Articles
Bicycle Commuter's Guide
By Bicycling Life
Many people realize that riding a bicycle instead of driving a car saves the noise, stinks, and congestion of the infernal combustion engine. Do you know the personal benefits of cycle commuting? Cycling offers pleasure, companionship (ride with a buddy), cost savings (especially if you eliminate a motor vehicle), time savings (combining workout with commuting), reduced stress, and cardiovascular fitness. A bicycle can be a "fitness club on two wheels." Riding is fun and makes you feel good. Skills: Do you know how to ride a bicycle? Almost everyone would say, "Of course, I learned as a kid." But watch people riding bicycles. You will see that only a few riders, perhaps 5 percent, show true proficiency by steering accurately, pedaling easily at a brisk cadence, and riding fast. They have to go fast since they ride at least 2000 miles/year. You will also see many novice riders who weave and wobble, as they grind their pedals slowly (less than 60 rpm) to ride sluggishly (6-12 mph). Novices usually ride less than 500 mi/yr. Many run traffic lights, ride on the sidewalk or the wrong side of the road, ride too fast downhill and wear no helmet. Novices have about five times the crash rate as experienced riders even though they are much less likely to ride in rush-hour traffic in foul weather or after dark. Obviously, there is more to cycling than balance. Now, ask yourself again, do you know how to ride a bicycle? If you are willing to learn, consider the Effective Cycling program. Effective Cycling, developed by John Forester, is based on the "Vehicular Cycling" theory. The premise is "Cyclists fare best when they act and are treated as operators of vehicles." This is the opposite of what Forester calls the "Cyclist Inferiority" phobia where riders are terrified of being struck down from behind by automobiles. The fear begins in traditional "bike safety" programs which teach little more than "wear your helmet and stay away from cars." This miseducation prompts the behavior that leads to many accidents. Cyclist Inferiority is obvious, intuitive and widely believed. But at one time so was the idea that the stars revolve around a flat Earth. Accident statistics refute the inferiority superstition: Less than one percent of serious cycling injuries are caused by the struck-from-behind collisions feared by novice riders. Most cycling collisions happen at intersections, the same as automobile collisions. The dilemma is that novice cyclists fear the least likely accidents too much and they fear the greater hazards too little. Riding the wrong way in traffic or worse, riding the wrong way on the sidewalk, is most common cause of car/bike collisions. Ironically, many novice cyclists think these are safer ways to ride. For more information, see the accident study by Wachtel and Lewiston from The American Bicyclist Nov/Dec 1994 issue. Vehicular Cycling involves "Five Rules for Traffic Cycling". Excerpted from the book Effective Cycling by John Forester, published by the M.I.T. Press. Copyright John Forester. (There is also a video by the same name.) Drive on the right side of the road, never on the left and never on the sidewalk. When you reach a more important or larger road than the one you are on, yield to crossing traffic. Here, yielding means looking to each side and waiting until no traffic is coming. When you intend to change lanes or to move laterally on the roadway, yield to traffic in the new lane or line of travel. Here, yielding means looking forward and backward until you see that no traffic is coming. When approaching an intersection, position yourself with respect to your destination direction -- on the right near the curb if you want to turn right, on the left near the centerline if you want to turn left, and between those positions if you want to go straight. Between intersections position yourself according to your speed relative to other traffic; slower traffic is nearer the curb and faster traffic is near the centerline. I will add a sixth rule of the road. Be predictable. This means to ride a good straight line, signal turns and lane changes and generally look like you know what you are doing. If you act like the driver of a vehicle, then other drivers will usually understand what you are doing. Effective Cycling teaches vital skills: riding a straight line, the quick look-back, the instant turn, and hard braking. Other skills include lane changing and being courteous on the road (sharing the lane) without being submissive. You can see these demonstrated in the video or described in the book, but to really learn them, take the course. You can find a list of instructors at the League of American Bicyclists web site. The Effective Cycling book has many useful tips and technical explanations for how a bike works -- for example, why some brakes feel softer as you apply them. The paperback edition costs less than $20 and it should be available through your library. (If not, ask. I got my library to buy it.) Unfortunately the book has a strident, confrontational tone when the author discusses political issues. However, the more I read Forester, the more I realize he knows cycling better than almost anyone else. The video version of Effective Cycling gives an excellent demonstration of Vehicular Cycling technique. Libraries should have both the video and the book. You can get the video from the League of American Bicyclists, phone 202 822-1333 or email to Michael Klasmeier. The much smaller booklet, Street Smarts by John Allen, available from Bicycling Magazine, also covers vehicular cycling. The state of Pennsylvania produced a "Bicycle Driver's Manual" that is based on the Street Smarts booklet. New!Pennsylvania's Bicycle Driver's Manual is now on the web!! Sharing the road works two ways. Overtaking motorists have the obligation to wait until they can pass safely and then to allow enough room. Cyclists have the obligation to make passing as easy as possible as long as passing is safe. If the lane is wide enough, stay far enough right to allow cars to pass. If not, then you must take the lane for your own safety. Beginners often "hug" the curb because they fear traffic. This greatly increases their risk. If you collect a train of cars, pull over occasionally to let them by. If a motorist gives you the right of way, acknowledge with a friendly wave or nod. When you stop at a traffic light, don't hug the curb or right turning cars may cut around you. Instead, where there are right turning motorists, scoot to your left and signal drivers to "be my guest" and pass on your right. Be very careful about waving drivers around you on a curvy, two-lane road. Just after you signal, an oncoming car may appear ahead. You could have a liability problem if there is an accident. At a traffic light with a long line of stopped cars, you will have a great temptation to pass on the right. Unless you are in a wide curb lane (such that cars can easily pass you again), don't -- it is not "fair" and it causes much resentment in motorists. Remember, if you ride a regular route, other drivers will recognize you as "that cyclist".
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http://www.bicyclinglife.com/PracticalCycling/commuteguide.htm
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