I had forgotten that I had gone through a time like our OP's 47 years
ago in 1974.
I was in my early teens, had a drop bar bike and would blow off steam
by taking hour long rides after school along the ocean. Then three things
happened, my mom passed away, I grew my hair long out of anger and
rebellion and because she wasn't around any longer to pester me, and
tourism really, really took off. The roads were filling up with people in
cars not watching the road, or opening car doors without looking, or
standing in the middle of the road to take in the view. Or they really
hated long haired kids on bikes. Several times I found myself checking over
my shoulder or under my left arm to find the mirror of a Winnebago 3-4 feet
from my head even though I was hugging the right-hand edge of the asphalt,
and the driver glaring at me with intent. There was plenty of room to give
me the lane, let alone 1-2 feet of space, but no, I didn't belong there and
he was going to give me a lesson. There were too many people who didn't
have a qualm running a long haired teenager off the road or hitting them
with their vehicle.
So I took to riding at night. Nearly no body was on those roads at
night, and I could hear cars coming from a long way off or see the
headlights, and I would just pull of the road. Or in winter, I rode in
stormy weather which kept the tourists away as well. I would try and race
the squalls coming in off the Pacific. A couple of years later, I cut my
hair, but it was still a bit too risky to ride when the tourists were out.
And it was quiet and peaceful having the rods to myself.
I don't propose this as a solution for anyone. I'm just saying I know
what it feels like to fear riding has just become way too dangerous to do
anymore.
John
PS: There weren't any sidewalks, but sometimes I rode the golf cart paths
at night when no one was playing. Mea culpa.
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