7 cycling mistakes YOU are making and how to correct them

lost_in_thought

Alright, maybe not YOU.... but hey, made you look eh?

I do agree with the overall points, but don't think I agree with all the elaboration. How about you?

http://www.londoncyclist.co.uk/tips/7-m ... rect-them/

1. Riding where cars can’t see you

Perhaps the most frequent error made by new cyclists is riding in the gutter or too near the pavement. This often feels safer as you believe you are out of the way of cars. However, it is actually far more dangerous. For a start it encourages drivers to attempt risky manoeuvres when there is clearly not enough space to overtake you. You are also less visible not only to cars but also to pedestrians who step out onto the road. If there is an obstacle ahead it also means you have less room to avoid it.

This is one of the tips I have heard before for safe cycling but I was definitely ignoring it far too often. Now, when I’m in a position where I can travel at the speed of the traffic or I believe that a car is not safe to overtake me I travel in the middle of the road. In-fact, cycling in the middle of the road is my default position. I only move to the side when I comfortably feel a car can overtake me.

2. Not having an awareness of the road users behind you

Frequent glancing over the shoulder every 8-10 seconds gives you a good awareness of the road users behind. This means you don’t get any nasty surprises. The huge side benefit of this is that cars will feel like they are being watched and therefore will behave with more courtesy towards you. Also, by glancing, you draw their attention towards you so they recognise your position on the road. Eye contact has a huge role to play in keeping safe on the roads therefore don’t stop glancing behind you.

3. Allowing a car to pull up next to you at a junction

If a car manages to pull up next to you at a junction then when it comes to move off you are going to be in a dangerous, narrow position. Instead, when you see a junction up ahead, you should move into the centre of the road. This prevents cars from forcing you into a horrible position and allows you to move off safely. I made this error during the training course and the instructor was less than impressed!

4. Moving off from the curve with no clear view of where the cars are

This is an area I was far too casual with and it was putting me in a dangerous position and causing problems for drivers. What I was doing is flinging my bike onto the road where I can’t be seen and then cycling into traffic. Instead, I should position myself where I can very safely be seen from a distance and then hop on and start cycling.

5. Overtaking on the left where vehicles don’t expect a cyclist

During this part of the lesson I really started to question how appropriate cycle lanes are. It is also when I realised that rather than act like a cyclist I should be thinking more like a motorbike.

If, for example, you are approaching a set of lights and there are a few cars already there waiting for the green light. Instinctively, I would overtake on the left, often in a narrow cycle lane, to get to the front of the queue. However, if the lights turn green during this, then I have not put myself in a good position. Also, a car driver is trained to look to the right for people overtaking. This is a safer place to be. In general when overtaking traffic you should always do it on the right. You never know when a car is going to turn left into your path without looking.

6. Riding without fingers on brake levers

Hands should permanently be positioned on the brake levers so that if there is suddenly a need to brake sharply you are ready to do so. If this doesn’t feel comfortable then you should have your brake levers adjusted so they come closer to the handlebars.

7. Using hand gestures incorrectly

By the way, this doesn’t mean lifting the middle finger to bad drivers! You see a lot of cyclists on the road half heartedly using their arms to point the direction they are going in. Cars will rarely see this. Instead, your arm should be far out which shows authority on the road and is a clear indication of your intentions. If you feel scared to do this as your steering goes wobbly then you need to practise riding with one hand. A mistake I often make is to gesture my direction before I have glanced behind me. The glance always comes first.
Warning: Using these techniques will cause confidence!

spen666

I agree with those points

iPete

Agree, took me a while but I'm pretty good on all of the above now.

Patients its key.

lost_in_thought

I take issue with, for example, 'In-fact, cycling in the middle of the road is my default position. I only move to the side when I comfortably feel a car can overtake me. '

Depends where you're cycling, I suppose, but always cycling in the middle of the road strikes me as a bit stupid. The default is that cars can safely overtake you, and action is required when they can't.

iPete

lost_in_thought wrote:

I take issue with, for example, 'In-fact, cycling in the middle of the road is my default position. I only move to the side when I comfortably feel a car can overtake me. '

Depends where you're cycling, I suppose, but always cycling in the middle of the road strikes me as a bit stupid. The default is that cars can safely overtake you, and action is required when they can't.

