What are your tips for junctions
 

Hi,

I've been riding my 2-wheel for a couple of years, but despite the miles, I'm still struggling to have confidence at junctions especially where there is limited visibility..any tips?

Basically because my head is so far back in the bike, at many junctions that have hedges, or fences etc, I cannot get good visibility left/right until my front is already into the junction, or I have to slow down so much that I have to put a foot down, which then needs another wobbly start.

On my "normal" bike, it's easy to slow right down and check for traffic without taking feet out of the cleats. How do others handle junctions without good visibility on a bent? More confidence/practise stopping/starting, slow-speed balancing, or some kind of front-mirror contraption?

Ian

The key is to be responsible for your own safety. If there are a few intersections where you need to stop, do it. Many have enough visibility so you can see when approaching slowly.

I ride with two mirrors and a Garmin Varia. The mirror on my helmet allow me to scan a wide range of angles.

The fact of the matter for me is riding a recumbent with many road crossings is a major PITA. Ultimately, I dismount quite often and often just run across the street or even use the crosswalk at certain junctures. My seat is fairly reclined with a dropped chain and plenty overlap of shoes with front wheel. With a 55 inch wheelbase, tight turns at intersections have risk. Many routes that I would take on an upright, I avoid on a bent. Even with a more upright bent, I found that maneuvering at junctures to be a lot, lot more easy on an upright. I'd say, just get off the thing and start back up on bad intersections.

Have and use a mirror, move slightly more center-lane as you approach (to make sure no motorist tries to overtake and to pass you in the intersection), be vigilant even when you have the right-of-way. I would also say I've never really experienced this kind of really bad visibility of incoming traffic from the side so yes, I'd probably slow or stop when faced with that as you cannot enter blindly into a potentially crowded place. Maybe to start on your favorite route and ask the local authorities to begin to remedy the situation, one by one ?

I always slow more than my buddies on uprights, even if they call 'clear.' It's not a problem, I can always make up the lost distance, usually before they even get back up to speed themselves.

Thanks all. I guess there's nothing special out there. I might have a play with a mirror on the front of the bike one day, but I'm not sure that I can really get something big enough without getting in the way of the pedals.

Here (in the beautiful British countryside), there are hundreds of country roads with hedges, you just cannot see far enough to the side unless your head is right up to the line. Changing the roads/hedges isn't an option!

Sorry I was not able to post a picture or a link, it wouldn't let me until I've made 10 more posts.

Happy cycling.
i.

You may be at a disadvantage compared to upright riders, but just think -- your eyes aren't as far back from the front of your vehicle as a car driver's eyes are.

With British hedged ways, I would stop and look both ways. Full stop. Not a rolling one. Foot down on the ground. Really slows you down but I see no other way in that scenario. A mirror won't do squat.

Most of us in the US refer to these as "intersections". Since I live in the Mojave desert, trees and hedges are not a problem but block walls installed to keep dust down are. I really never found intersections to be a problem as I learned to actually stop at stop signs and slow down if the view is obstructed by a wall. My most recent near collision was with a DF rider who bombed out of a subdivision without stopping at the stop sign he was approaching. Not much you can do with that.