When I feel the need to wake up and get out of my apartment, I get on my bike, go out the door and bike in the city. Nothing like unpredictable pedestrians and car traffic to wake you up and get you living in the very moment. J. Forester's Effective Cycling literally has hundreds of pages on the effective way to ride in traffic. (http://www.johnforester.com/) [#1 rule - You are invisible - act like you are invisible but signal like you aren't]
I have a monthly public transportation pass but the bike is by far the best way to get around. Since I value my brain, I wear a helmet and I always dislike when I see the pretty girls not wearing helmets (fashion/convenience over safety).
Biking safety is more about your individual experience and ability than it is about having a critical mass of bikers (unless of course the critical mass is majority - as in Amsterdam).
How you ride your bike also depends on your personality - and how much you want your ride to be a videogame... Check out this video of a guy biking through NOLA:
http://www.vimeo.com/1918279
From my experience, paths that are physically separated from car's roads that are shared by pedestrians/roller bladers/joggers/baby strollers and bikers on it are not the safest place to be on a moving bicycle. The movement of a pedestrian is not predictable - they might suddenly stop - do a 180, cut in front of you, stoop to tie a shoelace. The skill level of some of the bikers on a path may be beginner (e.g. they do not understand the importance of riding predictable e.g in a straight line). If I do ride a bike on such a path, I'm riding slow and constantly saying 'On your left'. Predictability is very important (see this article about crossing streets in Rome) http://www.worldhum.com/how_to/item/cross_the_street_in_rome...)
Marked bike lanes that are on the side of roads are much safer. You still have to watch out for opening car doors and random-walk pedestrians (again!) but you have room to do evasive maneuvers.
I feel the same. But seeing statistics would be interesting. In absence of a bikeway I normally drive on the sidewalk. (We have wide sidewalks where I live.)
I have a monthly public transportation pass but the bike is by far the best way to get around. Since I value my brain, I wear a helmet and I always dislike when I see the pretty girls not wearing helmets (fashion/convenience over safety).