Cycling survival guide
I've been cycling for a couple of years now both on road and off and read a ton of articles on cycling safety. To summarise them and from my own experience I've wacked together a little cycling survival guide.
Skills to practice weekly or whenever possible
Hard Stops. A hard stop is braking as hard as you can with the rear and front brakes in balance with each other without locking up either wheel. Apply rear and front brake while moving your body weight to the back of the bike.
Hard Left Turns. A hard left turn is used in an emergency when a vehicle cuts in front of you. To do a hard left apply rear and front brake as much as possible before you get to the turn, release the brakes fully before you turn, then put your right pedal down and push down hard on it while turning left into the turn. Sit upright and tilt the bike to the left, do not allow yourself to tilt, just tilt the bike as you go around the corner. Apply brakes as you go past the apex of the corner to stop.
Surface transition. In some situations you may be pushed off the road onto a rough surface such as gravel or dirt. Practice leaving the road at high speed when you get a chance. Brake hard while on the road if possible, then release brakes 100% before the surface transition of both wheels, then apply brakes again to stop once the surface transition is complete. DO NOT have brakes on during the surface transition as your wheels will lock when going from good surface to a looser surface.
Slow riding and or standing stationary with feet on the pedals. While this may sound unnecessary there are times where slow riding and or standing stationary is of benefit especially when approaching intersections, hill climbing or off road riding. If you are wearing clipless pedals this is even more of an important skills. To ride slow avoid swinging the handle bars from side to side an concentrate on keeping the front wheel straight. Applying brakes while pedalling can help with the stability as the force of your pedalling under brakes will help keep the bike stable.
On Road Survival Guide
General
Ride the line at the side of the road. Where possible stay just to the left of it, where it isn't possible ride a little to the right of it. Keep a straight line and don't weave to either side of the line as vehicles will not know what you are doing. Don't ride too far to the left or in the gutter as cars turning out of side streets onto the road will not notice or see you.
Make eye contact with vehicles that are turning into or out of side streets so you can be sure they have seen you. If you cannot make eye contact prepare for evasive Manoeuvres.
Signal whenever possible. There are signals you are suppose to do when cycling, a lot of cyclists don't bother but they allow vehicles to know what you are doing and when you are doing it. It reduces their frustration when they know you are going to do a left hand turn and they are waiting to do a right hand turn into the same street.
While riding two abreast is legal, it irritates drivers. If there are no cars behind you feel free to do it, when there are cars, move back into single file so they can pass easily. Keeping drivers happy reduces their frustration and aggressiveness in general. If drivers see cyclists doing everything they can to assist them, they typically will do the same.
Obey the road rules and don't try to cheat them by zipping onto a footpath to get around a traffic light then zipping back onto the road afterwards. It's another way to annoy drivers. The less cyclists annoy drivers, the less drivers will have to complain about cyclists. We need to share the road safely together.
Evasive Manoeuvres
If a vehicle passes you then turns left in front of you and cuts you off be prepared to quickly dive into a hard left and follow it around the corner. Don't swing right because there may be a vehicle beside or behind you that will collect you. Practice this move at speed from time to time so it is second nature when you need it. A hard stop may also be appropriate if you are sure you will stop in time.
If a vehicle pulls out of a left hand side street in front of you and they don't realise your speed, very common, either dive left into a sharp turn into the street they are coming out off or do a hard stop. Be sure you can stop in time if you are going to do a hard stop otherwise you may end up stopping actually in front of the vehicle pulling out. The hard left is typically a better option as it is safer if you don't stop in time.
If a vehicle turns from the right lane into a side street in front of you do a hard stop. Do not swing right as a vehicle may be behind you. Diving left may also put you in front of the vehicle turning right. The only real option is to do a hard stop.
When passing parked cars try to see if you can see a driver about to leave the car, if you can be prepared to stop or ride further out so if they do open there car door you don't hit them. If you do ride further out because there is a lot of parked cars, stay out, don't swing back into the curve, then out, then back in, it makes it hard for vehicles to see you when you duck in front of parked cars. If you can't see a driver due to the back of the vehicle being obstructed take the same evasive approach.
If you are passing a parked car and they are looking at pulling out be prepared they may not have seen you and may pull out as you are passing them. Be prepared to do a hard stop. If possible pass to the left of them. Eye contact is important, if you don't think they have seen you, and you can't pass to the left of them, stopping may be a better option. If there is a lot of traffic with you it's usually safe to pass as they can't pull out while there is traffic.
Harassment
If a vehicle passes you and the passenger or driver startles you by throwing, yelling, beeping there horn etc, hold your line, don't react suddenly and don't provoke the vehicle by giving them the finger or anything like that. A vehicle will always win in a conflict with a bicycle. Stop as soon as you can note their registration number, vehicle type and location of the incident and report it to the police. If they hit you with an object, or their hand charge them with assault by reporting the situation to the police but stay cool during the incident. The police will follow up on the incident. The more these drivers are reported the less that will be on the road or will repeat offend in the future.
Clothing
Wear bright and easy to see shirt.
Buy a descent helmet, while a cheap helmet may seem ok, dearer helmets keep your head cooler, usually provide anti-sweat methods to stop sweat getting into your eyes and are generally lighter reducing fatigue. Your head is extremely important, don't skimp on protecting it.
Wear gloves when riding. While you might not think you need to, they stop your hands from getting slippery and under evasive movements the last thing you want is to slip off the bars. If you come off the bike gloves will also give you a little bit of extra protection. Again buy quality, don't skimp on safety gear.
Wear sunglasses. If you get glare in your eyes and can't see, you are putting yourself at risk. Wear good quality sunglasses that stay on your head comfortably. Ensure the glasses are shatter proof as if you come off the last thing you want is glass fragments in your eyes from broken glasses.
Lastly
Practice, practice and more practice. Don't wait until you need to make an evasive move, practice them so when you do need them you just do them automatically.
