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| *Vultures Knob>>>Road Bike |
What are the general "rules of the roads" for bicyclists? |
I know the basics: move with traffic and obey the same traffic laws as any other vehicle (should), etc. I ask this because I am unfortunately currently living in a non-bike friendly city (that goodness I'll be moving). There are bike lanes in some areas, but in most there are not and well, the people are scary drivers. Road biking is an unpleasant experience around here and I have friends who swear they will never bike here again because of near misses. I am particularly curious about rules for when there is a sidewalk available because I don't always hear a bike behind me when I'm jogging and that can be annoying. However, it seems to be the safer option at times. I don't want to be restricted to trail riding only, but I wonder if I have other options. On the above cheeful note, I will add that research carried out lately reveals that subconsciously, a motorist gives way more to a cyclist they percieve to be a novice! - so dont wear a helmet and wobble about a bit. On my road bike I am able to stay with the flow of traffic and I do ride in the centre of the lane. I am a bit concerned with the 12-18 inces from the kerb though! That would have me falling into every drain cover and picking up road debris, let alone having not escape space should a somebody get too close. I always ride about a metre from the kerb. Ok sometimes a car might have to stick behind you for a bit but its safer. EDIT: When I said I ride in the middle of the lane, I should have added-in towns/cities! (I can't ride at 70 Mph on dual carrageways-lol) Rules vary by city/state, but in general a bikes are supposed to be on the road, not the sidewalk. The exception is when there is a trail/path that is specifically authorized for bikes next to the road (and even then the bike do have the right to use the road. Bikes have most of the obligations of road vehicles when riding on them: lights at night, stopping at stop signs/lights, not speeding, etc. one solution is to ride the way police motorcyclists do.. agressively! It is scary at 1st but does work - examples 1) ride a good 12-18 inches out from the side of the road, that way when someone passes you too closely you can move in 2) When it is dangerous for traffic to pass, instead of riding near the side of the road which allows traffic enough space to attempt to pass - get into the middle of your lane effectively forcing them to stay to behind you, move back to the curb when it is safe to do so 3) If you want to turn across the traffic (left in the USA), and yur side of the road is busy, instead of waiting to the last second and not having a space to move over, move over when there is a space even if that is a 200yds early. 4) at stop lights get in front of the traffic - that way they can see you. Watch the lights for the cross traffic, when they trun red (check to be sure no one is going to run them) set off at a sprint (your light will still be red for another couple of seconds) meaning you get up to stable speed (not wobblibg over the road trying to get enough speed to balance) by the time the other traffic starts moving adn have a 50yd head start CAUTION You need to be confident and extremely aware of traffic around you as well as good at predicting what motorists are going to do! Watch for ingorant cops in cars who have no idea how to ride a bike and would be quite hapy to pull you over! If in doubt, stop get off and walk! If an oversized SUV (seriously unsafe vehicle) or truck hits you a speed, a helmet (essentially polystyrene with a colorful plastic coating) will not stop you from becoming a quadraplegic or even brain damaged. HAPPY & SAFE CYCLING :) In some places (like Calif), riding on the sidewalk is illegal, so check the local laws... I'd suggest using a rear-view mirror to minimize the problems from behind. If you can see that a driver is acting crazy before they get near you, you can take action to get out of their way instead of letting them (nearly) kill you. You may want to take a course from the League of American Bicyclists to get a better feel for road riding. They may offer techniques that will help you deal with your local traffic better -- like taking the whole lane instead of letting the cars squeeze by on the left (if it's allowed by your local vehicle code). It may annoy some drivers, but if you're still alive at the end of the day, that's what counts. Good Luck! http://www.bikeleague.org/ |
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