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Question about your safety while out in the countryside

Sometimes I think I should have been an orchestra conductor. (who also likes riding)
 
As counter-intuitive it may sound, the couch is more likely to kill you than being on a bicycle. Cardiovascular diseases and cancer kill more people in developed countries than anything else. Cycling considerably lowers those risks. That more than compensates for the accident risks.
You don't have to convince me, I am totally on your side. :)
My point was much more nuanced: there are a lot of studies, e. g. about the efficacy of helmet laws, which weigh the positive impact, say, helmets have in case of accidents with the negative health effects due to people having less activity. It is important to keep in mind that we (= serious cyclists) are not a representative sample, and helmets are much more important for us because we move at much higher speeds than the average cyclist.
 
Sometimes I think I should have been an orchestra conductor. (who also likes riding)
If you think that's a safe pursuit, check out the story of Jean-Baptiste Lully.
 
I really need to remember to buy cycling insurance...

Edit: Just bought some insurance....hopefully I won't have to use it.
 
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Sorry to the OP to add a downer post injury tangent to the weird crimes topic, but I'd also remind people to get traveler's insurance when you travel and cycle out of Japan (especially to the US)... The three days of trauma center and ICU care to keep me alive after my last collision was $140k+ USD. That's after my insurance company negotiated the cost down, and before any of the multiple neck and nerve transfer surgeries or post accident care... The notion of "museigen"/unlimited liability that's common in Japan simply do not exist here.... For example, the minimum bodily injury liability coverage drivers need in California is $15k per person/death (and about $20k in many states)... Also, for any of you repatriating back to the US or might have a car (and auto insurance) in the US - PLEASE maximize your uninsured motorist coverage to the hilt, and get a rider to connect this to your umbrella policy if you have one. In addition to uninsured motorists, this can kick in if the person that hits you is underinsured.
 
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I assume the only reason "unlimited" insurance exists in Japan and is relatively cheap is because there's very, very little chance of a settlement over a few tens of millions of yen, whereas in America...
 
The three days of trauma center and ICU care to keep me alive after my last collision was $140k+ USD. That's after my insurance company negotiated the cost down, and before any of the multiple neck and nerve transfer surgeries or post accident care...

People in three quarters of the OECD countries enjoy a higher average life expectancy at birth than people in the US, despite the US spending about twice as much per head on health care as most other rich nations. Non-coverage is by design.
 
Granted, living where I do (Aomori City, Aomori Pref.) the traffic situation is quite different than in or around Tokyo, but, in my twenty years cycling here I think I can count on one hand the number of close passes I've had. By comparison, I go home to the States (Oregon) for a couple of weeks every couple of years. And in my home town there, or either of my brothers' places out of Seattle, WA, or Sisters, OR, just in those occasional two week trips I've had way more in Japan. Not to mention the idiot that pulled over and started "rolling coal" on us one time.

Where as here, I'm not sure I've ever really had a serious problem that freaked me out on the road. A frustrating run in with the police in one small town, a couple of close passes, but that's about it. In general it's been 99.99% positive. I've gotten tons of free drinks, and ice cream. And one time after a truly horrid spring ride saw me get three flats in about an hour, an old guy in a kei tora pulled over on his way home from fishing and gave me a lift back to my car since I was in an area with no cell phone coverage.

As for carrying protection, in Japan that is definitely a big no-no. So if you want to, be creative. Like Baribari said, bears are a real danger, and I don't know about you, but i would sure hate to get a face full of bear spray.
 
Granted, living where I do (Aomori City, Aomori Pref.) the traffic situation is quite different than in or around Tokyo, but, in my twenty years cycling here I think I can count on one hand the number of close passes I've had.

Quite envious. Down here in Fukuoka I encounter dangerous and/or aggressive driving every week. On the contrary, have not experienced such behaviour in my home country.
 
Granted, living where I do (Aomori City, Aomori Pref.) the traffic situation is quite different than in or around Tokyo, but, in my twenty years cycling here I think I can count on one hand the number of close passes I've had. By comparison, I go home to the States (Oregon) for a couple of weeks every couple of years. And in my home town there, or either of my brothers' places out of Seattle, WA, or Sisters, OR, just in those occasional two week trips I've had way more in Japan. Not to mention the idiot that pulled over and started "rolling coal" on us one time.

Definitely different in Tokyo. In any given one day of riding, it would usually take more than two hands to count the number of close passes I've had. Not usually with cars, but with mobile phone zombies, quite a few of which are on bikes as well as generally just really unaware pedestrians/cyclists. Look no further than the local hoikuen to understand the reason why: "look both ways before you cross the street" is not taught here. This is personal to me as I am doing so with my 3 year old daughter now, and this is already a foreign concept to her, not to mention all of the other kids in her class, parents and teachers there.

Indoor training has lowered my blood pressure in more than one way.

But I'd still say 99.99% of outdoor riding has been positive.

@thooms and @luka were also there with me in Saitama, where the super up Honda civic blasted me with his nitrous, or whatever that was.
 
@MattRyuu
"Definitely different in Tokyo. In any given one day of riding, it would usually take more than two hands to count the number of close passes I've had. Not usually with cars, but with mobile phone zombies, quite a few of which are on bikes as well as generally just really unaware pedestrians/cyclists. Look no further than the local hoikuen to understand the reason why: "look both ways before you cross the street" is not taught here. This is personal to me as I am doing so with my 3 year old daughter now, and this is already a foreign concept to her, not to mention all of the other kids in her class, parents and teachers there.

Indoor training has lowered my blood pressure in more than one way.

But I'd still say 99.99% of outdoor riding has been positive."

That section I put in bold, so,so true. It took forever to hammer that into my daughters' heads. My 9 year old still doesn't look properly at intersections when she's on her bike, which terrifies me on so many levels.
 
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