Commuting - How did you learn to cycle in traffic?

How did you learn to cycle in traffic?

Did you take course? Which ones?

Have you read any books on traffic cycling, commuting, transportation, etc? What were they, and what did you learn from them?

Get some trips from experienced cyclists? What?

Or did you just wing it and learn from the school of hard knocks? What did you learn?

All of the above, in the reverse order that you wrote them.

Read the three Cycling Gospels According to John:
Effective Cycling - John Forrester
Street Smarts - John Allen
Cyclecraft - John Franklin

After taking the League of American Bicyclist's Road I corse, I went on to become a League Cycling Instructor.

And I still can't spell.

i just went out and did it. the only thing that's hurt me so far was the curb. that was my fault. turned my head... turned my wheel... yayy!!! i'm flying!! :rolleyes:

I just read up on some net pointers, and just did it...

you will be a bit paranoid at first...that eventually becomes a very aware but cool demeanor as you get used to the traffic around you.

When I was in San Jose, I was comfortable with a 10 inch clearance from my handlebars to their mirror while moving....I was so used to the drivers in my area, and how traffic there behaves to parking lot entrances, etc, that it was just second nature after a while.

Da Tinker - after reading the three gospels of John, how much more were you able to learn from the LAB courses?

I did research on the Internet before I got a bike. After I got a bike, I started out on trails. I don't know if I tried riding a little in the street first or if I read Effective Cycling by John Forester first, but I gradually became comfortable with cycling in some traffic. I sold my car and moved from Northern Virginia into DC. My bike became my main mode of transportation and I got a lot more comfortable with traffic.

Seriously, I may not really have understood how to ride a bike in vehicular traffic until I experienced the opposite perspective: how to accommodate cyclists while I was driving around them. Be vigilant, leave options open as long as possible because unexpected situations can arise, make sure my approach and presence is observed, signal my intentions unambiguously sufficiently early to be reacted to, expect people to do dumb and/or illegal things and allow myself sufficient time/space to react.

As a rider I know motorists are supposed to follow rules of the road and treat cyclists like any other vehicle in traffic, but from observation I know the risk of serious harm is largely on cyclists so I expect I have to operate defensively, be vigilant, leave options open as long as possible because unexpected situations can arise, make sure my approach and presence is observed, signal my intentions unambiguously sufficiently early to be reacted to, expect people to do dumb and/or illegal things and allow myself sufficient time/space to react.

Like others here have said: I got some tips from the net, bikeforums included. Then I bit the bullet and just tried it. Did the embarassing "first time clipless" fall. Slowly got over my paranoia and adjusted. Give it a shot, it gets easier pretty quickly.

I'm not sure what there is to learn???
It's just common sense. Obey the same rules as if you were a car, and use your head to know when to back off and give cars the right of way.

I used common sense, a rarity for me :). Riding in traffic in the US was a doddle compared to riding on the narrower and normally busier roads in south-east england. I learnt to give myself plenty of room to manouvre and learnt not to assume that just because you're riding in the middle of a lane lit up like a christmas tree while wearing anough reflective bits and bobs to keep scotchlite in business for a year that the driver parked at the side of the road will actually see you before attempting to pull away.

How did you learn to cycle in traffic?


I cycle like I drive, with the exception that I ride a little farther to the right. I take the lane when I think it is too narrow for a car + me.

My friend taught me the basics, safety tips. Also turned on to touring.

RIP bro

Went out and did it, then read up on it for more pointers. I started gradually, with non-busy one ways to a local bike path. Then I got more confident, checked out bike forums, read some cycling guides. Every day is a learning experience.

Reading is for nerds

Its only common sense if eveybody does it. Looking after a horse used to be common sense and still is in Mongolia. I wouldnt know which end to put the what.
I first started riding on the road at about 8, usually in the local neighbourhood with friends. I got my first new bike at 10 and did a cycling proficiency course at school, then started riding independantly to school, friends and anywhere else I wanted to go. I rode at night and in winter in a small market town but don't ever recall having any problems.

Common sense and experience on the job. When I was young and learning to ride a bike, my Dad taught me to signal, look behind and get into the correct position on the road for turns. After that it is a case of building confidence by riding, not by reading books about it (with the exception of the highway code/rules).

