[Closed] Road cycling novice - safety query

Start off with decent insurance.

British cycling or cycling UK.

Won't keep you safe but can help if it goes wrong

Thanks weeksy, hadn't thought about insurance.

Make sure that you are aware of what’s around you at all times and don’t just concentrate on what’s in front.
Always make sure that you know where you will go to if something happens.
Don’t cycle like you’d drive.

1.- Buy a decent pair of rear lights . Run them during daylight
2. - Do not be a black Rapha fanboi , add some colour . Blue is fav of mine as its not natural
3.- Do not ride with earphones.
4.- Scope out decent roads that are not rat runs or Fast open B roads
5.- Join a club and download their routes , they should be safer and shortcut the above.
6- Throw away the cheap plastic tyres that come on your bike and fit G+ Rubino's
7.-Accept that people will not see you, and will punishment pass you for shits and giggles
8.- Try not to re-act to the above , they want to fight you and you are wearing ballet shoes
9.- Carry tube , pump , Lezyne insta patches, CCard, cash , phone, quick link , CL multitool
10.- New £10 notes make good enough tyre boots , but toothepaste tube offcuts still acceptable

I barely ride road since I was knocked off last year and when I do I'm much more conscious of the lack of space and respect given to me.

I wouldn't discourage you from taking it up but I couldn't honestly encourage you either.

Be alert. Just because they're looking in your direction doesn't mean they've seen you...... look at their wheels to see if they are starting to move.

Be positive - not victim blaming but riding close to the kerb where the stones and potholes are can give drivers the chance to squeeze past, where a more experienced and positive / assertive rider takes a position that dissuades drivers overtaking. When passing parked cars, leave a space - I've been doored once, and it won't happen a second time; but there's also cars pulling out, pedestrians emerging, etc.

In towns/traffic - yes it's fun to barrel around roundabouts and past junctions but that's where drivers are more likely to underestimate your speed and pull out in front of you. Get where you're going 2 mins slower rather than not at all and give yourself a bit of thinking time. If you want to race - join a race.

Don’t hide in the gutter - own your bit of road by riding 2ft from the curb. Up to a certain point, the more road you take the more you are given as drivers have to think to overtake you.

Keep your eyes peeled for covers/potholes - move out into the road to avoid them. Signal if you have to but don’t swerve suddenly.

Having a bit of sympathy for large vehicles when the road is narrow helps - I tend to hop up onto the path if there’s a lorry/bus behind me struggling to pass. I’d rather that than have them try to push past.

Pass stationary vehicles wide - surprising how many people open their doors without looking.

look at their wheels to see if they are starting to move.

Ah - that'd be one of my top tips as well. Wasn't it the police motorcycle craft?

For all the traffic that expects you to ride in the gutter - don't. Its much more risky there and you've no leeway. Next time there are vehicles ahead, look how far they are from the gutter - they won't be driving there either.

Don’t ride in the gutter

Use lights in the day time

Get eye contact with every driver pulling out from a side road if you don’t they haven’t seen you.

Firstly, cycling on the road is not as dangerous as the media and social media would have you believe. My clubmates and cycling friends cycle thousands of mile a year, and very few of us get hit or hurt. The perception is far worse than the reality.

Training - find a Bikeability instructor and do Levels 1-3. They will teach you about awareness, positioning and junctions. (BC and Cycling UK also have decent videos on YouTube as well)

Practice - then it comes down to experience, doing what you have been taught.

Attitude - you are not holding up traffic, you are traffic, and that training will teach you how to do it properly and safely.

Visibility - bright blocks of colour on your clothing, daytime flashing lights, helmet lights as well for extra visibility at night. Give drivers the best chance of seeing - and avoiding - you.

Oh yeah - choose where you ride - an extra couple of miles on quieter roads will be far less stressful than sticking to busy roads

Just presume everyone else on the road is an idiot and you can't go far wrong, if they price you wrong then it's fine, if they price you right then you're prepared.
Riding home from work yesterday an American on a BMX commented positively on how I was stopping at a red light as most cyclists don't, he was less positive when I mentioned he was riding illegally on the pavement.

