Author Topic: How to Bike  (Read 3227 times)

Travisthetruth

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How to Bike
« on: September 12, 2014, 12:08:14 PM »
Dear anyone,
I need to start riding my bike more. there are some places i can get top rather easily (I can get to Wal-Mart and back in five minutes by bike). But, i find it hard to reach other places such as school because of the shoulders or, lack there of.  Where do you ride a bike on narrow roads with no shoulder? Hopefully someone can help me out. Thanks.

briandougherty

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Re: How to Bike
« Reply #1 on: September 12, 2014, 12:19:28 PM »
You ride in the center (or 1/3 from the right) while being highly visible. As long as there are good sight lines this shouldn't be a problem. Nothing says you have to ride on an unsafe shoulder and you shouldn't. 

I'd also get a mirror for a situation like this.

GuitarStv

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Re: How to Bike
« Reply #2 on: September 12, 2014, 12:26:03 PM »
Seconded the advice to ride at least 1/3 of the way in the lane when there is no shoulder.  If you stay far to the right, cars will try to squeeze past you in your lane and make things very dangerous.  By riding in the middle of the lane you force the cars to pass you more safely.  Once they've started to change lanes to pass you, most will complete the lane change, giving you more space.

Riding away from the edge of the road also gives you room to maneuver to avoid debris and potholes.  It's always safe to swerve a little right.  The opposite is not true.

steadierfooting

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Re: How to Bike
« Reply #3 on: September 12, 2014, 12:56:38 PM »
I'm new to biking, and there's some busy roads around me.  I've learned to do what the above say.  Also, be observant when you are driving.  You'll notice how often you encounter bicyclists and how natural it is to avoid them for about 95% of the situations.  Most of the time you just pass them, no big deal, and sometimes for a minute you are stuck behind them while you wait for an opportunity to pass.  Then there's the 1% where you are stuck for minutes and you are pissed off and ready to run over the bicyclist, like maybe a really long narrow stretch of road where you can't pull over and they can't pass?  I know I encountered those situations although can't think of any good examples, but I'll go a few minutes out of my way to avoid those areas.

Stubbly in the City

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Re: How to Bike
« Reply #4 on: September 12, 2014, 02:17:37 PM »
Agree with the above re: taking the lane rather than the shoulder.

The other question to ask is whether there are alternatives to the busy roads between points A and B.  My commute to work is about .75 miles longer than the most direct route, but for that I get to ride on quiet residential streets instead of busy 4 lane roads.  I could use the exercise anyway. 

hyla

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Re: How to Bike
« Reply #5 on: September 12, 2014, 05:01:26 PM »
Look for alternate routes - residential roads parallelling busy streets, and also keep in mind that on a bike, you can take routes that aren't options for cars: city trails, cut through parks, get off your bike and walk a block if there's a connecting street that's one way.  Sometimes you can find this stuff on town bike/walk maps, other times it's unofficial but if you poke around your school and look for paths cutting through the woods  or gaps between houses you may find something.  One place I lived I even got to a shopping plaza by taking a bike path on the other side of the river then wading across the river (this was in the Southwest, the river was knee deep). 

 

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