Soon(ish) I'm going to be getting myself a bike to commute to work, and anywhere else I feel I can bike to. Now, I'm excited, and I've gotten a lot of good suggestions in my other thread on which bike I should get. I'm in the throes of doing my research as to where I should buy my accessories. But before I ever get on the thing, I want to ask more experienced commuters a question.

How did you get over whatever fear of streets you may have had?

It's been ingrained in me since I rode my first bike as a kid to never ride in the street. NOW everyone says the safest thing is to ride IN the street. Looking at the drivers even from a car scares the bajeezus out of me, and I don't even have a clue how I'd turn onto a busy street, which is literally my only way to work. Even if I knew the residential area well enough, I still am forced to ride the main street to get there.

So, tips from the experienced? What did you do to suck it up and get on the street?

I have to ride across an expressway, and about two miles of busy 35 mph (50+ mph actual) road. Honestly, I ride straight and predictably, slightly out from the right shoulder and no one usually bothers me. I guess to alleviate fear when I hear a truck racing up behind me, I always think that motorists may be annoyed and want to intimidate me, but 99.9% will stop short of physically harming me. Not a lot of people are looking to have assault, manslaughter or murder charges on their hands.

First, get lights and some reflective gear. Confidence is worthless if drivers can't see you. Then, start slow...get some riding in during non-traffic times, like early in the morning or the weekend and gradually get more adventurous. Then test tide your commute. Cars don't actually want to hit you, no matter how aggressive they are (well, there are some rare exceptions) so if you are careful and most importantly, PREDICTABLE, then cars will go around you with little drama.

Well, I recommend a rear view mirror so you can see the cars coming up behind you. You also have to keep in mind that in general people here do tend to give good advice, but everything depends on your geographic location and the cycling culture there. If there is a road where the cars are doing 45mph and there is no bike lane, you are going to be better off looking for an alternate route, even if it makes your trip longer. I mean you may have the 'legal' right to be on that road, but it's better to be alive than to be 'right'.

You have to remember that a bike can cut through parking lots, bypass one way streets, go through back alleys, ride down stairs, and generally go a lot of places where cars can't go. So keep this in mind during your route planning. You probably won't be able to plan everything perfectly the first time out. You will slowly 'optomize' your route as you gain experience on the roads. Even if you know the roads as a driver, riding a bike is different. To give yourself self confidence, you should have a decent set of lights at the very minimum. You can also add reflective tape to your bike and or clothing, and as I said, a mirror.

Having said that, the best thing to do is just to go out and ride. It's a mental barrier that you just have to sort of break through. I mean you can't learn how to swim entirely from reading a book. Eventually you have to jump in and sort of figure things out on your own. We've all done it, and you will too.

I use these for both day and night riding.

https://store.dinottelighting.com/din...-mount-p5.aspx

https://www.messengermirror.com/

1. Get a good mirror.
2. Learn good street riding skills. Read this book.
3. Work into it slowly, discovering your personal tolerance and getting acquainted with streets that are perfectly safe and learning what streets are completely unsafe. Start on lightly trafficked streets and evolve to navigate through more traffic.
4. Take the lane rather than the gutter.

Take a bike safety course in your city. You will learn basic skills and have some hands-on cycling time with an experienced instructor.

+1 on the mirror. Cars coming up behind you are a lot less scary when you can see them. Also, I took a League of American Bicyclists course about the time I started bike commuting. These classes include on-the-street instruction, so you will learn how to deal with things like riding on a busy street. See here: https://www.bikeleague.org/programs/e...e_schedule.php

My town is very bike friendly, there are signs everywhere, but at the same time, the stupid drivers make it very bike unfriendly. And unfortunately, there's no way to avoid that street. My job is on the corner of two major, 40 mph streets. I do plan on walking the bike through cross walks simply because I'm not comfortable crossing four lanes for a left turn, but a lot of people in my town don't use turn signals, speed, and talk on the phone while driving. I do plan on getting lights; particularly the flea USB chargable ones; I've heard lots of good about them. I figure I can strap the rear light to my helmet instead, so it's higher up, for cars to see, as well as taping myself up with reflective tape. Or heck, if I can find some reflective ductape I can build myself a vest.

