I was in a similar situation to you. Loved bikes, had a girlfriend who became my wife, who was terrified that I would be killed/maimed/whatever. I tried to persuade her it was safe and she boldly agreed to come on a two-week tour of Germany. We were having great fun, waving at other bikers, then came across the body of someone we had waved to only minutes before.
Not surprisingly she became even more concerned about biking, and even underwent counselling in an attempt to rationalise her fears. Ultimately, my only real choice was to give up biking, a state of affairs that lasted for 28 long years. I'm now riding again but I'm much older and thanks to the IAM I'm a much safer rider. Bikes are safer nowadays, but poor driving skills and road furniture made the roads more dangerous.
My advice, especially as you're in London, would be to get a low powered scooter and hone your skills for a couple of years. Balance and anticipation are key in biking and London would be great place to learn. Sign up to your local IAM group. Then see if you can wean her over to the idea of a larger bike.
Ultimately if she is still really worried about you it's a choice. If she's the one for you, you'll have to forget about biking.
Tim
__________________
"For sheer delight there is nothing like altitude; it gives one the thrill of adventure
and enlarges the world in which you live," Irving Mather (1892-1966)
|