Again thanks for all the advice.

I cycle loads in the lanes in Cheshire south of Alderley. Lots of great quite lanes but also lots of roads that are rat runs so you need watch out.

The other thing carefull cycling through puddles as they could contain a submerged 4 inch square edged pothole that will result in crashing taring you shoulder tendons and ligaments. I can just lift my left arm after 12 weeks despite having pretty intensive physio.

Flashing lights, keep out of the gutter (1m), no headphones, eye contact and watch car wheels.

If all else fails ride a recumbent trike. Never felt safer. Have thumbs up from white van man and more space than you’ve ever seen.

And remember: on a normal road, you’re not holding up traffic, it’s the oncoming traffic that is preventing cars behind from overtaking.

Read cyclecraft by John Franklin.
Blue is my favourite colour, but I wouldn’t ride a bike in it. Take a look at cyclists and judge for yourself what stands out. Prefer red or orange personally.

Nobody's mentioned riding with a club / group - you'll learn how to ride safely in a bunch, they'll take you on the better roads / routes so you'll find the best places to ride. I often despair when I see what I can only think are novice riders on busy main roads when there are quieter, country lanes running parallel to them.

Early morning rides when all of the idiots are still in bed helps too.

Common sense.

It's always been the same reckless riders that have self-inflicted crashes

I am a statistic, so the worst can happen. I still ride on the road but differently to how I used to. Unless you are really drawn to out and out road riding I'd consider something like a gravel bike. I know it's been done to death, but it opens up so many more options. I can pick my routes to avoid the worst of the traffic using tracks and trails until I get out into the sticks. You still come across plenty of idiots, but less than you would purely on the road. I love riding on the road in so many ways, but I'm enjoying avoiding it too.

Cover your brakes. Assume all drivers are psychopathic dick heads. Stay focussed because if you don’t that’s when they’ll have you.

How do folk keep safe on the roads? Appreciate its probably a daft question. Seeing some drivers behaviour puts me off a tad.

I live on the Manchester edge of the Peak and ride a road bike and, more often, a cross bike on the road a fair bit. Stuff I've learned:

1. I have red-flagged roads that I will not ride on whatever. They're generally stuff that's too twisty with poor sight lines. Too busy because it's a rat-run. Dangerous because people do stupid stuff in cars - the run down in Hayfield from the Chapel direction for example, cars overtake uphill towards you because drivers don't appreciate how fast a bike can go downhill. Sometimes they're just roads I have a bad feeling about. Or really obvious ones that are just fast and busy. Anything with blind bends that you're riding uphill is potentially nasty, Long Hill going towards Buxton for example. Some manouvres are a bad idea - turning right on fast single-carriageway A-roads for example, so try to avoid doing them.

Patterns repeat often because of road lay-outs, so if you have a bad incident somewhere specific, there's a chance it'll happen again. You can try and work out a way of minimising the danger of that. or red-flag that road if it's really bad and look for an alternative route.

2. Try not to ride at rush hour times. Commuters are brain-dead / focussed on getting home in time to watch Hollyoaks / stuff their faces with ready meals etc. They do things that defy logic. You don't want to be anywhere near them unless you have to - ie: you too are a commuter.

3. Avoid the special time when the sun is low and cyclist become magically invisible regardless of how much reflective / bright clothing / 3000-lumen rear lights you have. You are invisible.

4. Oddly in deep night conditions, particularly on unlit roads, good lights and lots of reflective really stand out. It's argurably safer than riding in the daytime as long as...

5. You have good enough lights to not ride through the huge pot-holes that cover our roads. Ideally ones with a cut-off so you don't dazzle the hell out of oncoming drivers.

