The arrival of spring, typically followed by summer brings out green grass, flowers and the return of migrating birds. It also brings out the two wheel crowd, bicyclists, that is, both young and adults. Most of them know the rules of the road. Some don't. Others ignore them. Enjoy your cycling summer by following a few common sense safety tips.
Avoid busy streets. One of the biggest mistakes that people make when they start biking is to take the exact same routes they used when they were driving. It's usually better to take different streets with fewer and slower cars. Sure, cyclists have a right to the road, but that's a small consolation when you're dead. Consider how far you can take this strategy: If you learn your routes well, you'll find that in many cities you can travel through neighborhoods to get to most places, only crossing the busiest streets rather than traveling on them.
Light up. Too obvious? Well, if it's so obvious, then why do most night-time cyclists ride without lights? Bike shops have rear red blinkies for $15 or less. Headlights are just as important as rear lights. And modern headlights use LED's so the batteries last ten times longer than old-school headlights.
One cyclist tied this bright noodle to the back of his bike, exactly the width of his handlebars, to show drivers how much space he takes up on the road.
Take the whole lane when appropriate. It's often safer to take the whole lane, or at least ride a little bit to the left, rather than hug the right curb. Here's why: Cars at intersections ahead of you can see you better if you're squarely in the road rather than on the extreme edge where you're easily overlooked. Taking the lane prevents cars from passing you too closely on narrow roadways.