Can't say I agree so much with that but I do agree with..

Now, when I’m in a position where I can travel at the speed of the traffic or I believe that a car is not safe to overtake me I travel in the middle of the road

..especially in central London, as I hit the suburbs less so.

pst88

Not having an awareness of the road users behind you... Eye contact has a huge role to play in keeping safe on the roads therefore don’t stop glancing behind you.

Making eye contact with road users behind you? Wouldn't you need to be the girl form The Exorcist to do that?

spen666

lost_in_thought wrote:

I take issue with, for example, 'In-fact, cycling in the middle of the road is my default position. I only move to the side when I comfortably feel a car can overtake me. '

Depends where you're cycling, I suppose, but always cycling in the middle of the road strikes me as a bit stupid. The default is that cars can safely overtake you, and action is required when they can't.

"ALWAYS" is not an appropriate way to ride.

We need to ride according to the road conditions etc. "GENERALLY" would be a better approach

Cafewanda

I'm rubbish at point 7, mainly because I'm still terrified on busy roads but ok on minor ones :oops:

Not too bad on the others but still room for improvement. Cycle training is definitely a worthwhile course to take. Thumbs up from me

Agent57

pst88 wrote:

Making eye contact with road users behind you?

Can't really make eye contact from behind posey shades, anyway.

Kieran_Burns

iPete wrote:

Agree, took me a while but I'm pretty good on all of the above now.

Patients its key.

I would think NOT being a patient is the key

greg66_tri_v2.0

3: not so sure. This can be a recipe for pissing off drivers by sitting square in front of them.

7. Bobbins. Arms-out hand signals might as well say "nervous & inexperienced rider". Better (IMNSHO) is to signal intent through clear and confident road positioning.

7 is also hard to marry to 6. Esp as you often need to be doing 6 at the same time as this would have you doing 7.

lost_in_thought

Greg66 wrote:

3: not so sure. This can be a recipe for pissing off drivers by sitting square in front of them.

7. Bobbins. Arms-out hand signals might as well say "nervous & inexperienced rider". Better (IMNSHO) is to signal intent through clear and confident road positioning.

7 is also hard to marry to 6. Esp as you often need to be doing 6 at the same time as this would have you doing 7.

Agree re. 3, there are times when it's a good plan, but very occasionally.

Completely disagree re. 7 though! I always give cycling proficiency style full arm signals, I figure that if you let drivers know where you're going they're more likely to help you out, and some of them won't be able to read that from positioning.

And that's why fixies should always have 2 brakes. Yes, 2. And no, braking with your legs doesn't count. :P

Aidy

2. Not having an awareness of the road users behind you

Frequent glancing over the shoulder every 8-10 seconds gives you a good awareness of the road users behind.

I sorta question this. I tend to have reasonable awareness of where everything else is without having to actually look over my shoulder.

greg66_tri_v2.0

lost_in_thought wrote:

Completely disagree re. 7 though! I always give gurl-style full arm signals

You mistyped.

Me mendy. No charge!

Agent57

Greg66 wrote:

7. Bobbins. Arms-out hand signals might as well say "nervous & inexperienced rider".

How do you work that out? I've been cycling on the roads for night on 35 years, and am confident to the point of aggressive over-confidence in traffic; yet I tend to make very clear "arms-out" signals rather than limp and feeble "vague point around my hip" ones.

Aidy

Greg66 wrote:

7. Bobbins. Arms-out hand signals might as well say "nervous & inexperienced rider". Better (IMNSHO) is to signal intent through clear and confident road positioning.

I think it's definitely better to signal intent through road positioning and body language, but I don't reckon that means you can't also do hand signals. I tend to use a combination of them depending on the situation.

daviesee

I use the Force

bradford

pst88 wrote:

Not having an awareness of the road users behind you... Eye contact has a huge role to play in keeping safe on the roads therefore don’t stop glancing behind you.

