Safety Tips Originally Published in the Flat Tyre

You have no such accurate remembrance  
  of a country you have driven through  
as you gain by riding a bicycle.  
~ Ernest Hemingway  

With the changing season it is common to need an extra layer of clothing at the beginning of a ride and as the day warms to strip off the extra clothing. In the last few years we have had two riders get their jackets tangled in their back wheels. The first instance resulted in a frustrating hour of cleaning bits and pieces of clothing from the rear cassette but no crash. The second was much worse, resulting in a crash and broken leg! Make sure your gear is stowed safely with no chance of it getting into your wheel. Don’t ride with a jacket tied around your waist. And when you stuff a jacket into a back jersey pocket, make sure it is completely contained and doesn’t have a sleeve hanging down that can get caught in the rear wheel. So, when taking layers off, store them safely and don’t be like Isadora Duncan.

Bicycle Lawyer Gary Brustin’s presentation to the Western Wheelers a while back included a discussion of the most common bike–car accidents he sees in his practice. Many of the accidents he describes occur with the cyclist in plain sight of the driver. It’s not that the driver intentionally hits the cyclist; rather, the driver fails to notice or pay sufficient attention to cyclists properly riding on the road. 

The number of these accidents can be reduced when cyclists use lights to be more conspicuous. A rear blinking light will make you much more conspicuous as drivers approach you from behind. A front facing light will increase your frontal visibility, reducing incidents of Left Turn Accidents. Some club members further increase their safety by adding bio-motion into the effect, putting lights on their ankles, the up and down motion making them even more conspicuous. Gary and many other sources recommend the use of lights. For example, see the WSJ video Simple Tips to Improve Cyclist Visibility, Safety. So, be safe and use lights when you ride.

Many cyclists believe they are safer and more comfortable riding as far to the right as possible. They fear being passed uncomfortably close by a motorist or they feel intimidated by impatient drivers. Riding too far to the right is very dangerous for several reasons: it puts the cyclist in the danger zone of poor sightlines and opening car doors; it invites motorists to attempt to pass too closely; and it takes away the cyclist's escape route to the right in the event of the unexpected. Take responsibility for your own safety and decide when to take the lane, even if other traffic must occasionally slowly follow you until there’s an opportunity to pass by crossing over to the next lane.

For a more thorough discussion of how to position your bike when riding in traffic, see Chapter 2 of Bicycling Street Smarts: Riding Confidently, Legally, and Safely, by John S. Allen.

Every time I see an adult on a bicycle,   
I no longer despair for the future of   
the human race.   
~ H. G. Wells   

On a recent Saturday I was fortunate enough to take the Bike Skills 101 class offered through Western Wheelers and taught by Lorri Lown of Savvy Bike. One of the many great skills she taught was the emergency stop. It’s much better learned through seeing and doing, but I’ll describe it here.

The emergency stop begins with your hands on the drops so you can apply more leverage on the brake levers and be in a lower position. When the need for a fast stop occurs, you put your pedals to a neutral level position (one front one back), push your butt way back, optimally behind your saddle, and brake hard with both brake levers. You should instinctively know which brake lever is your front and which is your rear, but you use both to brake. Your front brake is providing most of the braking power, while your rear brake acts as a stabilizer.

It will be next to impossible to think this through in an emergency situation, so the key is to practice, practice, practice. Lorri had us ride around a building with an empty parking lot and practice this stopping maneuver repeatedly, coming close to a complete stop before peddling again. We must have done at least twenty iterations of the stop during this drill. One needs to practice this maneuver until it becomes instinctual and automatic.

The YouTube video Emergency stops on the bike gives a description and demonstration of the stop as well as mentions several of the related tips that Lorri emphasized in her excellent class.

The sound of a car door opening in front of you  
is similar to the sound of a gun being cocked.  
~ Amy Webster  

Many years ago on his way to a clarinet lesson, my son was riding his bike in the bike lane north on Mary Avenue toward the Don Burnett Bridge when the driver of a van suddenly opened her door right in front of him, causing my son to crash. He ended up going to the hospital with a broken collarbone.

