SiulMan

Hello so I'm thinking of commuting to work in a bicycle but I'm a bit nervous because there are no bike lanes in the road I need to get to work. It's only about a 20 minute bike ride so it's not very far but being hit by a car is what worries me. Have any of yall experienced riding in situations like this?

FenderTL5

My ride is 15 miles each way, from suburbia to downtown. I ride a mix of road types, some with bike markings or infrastructure, some without.

SiulMan

How do you deal with the cars around you? Do they just simply go around you or do you move?

FenderTL5

I take my rightful place on the roadway and use the infrastructure when applicable. So far, cars go around.. unless I'm going around them. I follow the rules and use signals. It can be unnerving when you encounter an aggressive driver but otherwise it works well.

SiulMan

That is good to hear. Any tips you can share for someone who has only commuted to work by car?

mrv 

howdy - i bike to work once or twice a week, when the weather & family schedules cooperate. not a lot of experience, but a bit.
i have a 17 mile ride, with a 3 mile section where I'm not in neighborhoods and the shoulder is on again / off again.
my advice (for what it's worth) - look for low traffic, parallel roads, even if it adds a mile or so. (I add 5 miles for the ride home to get a more traffic friendly route when there's more traffic flowing.)
Ride EARLY, so you're a head of the traffic. I try to be wheels rolling by 0530 hours, when the traffic flow is low. (On my 3 mile section, I'm early enough about only a 12~20 cars pass me.)
Be as visible as possible and assume you're not. I picked up a a jacket made of all reflective stuff on super sale: Proviz REFLECT360 - reflective cycling jacket - hi vis cycling jacket - high visibility cycling jacket - most reflective cycling jacket - waterproof cycling jacket - Nike Flash

Made your decisions on hauling stuff or stocking up at the office?
I have access to a shower, so I haul everything. If you haul your lunch, go with hard fruits. My pear and my banana were severely mushed my last ride.

I have a co worker who will occasionally drive his bike to work, then bike home. And either bike back, or hitch a ride with someone back to work. He's NOT keen on biking in the dark. For starting in the dark I use two rear lights and a single 200 lumen bar light (USB charged).
Any specific questions? Tire selection for reducing flats? Minimum amount of stuff to carry? Rain gear? Pedal selection?

ItsJustMe

It depends on your route and how the cars in your area respond to cyclists.

I don't have any bike lanes anywhere near me, I ride 12 to 15 miles one way to work and back every day for 12 years now and have never had any trouble at all. But there are other areas where cycling can be dangerous.

The general advice is to ride the route on a weekend, ideally when there is less traffic and you don't have time pressure to get there at a certain time. Use this to judge how long it will take you and whether you want to do it at all or not.

It's the job of every road user to coexist with other legitimate road users. I try to be accomodating where possible, but you're not required to compromise your safety for the convenience of others. If you have a shoulder, and it's clear, use it at your discretion, but you're not required to ride over potholes, debris, glass, storm drains, near where a car door might open at you, etc. You move over if it's safe to do so. Do not weave - if you can move over for a car behind you and stay there until ALL of the cars packed together get past you, fine, but don't wobble right and let one or two cars past you only to wobble back when you get past where there were 4 or 5 open parking spots for instance.

Jim from Boston

I have a nearly ideal commute of 14 miles one way, from downtown to suburbia on bikepaths and pleasant residential and light commercial streets, and I was seriously injured when hit from behind. I have a few rules I follow for my own personal situation, and decades of experience. My one recommendation that I think is universal, is use a rearview mirror; I wear two, left and right.

See also this compendium of Rules, for the "Communtinati"

cdyer77

Like others have said, try to find some alternate routes where there may be less traffic or at least a wider shoulder. Buy a hi vis jacket / shirt and the brightest rear light you can and use it.

You need to think & act as if no one can see you and expect that everyone will try to kill you. This comes from many many years of riding both bikes & motorcycles on the streets. Distracted driving has only gotten worse over the years and you want other to take notice of you as much as possible.

milkbaby

I agree with trying to find the best route with less traffic. The best route in a car is not necessarily the best on a bicycle.

Even on low traffic roads, be careful and watch for other vehicles. Many people will not be watching out for you, so you need to watch out for them. Intersections are especially dangerous as people are turning, think of every driveway as an intersection as well.

Ride predictably, keep an eye out, and enjoy the ride!

Artkansas 

I've commuted by bike since 2nd Grade. And even then, part of that commute was on the biggest road on that side of the state. I tend to ride to the right, but if I need to get around a road hazard, I pull smoothly out to go around it. One part of my current commute is twisty and a sharp downhill. I just use the entire lane because no car can pass me safely in that segment.

But if I can give a car room, I do. It's road manners.

