The most dangerous thing I do

I was talking to my wife this evening and she expressed her concern over my safety. I reassured her by saying that.... yeah what I was doing was probably a little riskier than driving your vehicle down the street but I had 5 lights on my bike and 6' of reflective tape on the Action Packer and I ride a consistent shoulder and obey all traffic laws and I never leap before I look and all that good stuff.....yada yada yada.

Then I told her about the real danger of what I am doing..... getting on and off the bike. With the 25 - 30 lbs in the Action Packer on the back of the bike, I can't lean the bike over to mount it or straddle it because it would slam down to the ground. I have to throw my leg over (getting on) or pull my leg over (getting off) while holding the bike straight up..... that may not sound like a big deal.... but you go try it out in your driveway (assuming your bike is set up for your height).

Then strap on a backpack with 40 - 50 lbs in it and try to mount your bike. I don't know how many times I've caught my heel on the brake cables that run down the top tube of the bike..... then I set their crow hopping on one foot with the backpack trying to pull me down and the bike acting like a UFC fighter who just caught my kick.... then throw in the fact that this usually happens on the shoulder of a road with cars whizzing by at 70 mph.

I can just imagine what the people that are passing by are saying.... it's amazing I haven't been run over by some driver who's doubled over convulsing in laughter pointing at some fool with his foot jacked up in the air trying to mount a bike with a backpack on.

Anyway..... that's the most dangerous thing I do.....