6. Assume that drivers will do stupid stuff and you'll be surprised by it less often.

7. It's less dangerous than many people think, but it's still dangerous in the sense that you're vulnerable to other road users' mistakes and sheer stupidity. Then again a little bit of fear is what helps keep people alive.

Gravel / cross-type bikes make staying off dangerous roads easier simply because you can ride back lanes, easy off road fast / hard off road slow, and generally have more flexibility in how you route rides.

Some riders will do none of the above and be fine. Oh, apparently Cheshire Police are quite good at following up cam footage of dangerous drivers, Derbyshire Police are not, 'er indoors tells me. I'm just thankful I don't have to commute. YMMV. I am not a real roadie 🙂

A propos of which, riding in disorganised groups is terrifying. If you let gaps open up for example, cars will overtake into them etc. Horrible. Mostly I ride on my own or with no more than one or two other other people. I prefer riding alone to be honest. If you want to ride with a group, a decent, organised roadie club which limits group size and teaches its members the basics of group riding etiquette is a good call.

Sorry, that turned out to be a bit of an epic 🙁

Pick routes that are safer. Strava can help as can riding out with a club. Newcastle based so can't offer specifics but I ride some A roads that are perfectly fine. Wide, good lines of site etc. I've ridden some B roads that are a nightmare - busy, people using them as a short cut so hurrying. Now I have a good enough knowledge that I can go out and ride miles without seeing much traffic while not having to resort to riding rough back roads.

Outside of commuting road riding is fine. I don't get many incidents.

1. don't ride in the rain.
2. don't ride in high winds.
3. don't ride in low visibility.
4. don't ride on roads with HGVs/Tipper Trucks
5. don't ride in the gutter.

Choose wider or quieter roads. Sometimes busy ones aren't bad because either there's room for cars to drive past easily or because traffic is slower. Dangerous roads are fast and narrow.

Know what's around you at all times

Don't assume you can take your right of way. Be prepared to stop at roundabouts even when you are already on it.

Look at drivers. Make eye contact. Make sure they have seen you by looking at their faces. Humans are hard coded to notice faces so this really helps people see you, plus you can see if they are looking at you or not. Don't.move until you have seen them see you.

At junctions or when it's right, take your place on the road. Move out into the middle of the lane when you are in a junction. Be assertive. Also look behind you properly when moving out - see above a out eye contact.

If someone sounds like they are trying to squeeze past and you don't want them to - or you want to move out to turn right - turn your head and look at them - they'll stop (see above about eye contact).

Obv use lights and wear bright colours.

Also be aware of door-pillars. If you are seeking eye contact with drivers and you can see the door pillar is in the way, hold back.

Never be in anyone's blond spot. If a car or something moves alongside you, brake.

If in a slow moving traffic queue, occupy a car space in the middle of a lane. Do this until it's moving too fast for you to keep up

Oh and avoid rush hour like the plague. Everyone's ten times worse at rush hour

Also, as above you want good sight lines. Fast open roads are often ok because you can be seen. Twisty A roads are the worst even if they aren't busy. The A466 past Tintern is a lovely road but I never ride it because there are loads of tight bends with relatively narrow roads.

Also avoid riding into low sun. V dangerous.

Also, avoid NE England. Drivers are the worst up there.

I agree with BadlyWiredDog re gravel bikes. Judicious use of byways and bridleways allows me to avoid some busy A roads on my way out to country lanes from South Manchester.

Excellent point re the low sun. The first 2 miles of my commute at this time of year is due east into the glaring sunrise, in a month or so the last two miles home will obviously be into the glaring sunset.

I can dress light or dark, have a huge red searchlight on the back of the bike, but from driving in on other days, I know that there are moments of those journeys when Mother Nature makes it bloody hard for a driver to see anything.