I guess I'm just psyching myself out. I know everyone complains about bikers, so I guess I'm just scared that means they're out to get me! xD Thanks guys.

Yes... sounds like a good plan. Walk... don't ride those cross-walks.

You don't specify which city you live in, but since you say it's bike friendly, there's a good chance that there is a local bike group that focuses on raising awareness for cycling issues and advocacy, possibly a bike co-op shop. Often these groups put on bike safety classes, or classes on learning how to ride confidently in traffic. Just Google your city name + "bike advocacy" or "bike commuting classes." You may also want to go into the local forums here and see if there are any discussions pertaining to your city, so you can talk to the people who know what it's like where you are. Sometimes regular bike shops (even REIs, if you have one of those nearby) do classes like these.

Besides all that, some basic advice--start riding on the weekend or some other time when traffic isn't as heavy as it is during commuting times. Start to go out for short rides, find which streets and routes are the most comfortable for you. Good luck!

Using the cross walk to get across a busy intersection is the smart move. Safety vests are cheap enough (I bought the third one).

I'd reconsider the flea on the helmet if that is going to be your only active light. Reason being is that you'll have a hard time keeping your head/helmet centered to where the light will be the most visible to traffic behind you. Depending on your finances, you could order like 3 of these for the price of one flea. You could put one on your helmet, one on the seatpost, and either put the third on your rack or keep it in reserve.

- Bike safety course
- Start riding on streets with no traffic and work your way up to more difficult streets
- Ride with a bike nerd friend who can critique and give you pointers

Make sure you are very comfortable controlling/riding your bike before riding on the street. With time and experience, you'll feel more comfortable. Do you drive a car and remember what it was like learning how to drive? This will be a bit similar. You will gain confidence and more street smarts with riding experience.

Take solace in the fact that the law is on your side - most drivers know this, so they are deathly afraid of hitting you. Take as much room as you want in the lane, drivers will avoid you.

There are a hundred things I can tell you that would make your commute safer, but the following if by far the most useful:

Even during daylight/sunny days, get a very bright headlight and angle it so it blinks in the eyes of oncoming traffic. This will prevent oncoming cars from making left turns into you.

Doing this saves me on almost a daily basis when I ride on what is basically a highway with a bunch of yield-to-turn left-turn lights - I started doing it after someone didn't see me and made a left turn into me.

The reason I want the flea is because of the usb charging; I can't afford to keep pumping lights full of batteries. Can put the rear flea lower I suppose, apparently it's bright as the sun practically so no problems getting anyone's attention. I'll just slap some reflective tape on the helmet and invest in a safety vest of some kind.

I just wish my work didn't have to be right on the corner of two extremely busy streets! Basically, it looks like this:

Work||
=========
____|| Me

Also, no, I don't drive a car. ^^; I have literally never had to handle any kind of traffic beyond sprinting across a busy intersection at a cross walk. I know I'm the loser for being eighteen, on my own, with no car, but I just never had the money for lessons or for the car itself.

You could just get some rechargeable AA/AAA's and a charger, but if you want the usb, pony up just a little ($5) more and get the Cygolite Hotshot 2W for the seatpost/rack. Check out this thread in Electronics: https://www.bikeforums.net/showthread...able-taillight. And you might want to spend some time reading this little bit on night time visibility that was created by a BF member- https://www.mechbgon.com/visibility/index.html

Hi there SweetN!

Before you venture out into the street using any vehicle at all, you should obtain a copy of your states drivers license handbook. Just go to the DMV and pick one up. Read thru it very cafefully everyday, until you can honestly say that you're ready to take the test (though you're not really going to take the test). Make certain that you familiarize yourself with all of the various traffic signs. That's the most important thing to know when cycling, other than yielding the right of way to pedestrians. Also, make certain that you know all of the hand signals.

Next, practice riding on suburban streets every Sunday morning for just about 90 minutes or so. When that becomes boring, ride on the same streets, every Saturday morning around the same time, say from 7 to 8:30am. When that becomes boring, change the times from 3 to 4:30pm, on Saturdays.

Next, plan a trip. Find a bike map of your city. Take a bus to some distance about maybe 10 miles from your home. Ride on streets and thoroughfares that are designated as having bicycle lanes from the point where you exited the bus, back to your home. After about two or three times of this planned cycling venture, you should have worked out the bugs, enough to be over your street phobia.

