Tips for beginner commuters

As the petrol *tipping point* of $1.40+ litre looms, I have been wondering about a list that could be quickly reeled off as advice for those starting to commute to work.

Either a top five or even a top ten. I thought about behaviour including being predictable, assertive etc. But as one rather aggressive cyclist in Thornbury on Saturday arvo illustrated to me, (and everyone else watching), being assertive and not knowing any basic road skills certainly isn't a good look. Neither is it good public relations for cycling.


- You are legally a road vehicle;

- Behave in a predictable way, ie: hold your line while in traffic;

- Keep at least one meter from parked cars, don't be forced into the gutter;

- Follow all traffic signals & stop for red lights, including ped lights;

- Keep a reasonable speed on shared offroad bikepaths, stick to the left, slow on all corners and say "passing" when indeed passing another path user;

- Curb your aggression, be polite, acknowledge other road users;

- Switch your lights on at dusk. If you haven't front & rear lights, get them promptly;

- Get appropriate cycling clothes/rain jacket and footwear. It may look funny to you but it's been designed for cycling. Saves your work clothes, and if you commute a shorter distance you can wear what you want.

- Wear a helmet, on your head, not on the handlebars. It's the law and internerd h*lm*t arguments are useless when you're about to be fined by the police.

- Be nice. Or something that approaches that form of behaviour for you.

Ok I'm rambling and haven't had a coffee yet. All contributions welcome except for boxtards. All I'm thinking of is a nifty list that we can all easier use at the lights & at work for newbies.

cfsmtb wrote:

[chomp]

I'm looking at doing a "reduced risk road riding" DVD/video in the next
12 months, and some of the overriding concepts I'm wanting to
illustrate are, in no particular order as yet :

Be predictable
Observe and anticipate
Be visable
Use road space for your safety - occupy lanes when necessary
(roundabouts, turning lanes etc)
Self control and courtesy
Plan your route to reduce your risk
Know your rights and know your responsibilities

The order could be more logical, oh hang on. you did mention 'no particular order..."
anyway the (imho better order)...

Plan your route to reduce your risk
Know your rights and know your responsibilities
Be visable
Be predictable
Observe and anticipate
Use road space for your safety - occupy lanes when necessary
(roundabouts, turning lanes etc)
Self control and courtesy

Possibly the biggest (i find) hurdle to getting non-riders to even consider riding is to get them to understand they should NOT (necessarily) think about getting from A-to-B in the same way they would in a car!

IE when you drive a car you tend to mentally map out a route according to main roads or speed available.
On a bike it's far more likely to be fro ma perspective of safety.
Sometimes these 2 approaches 'may' involve the same roads, but likely not
(and of course avoiding hills! )

Some great stuff here:
http://www.bicyclinglife.com/PracticalCycling/commuteguide.htm
(take or leave vehicular cycling recommendations as you see fit...)



Not sure about the "Keep a reasonable speed on shared offroad bikepaths".
Or did you mean 'Keep down to...' ??

clothing may/may not also be an initial consideration. phase 2(+) perhaps??

Oh... and FFS tell em to change DOWN some gears, will you?!?!?!?

I agree with the route mapping stuff, and would add that what works
going may not be as good coming back. eg. I would happily ride down the
cutting near the yarra on victoria st but would do my best to avoid
riding up it (out of the city) at peak hour.



My problem when I get in a car I try to drive the way I would ride!
That's fine until you forget about the shared paths etc.

PiledHigher wrote:
> I agree with the route mapping stuff, and would add that what works
> going may not be as good coming back. eg. I would happily ride down the
> cutting near the yarra on victoria st but would do my best to avoid
> riding up it (out of the city) at peak hour.
>
>
>
> My problem when I get in a car I try to drive the way I would ride!
> That's fine until you forget about the shared paths etc.

And when you go to Vermont from the city, via Mt Eliza

Yeah, you're right on that one. I've been hearing nasty stuff about cyclist headons on offroad bikepaths - ribs & collarbones are one thing but fecking broken legs?!? WTF?!?! Seriously tho, this issue came up at the last Yarra Council Bicycle Advisory Committee meeting, hopefully there will be further suggestions and followup.