California Vehicle Code 22517 puts the fault of a dooring crash completely on the motorist opening the door.  But that can be little consolation for the cyclist getting severely injured.

When there is a bike lane that goes along a row of parked cars, stay to the far left in the lane, or better yet, move left out of the bike lane altogether to give more room between you and the parked cars. As you ride, keep a watchful eye on the parked cars. If someone has just parked or if you see a car’s brake lights, give the car a wide berth. But more generally, scan the cars to see if there are people in them and be very cautious when you see someone in a parked car.

For more info and tips, see the article in Road Bike Rider or see the article California ‘dooring’ Law Places Liability with Motorists for more info on the legal aspects.

Think of bicycles as rideable art  
that can just about save the world.  
~ Grant Peterson  

Riding a bicycle on roads with cars, trucks, potholes, bumps, animals, and other bikers requires constant attention. One of the most critical lessons for new cyclists is that they must learn to pay attention at all times. The one time that you space out for a few minutes is often when the unexpected occurs. This doesn't mean you can't relax — that’s why we are out cycling! But it’s very important that even when the scenery is incredible, the sunshine soothing, and the conversation invigorating, you must pay attention to the road and the surroundings.

Cyclers see considerably more of this beautiful world  
than any other class of citizens. A good bicycle,  
well applied, will cure most ills this flesh is heir to.  
~ Dr. K. K. Doty  

One safety complaint I frequently hear is about riders being passed dangerously. Please avoid passing on a rider’s right side whenever possible! Passing on the right side often startles a rider and most riders’ first reaction when startled is to move right. Communication is the key. Let the person in front of you know when you are passing, but especially in the rare instance when you must pass on their right.

When riding with a group, position your bike directly beside or behind your companions. Do not partially “overlap” your wheels because a sudden change of course would likely cause the trailing bike (and probably others) to crash. For a vivid example of what can happen, see this short YouTube video The Danger of Overlapping Wheels.

Life is like riding a bicycle: you don’t  

fall off unless you stop pedaling. 
~ Claude Pepper  

On group rides, it is all too easy to just blindly follow the person in front of you as he or she goes through an intersection or crosses lanes. But what is right for that cyclist might not be right for you. Don’t always follow what others are doing. Be sure that you make your own safety choices during a ride. Always look, listen, and think before proceeding. Just because the person in front of you goes through a stoplight, rolls through a stop sign, or changes lanes for a turn does not mean it’s safe for you to do so. There have been many near accidents caused by riders blindly following the actions of a rider 10 or more feet in front of them. When going through an intersection or changing lanes, look in all pertinent directions, use your own judgment, and stay safe!

The bicycle is a curious vehicle.  
Its passenger is its engine.  
~ John Howard  

One of the crashes reported for 2021 occurred when a cyclist fainted while riding due to being unknowingly dehydrated. The cyclist sustained a concussion and spent a day in the hospital. During a previous year, another club member experienced a serious medical issue due to not drinking water during a long ride. Don’t let this happen to you.

Good hydration is important all year long. On warm or hot days we perspire heavily and need to drink frequently to replace lost fluids and stay cool. On cool days when perspiration is not as obvious, it can be easy to forget to drink for long periods or even for an entire ride. Everyone has a different internal thermometer, but it’s important to know your own needs and to tend to them in all weather conditions. Like several others, I have an alarm set on my cycle computer to remind me to drink at regular intervals. When there is a shortage of water sources on longer rides, riders should carry extra water—say two large water bottles and refill them at every opportunity.

When the spirits are low, when the day appears dark, 
when work  becomes monotonous, when hope hardly 
seems worth having, just mount a bicycle and go out 
for a spin down the road, without thought on anything 
but the ride you are taking 
~ Arthur Conan Doyle 

Many WW routes have regroups listed on the ride sheets (e.g. LDT, FFS). We try to place regroups where there is room to get off the roadway, but use common sense and caution as well. Remember not to block traffic or hinder cars that are turning. It’s safer and more courteous to pull well off the road. Even on individual rides, call out when stopping and pull as far off the road as possible so as not to block cars or other cyclists.