Making eye contact with road users behind you? Wouldn't you need to be the girl form The Exorcist to do that?

LOL!! Your focus needs to be more about what is in front of you than behind.

_Brun_

Suggesting you need to cover the brakes all the time is stupid and unnecessary.

Thomsonp811

The problem with this set of rules is that they are rules! It is important to beaware of the principles and to apply them sensible dependent upon the road conditions.

For example it is true that overtaking on the left at a junction is sometimes dangerous but not always. I use a mixture of left and right overtaking dependent upon the junction layout, whether there is a cycle lane / ASL, how long the lights have been red for andd whether I know how long they take to change.

I give V clear arm signals so cars know what I intend to do if necessary but I use road positioning when appropriate instead.

One thing not mentioned is the fact that we shoudl remember we are all valid road users and shouldl treat each other with the courtesy and respect we expect to be on the recieving end of! That means thanking the driver who let you out and not getting in their way unnecesarrily!

I reserve the right to ignore all of the above when the red mist of commuting descends!!

supersonic

I always signal. If cars don't do it, we get mighty pissed off.

davis

_Brun_ wrote:

Suggesting you need to cover the brakes all the time is stupid and unnecessary.

I suspect it's a reminder to the masses that the default hand position should be covering the brakes, not tightly wrapped around the grips.

Same with everything; "here are the rules, you may break them once you know why they're there"

Not a bad guide for people who haven't actively thought about it overall, especially the road positioning notes.

Salsamander

In my mind a strong straight arm with the palm facing backwards not only says I am turning but also implies I am asking them to slow down

_Brun_

This is funny. Having checked the article article I think I recognise the bloke in the photo from Sunday's Marathon ride.

I was following a group of him and five or six other riders while he was very deliberately riding way out past primary, stopping a car from overtaking when it would have been perfectly safe to tuck in briefly and allow them room to overtake safely. Thought it was a bit juvenile and antagonistic at the time, but he'd obviously been trained to always ride like that.

Didn't get close enough to see if his fingers were permanently on the brakes.

antfly

I don`t agree with number 2 at all, it`s more important to look where you are going and you can`t do that if you`re looking behind every 8 seconds. If you want to see what`s behind you all the time you would be better off getting a mirror.

lost_in_thought

Greg66 wrote:

lost_in_thought wrote:

Completely disagree re. 7 though! I always give gurl-style full arm signals

You mistyped.

Me mendy. No charge!

They not gurl-style, they gurl! I gurl! You silly.

glauciaregina9

I tend to believe that if we want the reputation and respect for cyclists on the roads to improve, then elements like these 7 'road sense' tips are the sort of thing that everybody should receive some kind of proper awareness training in.

lost_in_thought

_Brun_ wrote:

This is funny. Having checked the article article I think I recognise the bloke in the photo from Sunday's Marathon ride.

I was following a group of him and five or six other riders while he was very deliberately riding way out past primary, stopping a car from overtaking when it would have been perfectly safe to tuck in a briefly and allow them room to overtake safely. Thought it was a bit juvenile and antagonistic at the time, but he'd obviously been trained to always ride like that.

Didn't get close enough to see if his fingers were permanently on the brakes.

See, that's exactly what I meant. Shall I link him over this way? Yes, I think I shall...

lost_in_thought

glauciaregina9 wrote:

I tend to believe that if we want the reputation and respect for cyclists on the roads to improve, then elements like these 7 'road sense' tips are the sort of thing that everybody should receive some kind of proper awareness training in.

I tend to believe that writing in large font makes you look like a bit of a plum. :P

I do think you have a point though.

will3

supersonic wrote:

I always signal. If cars don't do it, we get mighty pissed off.

I don't signal left every time.
Reason is that if I do, too often a car behind which is also going left will left hook me and no leave enough room.
Sorry if it annoys a driver, but I'm looking after #1.

mudcovered

will3 wrote:

I don't signal left every time.
Reason is that if I do, too often a car behind which is also going left will left hook me and no leave enough room.
Sorry if it annoys a driver, but I'm looking after #1.

Take primary first and then signal. You end up with a better line through the corner as well.

Mike