I believe clothing is important, an appropriate choice can sometimes make or break a persons enjoyments of returning to commuting.

Spin not churn. Think that stage develops later. Oh, and if you see Jan, tell him it's about time he learnt to spin.

In aus.bicycle on Mon, 24 Apr 2006 14:16:11 +1000
flyingdutch <flyingdutch.26r3uo@no-mx.forums.cyclingforums.com> wrote:
>
> Plan your route to reduce your risk
> Know your rights and know your responsibilities
> Be visable
> Be predictable
> Observe and anticipate
> Use road space for your safety - occupy lanes when necessary
> (roundabouts, turning lanes etc)
> Self control and courtesy
>

All very nice, but all very motherhood too.

After all, do you really think your new commuter says to themselves as
they head to work "today I'm going to be blind, I won't anticipate,
I'll piss everyone off, and I'll have no self control! Oh, and I'll
make sure they can't see me too!"

The only really usable - as in "what to do" - statement is the "use
road space for your safety" one, and I think that was expressed a bit
better in the original post, because it gave a novice an idea of what
it meant by using an example.

Every statement has to be accompanied by an example. By somethign
that shows what it means, by a common error.

For example "be predictable - don't weave over the road, don't dart in
and out of traffic, give handsignals in plenty of time, obey the
traffic laws. A car that knows what you will do is a car that won't
hit you."

OK, that last it poetic licence, but you see what I mean.

If you are an experienced commuter, you know what all that means. If
you aren't you need examples and reasons.

The things you talk about are all the things that car drivers are
supposed to know.... but do they? Repeating them to bike riders
isn't useful unless it's usable info, not platitudes.

THe platitudes will be forgotten, the useful examples and reasons will
be remembered.

If you have to get them on little cards, make lots of little cards!

Zebee

Zebee Johnstone wrote:
> In aus.bicycle on Mon, 24 Apr 2006 14:16:11 +1000
> flyingdutch <flyingdutch.26r3uo@no-mx.forums.cyclingforums.com> wrote:
> >
> > Plan your route to reduce your risk
> > Know your rights and know your responsibilities
> > Be visable
> > Be predictable
> > Observe and anticipate
> > Use road space for your safety - occupy lanes when necessary
> > (roundabouts, turning lanes etc)
> > Self control and courtesy
> >
>
> All very nice, but all very motherhood too.
>
> After all, do you really think your new commuter says to themselves as
> they head to work "today I'm going to be blind, I won't anticipate,
> I'll piss everyone off, and I'll have no self control! Oh, and I'll
> make sure they can't see me too!"
>
> The only really usable - as in "what to do" - statement is the "use
> road space for your safety" one, and I think that was expressed a bit
> better in the original post, because it gave a novice an idea of what
> it meant by using an example.
>
> Every statement has to be accompanied by an example. By somethign
> that shows what it means, by a common error.

Of course. The above is conceptual. I'm hoping to put together a DVD
or something that illustrates all this stuff (modeled roughly on
motorcycling safe riding stuff, but more bicycle orientated)

I have been commuting to work by bicycle for about 15 years now. Sure,
90% of car drivers are very good. But if you actually want to survive
commuter riding, then there is only one rule you need:

Every car on the road is trying to kill you. Now.

That little pamphlett in circulation around town is a good start for small carriable info .

Not sure how it is circulated but Ive seen it at the city bike shops and some bike related retailers ( Crumpler ).

