Websites that show how to cycle on roads??

oldmcgroin

I shall be taking delivery of my new road bike today and having never ridden a road bike before nor ever really cycled on busy roads I was wondering if anyone knows of any websites that will tell me how best to tackle cycling on busy roads.

What I'm after is something with drawings or diagrams about how best to approach things like junctions, roundabouts, right hand turns and to generally be as safe as possible.

Any info on how to position my bike and what side of cars i should be on when i turn and how best to approach lane filtering etc....

Things like that :-)

Cheers

Dan

tmg

Highway code + Common sense

John.T

http://www.ctc.org.uk/DesktopDefault.aspx?TabID=3376
Have a look through these.

father_jack

tmg wrote:

Highway code + Common sense

What is common sense and how I do find some?

Tom Butcher

Yes there is a book called CycleCraft which is supposed to be very good. I've only flicked through other people's copies but from what I understand it will tell you the tricks of riding safely.

edit : OK so it's a book and not a website - but it's still recommended.

oldmcgroin

Thanks guys some good tips

chunkytfg

oldmcgroin wrote:

Thanks guys some good tips

Do you drive? If so consider how you approach cyclists when in your car and then see if you can relate to being a cyclist being overtaken by you.

Dont ride in the gutter! always ride out from the edge of the road. maybe 2 feet as a guide. If you approach a situation where both you and a car wont fit together then you need to make it clear that they shouldnt be overtaking you. I do this by checking it's clear and pulling out a couple more feet to just inside the centre of my lane.

ON more open roads I always ride far enough out from the edge to mean an overtaking vehicle needs to move into oncoming traffic to pass. This stops them squeezing past you as a truck comes the other way as there just isnt room plus if you do get some moron try to get past you have somewhere to escape too!

These are my tips. Use them at your own risk but they have served me well so far.

Stone Glider

As someone who has read Cyclecraft by John Franklin, +1 The book is clearly laid out and gives you "practical advice on how to ride a bike confidently and safely in modern traffic conditions" to quote the blurb.

oldmcgroin

Thanks for the tips Chunkytfg. I bought Cyclecraft last night, seems just what i need.

Thanks

danlikesbikes

Personally when I went off for the first time on my bike I picked some super quiet roads just to get me used to the bike, how it felt and how to brake properly and safely. I also joined a local club and learnt so much in such a short time from other cyclists who gave me the benefit of their knowledge.

If you want a funny video then http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sPfR_VjV ... re=related
If wont teach you anything but is quite funny

Tom Butcher

Yes you can't beat experience.

When I started cycling again I had lots of near misses and one incident where a car turned right across me and knocked me off. I was riding perfectly properly but I wasn't doing the little extra things to keep myself safe - recognising when it was best to ride further out to prevent cars passing and stuff like that.

re-cycles

Contact your local council, many of the run one off courses for new and returning cyclists.

Velonutter

oldmcgroin wrote:

I shall be taking delivery of my new road bike today and having never ridden a road bike before nor ever really cycled on busy roads I was wondering if anyone knows of any websites that will tell me how best to tackle cycling on busy roads.

What I'm after is something with drawings or diagrams about how best to approach things like junctions, roundabouts, right hand turns and to generally be as safe as possible.

Any info on how to position my bike and what side of cars i should be on when i turn and how best to approach lane filtering etc....

Things like that :-)

Cheers

Dan

Probably about the most useful guidance you will ever read: -

http://www.tibsnjoan.co.uk/Big.html

Peddle Up!

+1 to the above. Excellent advice.