Cheers,

Ed

This is funny reading for a european. I don't know anybody over here who have ever taken a special course in how to ride in traffic! What would they teach you?
"Get on the bike, grab the handlebar here, pedal on the pedals and make pling-pling sounds on this pling-pling-thingy here. That over there is a road, ride on it, this here is a curb - you should run into it..."

But I've been to the US of A and I know that all your roads are made exclusivly(sp?) for cars. You have lanes wide as your asses and no sidewalks.

I don't know it just sound hillarious.

/jens

I took an Effective Cycling (BikeEd) class in Oct 2000. Started commuting in 2001 when I got a job. Liked it so much I became an LAB (http://www.bikeleague.org/educenter/education.htm) certified cycling instructor in 2003. Now I'm the EC/BikeEd program coordinator (http://www.atlantabike.org/ec.htm) for Atlanta Bicycle Campaign (http://www.atlantabike.org/home.htm). :D

Well I first raced BMX as a child and then MTBs in HS. Bikes at speed in packs teaches you to control your bike in close quarters pretty well. Then as an adult on the commute I just ride and have an attitude that I have the right to be there.

This is funny reading for a european. I don't know anybody over here who have ever taken a special course in how to ride in traffic! What would they teach you?
"Get on the bike, grab the handlebar here, pedal on the pedals and make pling-pling sounds on this pling-pling-thingy here. That over there is a road, ride on it, this here is a curb - you should run into it..."

But I've been to the US of A and I know that all your roads are made exclusivly(sp?) for cars. You have lanes wide as your asses and no sidewalks.

I don't know it just sound hillarious.

/jens
There you go... the classic "I don't need to do a course because I know how to ride a bike" attitude that prevails.

You know, jens, you let yourself down when you talked about no sidewalks. You don't need a sidewalk to ride a bike. Oh, unless you are a wheeled pedestrian, which a lot of Northern Europeans seem to consider themselves to be.

I have had five people do a course over the past week. They all were "forced" to do the course -- they are required to cycle-commute a certain distance over the next year and then they receive the bike they are given as their own.

Some of the comments on the second evening related to their workmates: "What do you need to do a course for. EVERYONE knows how to ride a bike. What the hell could you have leanred". By the third night, I think EVERYONE started to realise they knew diddly-squat about riding a bike...

There you go... the classic "I don't need to do a course because I know how to ride a bike" attitude that prevails.

You know, jens, you let yourself down when you talked about no sidewalks. You don't need a sidewalk to ride a bike. Oh, unless you are a wheeled pedestrian, which a lot of Northern Europeans seem to consider themselves to be.

I have had five people do a course over the past week. They all were "forced" to do the course -- they are required to cycle-commute a certain distance over the next year and then they receive the bike they are given as their own.

Some of the comments on the second evening related to their workmates: "What do you need to do a course for. EVERYONE knows how to ride a bike. What the hell could you have leanred". By the third night, I think EVERYONE started to realise they knew diddly-squat about riding a bike...

The no sidewalks note was just to point out how car-centered that big country in west is. I ride on the street, no worries there mate!
Im still curious about what you teach your pupils about riding a bicycle. My point being that there is not that much to it. You just ride. Like take my mum for example, she is not a Lance Armstrong on the bike, she swings from side to side but she knows it and rides slow and out of the way... Soo... what could she and I learn except the obvious of normal traffic laws and avoiding getting hit by cars????

That part about people being forced to participate and then given a bike scares me.

hoodiddellidoo to you down under from up here in a cold sthlm.
/jens

I have a cousin who lives in Sweden. He likes it. I hope I do when I visit him. I hear the cycling's pretty darned good there.

"Forced" means they are volunteering to become cycle-commuters for a year, with a threshhold number of kilometres per week. Their employer is making a financial contribution to this, including acquisition of the bike. As a reward, the bike they are issued with at the beginning becomes their's at the end of 12 months. A provisio of the deal is that they participate in the course we run.... part of duty of care and other things.

The course deals with all the principles of what is termed effective cycling, vehicular cycling, skilled cycling... whatever.