The BUGs are a good starting point, obviously can't cover all commuters, but I guess apart from the obvious points set out up top by most contributors, there is a vital fundamental :

* Bike is in good order, and roadworthy condition for commuting *

my basic list is:-

• brakes work and dont grab
• tires are suitable and properly inflated
• lights all work
• horn is loud and works (air horn recommended as others generally can't be heard through a cagers shut windows)
• high vis markers on rider somewhere (jacket, helmet)
• ride in a group if possible, mass with other riders for higher visibility
• chose well used bike routes were cyclists are more common
• avoid dangerous sites ( eg: City Road under St Kilda Road)
• stop at red lights
• don't listen to headphones or use a phone on the move
• wear the right clothing to be warm , dry and flexible
• don't overload.
• Be visible
• take the lane
• be courteous
• make eye contact , & lastly
• don't take ****, report offenders to police and www.idiotdriver.com.au

I dont know if there is one, but something that makes sense ( commercial too) is a roadshow type service that goes from corporate to department to institution to expound cycling safety for commuting employees and how to form a BUG, hold maintenance and skills courses and generally raise awareness on the sound benefits to the entity of employees riding to work for health,happiness and a better workplace...and the entity shows it is a good corp. citizen at the same time...win win. BV's RTW day is a start, but it stops short, needs to be a pro-active service which corps see benefit of to them (& will pay towards and low cost on percapita with huge return and added value to their employee involvement/satisfaction/retention cycle.)

back to a quiet corner with a book, pot of cha and few Monte Carlos from the fridge ...

Roo

it does indeed. Heidi Marfutt at BV runs these workshops, as do TravelSmart. WorkplaceBUGs are far outstripping other growth areas known to BV over the last 18months...
FD

Don’t ride around with your V-brake disengaged, see a bike shop if you have problems. Adjust your ‘bars & levers so you don’t get impaled on them in a slight off.
Pump up your tyres, lube your chain, carry a puncture kit & pump.
Don’t wobble when you’re out on the road with traffic, even going up hills. Use a lower gear.
Gauge your route before you ride. Some roads do not allow cyclists. Some roads are very bad for cyclists. Take advantage of bike paths, dead end streets, roads with bike lanes & roads with shallow gradients to enhance your commuting experience. Sometimes the indirect route may be the best for you.
It’s good to have a change of clothes, riding bikes can be a sweaty & dirty experience.
Be considerate with ‘parking’/storing your bike at work/public places. Some footpaths are negotiated by people in wheelchairs and prams. Stinky gear might also be unsightly.
Keep left wherever possible on paths/off roads.
Slow down around pedestrians & dogs.
Wearing a helmet is cool. [Even on public transport.]
Most cars are unsure where you are going & what you are doing. Tell the world if you want to turn/stop/do a skid.
Look behind you before you change direction or move about the lanes out on the roads.
Bicycle brakes are crap, even MTB hydraulic disks, don’t wheel suck a Linfox.

In article <>, cfsmtb <cfsmtb.26r23c@no-mx.forums.cyclingforums.com>
wrote:

> As the petrol *tipping point* of $1.40+ litre looms, I have been
> wondering about a list that could be quickly reeled off as advice for
> those starting to commute to work.
> ...
> All contributions welcome ...
> All I'm thinking of is a nifty list that we can all easier use at the lights & at work for newbies.

If they know little about commuting, I expect they know little about
bikes. Therefore:
* They should take the bike to a bike shop & get it serviced
If bike shop won't service it, that indicates the bike is sh*tty and
won't last for commuting. (rule-of-thumb generalisation)
* If they're buying a new bike, tell them to go to a bike shop, with
$600 (my guess), and ask for a commuter. They should come out with a
modest bike + lights + helmet + (perhaps) some way of carrying stuff
(clothes, spare tube, etc).
* If someone is asking you (an a.b reader), then you would know a good
bike shop to send them to.

Another item:
* Get them to do a trial ride on the weekend.
This will let them test their chosen route for time & comfort.

Other ideas suggested by other posters mostly seem pretty good.

HTH.
--
K.A. Moylan
Ski Club http://www.cccsc.asn.au
kamoylan@gmail.com

flyingdutch wrote:
> Possibly the biggest (i find) hurdle to getting non-riders to even
> consider riding is to get them to understand they should NOT
> (necessarily) think about getting from A-to-B in the same way they
> would in a car!

My route by bike is nearly 4km less than my route by car, because I
don't need to stick with the fast highways.

Travis