As 2025 approaches, many people are setting resolutions to spend more time outdoors. For CW’s columnist, the goal is to take cycling beyond the digital confines of platforms like Zwift and into the real world. However, the idea of cycling outdoors has become a source of anxiety, leaving the writer feeling somewhat apprehensive about the potential dangers of the sport.
At a recent party, the columnist conversed with a hang glider enthusiast, asking a question that many would likely ask: “How many people die doing that each year?” The answer? “In the UK, maybe three or four. Probably fewer.” While this is a tragic statistic for any hobby, the columnist couldn’t help but compare it to the risks associated with cycling.
Despite the clear difference in popularity between cycling and hang gliding, cycling emerges as a more dangerous hobby overall, with a higher likelihood of resulting in premature death. The idea of dying while cycling—perhaps due to a distracted driver tuning the radio—feels somewhat wrong, especially when compared to the adventurous image of hang gliding. At least a hang glider’s death is one that comes in pursuit of an adventurous, gravity-defying experience.
Cycling, on the other hand, is often dangerous due to the actions of others. Though personal risk can come from a rider’s own misjudgment or thrill-seeking—like speeding downhill at 73mph—the majority of cycling accidents are caused by external factors, often involving careless drivers. In this sense, cycling’s risks feel out of the cyclist’s control, much like a world where household appliances randomly malfunction, such as toasters spontaneously exploding.
The columnist paints a satirical picture of a society where such dangerous appliances are permitted, with manufacturers evading serious consequences by completing an online course about the risks. It underscores the sense that road safety for cyclists is often treated with indifference—cycling accidents are seen as “inevitable,” and drivers may take little responsibility for their actions, such as texting or speeding. Even law enforcement appears to pay little attention to these incidents.
Despite these concerns, the columnist intends to push forward with their goal of cycling more outdoors in 2025. Although the thought of cycling on the roads still sparks fear, they acknowledge that, despite occasional anxiety, they have yet to succumb to any real danger. The allure of the three-dimensional world of outdoor cycling remains strong, and in 2025, they are determined to embrace it—fear and all.
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