I understand your question about "there is not that much to it". We get it all the time. Those who participate in our courses eventually think otherwise.

Indeed, if you are riding a bike on dedicated paths, or in an environment where the speed limit is lower, and the legal onus is on a motor vehicle driver, and "wheeled pedestrians" like your mum are the norm, everything is OK.

But, the whole picture changes when we talk about suburban and city environments that require riding for more than 5km; have few or no dedicated bike facilities (and even they can be suspect); and have aggressive motor vehicle drivers.

It's at this point that knowing how to handle a bike under stress conditions becomes paramount. It starts with getting on, getting the pedals in the right position, taking off in a straight line, knowing how to brake in emergency conditions.... and a whole raft of other stuff.

Come across to Australia and enrol in a course. You WILL learn something.

This is funny reading for a european. I don't know anybody over here who have ever taken a special course in how to ride in traffic! What would they teach you?
"Get on the bike, grab the handlebar here, pedal on the pedals and make pling-pling sounds on this pling-pling-thingy here. That over there is a road, ride on it, this here is a curb - you should run into it..."

But I've been to the US of A and I know that all your roads are made exclusivly(sp?) for cars. You have lanes wide as your asses and no sidewalks.

I don't know it just sound hillarious.

/jens

As a Norwegian living in the US (Houston) for the last 8 years I can tell you there are lots of Europeans who could use some education on how to ride safely in traffic. Just two months ago I was home in Norway on vacation for three weeks. I saw countless people riding in the dark, wearing dark clothes, having no lights on their bikes, no reflective gear, not following traffic rules, riding on sidewalks etc. Yes, traffic moves much more slowly, roads are generally much more bike friendly, and drivers are more used to having bikes around them. But that's no excuse to be ignorant and reckless when riding a bike.

Regarding the relationship between lanes and asses in the US, I agree completely. There seem to be a strong correlation between the two.

Sverre

Come across to Australia and enrol in a course. You WILL learn something.

Is that a challange, promise or an invitation? Either way I'd love too go!! :)

I've actually been to Australia before. Went with a couple of friends to Arapalis north of Melbourne a couple of years ago climbing. Stayed three months -- great place! Great people! Loved it!

Take care and a merry christmas!
/jens

I just rode. I started out riding in car parks and with my Mum playing "mother duck" on the way to school. Then I rode to middle school solo, then I got a paper round, then I got jobs. My traffic involvement gradually increased: at 11 I was avoiding roundabouts, at 12 I had mastered them, it took me to 16 to get fast on-ramps sorted. When I started riding solo, my parents bought me a copy of the Highway Code (the UK road rulebook) and made me read it.

Cycling Proficiency classes at 13 were a hindrance - they taught me to ride in the gutter. I still have to consciously work to ride outside.

Then when I got the net and read Franklin's "Roadcraft" and to a lesser extent Forrester's "Effective cycling" I tweaked my style to optimise my road use.

But ultimately, I just had a bike as a kid and rode it properly.

I just started riding to work, only experience up to that point was training rides with friends. Then I hooked up with local advocacy types and ended up helping organize training by a local LAB instructor who was into Effective Cycling and learned about "taking the lane". I pick and choose what works for me.


How did you learn to cycle in traffic?

Did you take course? Which ones?

Have you read any books on traffic cycling, commuting, transportation, etc? What were they, and what did you learn from them?

Get some trips from experienced cyclists? What?

Or did you just wing it and learn from the school of hard knocks? What did you learn?

My point being that there is not that much to it. You just ride.

Yes and no. I think what hooked me on cycling is that although it is simple enough to be able to learn how to ride, turn, and stop (I suspect most of us learned as kids), there is almost no end to the associated skills that you can develop.

I thought that there was "not much to it" when I first start road biking. Then I started wondering why guys like Lance et. al. could ride up and Alps D'Huez and I was struggling getting up smaller hills. Yeah, obviously he's in great shape, but consider something as simple as pedaling -- most novice cyclists "mash", i.e., only push down; racers know how to develop power throughout the whole 360 degrees of turning the cranks. Consider turning - could you make a sharp hairpin turn at 40 MPH at the base of the hill? Do you understand why you actually have to turn your bars in the opposite direction? Consider stopping - do you know how to make a panic stop without skidding or going over the bars? Do you know how to track stand so that you can get out of your clipless pedals *after* you have stopped? Do you know how to ride in a paceline? The list goes on and on...

