m much harder to spot than another car; I’m as good as dead if I put myself in certain split-second-decision situations. So I biked assuming the cars don’t see me until I’m certain they did. Constant split second adjustments and verifying on my part. It was one-part thrilling and one-part exhausting. Based on this experience I see way too many cyclists making questionable choices. The real option for the regular cyclists is to make separate, cyclist-friendly roads but there doesn’t seem to be any appetite for this; and there would be idiots riding with heavy, fully motorized bikes that police wouldn’t be able to catch.