New biker!

[EfficientNinja]

Hello, everyone!

I am EfficientNinja and I am new when it comes to biking. Can you recommend some reading materials to learn how to act on the road when riding a bicycle? Can you also share some tips for a newbie like me? Some bike maintenance tips should be useful for me too!

Thanks!

 

[Froze]

Not sure what you mean by how to act while riding a bike on the road, so I'm going to assume you mean how to act legally on the road. Legally in all the states I know of and read about a bike MUST obey all traffic laws as a car would, some states allow bikes to roll through red lights and stop signs but I disagree with that law, if a cyclist some day is killed I seriously believe the state will be held responsible for allowing the cyclists to do that. This means that bikes should NOT be on sidewalks UNLESS signs are posted saying it's ok for bikes to be on the sidewalk; it also means you have the right to take the lane as a car would if there isn't enough space on the far right side for you to ride safely; but you do have to follow all marked bike lanes on any street that has those. A very smart and attractive female surgeon didn't follow the bike lane on a city street she was on, nor paid attention to the big truck to the left of her that had his turn signal on and she was more than far enough behind to see the turn signal, nor did she realize that truckers can't see down onto the road alongside their truck, nor did she realize that when trucks turn they will need a lot of space and sometimes run over the curb, which the trucker did killing the doctor. So follow your city rules for cycling if they differ from car rules, and never ever pull alongside a large profile vehicle because they can't see you no matter what you think they can or cannot see, and never ever stop to close to the rear of large profile vehicle, not only can they not see you but sometimes they can roll back 2 to 3 feet sometimes more when they start to go forward. You even even have to be carefull coming alongside a car, sure they can see where the trucker can't, but they also don't pay attention and will turn taking you out, so if you need to pull alongside a car say due to a bike lane make sure you get the driver's attention by waving at them, I don't care if you are in a bike lane on a street don't pull alongside a large profile vehicle because they can't see you and they'll need that space that bike lane has to make their wide turns. Large profile vehicles are so large they won't feel a thing if they run you over so a lot of times they just keep going because they thought all was good.

As far as other behaviors, don't act like other cyclists who break the law to suit their needs, let them get killed but you stay alive! Don't pay attention to the motorist screaming at you or flipping you off, just ignore them.

 

[dabac]

www.sheldonbrown.com
Great place to start.

 

[EfficientNinja]

Thanks, @Froze for the detailed guide. I tend to avoid large trucks and fast moving cars unconsciously while driving. I am too afraid to ride near them because of the fear of getting in an accident. It would mean instant death if I get hit because riding in a bike won't offer you much protection if you get hit by a moving vehicle.

Thanks for the link, @dabac! I saw the menus on his website and I think all the things that I will need are on his website already! This is a huge help!

 

[DenisP]

Well to be quite honest, I'm not sure where I'd find any "material" on bike safety and riding, as I pretty much learned everything I know from life experience. Simply googling "bike safety tips" seems to yield some good results, though.

There are some basic tips like:

- Always go with the flow of traffic.
- Adhere to the rules of the road and don't behave like a pedestrian-motorist hybrid.
- Avoid large vehicles like semi-trucks when possible.
- And always wear proper safety gear like helmets, as well as lights for nighttime riding.

As far as maintenance goes, always make sure that your chain, cogset (if you have a multi-speed bike), and brakes are well oiled to prevent rusting. Keep your bike as clean as possible for the same reason, meaning don't let mud and dirt stay on it if you've gone off-road. This combined with taking it into the shop for annual maintenance should keep everything in pristine condition.

Happy riding, and welcome to the forum!

 

[Froze]

By the way here is the video of that surgeon that got killed. I know it's very sad thing to watch but if you watch it and stop and go the film you'll see things that she did that a lot of riders do, and some get badly hurt or killed by these actions she did. The other thing is about this film is that a lot of cyclists are beating their chests saying it's the truck driver's fault and the police version of what happened is wrong...look I'm a cyclist too, and I hate it when cyclists get killed, but I have to separate my emotions from reality, and after I watched the film first at regular speed then stop and go I can clearly see it was her fault. Anyway if you can stomach it here is the video:

http://www.massbike.org/anitakurmannvideo

You can see at 1:00 of the film she is riding on the far right lane near the curb approaching a light intersection, there is a panel or straight truck in front of a large flatbed trailer, that tractor is the truck that eventually gets her, she is behind the truck but since she's going a bit faster ends up alongside of the truck, also if you watch carefully when the cyclist is behind the truck the truck has it's turn signal on you can see that just as that straight truck in front clears just enough of the big truck to see the turn signal is on. There is a message that pops up stating some law but the law that they don't quote is the one that supersedes that law in that state and city and that is that cyclists are to be on bike lanes if one exists. As that semi makes it's right turn notice the middle lane at 1:30, there are symbols of a bike with an arrow...THAT IS THE BIKE LANE she was suppose to be in. In this horrible example her inexperience is what killed her, she should have never been running along side that truck, she fails to notice the trucks signal light, she fails to recognize that the truck is sweeping into the middle lane to prepare itself to make a right turn so it can clear the light pole at the corner because trucks and especially flat beds need a lot of room to turn but she doesn't know this, she fails to obey the law that she was to be in the bike lane. Even that straight truck could have killed her if she was alongside it and it turned, even a car had it been in the right laned turned right as she was passing could have killed her! You cannot run along the side of any vehicle where right turns are possible. Also toward the end they say its a hit and run, no not really because those trucks are so large that the driver never even felt the impact and if he did may have thought he ran over the curb.

Here is a video to show you the blind spots trucks have and the danger that represents to cyclists and why you need to be very careful around them, this also applies to any large profile truck like buses, straight trucks, RV's, pickups towing a camping trailer, etc:

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View: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lV-rhiGRFTE
If you let that video roll onto the next video on that one you can see a bunch of dumb cyclists doing that dumb stuff they do near big trucks, any one of those riders could have gotten killed or seriously injured, and let that roll to the next film and it's more of the same stupid stuff cyclists do.

 

[treecko142]

Some general tips on the road: http://bicyclesafe.com
Also, rules regarding bicycles may vary per country, so you might want to check your local laws.

 

[Steve5]

Hi there. I would suggest avoiding congested roads and taking your time to look before proceeding. Riding in the streets or on the road can be dangerous. It's especially true for certain places.

 

[Froze]

While congested roads can be dangerous they are in reality only as dangerous as we make it! What the heck did I just say?? I see cyclists all the time riding their bikes with no regard about the rules of the road that cars have to follow just as well as cyclists have to follow, but cyclists think they're above the law, so they run stop signs, traffic lights, weave in out of traffic, cut across a car's path, ride down the wrong way on one way streets, ride on the left against traffic, tailgate cars, riding alongside big profile vehicles, riding on the sidewalk, not staying in the bike lane, reckless operation of a bicycle, and a host of other rules they break.

If you follow the rules just as a motorist has to your safety goes way up; also you can read this to further enhance your riding safety: http://bicyclesafe.com/ Always be looking ahead and not 3 feet in front of your front wheel, there's nothing going on there that you need to see, the action is taking place up to a block ahead of you, don't stare at the car's tail lights in front of you, you have to know what the car ahead of that car is doing. Always be scanning from left to right to check on things that might be going on at an intersection or a driveway. Keep your ears open and the earbuds out, listen for cars behind you suddenly accelerating, they're telling you that they want to beat you to the next intersection or driveway so more then likely they'll cut you off so if your not preparing to stop the car may stop you for you.

 

[reighn]

I think you don't need to act while riding your bike. You should just focus to the road, and vehicles around you, and be aware to the road signs, and the important thing is, always wear your helmet.

 

[Froze]

I think you don't need to act while riding your bike. You should just focus to the road, and vehicles around you, and be aware to the road signs, and the important thing is, always wear your helmet.

Not sure what you mean by this statement: 'I think you don't need to act while riding your bike." Please expound on it a bit further to make it more clear for the rest of us...ok, maybe others understood it but I don't! LOL!!

Wearing a helmet won't do a whole lot of good if cyclists don't obey the rules and are playing ping pong off of cars!

 

[reighn]

Not sure what you mean by this statement: 'I think you don't need to act while riding your bike." Please expound on it a bit further to make it more clear for the rest of us...ok, maybe others understood it but I don't! LOL!!

Well, based on his topic, he was looking for some reading materials to know how to act on the road, and basically, you don't need that, as a beginner you will just become confused and uncomfortable to the roads and you won't enjoy your travel. To know the simple road signs and focus to the road are actually enough, and just let your experience decide how the proper act or reaction to the roads depends on the situation.

 

[Froze]

Experience is a big thing when it comes to riding bikes that for sure. The doctor that was killed in Mass. that I mentioned in my post #6 above is an unfortunate example of that. I hope that from her death and by the discussions on this forum and another forum where people were blaming the truck driver as the video did that I showed (which the police and I showed why it was NOT the fault of the truck driver), that people will learn something from her tragedy and perhaps keep another cyclist from needlessly dying.

 

[Henrywrites]

Understanding what the rules of the road where you are riding is something that you should always have in mind when it is time for you to start riding. I have seen cases where riders broke rules and get fined heavily. You should also stick to some friends that are experienced so as to flow well.