LITTLE ROCK — Here’s a scary thought for Halloween. Imagine yourself on a 30-pound piece of metal, trying to keep pace with machines that outweigh you by thousands of pounds. Nothing but a bit of foam and plastic on your head for protection.
How well can a person on a bike stand up against a truck or an SUV, really?
If you stop to imagine it, riding a bicycle in traffic might feel like a nightmare, but it doesn’t have to be dangerous.
The League of American Bicyclists has developed a course that can teach you how to handle yourself on the roads, called Traffic Skills 101.
Willa Williams, a league cycling instructor, will be teaching several sessions of the class for free, sponsored by NLR Fit2Live. A class for educators and advocates is scheduled for Nov. 8. Another one, open to everyone, is Nov. 10. The classes include an online course, available at bikeed.org, and a hands on class consisting of parking lot practice and on-road riding.
ABIDE ’FORE YOU RIDE
The first thing you should do before you venture out on the roads is adjust your helmet so it fits correctly.
It should sit level across the middle of your forehead and should be snug enough that it doesn’t move, even when the straps are undone. The side straps should be adjusted so that they lie flat and meet just under your ears, and the chin strap should be tightened so that there’s just enough room to put two fingers between it and your neck.
You should also do a preride safety check, the ABC Quick Check.
A stands for air: Check that the tires are properly inflated (over- or under-inflation increases the risk of punctures and flats) and check the tires for damage or wear. If any loose threads are showing on the tires, man, it’s time to replace them. “Many new cyclists air up their tires by touch,” Williams says, “and when we check these tires with a gauge they are often under inflated.”
B stands for brakes: There should be about a thumb’s width between the brake levers and the handlebar when you squeeze the brakes. The brake pads should have at least one eighth inch of rubber showing at all points. They should be parallel to the rim of the wheel and should only touch it, not the tire.
C stands for cranks, chain and cassette: Grab both crank arms (the rotating arms that the pedals attach to) at once and try to move them sideways.
They shouldn’t wiggle at all in the bottom bracket. The chain should be clean and free of rust,and it should travel freely. The cassette (the stack of gears on the rear wheel) and the chain rings (the gears near the pedals) should also be clean and move freely.
Quick stands for Quick Release: Many bikes have quick releases on the wheels, brakes and sometimes the seat posts. If your bike has these, you should check that they’re all tightly closed before you start riding.
Check: Take a slow, short ride to check that the bike’s shifting is smooth and that everything is working before you head out.
OWN THE ROAD (OR AT LEAST YOUR LANE)
Once you’re on the road, you should obey the same basic traffic principles as drivers. You should ride on the right side of the road. Why? Not only is it the direction the road signs are facing, it’s where drivers pulling into the road from driveways or side streets will be looking for oncoming traffic.
Though many cyclists believe - reasonably - that watching oncoming traffic is an important safety measure for avoiding contact, riding the wrong way (facing traffic) is the most common cause of bicycle crashes into cars according to the league.
Riding on the sidewalk is prohibited in business districts in Little Rock.
“We discourage riding on sidewalks because of the risks to walkers and the risks to ourselves when we ride past driveways and intersections,” Williams says.
“Cars just don’t look for fast, oncoming traffic from sidewalks.”
Since bikes are usually slower than other vehicles, you should keep to the right lanes on multi-lane roads unless you’re turning left or the far right lane is right turn only. A basic principle is to use the furthest right lane that goes where you need to.
Still, you need to own that right lane like a motorist.
“A lot of cyclists are apprehensive about sharing the road,” says Williams. “This leads the cyclist to weave in and out of parked cars, ride on the sidewalk, or ride so close to the right side of the road they are in the gutter or too close to parked cars.”
CHANGING LANES
Just like when driving, cyclists shouldn’t ride in turn lanes unless they’re turning in that direction.
To change lanes, first scan behind you to check for traffic overtaking you. Yield to vehicles in your new lane. Signal the shift and change lanes smoothly and gradually. If you need to move over several lanes, do it one lane at a time; don’t cut across several lanes. If possible, it’s even better to shift lanes in parts, going from the right part of the lane to the left before changing lanes. This gives you more time to scan and can give drivers a better idea of what you’re about to do.
It may be possible to share the lane with other vehicles on wide roads, but on roads with narrower lanes cyclists should take the center of the lane. Make sure you’re riding at least 2 or 3 feet from the curb, since you’re less visible if you’re riding in the gutter.
“It’s intuitive to think a cyclist should stay out of the way or be invisible to motorists, but in doing so cyclists risk being perceived as unpredictable,” Williams says.
Instead, “cyclists need to be visible and predictable, and the best way to accomplish this is to act like a motorist and always obey traffic laws.”
Also, leave at least 4 feet when passing parked cars for the door zone, the space where you risk being hit by a car door that opens unexpectedly.
ROAD WARY
Of course not all hazards on the road come from traffic. According to the league, about half of all bicycle crashes are falls, often caused by surface hazards such as potholes or railroad tracks. Railroad tracks should always be crossed with the bike’s wheels at a right angle to the rails so the tires don’t slip into the gaps and get trapped. It’s also a good idea to stand up on the bike and use your arms and legs like shock absorbers.
The sharp edges and height of steel plates used to cover road work can cause a “snakebite” puncture, so named because the two closely spaced holes that form when the tube gets pinched between the rim and the road look like a snakebite.
If you can’t avoid these plates, try to sit up and take your weight off the front wheel as you go over the edge.
Cracks in the pavement can be just as dangerous as a railroad track or steel plate and should be handled in the same ways.
Metal sewer covers, grates and drains can be slick, so be careful when riding over them. Grates and storm drains may also be slotted and can catch your wheel and cause a crash. Try to avoid riding over these as much as possible.
For more details and to sign up for a class, visit Bikeleague.org.
ActiveStyle, Pages 25 on 10/29/2012