BIKING IN THE CITY

Ok so Frank's friend Josh had a little spill on the Williamsburg bridge on Friday.

That really got me thinking about the reality of biking in our city's. From what mom tells me; it's scary, thrilling and the freeing. She says you have an element of control, but at the same time you have no control what so ever.
That is what scares me, and a lot of others, the idea that at any moment you could loose control, fall, get into an accident caused by you or anything else. Now if mom was paralyzed by this fear totally she would have never gotten on a bike in the first place.

Mom has a fear about loosing control, but she has been making a constant effort to not let that rule her life, she believes that if you live in fear of the "what if", there is no way that you can really live. That comes with the obvious warning about having common sense and being safe. Also the city's are not safe yet for bikers i.e the bumps on the bridge.
Mom's does not take risks anymore that she feels like she has no control over,
(this is positive and negative, if mom risked more emotionally and physically she would have more to gain if it all turned out well . . .but that is a whole other post about how she plays it safe) but at the same time if mom is taking a risk then she won't know it is a risk until something bad happens, or almost happens to shock her back to reality. Such as, riding a bike without a helmet. Or watching rain come down on the bridge and not slowing her bike down, or getting doored because she was looking the other way at something not important.
Now those are all things that we all do, and we take for granted that nothing is going to happen to us most of the time. It is in those split seconds that things happen for the good and we keep going because nothing happened, or for the bad.
Now after all that worry about herself, mom then spends the rest of the time worrying about others. This is also a constant battle. I feel that worry comes from love, not the need to control. (well maybe a little need to control) but you worry about others when you don't want anything to happen to them to make them hurt or die. Worry also comes from selfishness, the thought that if someone you love dies how that would then make you and others feel. It is not about how the other person would feel (they are dead and therefore don't feel).
I could go on, but the point is that when accidents happen, reality crashes in. (no pun intended). This makes mom scared and then start to worry about everyone around her, and want everyone to walk everywhere forever. Clearly that won't happen, nor should it. But everyone should be careful and selfish with their own safety. (P.S I am making mom read a book now called “The Joy Of Worry”).