Road riding traffic advice

mark@graphicalss.co.uk

Note, I posted this first on cyclingnews.com and someone said that this was more UK centric forum so forgive me if you have already read this on the other forum.

I am pretty new to road riding - nothing serious, I just try to go out for an hour or two each day. I have to go on some pretty busy routes (Snake Pass and Woodhead for those of you in the UK).

Pretty much every day I have a close call with a car or a wagon. How do people ride? I tend to hug the pavement / verge as closely as possible but I don't know if making myself as small as possible is the best approach.

Should I ride like this or should I put myself a bit further into the road? I thikn some of the problems I have are caused by people not having to make too much effort to get past me and misjudging it because they do not have to pull out very much.

As mentioned, I am pretty inexperienced at road riding! I have had some advice on the cycling news forum but thought I would raise the topic here as well.

will3

a bit further out, but not so far that you appear to be trying to hold people up.

Hornetto

I tend to sit myself where the left wheel of a car would be - i.e. not in the gutter but not in the middle of the lane. If you give them too much room then they are more likely to try and squeeze past rather than give you adequate room IMO.

mark@graphicalss.co.uk

Thanks. I think the mistake I make is to ride to close in so they don't need to make that much effort to get past. Sitting a bit further out will force them to make a bit of an effort.

Bit scary when it's an HGV trying to get past on Woodhead though!

Other tips I got were to wear somthing bright to increase the "bubble"!

ride_whenever

have a read of this

Mister W

Get yourself into the road and make the cars go round you. If you cower in the gutter then drivers will pretend you're not there. If you make them drive round you they will almost always give you more room. You've just as much right to be on the road as they have.

mark@graphicalss.co.uk

Great article. Thanks for the link.

Basically it says I need to:

Be Big
Be Brave (but not stupid)
Stop Slapping Pedestrians!!!

I did try this once a few months ago on a narrow bit of Woodhead going uphill. An HGV sat behind me whilst I rode like mad - uphill as I mentioned. He could have got past but I think he was on the phone or having his lunch or something. I was a bit stuck. The kerb was too high for me to pull onto and I was in clipless pedals so I could not just put a foot down. I kept edging towards the curb to try to let him squeeze past but he would not.

My biggest worry was my pedal or shoe catching the kerb and throwing me in front of him as he was only about 6 inches behind my back wheel.

Needless to say, when I finally managed to pull over (I just had to stop and try to pull up onto the kerb real quick otherwise my heart would have exploded) there was a huge tailback of traffic all giving me evil glares and some of them throwing abuse my way. One bloke even wound his window down and started clapping but I like to think he was applauding my sporting prowess and toned physique!!

Obviously I gave him some abuse back but I'm not sure he would be bothered...!

FOAD

I ride so that I have to be overtaken not passed (ie. in the area worn by the n/s tyres of vehicles), never really notice any close calls but it is a bugger when you are on a steep hill and you get a queue behind watching me struggle

Flasheart

and ......the track where cars left wheels travel along the road is usually nice and smooth and debris-free.
You have a right to use the road, just do as the guys above suggested

fnegroni

mark@graphicalss.co.uk wrote:

Great article. Thanks for the link.

Basically it says I need to:

Be Big
Be Brave (but not stupid)
Stop Slapping Pedestrians!!!

I did try this once a few months ago on a narrow bit of Woodhead going uphill. An HGV sat behind me whilst I rode like mad - uphill as I mentioned. He could have got past but I think he was on the phone or having his lunch or something. I was a bit stuck. The kerb was too high for me to pull onto and I was in clipless pedals so I could not just put a foot down. I kept edging towards the curb to try to let him squeeze past but he would not.

My biggest worry was my pedal or shoe catching the kerb and throwing me in front of him as he was only about 6 inches behind my back wheel.

Needless to say, when I finally managed to pull over (I just had to stop and try to pull up onto the kerb real quick otherwise my heart would have exploded) there was a huge tailback of traffic all giving me evil glares and some of them throwing abuse my way. One bloke even wound his window down and started clapping but I like to think he was applauding my sporting prowess and toned physique!!

Obviously I gave him some abuse back but I'm not sure he would be bothered...!

Those are the kind of situations stopping normal people who don't regularly cycle, and therefore are less fit, to venture out there.
It is the stigma associated with cycling: do you stop? or do you get abused?

I have been in that situation before and done what you did. But I would say, a less fit person might have just stopped by the side: wouldn't have had clipless pedals for a start (or should have not: clipless pedals are not something that makes you safer by any stretch of imagination).

I also think it is important to choose your route carefully; I choose based on how busy and wide they are: the wider the better. I even find dual carriageways safer than narrow country lanes, especially if roamed by HGVs. And it's not the HGV's fault most of the time, it is the car drivers trying to squeeze through.

This only highlights that roads were not designed for bicycles, and that although the law does apply to us, we must indeed take evasive actions which disobey the law at times.

I think this makes us cyclists some of the safest road users.

So, based on that, other road users should give us some credit: we don't pollute, and the little delay in their journey is more than made up by the fact there is one less car on the road.

laughingboy

One of the errors that cyclists tend to make is in thinking that road position should be measured by distance from the kerb. In fact, a more sensible notional starting point is the centre line of the cars ahead and behind you - this imagined central point is sometimes called the 'primary position'.

Only when you cycle in a way that understands the traffic around you, can you start to maximise your safety.

If that paragraph made you think even for a second about your cycling habits, I'd advise you to buy and read Cyclecraft by John Franklin.

Anonymous

Everyone should ride everywhere like this.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=au0Zjn3eB9k&feature=related

mark@graphicalss.co.uk

Thanks for all the great advice! I am normally ok but that HGV and guy clapping incident really bothered me.

Where I live in the Peak District there are some great rides (and some pretty steep hills) but the problem on pretty much every route is the traffic.

If there are any new cyclists here from the Manchester / Glossop / Derbyshire area, I can start to put up some routes if anyone is interested. I am not a super fit, super cyclist, just a working bloke who tries to get out 2-3 times a week for a while. I don't even think I am that fit so my routes would probably be too easy for most but anyone just starting may like them. I am new to this forum so I don't know if this is the done thing.

Whilst on the subject, if anyone has any good routes (nothing too long) around Derbyshire / the Peak District I would be interested in finding out some decent rides.

I can give a killer figure of 8 from here. I actually did it in two different rides but it could be combined to give one fantastic ride - I am going to try to do the whole thing in a day next year.

jeannot18

I have been riding now for 2 weeks. The main culprits so far have been white vans, can't understand why they have to be so close when they overtake me when there is nobody coming the other way. What would be a good thing to do would be for drivers to go on bike for about 30mins and then maybe they would respect 2 wheels a bit better.
JC

fnegroni

NapoleonD wrote:

Everyone should ride everywhere like this.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=au0Zjn3eB9k&feature=related

Recently riding in Paris, I don't think I ever stopped at a light or STOP line unless could see danger.

Infact, that was the safer way to move around town.

ChillyGetsTrilly

ride_whenever wrote:

have a read of this

Great read thanks for this