Try to find a riding buddy. Always wear protective gear. Always protect your arithmetic! Always carry pepper spray!

- Slim

PS.

Taking a bicycle safety course can only help you. However, if you'd just remember and practice what's on the following website, you'll be better than most: https://bicyclesafe.com

* Always walk your bike across the street when you find yourself at major intersections and you don't feel confident.

Confidence says, "So what? ...Another intersection! ...Big Deal!"

Don't worry! As confident as I am about cycling practically anywhere, I still get the jitters, sometimes...

We all do!

My advice: JUST DO IT!

make sure you can be seen, be predictable and don't be a ******.

I did training rides on country roads that had speed limits of 45-50mph. There is one I was on that was 60mph, but I had a HUGE shoulder to ride on. I just got used to it really fast. Urban areas are bit crazier, but I'm far enough out where I start in an urban area, in 15-minutes I'm out in the country. haha

Wear good gear, use lights/reflectors, hold your line, use a mirror and take your lane when you need to. I found out early that hugging the curb only encourages impatient drivers to "squeeze" by you, typically at a good pace.

Oh and try your best, no matter how ******** drivers are, to avoid giving the 1-finger salute and shouting lots of profanity their way. It tends to encourage them.

+1 That's right!

Remember too, that your bike doesn't have bumpers. If you tick grandma off while she's in a car and you're just on a bike, guess who loses that one!

Right on. It's not about pride; it's about arriving alive and in one piece. I always check my pride at home before a ride; it helps me leave with a healthy attitude.

I won't repeat a lot of what's been said here. It's all good advice. Slow down, test your route, watch traffic, get lots of blinky and reflective things.

One thing I did when I started planned by commute route is used aerial photos. Using Bing map "Birds Eye" view, I figured out places where I could cut through, sneak around. Overall, it saved me about 2-3 miles.

Get out, explore your route. That's the best advice. Plus, it gives you an excuse to ride more!

reminds me when I picked up the sport as a sport. when I was a kid it was never an issue. but suddenly I had a "road bike" oooh ahhh and now there was traffic and "cagers" ew yuk. oh yeah, now we all had to wear helmets, are you freakin kidding me? anyway it was a real adjustment going from the '70s to the 2000s.

first day I pulled out of the condo complex onto our first big road what struck me was the wind noise, the twitchy response to steering and the close proximity of the cars passing me. there's nothing like the fear of death to keen your senses! courage isn't the lack of fear. it's ability to persevere despite it.

start on quiet roads and sunday mornings. research proper technique. look on you tube too, there are plenty os safe cycling sites that show exactly how to handle road riding with traffic. don't be a ninja or a salmon. stop for lites and stop signs because its amazing how quickly a car can appear out of nowhere.

don't let getting buzzed make you a raging maniac that wants to catch the driver at the next lite so you can punch him in the head. the cagers don't really want to kill you, but you'll meet many an a-hole. just shake it off the best you can. come here and vent if necessary.

education is your best wingman.

I don't find mirrors helpful at all...there is almost always traffic behind me, wasting time and attention looking at it isn't helpful to me. I can turn nearly 360 when I need to see what's behind me. Chose good routes...avoid sharp turns, especially on steep hills. Avoid tricky merges...like ones near highway exits/entrances. Don't be afraid to get off the bike and walk if the section scares you.

Always be on high alert around cabs...they act unpredictably. Stay away from rental trucks as the drivers are usually moving...which is innately stressful and distracting...and lack feel for the large vehicle. Make sure you're bike is in TOP FLIGHT condition, especially the brakes. Don't ride faster than you can safely stop. Always be aware and assume people might behave unpredictably. If the shoulder is too narrow, the curve too sharp, or you're near problem areas, take the lane. Get out when it's safe, but don't be afraid of taking a lane the times you have to. Or walk if there's sidewalk.

I don't ever remember being afraid because I've been riding my whole life, or as far as I remember...but it's probably just time in saddle. Above all, ride predictably. Let cars know what you're doing. I honestly don't have that many problems, and when I do, I am usually in control enough to mitigate risk.