Remember the 2003 TDF when Ulrich lost his rear wheel and Lance was behind him, went off the course and back on? That was more than "good reflexes" -- those are things that people like Lance practice so that they'll know how to deal with it when the need arises.

I think you can do the same thing and develop skills to ride in traffic.

Learned a lot as a bike messenger in Philly after college. Lost a lot of the beer weight too. Lucky I didn't lose my life too, since I wasn't yet smart enough to wear a helmet.

read a lot on the net but found out that the only way to truly understand was to ride.

I would recommedn scouting the route first (on a non busy day) before riding out.

the school of hard knocks.

making a mistake can be a b!tch when your trying to compete for space with the 3000 pounders. so i live and learn a little each day.

the idea of a cycling class sounds funny to me too... the last lesson i got was my dads last push when my training wheels finally came off and i managed to ride away without falling over. since then i learned all i know by doing it myself and watching others who seem to do it even better than i can.

by doin it

Da Tinker - after reading the three gospels of John, how much more were you able to learn from the LAB courses?

Very little, actually. The main reason I took the course is that it was a prerequisite to becomming a LCI.

To those who wonder what is taught in such a course, they cover everything from selection of a bike that fits, to maintinence, taking care of your body, traffic laws, dealing with road features, weather, and other people on bikes.

Balancing aint biking.

How did you learn to cycle in traffic?
- Did you take course?
- Have you read any books on traffic cycling, commuting, transportation, etc?
- Get some trips from experienced cyclists?
- Or did you just wing it and learn from the school of hard knocks?

My parents didn't cycle, so I got basic training from a responsable teenager/young adult that lived in the neighbourhood. So there I learned practice and theory, and I also learnt theory from my parents.

In the early 1970s, when I was 14-15, I also read a book on bicycle touring (which I don't remember) and Richard Ballantyne's book on cycling. Quite a few interesting lessons to learn there.

I also was helped by the fact my parents had always considered that if I wanted to bicycle, I should do it safely. For instance, when I grew taller than an older bike, I had no problem getting one to my size, and moreover it always was a decent one, equipped with rack(s), fenders and lights. Not being a "follower", I had no problems cycling with a bicycle with fenders and lights, even though it might not be "cool" with others; in fact, I enjoyed that uniqueness.
And my parents always reminded me that stop signs and red lights were meant to be respected; in fact, I got grounded once or twice for that.

The rest, I mostly learnt it by experience. A mid-size city is great in that one has more time to learn by experience. I always was a better cyclist (more astute, less frightened by traffic, always interested by riding on the road, more interested in riding in difficult situations, etc.) than everyone I knew, so if anything, I have been the model.

Readings on the web in the last 5 years have mostly confirmed my experience. I learned a few tricks but not bold new techniques. I also have shared a few ones, for better or for worst.

As for courses, I am not interested in courses by Vélo Québec, as they promote too much non-vehicular cycling. After all, a good chunk of their budget comes from the Ministry of (car) Transport... The Can-Bike series is really interesting, but I think the closest training location is in Ottawa, 200 km away. Still, if the schedule works, I might be intested in simultaneous teaching of Can-Bike II for myself and the kid programme for my 8.5-year-old daughter who cycles approximately 500 km per year on her own steam and 1500 km on the tandem.

Just did it.

However, I like to read cycling mags, web sites and listservs. I find a steady drumbeat of suggestions on all kinds of riding. Though I ride according to the same rules as when I drive, I make concessions due to my smaller size and speed if they make common sense to me.

There are roads which I will avoid even though I have the "right" to use them. I'd prefer not to end up "dead right."

I learned by sucking the wheels of experienced roadies.
Tom

making a mistake can be a b!tch when your trying to compete for space with the 3000 pounders. so i live and learn a little each day.

the idea of a cycling class sounds funny to me too...

