little lessons you've learned

I agree with lesson #2 that you posted. Grass is much softer than concrete, and I will put a large amount of money behind that. Falling is part of cycling, and you just have to go down sometimes. One lesson I learned is that you need quick thinking and common sense to become an experienced cycler.

urge2kill said:

#1 Always hit cracks perpendicular when it's wet. I regularly cross a railroad that runs oblique to the road, and has two-inch-high cracks between platforms. My handlebars jolted leftward when I crossed it in the rain, but fortunately I was crossing slowly.

#2 If you have to fall and have a choice, it's fifty times better to hit the curb and launch into the grass. This can be done at any intersection with a 45-degree turn.

Anytime I cross tracks that are tracks alone in the street & not accompanied by a walkway I get off my damn bike. too many times have I hit slick tracks in traffic & regretted not getting off.

I avoid railroad tracks as much as I can.

Never try to compete with the truck behind with your earphones on. You might not live to hear the end of the song you are listening to.

Always bring a set of tools with you, that's the first lesson I learned, always be prepared. You'll never know when youll see a beautiful girl with bike trouble.

When you're going for a long ride, always check the weather forecast first so you'll be more prepared if there's a possibility of rain, etc. that may affect your schedule.

I got a lot of scratches on knees when I was young because of accidents on my bike. I fall a lot times and one of those accident almost send me to hospital. But it's alright. That's life, Its still best experience.

If you need to crash think quick and find a soft spot and it usually means it's not in front of you so pick to go left or right lol.

Well, it's all concrete, it's hard to find the soft spot, LOL. NFA warehouse in our province is the best place to use my bike, even there're a lots of big trucks during busy hours, but during early morning before 7 and 3pm onwards, it's looks like a ghost town.

If the weather is not good then don't ride, do something else. This is what I learned, because there's a lot of times when there's a weather bulletin of bad weather that I would still ride because I can't see or feel it yet but after an hour the weather changes from sunny and breezy to dark and rainy. So it's wise to just listen to weather bulletins.

Kakashi said:

If the weather is not good then don't ride, do something else. This is what I learned, because there's a lot of times when there's a weather bulletin of bad weather that I would still ride because I can't see or feel it yet but after an hour the weather changes from sunny and breezy to dark and rainy. So it's wise to just listen to weather bulletins.

Definitely, it's been a habit of mine to always check the weather forecast beforehand, particularly because I don't like getting wet while biking, but also because it's much more dangerous with slippery roads and reduced visibility, and the chance that the weather could be really bad and you might get stranded somewhere or worse.

That's right, agree with the lesson 2. The grass will help you not to get more scratches and somehow the softness of the grass prevent you to get broken bones if you really fast.

Always be aware of your riding schedule. I once rode at night only to come back a little bit frightened. Let's just say that the night time isn't always as safe as you would think.

reighn said:

That's right, agree with the lesson 2. The grass will help you not to get more scratches and somehow the softness of the grass prevent you to get broken bones if you really fast.

This is true. Grass areas are less painful when you're landing from your bike. Many probably practice riding their bikes on soft grass in order to avoid getting scrapes.

kana_marie said:

I avoid railroad tracks as much as I can.

This has to be one of the most logical and useful advice right now. Many riders attempt to cross rail road tracks despite the obvious warnings against it. And the scary part is when the train actually comes from wherever you're at. Better avoid this area.

Runnerdo said:

Never try to compete with the truck behind with your earphones on. You might not live to hear the end of the song you are listening to.

That's great advice. Some people just think it won't happen to them. But life is not without its cruelty. So always make sure you're riding in a safe environment.

Steve5 said:

This is true. Grass areas are less painful when you're landing from your bike. Many probably practice riding their bikes on soft grass in order to avoid getting scrapes.

Yeah, that's right specially the extreme bikers who using the bmx, they mostly practicing their stunts in place where a lot of grass. But we should be careful also, because some of the grass has it's thorn and it's really painful.

reighn said:

Yeah, that's right specially the extreme bikers who using the bmx, they mostly practicing their stunts in place where a lot of grass. But we should be careful also, because some of the grass has it's thorn and it's really painful.

Thanks for sharing. I forgot about those pesky thorns hiding underneath. Sometimes you get scratches without knowing because they're so well-hidden. Let's just generally avoid falling altogether.

Steve5 said:

Thanks for sharing. I forgot about those pesky thorns hiding underneath. Sometimes you get scratches without knowing because they're so well-hidden. Let's just generally avoid falling altogether.

Just be careful is really the best thing to do and always wear the proper protection, it will help us somehow to avoid the injuries.