First-Time biking to work - Will I get hit?

iajnin

Hey all,

New member here. New member to the forums as well as a new rider. I recently got hold of my dad's old bike, and am starting to like cycling as a way to stay fit and as a hobby.

There's a "Bike to Work Day" on Thursday, and I would like to give it a shot. I've never biked to campus before, it's about 4 miles away and taking streets scares me. After reading some stories about riders being hit by careless drivers, it almost makes me not want to ride. But I'm going to do it anyway!

So, being a first-time rider, I'm curious to know about the rules of the road and how to share the road with drivers. Should I be riding on the sidewalk? How do I make left turns? Hand signals? Any general safety issues that I should know about?

Oh, I live in California if that makes a difference.

Thanks everyone.

zumbrunndbla

If you ever took the written test for a driver's license you know the rules of the road. They are the sam for cyclists (as far as the law) with a few additions that I think I remember are in the booklet they give you to prepare for the test.

Second tip: snoop around on this website, there is plenty of excellent safety advice to be found.

Specifically: do not ride on sidewalks, they are for pedestrians. If you decide to do it anyway: be VERY slow, nobody expects you to ride there. This is why every time you cross a driveway on the sidewalk it is dangerous. Hand signals are absolutely necessary. If you don't dare turn left: bare right, get off the bike at the intersection, cross the road as a pedestrian wheeling the bike, get back on in the new direction.

jhuskey

Most area and I use the term areas because city and stste laws may vary do not allow sidewalk riding.In Tennesse you should ride as far to the right aas possible unless you are doing the speed limit.Wear a helmet,use hand signals,stop at stop signs,yield right of and hope auto drivers do but expect them not to,do not cut between traffic and use common sense. You shoul dbe able to get your local statutes on the internet. You are more likely to get hit walking than riding a bike.

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zumbrunndbla

Sorry, I forgot to add: it is great fun to bike to work and anywhere else, I have done it (almost) all my life, in California and other places! Good luck to you!

Also: I found that cops usually let you get away with bending the rules a little, if you are not absolutely boneheaded.

iajnin

Wow, thanks!

I've seen people brave the left turn lane, and I think it shouldn't be too bad. So, in preparation for a left turn, do I just check for traffic behind me, then leave the bike lane and head for the left-turn lane?

Also, not sure if this question belongs here, but I was wondering about bike shorts. Do you find it that hefty padding is better than light padding? And what's the difference between all the types of shorts?

Brunswick_kate

Congrats on commuting. It's good for you and it's good for your community.

How to do it without getting hit? Well, as the posters above have noted, you are a vehicle driver. If you act and behave in a predictable fashion, like all the other vehicles on the roadway, you will not get hit. If you chose to start acting in unpredictable ways for a vehicle, such as riding on the sidewalk, weaving in and out of traffic, moving counter to the traffic flow, disregarding traffic control signals, you will greatly increase the probability of getting hit.

Hand signals? Well,it's all about being predictable, letting the other users on the road know your intentions. It lets them regulate their behaviour accordingly.

There are several good sites on the net concerning cycling traffic safety. One of my favourites is www.johnforester.com

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zumbrunndbla

Use a hand signal before changing to the left lane. A skill you may want to practice in an area with little traffic: looking backward without swerving: try to ride a straight line, turn your head over your left shoulder, and forward again, not leaving the straight line. It is not hard, you just have to get the feel for it. Some people use mirrors but they shake constantly and have a limited field of vision: you still need to turn your head to be certain. A mirror stuck to the helmet is a bad idea: nothing should be attached to it. Last time I fell I got a nasty bruise on my nose from a sun vizor that was attached to mine. I was otherwise unheart, but my nose caused o lot of embarrassing comment from my coworkers.

This reminds me: if you fall off your bike you will almost certainly be unheart as long as no other vehicles or immovable objects are involved. The risk is small, the benefits are huge (health and other benefits, even financial with today's gas prices!).

Bike lanes or bike paths: many riders are convinced that they are dangerous. I don't think so, BUT: many are ill designed and contain dangerous spots or have bad visibility. Reduce your speed in such a situation. You will also find that bike lanes/paths have a tendency to go AWOL in spots where it becomes really dangerous: the traffic engineers were running out of ideas and just interrupted the path/lane for the difficult stretch. Be extra careful whenever you leave a bike lane/path and get back to the "wild" road.

Clothes: I ride in my everyday clothes, slowly enough so I am not all sweaty at work (I am fifty, so my sports ambitions are quite limited). This is faster than having to shower and change first thing at work .

jhuskey

I don't believe you want heavy padding but you do want some padding. Once you have done a 100 mile or so the saddle will seem like an old friend. The shorts vary in length for one thing . Some come lower toward the knee. All personal preference. I would definitely recommend shorts with shoulder straps. They cost a little more but stay where they are supposed to. I am sure someone else can dazzle you with different technical aspects of cycling shorts such as breathability and wear characteristics.I will leave that to the short experts.

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Sobriety is over rated!

iajnin

Do shorts have a tendancy to not stay in place as you bike? What do you mean jhuskey?

jhuskey

If you pedal a lot short without shoulder straps can ride down on you caused by the repetitive motion. The ones with shoulder straps stay in place. At lot depends on your shape. If your waste is a lot smaller than your hips it is less of a problem. The ones without the straps need to be a tighter fit whereas the ones with straps can be a looser fit arouud the waist area,or in my case the waste area, and still stay in place.
I hope this answers your question.

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Sobriety is over rated!

iajnin

I just picked up a pair of biking shorts, and didn't get a chance to try them on at the store. Besides, there was only one size of the one I wanted (waist 30), so I just bought it with the mindset of returning it if I didn't want it.

So, I put them on, and they are kinda tight. The tightness is mainly around the thighs, due to the elastic bands. Are bike shorts supposed to be tight?

rek

For turning left, you can always try a "hook turn". We have to do these here to keep out of the way of trams, and are a safe alternative to having to cross heaps of lanes.

http://www.path.unimelb.edu.au/~ber.../hook_turn.html

(note that we drive on the left side of the road here, so look at the animation in a mirror or something. )

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Peter
Cannondale Synapse Carbon Scalpel Cyclocross Ultra