If you took a class (or read a book like Effective Cycling by John Forester), you would probably cease thinking about cycling in traffic in terms of concepts like "competing for space" (hint: it's not about competition - it's about cooperating with those who are willing to cooperate with you).

Serge

Starting in 2nd or 3rd grade, I rode my bike to school. Locked it up with a cheesy combo lock inside a massive chainfenced corral with about 150 other bikes (roughly 500 students). Parents taught me to look before crossing, be aware, and signal. Since then I just graduated to bigger wheels and longer distances. The masters degree was mixing it up with downtown cabbies in Chicago during college.

Support SR2S (Safe Routes 2 School) in your neighborhood.
http://www.nhtsa.dot.gov/people/injury/pedbimot/bike/Safe-Routes-2004/pages/preface-1.htm
Early habits, re-inforced by parents, will last a lifetime.

How did you learn to cycle in traffic?
- Did you take course?
I vaguely recall policemen at my elementary school teaching a course and us getting a sticker for our bikes.

- Have you read any books on traffic cycling, commuting, transportation, etc?
I read most of one at a bookstore.

- Get some trips from experienced cyclists?
I used to have some roadie friends and I rode with them. Not as hard-core as real roadies. I currently get a few tips here and on the recumbent riders forum.

- Or did you just wing it and learn from the school of hard knocks?
It's really not rocket science.

I've always ridden a lot, but what I've learned the most from was riding a motorcycle. There's just as much cager stupidity toward motorocycles as toward bikes, with the additional danger that you're going very fast. One motorcycle accident teaches you a lot.

All of the above, in the reverse order that you wrote them.

Read the three Cycling Gospels According to John:
Effective Cycling - John Forrester
Street Smarts - John Allen
Cyclecraft - John Franklin

After taking the League of American Bicyclist's Road I corse, I went on to become a League Cycling Instructor.


John Allen's "Street Smarts" is short enough that everyone can learn it in depth. The other two books are longer, more complex, but may be "information overload" for most riders.

And, Forrester never rode a bike in Houston, Texas. His belief that a person can safely ride on any road, day or night, would get you killed in a week in Houston. Survival in Houston, as in many "car mad" communities, depends upon selected routes with great care.

ya Houston is one of the worst. There isn't a road I haven't ridden there and I know of dozens that would be deadly to anyone without great experience and the ability to keep a perfect line and even then it's too risky. For cycling Houston = Craptastic city of suckall

And, Forrester never rode a bike in Houston, Texas. His belief that a person can safely ride on any road, day or night, would get you killed in a week in Houston. Survival in Houston, as in many "car mad" communities, depends upon selected routes with great care.

In one section of his book, Forrester said that his worst ride, the time he feared for his life, was on a section of narrow, no shoulder, high speed road with heavy traffic. Sounds like a lot of Houston to me. It's is indeed a tough place to ride, bad roads, the longest average commute of any city in the country, and one of the most obese cities in the country. It all adds up to a bunch of irate motorheads all on the verge of road rage.

Plus Beltway 8 looks like a NASCAR tryout track.

i have ridden on the street since childhood . I have also learned by reading booklets on safe cycling and from a motorcycle club i used to ride with.The hand signals are the same when riding in a group whether it is a motorcycle or bicycle club.

I learned by riding BMX with no brakes, no reflectors, and no lights in Va Beach. Riding with a bunch of high schoolers against four lanes of traffic on a tiny bike teaches you a thing or two about traffic. Luckily, I'm not dead, but I still have some of the attitude.

When I was a kid growing up in Werris Creek, they taught us that we had to follow the same laws as any other vehicle on the road. That's basically where I learned it. Of course, moving to the Gold Coast and dealing with the worst drivers in the country (some have said the world) was an eye-opener, but the same principles still applied.

I was directed to John Allen's "Street Smarts", possibly by John himself.

It's true that there's not a lot to learn and it is common sense, once you put yourself in the right frame of mind. Once you start thinking about things like sight lines, predictability, traffic flow, etc. it becomes pretty apparent. One of the big keys is to think about how motorists will perceive you. Obviously you shouldn't overly concern yourself with "being in the way" though you should avoid taking up more of the roadway than necessary, but it's really about "how will the motorists around me see and interpret my actions?" Then it all clicks.

