SCARED to ride in the road...HELP!
 

I have no problem riding on The Silver Comet trail here in Atlanta, simply because there are ONLY other riders and walkers and runners on that trail. I cant always get to the trail head, though, when I want to ride, so I DONT ride because quite Frankly, Im scared to ride on the road. People here cant drive and it scares me. A cyclist was killed while riding not even a mile from my house last year and I'm always hearing of people riding and getting hit by cars. Maybe it is because I've never really ridden on the road before and don't really know HOW!

Any tips other than the normal rules of the road?

Try riding with an experienced person.

That was the way I started.

Some roads are scarier than others, so it may be helpful to start on roads that aren't so intimidating. Look for roads with low traffic, slow speed limits, and wide shoulders. Ride those to gain experience and confidence.

Once you've gained some of that experience and confidence, there may still be roads you choose to avoid. There are some thoroughfares near me that are NOT bicycle-friendly, so I look for alternate routes.

Find a local bicycle club at Georgia Bicycle Clubs, and see if it offers either group rides or safe cycling classes. Both would be beneficial for you, particularly the class. It's not always apparent to new riders how they can best ride in traffic.

Find a map of bicycle routes in and around Atlanta. Learn about the various ways modern roads can provide safe access for bicycles, such as bike lanes, sharrows, greenways, and so on. These options should be shown on a map of bike routes; find them and try them out.

Improve your visibility and personal safety. If you do not already have one, get a helmet. On the helmet, mount a set of lights that can flash to the front and rear so that cars can see you. The helmet lights are important because they will stand out over the tops of parked cars. I also recommend that you get another front and rear light for the bicycle itself. In other words, you'll get seen.

Similarly, get a mirror so that you can check behind you as you ride.

Fwiw, I am deaf. I have been riding for forty years without accidents (other than the ones I cause myself, like running into the back of a stationary bus because I was too fumble-fingered to find the brakes). With the lights and mirrors, and an understanding of safe riding techniques, I can control my own safety on the road.

Check your local bike shops. There's probably at least one that hosts group rides and may offer clinics and tutoring. A well organized group ride is a great way to get accustomed to riding on streets. Some well organized group rides include traffic control by law enforcement and volunteers, which can minimize contact with routine vehicle traffic. Even a non-officiated small group ride can help build confidence, as vehicle drivers tend to recognize and give courtesy toward groups that are obviously riding with experience and confidence (as opposed to a clot of schoolkids riding toward traffic and weaving around wildly).

I was a cat 1 racer and still ride about 2500 miles per year — and I don't like riding in the road. It's dangerous and nutty (we can't keep drivers from hitting each other much less keep them from hitting bicycle riders without 4000 lb steel cages to protect us). I have a very strong preference for protected bikeways (ideally built to Dutch standards but there are just about zero of these in the U.S.) and nearly always choose these unless they are quite bad. I try to pick routes that avoid the worst roads and junctions and take advantage of protected bikeways whenever possible.

Do you live in the Metroplex, or further out? Because Atlanta goes from Dekalb County, into Gwinnett County. If you are referring to right in the city proper, instead of the suburbs. I can definitely understand. But if you are referring to the suburbs, I would need more detail. For instance, a family friend lives on Flagler St., which is safe for riding. But an (ex)uncle lives on West Wesley Ridge. While that is safe. The major road it connects to, doesn't look safe. They used to live on Oldfield Rd., which is definitely a safe area to ride.

Can you give me a better idea of your locale? Like a major street nearby. Are you near Peachtree St.?

While my locale says Maryland, and went back to Atlanta many times for Christmas when I was a kid. I lived in a suburb of Atlanta during the early 1970's. I gave my son a baseball that Hank Aaron autographed in the tunnel of Fulton County Stadium.

Chris...I actually live in Marietta off of Canton Rd. Definitely not in the city of Atlanta or even Marietta...nut the people here FLY! 35mph surface streets and most are going 50-60. Speed limits around here are merely a suggestion.

Start by assessing your own skill level. Can you hols a line? How closely? Can you maintain control in an emergency stop or when steering around obstacles? Those are for starters, and you can use other concepts to rate your own biking skills.

Then start by picking quieter and/or wider roads to start with, and get used to riding in traffic. As you adapt and gain confidence, you'll become more comfortable with ever increasing traffic density.

That's half of it, learning about specific traffic hazards such as cars turning right across your path at intersections will help you spot potential hazards before they actually do.

Lastly, consider that accident reports and data are highly skewed. You hear about all the people killed or injured, but not about the vastly greater numbers of people who aren't. With a bit of basic skill, and reasonable care, you can ride very safely in traffic, the same way tens of millions of others do. The reality is that bicycling is a reasonably safe activity and you shouldn't let imagined fears scare you away from it.

I can sort of see what you mean about them flying on surface streets. Looking at Canton Rd. on Google Maps, it is just like a road I was hit on. The road goes north-south. I crossed the two northbound lanes and stopped in the dual-turn lane. A motorist came out of a locale business rear-ending me. While I was waiting to merge into the southbound lanes. So I could make a right-turn at the next light. The road is 40mph there. Motorists' do speed on that road.