Avoid riding on a friday after 1pm
Its a death race to get home before letting the cork out of the bottle for the weekend of drunk and disorderly behaviour. Woe betide you if you delay that for 1 minute.
Buy the £15 light set from Aldinio . Brilliant for the money.
Beware Transit vans , especialy Transit tippers, closely followed by Supermarket home delivery vehicles. Caravan tow-ers come a close 3rd, they seem to forget there is a box that is wider and longer thn the car attatched behind them

Basically don't bother! Hate to say it, I just had a weekend in Normandy getting the ferry over on the bike. Wonderful few days riding. Within 10 mins of leaving the port after hitting the UK I'd had 3 risky close overtakes. It is thoroughly depressing what we have to put up with in this country.

I think lights on your helmet is a good idea, the blinking commuter type facing front and back. More noticeable than on your seatpost because of the height and head movement.

It's really not that bad in my experience. I wouldn't do it if it were.

Already said many times above, but eye contact with drivers coming out of side roads is vital.
Possibly controversial, but a helmet-mounted light can be useful in helping to make sure you get seen if pointed (briefly) through a windscreen/side window. Preferably not your mega-offroad-nightriding-photon-cannon, 400 lumens or so will do. I’d rather dazzle someone than have them not see me.

So much good info above! We ride the lanes a lot, better because less cars and usually slower but they can be tight and some don’t slow or pay much attention. Try ride lanes where bikes are expected, ie known cycle routes. Main roads we usual avoid, they are generally a bit of a slog, cars going so much faster and generally pay more attention to each other, the radio, their phones etc.. than us when compared to the lanes.

Totally agree with above, cycling in France is a world of difference, lot less cars but those that are there, take care, don’t come close, wave hello.

Also, avoid NE England. Drivers are the worst up there.

You ever rode a bike anywhere near Tonbridge in Kent?

That is absolutely terrifying, when I moved there, I gave up road cycling. The aggression towards cyclists is absolutely awful.

Lots of good advice up there. All I need to add is to suggest having two front lights - one flashing and one always-on steady beam. Flashing is good to attract attention but makes i difficult for drivers to judge your distance/speed. The steady beam light helps with that.

Route choice is the main thing for me. I'm lucky enough to have some virtually traffic free roads on my doorstep, otherwise I dare say I wouldn't bother. But I meticulously plan routes to avoid any areas of conflict. If that means slogging up some huge climbs or the odd off-road section, so be it.

Flashing is good to attract attention but makes i difficult for drivers to judge your distance/speed.

I do believe lights are important and agree with both flashing and constant. A proper daytime flasher like the Flare R can draw attention from a massive distance. And it's important too to keep in mind how bad visibility can get in poor weather conditions or direct sunlight.

Regardless of what some people think, and the laws in certain countries, I believe a nighttime flasher in traffic is a necessity to mark you out as a cyclist and thus moving much slower than other vehicles. But absolutely, pair it up with a solid light - some lights will do both at the same time.

You can only do so much to influence how drivers behave around you, but a good set of lights can at least provide good prior warning and give them a decent time to react.

A pulse light on the front with solid beam and pulsating flasher is great for night riding, giving good visibility for you and other road users, and also ensures you don't lose visibility when you suddenly hit unlit roads.

And worth saying for balance - I'll happily ride on road for thousands of miles a year. Won't catch me at a trail centre riding anything harder than an easy red route - I don't have the skill, experience and confidence.

It's ultimately all about experience and confidence.

http://www.cyclecraft.co.uk/book.html

Join a club, riding in a group is:
a) much harder (trying to keep up in one thats just a little faster than is comfortable with obvious fitness benefits )
b) much easier (because you can sit on a wheel drafting)
c) more sociable (and cake fuelled)
d) I'd argue much safer as the group is the size of a car and tends to polarize drivers into either giving more space or more abuse.

Nice bright clothing. Especially as winter comes, ive got high vis fluro helmets and gillets which make me look like a nobber untill a misty mornings arrive and they draw comments like "i didnt realise you were in a group i could only see you" even when the rest were wearing the club blue/yellow kit!