I was directed to John Allen's "Street Smarts", possibly by John himself.

It's true that there's not a lot to learn and it is common sense, once you put yourself in the right frame of mind. Once you start thinking about things like sight lines, predictability, traffic flow, etc. it becomes pretty apparent. One of the big keys is to think about how motorists will perceive you. Obviously you shouldn't overly concern yourself with "being in the way" though you should avoid taking up more of the roadway than necessary, but it's really about "how will the motorists around me see and interpret my actions?" Then it all clicks.

Well said. And note that that is contrary to what many of us were taught by books written in the 1970s: "You should assume you are invisible and ride accordingly". How can you consider how motorists will see you and interpret your actions while simultaneously assuming you are invisible? You can't. It's logically impossible. And what most cyclists do is try to ride according to the invisibility principle whenever possible, never learning proper traffic cycling.

25 years ago I went to Germany without a car for 2 years. They had some of the best laws for bicyclists and courteous drivers that make cycling in traffic fun. My favorite law was the 1 meter law. Give the bicyclist at least 1 meter clearance when passing. If the meter had to be measured electronically it was a taxi. Most Germans give you many meters. If anyone got closer than a meter it was most likely an American soldier. A military bus passed me very close one day and before he got past a police car had his lights on pulling him over. 20,000+ fun miles of commuting and touring.

Now I bicycle in Tacoma Washington. Not near as friendly but I have been using the same route for 6 years. I ride to be seen and do not weave in and out of parked cars. I am kind of stubborn about taking my fair share of the road. My worst enemies are drivers on cell phones, cars not stopping from side streets and cars that pass and take an immediate right. I have been brushed and had several close calls but never been knocked off the bike. Don’t let any driver intimidate you. About 1 in 200 will try. All my intimidation has been from behind. A very low percentage of accidents are from behind. Attempted intimidation means they know you are there. Be steady and predictable. Be seen. Know what is going around you, use mirrors. Join a club and participate in club rides. Obey traffic rules. My biggest complaint about other bicyclists is running red lights. When the sign says stop or the light is red then stop.
Phil Lux

I'll second that!


Survival in Houston, as in many "car mad" communities, depends upon selected routes with great care.

We don't have the "1 meter" law, but everyone is supposed to pass with a safe margin. Too bad it's not explicitly stated as 1 meter (or 3 feet), for that margin is commonly violated, especially when the cyclist is in the bike lane.

Cyclists riding in bike lanes tend to ride along the bike lane stripe. This is primarily because there is less debris near the stripe (which is closer to the pavement constantly swept clean by moving motorist traffic), but also because the pavement tends to be better, because visibility (of the cyclist) is better the further she is from the curb, and her sight lines are improved.

When cyclists position their tires along the bike lane stripe, or just inside the bike lane, they are close enough to the stripe such that the left side of the cyclist is in the main travel lane.

Motorists tend to travel anywhere between the two stripes that delineate their lane, including driving near the stripe on their right, regardless of whether it is a shoulder stripe, a bike lane stripe, or not really a stripe but simply the unmarked edge of the road.

When there is no bike lane, and the cyclist is riding IN the motorist's lane, he is potentially in the motorist's path. Motorists take notice of this, and move left, and tend to pass the cyclist with a safe margin.

But when there is a bike lane, and a cyclist is riding in the bike lane, he is not in the motorist's path. Most motorists treat this situation no different from passing any other vehicle in an adjacent lane - they make no adjustment to their path and keep on going, even if they are near the stripe that delineates the right edge of their lane, that lane is a bike lane stripe, and there is a cyclist riding in the bike lane near the stripe. Most motorists think that as long as they stay in their own lane, that's all they have to do.

The result is that motorists often pass cyclists riding in bike lanes with a much smaller margin (and certainly less than one meter) than when they pass cyclists riding within their own lane.

If a cyclist in a bike lane needs to make a sudden adjustment to the left (to avoid an obstacle or condition), the results could be deadly, and, I believe, are more likely to be deadly than if the cyclist is not riding in a bike lane (because cyclists are typically passed with a wider margin of safety when they are not in a bike lane).

Serge