Originally Posted by
SBcycling
But this is the biggest barrier I have to cycle commuting.
It's a stretch of road, and I know many of you will laugh because it's so little distance, and perhaps not as bad as what you face daily.. but to me, it's a terrifying risk that I'd surely have to de-value my life to take.
I don't blame you for being skittish about that section of road.
Where I live (in the USA) there are a handful of pretty decent light- to moderate-traffic roads that have a bike lane. And then there are all other roads. Some of which are high-traffic suicide missions. Some of which have lower volumes of traffic, but where the road has bumps and curves and blind spots that can prove fatal to riders if the drivers don't drive in anticipation of finding riders on the same road.
Thankfully my commute involves only a single half-mile stretch on a bad and narrow road where drivers tend to be a bit clueless. The rest is only roads where visibility is great and/or a cycling MUP exists that can be taken. I count my blessings each day that it's so easy. Could be much,
much worse.
What I do:
- Wear an extremely visible DayGlo yellow jacket.
- Wear an extremely reflective safety vest in addition.
- Have multiple lights, reflective tape.
- Choose the lighter-traffic roads whenever possible.
- Choose the times of day when traffic is a bit less heavy, whenever possible.
- And, with some roads, never go near them when on the bike, whenever it's clear that a road is a cyclist's death trap.