One thing you can do is try a test commute to work on a Saturday or Sunday. Learn the road. That will let you know exactly what you are up against. Also I carry a patch kit and pump and plan to arrive 15 minutes ahead of time, that way I have time to fix a flat should it happen on the way to work.

It may take you a while to find the best route. Part of my current route goes through a hilly residential area. I had to try out dozens of streets before I found the smoothest route with the least ups and downs. Another time, my commuting route took me 5 miles through a nature preserve.

lanahk

I'd think about adding a rear-view mirror to your bike or helmet. It helps me to be able to see what's coming behind me. Starting early, before traffic gets heavy, it good, too.

Jim from Boston

Since the very frequent advice given on this thread was to find the best route, I'm curious to know if you have many choices. That certainly contributes to safety if you can. Indeed, you have to "think outside the cage (motor vehicle)."

CB HI

Read Street Smarts
Bicycling Street Smarts - Table of Contents

Hard copy available
Bicycling Street Smarts by John S. Allen

Take a Road 1 class
Ride Smart | League of American Bicyclists
| League of American Bicyclists

jade408

Also, the best driving route is rarely the best bike route. Are there parallel slower speed roads?

rmfnla

Yes.

Also, get a good flashing red tail light.

CrankyOne

First, push your city, county, and state governments to install protected bikeways and stay on them about it. This will not only benefit you but also almost everyone in your community and one day perhaps your children. For some insight: A view from the cycle path

Agree with others about finding the best route that is and feels safest and most comfortable. Do some test runs by riding part way one day and then a bit farther another day and a bit farther the next. As you do this you may find that you want to adjust your route a bit more. At the end of this you'll hopefully come up with a route that works well for you.

eusebio

Helmet, front and rear lights.

For the most part cars go around you. You'll get a handful of cars each day who will zoom by you less than a foot away. It can be pretty unnerving especially when first getting in to bikes. You get used to it. Drivers probably do it because they don't like you and aren't even aware there is a safe passing law in most states (3 feet for small vehicles and 6 feet for commercial trucks). You'll get the car or even commercial truck every blue moon who will cut you off or even try and run you off the road.

There has only been one time that I had to come to a complete stop and get off the road due to a giant pickup truck threatening to run me over.

In all the aforementioned cases my only advice to you is be brave and keep riding.

caloso

I ride on roads without bike lanes all the time. The presence of a bike lane is only one (sometimes small) factor of a road's bikeability. How much traffic? How fast? What are the sightlines? Pavement? Shoulders? What's the sun angle when you'd be riding?

tsl

CommuteOrlando did a nice article and companion video a few years back called Bicycling in Traffic--You Lead the Dance.

There are several companion videos linked in the article. Here's one to start with.

https://vimeo.com/9827254

Giant Doofus

+1 - This is a fantastic resource. I learned a lot from it when tsl posted it on another thread.

baron von trail 

My advice is go for it. Look for routes which are low traffic or wide enough to allow you some room when cars pass. Also, ride in a hyper-vigilant state of awareness. People in cars do the darndest things. I spend most of my commute on bike paths, but I still experience odd car moments at least once a week. Today a guy turning left almost broadsided me as I went through a green light. Totally incredible.

spare_wheel

All of those sites are vehicular cycling-centric in that they adhere to the ideology that people on bikes should behave exactly like people safely ensconced in multi-ton machinery. I could not disagree more strongly with blind adherence to this ideology. The safest bike path is that of least resistance and it often involves not following the letter of the law or "behaving predictably" (code for riding like a victim).

IMO, the single best resource for prospective bike commuters is Robert Hurst's, "The Art of Urban Cycling".

The Art of Cycling (formerly The Art of Urban Cycling)


A review:

The Best Protection When Riding Your Bike? A Book!*|*Steve Leveen

CB HI

Yet VC cycling has worked well for adults and kids. Since Hurst does not offer any form of free online version of his book, you should buy one for the OP.

Once the OP gets a good grasp on VC, then he might be ready to move to the less defined world of fixed gear bike messengers.

tarwheel 

I've been bike commuting for 8 years, 32,000 miles total. On my 15-mile route (one way), about 1 mile has a bike lane and that was just added in the past year. At first I was uncomfortable along the busiest roads but I've never been hit and have gradually gotten used to it. However, a certain level of discomfort is probably a good thing because it keeps you alert and able to respond.

Riding in traffic is something that you prepare for, learn proper handling skills and take certain precautions. You prepare by selecting the best routes to avoid bad traffic, even if that means riding farther. Regarding handling skills, you want to take enough of the lane that drivers see you and you avoid the rocks, glass and other debris (and sewer grates) along the edge of the road. You also want to ride predictably and hold a line. For precautions, you wear bright clothes (such as neon yellow or orange), and use powerful front and rear lights. I run my lights in daylight as well as dark.