I share your fears.
Speed limit on one of the roads where I live is 45, and cars regularly go past 55. The other road near where I live speed limit is 35, and cars will still go 50+
Ultimately I guess it is about gaining confidence and just going for it, and maybe not riding alone..
I tried going the other day, but when a lifted truck blew past me in like a couple seconds at a close pass I got on the side walk and turned right around haha.

That is the way I felt. When I got back into riding(2003). After a six-year layoff. Now, I record close passes on my GoPro Hero4.

This was fun...Great push when the trucks passed.

http://i256.photobucket.com/albums/h...e/IMG_5599.jpg

Try it at night.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rNL1...eature=related

Don't try this.

I rode with Chris T for 57 days.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0npCFw9TEnA

THAT is insane!!!

Nothing is risk-free. But your perception of risk is almost certainly distorted. Cycling is surprisingly safe. The fact that someone has been killed in ypur vicinity doesn't change that, all it changes is your level of anxiety. Other people have died in your vicinity while driving automobiles, or falling down stairs, but that hasn't had a similar impact on you because you don't feel yourself to be at significant risk when undertaking those activities.

So the way to address the problem is to manage your fear. You do that by practising your riding skills, as FBinNY suggested, and building your confidence in your own ability to ride safely. That will immediately put you well ahead of the game - a disproportionate number of the cyclists who do get hurt are either drunk, riding at night without lights, riding against traffic etc. Then start riding on relatively quiet street where the traffic isn't too intense, and get used to that. Then move on up. You'll find that it is surprisingly easy to become accustomed to and fairly comfortable with quite heavy traffic.

Ditto there.
They are crazy here. When I lived in Minnesota, they were just stupid. I rarely had a motorist give me problems. Sure if you look in the archives from 2004, there was a driver who passed me so close on a four-lane road that I chased him for more than a mile to the local mall. But, other than that, I never had as many 'incidents', as I do here in Maryland. In Minnesota, they were far more patient, than they are, here in the DC-Metro region.

SCARED to ride in the road...HELP!

All good tips above. As a decades-long cycle-commuter and road cyclist in Metro Boston, and former cycle-tourist, I was impressed by these nice summaries of safe cycling behavior on two recent threads:

From, "You take your life in your own hands":

From, "What's reckless riding, commuters?”:

So besides wearing a rearview mirror, my other contribution to this discussion is that I once read on Bike Forums that one reason cycling on the Roads seems dangerous, especially to non cyclists, is because they look at it from the point of view of a motorist. A cyclist riding unprotected, balanced on a spidery, seemingly unstable two-wheeled vehicle does really look vulnerable. Yet myself, I feel quite comfortable in traffic because of my nimbleness, and enhanced awareness of my surroundings with an nearly unencumbered view.

Just this past weekend during rush hour after dusk, I was standing at a busy corner and watched a line of happy apparent casual cyclists ride by in the traffic. I did think to myself, as an observing pedestrian, “That looks dangerous.,” yet I too comfortably ride through that same intersection.

BTW, I was hit from behind two years ago, with six weeks in the Hospital, three months off work, and five months off the bike, and I ride with more enthusiasm than before that deprivation.

No offense but maybe you could have used the search feature before you posted this in multiple forums?
Or better yet; if you are truly afraid for your life as you implied in your OP you may want to ask friends, family, co-workers, psychiatrist first no?
Because total strangers addicted to bicycling may not be the most unbiased source for this type of information.

Shades of DreamRider85? :innocent:

No I don't think so. Someone replied that the OP should crosspost to here from another forum.

So they did.

-mr. bill

First off you are right about the drivers. After moving here from Dallas Texas I was utterly shocked by the poor level of skill and judgment on general display. Both large metro areas, similar weather, similar roads, completely different drivers. I also understand the feelings when you first venture out on these roads on a bike, having been there 7 or 8 years ago. There are drivers who try to intimidate you with their vehicles - try to chase you off by literally threatening you with the vehicle. At least that's how you interpret it.

I'm not sure if the environment has improved since then, or I have - probably both - but I rarely get that any more. I believe that part of it is they are incited if they sense weakness. Wobbling, uncertainty, any overt display of fear. Part is also perception on my part, where a formerly fearsome close pass is now an irritant. That only comes with experience. You also learn to predict what they're going to do. That's second nature (or should be) when you're driving but they do react differently around bicycles and it takes time to learn to recognize and anticipate. These days I see more overly cautious driving around me than overly aggressive, not that I'd complain about that!

Another thing to keep in mind, even in dense high-traffic areas you tend to encounter the same people, over and over again. I don't like to be a training exercise for incompetent drivers, but the reality is unless there are a lot of cyclists riding solo on your roads you are training them just by being there. I think the key is to appear to be one more piece of traffic which is routinely noted and adjusted for, and to ride with that in mind. To not encourage bad behavior by becoming upset or acting fearfully. After a while, it just gets easier.

My thoughts exactly
:thumb:

Good call.
Just noticed that from the Clyde forum I believe