Road Cycling - Complete NooB Questions

Ok, here are the things that have been on my mind that I know all you folks can help answer:
1) Do you wear arm/leg warmers under or over shorts and jersey sleeves?
2) Is it true that you should use a safety pin to hold them up?
3) You come to a red light and wish to go straight. There are two lanes. The left lane is designated as straight only, and the right lane is straight or right turn. Which lane should you be in, and should you be centered in the lane or off the the right?
4) Why do jerseys have three pockets? What the heck do people carry around with them? So far I have thought of power bars, cell phone, keys, but why three?
5) What kinds of places will let you bring your bike in with you (I don't carry a lock b/c I wouldn't trust it). Gas stations? Restaurants? Grocery stores? etc.
I'm sure I'll have more questions later, just give me a few days...

Ok, I think I got all 5 of 'em correct. I looked for answers printed upside down at the very bottom of the page but couldn't find them.

1.Under
2.Never heard that,they will stay.
3.On the line that divides straight and right.
4.Some people dont use a seat bag.
5.I dont know,i never stop.
6.Socks go on outside of leg warmers but this morning i used 2 so first pair under warmers and second over.
7.The fury stuff on gloves is to wipe your nose.
8.Dont wear anything under your bike shorts.
9.Go ride.

1) I wear my leg warmers outside my shorts. It never occured to me to do otherwise. I wear them winter and summer because of a chronic knee injury.
2) I always pin them up to my shorts with a safety pin. I don't think you should have to but I do because they keep sliding down otherwise. I wear Pearl Izumi shorts and they do not seem to have suffered from years of pinning.
3) I move to the left side of the right turn lane in case someone wants to turn right. It is a good idea not to irritate motorists.
4) Gee I wouldn't be without three pockets. The left pocket carries my cell phone, a small pocket notebook, a ball point and a comb. The middle pocket is for my Wallet. The right pocket carries a hanky, my keyes and a small pocket knife. When I was much younger I did not carry so much but I carried a spare tubular there and later a spare intertube when I no longer rode on turbulars.
5) I know of no establisments except a bicycle shop that will permit you to bring your bike in. At the doughnut shop I am carful to park my bike outside in such a location that I can keep my eye on it.

1&2) i wear leg warmers under my tights. i find that this way, they're held in place (helps to shave your legs, too!). the obvious downside is that you can't easily remove them in mid-ride. i haven't worn arm warmers.

3) like the above posters, i'd stay on the left side of the right lane, or in between the two. there's nothing wose than getting stuck on the margin waiting to go straight while cars turn right in front of you. if traffic is stopped and i clearly had enough time to do so before the light changed, i'd probably also ride up in between the cars and position myself at the front of the right lane and proceed straight and to the right side of the road once the light changed.

4) just cause. and in my pockets, i generally keep a tube, cell phone, energy bar or banana, keys, money/credit card/metrocard.

5) it varies on the establishment. certain establishments are certainly more cycle friendly than others. there are a few bars, coffee shops and restaurants around here that i regularly see bikes in. i also regularly bring my bike into one of the local post offices (i didn't ask, but no one has complained).

being a new york city resident, i'd always rather have my bike in view than outside, but i've had good luck so far. that said, people here will steal anything even remotely resembling a bike, so i never leave it unattended for long, even with kryptonite chain and ulock in place. if i ride to a restaurant or bar and need to lock it outside, i try to lock it where i can i can see it (great for summertime sidewalk dining!). if i'm inside a store, i try to be brief!

i can't really answer any of those questions, but i can offer some advice about locks and locking and such...

if you don't trust the lock you have, get a new lock...i recommend the kryptonite new york noose (the one with the motorcycle disc lock). it wraps easily around your waist...although it does weigh roughly 4.5lbs. the lock is about $100 though, but you can purchase insurance from them in case a thief does get your bike as a result of the lock failing. a wise investment if you worry about that sort of thing. if you find yourself stopping places and having to lock up, it's a good idea to have a lock you can trust. it's better to have and not need than it is to need and not have.

i usually carry a mini u-lock in my back pocket, that i rarely use if i'm on my road bike, it's more handy for a track bike where everything is bolted down. if i have to lock up, i usually keep it in plain sight, or i use the mini lock to secure the rear wheel to the frame, and (if i have it with me) a larger u-lock to secure the front wheel and frame to something. (i carry a fairly large courier bag with me whenever i go out. it has a 2600 cu in capacity). i've really been wanting one of the NYC noose chains though, they seem like a very good investment.

kryptonite also makes secure skewers that you can use in place of a QR if you're worried about your wheels. they tighten and loosen with a "key" of sorts and they only tighten and loosen with that key. and they don't really weigh all that much. everything else should be relatively safe unless you have a QR seat, or the would-be thief carries a tool kit.

1. under
2. forget the pin, the gripper will keep them up.
3. right side of the lane going straight, but be careful of traffic.
4. three pockets keeps the stuff stable. keys in the right, wallet in the middle, mini tool and spoke wrench in the left. plus a powerbar in each.
5. LBS
6. ride more, computer less.

Thanks everbody!
ps: I love the way you're answering questions I didn't ask. Staying ahead of the game.

1&2) Too warm here to bother with those

3) Take the lane.

4) Because that what the market dictiates.

5) not many places do. The post office doesn't seem to care, and bike shops.

6) NEVER wear underwear with bike shorts

Ok, here are the things that have been on my mind that I know all you folks can help answer:
1) Do you wear arm/leg warmers under or over shorts and jersey sleeves?
2) Is it true that you should use a safety pin to hold them up?
3) You come to a red light and wish to go straight. There are two lanes. The left lane is designated as straight only, and the right lane is straight or right turn. Which lane should you be in, and should you be centered in the lane or off the the right?
4) Why do jerseys have three pockets? What the heck do people carry around with them? So far I have thought of power bars, cell phone, keys, but why three?
5) What kinds of places will let you bring your bike in with you (I don't carry a lock b/c I wouldn't trust it). Gas stations? Restaurants? Grocery stores? etc.
I'm sure I'll have more questions later, just give me a few days...


1. Under. Pull them all the way up, then down to where you want them. Keep any extra just below where the thighs would rub the seat/together.
2. You shouldn't need a safety pin.
3. Right "straight thru or turn" lane. Never go further right in that lane than just right of center(take the lane). Splitting the two thru lanes will tempt cars behind you to try a squeeze play, you'll be the loser.
4. Left pocket-two tubes and energy bar. Middle pocket-two energy bars. Right pocket-wallet and keys. When you take off arm/leg warmers, you can roll them tight with a rubber band and stash them in the middle or right pocket. I keep the rubber bands around the spare tubes. A cycling vest rolled tight will also fit in the center pocket with the energy bars.
5. Not many places want the bike inside. In groups, always leave someone outside with the bikes, then come back outside to munch. When riding by myself, I've seen people look around suspiciously at stops like stores or gas stations, and told them I'd stay right there with the bikes while they went inside if they'd do the same for me. Cyclists have to stick together. I just got a cable lock from Trek that is attached to the bottom of a water bottle cage. The purpose of the lock is to make someone take enough time for me to get outside with a couple of heavy objects in my hand. Since my bike is worth about $2,000, stealing it is a felony, and I can respond accordingly.