So recently I've thought about getting a better bike to commute to town with, rather than use our only car, which my husband has to use as well. The only thing is, while in my immediate area there are a lot of bike lanes, as you get towards town the roads become more hectic and filled with cars, and the lanes disappear! I could always ride on the sidewalk and be rude, but I'm absolutely terrified of being run over by cars. I have a lot of anxiety relating to vehicles to begin with, which is where my want to cycle to work comes into play, but I have no idea how to get over the idea of riding on the same road as cars!
I was very afraid of riding in the streets too (sometimes I still am!) but what helped me was joining a local cycling group. They do urban rides twice a month and it helped me get used to riding in busy streets. Of course, it's very different to riding solo but when I had done a couple rides with people and kinda knew what to expect from certain streets I gained the confidence I lacked.
If you don't have a cycling group near I'd suggest riding first in less busy streets. I take the sidewalk on some sections too (the bicycle lane disappears at times). Also looking to drivers directly in the eye works, you stop being "a cyclist" and suddenly become "a human being"
"Also looking to drivers directly in the eye works, you stop being "a cyclist" and suddenly become "a human being" Deep stuff right there hehe. It's true though. 🙂
Sometimes eye contact and a wave is all you need to make sure they see you.
Other times I find I need to be assertive. For instance if I am already into a left turn and there is a driver stopped at a stop sign on the road that I making the left turn onto. If I see his wheels start to move and we have eye contact, I super aggressively point my finger like you do to a dog telling the dog to "sit" but I yell stop. The wheels immediately stop. They know I am not F'ing around.
I would suggest to ride along the cycle lanes at first so that you can become accustomed to cycling with cars around and then when you feel confident move up to riding on roads without bike lanes. It might seem a slow process but going slow and easing into it is a better way rather than jumping right into it which might scare and put you off it. Talking from a little experience here 🙂
Good luck out there, and also another tip I would give, one I picked up here funnily enough, try to look at the road ahead as much as possible and not at your front wheel because it will cause you to wobble a little.
I definitely agree with the others, you should ease into it and definitely be as careful and prepared as you can when you go on practice rides. That way you can remain calm and assert the situation as it's going on.
I would try the practice rides too if I were you. If a person can ride a bike to work, even the money it would save on fuel for a car would make it worth it. Unfortunately for me, I have always lived way out in the country and the road to ride to town is very steep. I was afraid I would be so exhausted trying to get to my job in town where I used to work that I would not feel like putting in a full days work with my special needs students at school.
There is not any other lane or detour So you can minimize your trip through car lanes during your commuting? I find Your anxiety justified because of all asholes and retarded drivers, always driving with a hurry in mind .
Well you can choose to be rude and get charged (depending on the rules in your area) or you can brave up and ride in between the cars. If you cannot do any of those, you can always walk.
