rumble_fish

Hey all, just got into cycling this past feb. and I have to say it's one of the smartest decisions that I've ever made. It's saving me money and keeping me fit, best of all no traffic jams!!

Anyways since I love it so much, I'm on the road a lot and I really want to improve my cycling skills. I've crashed twice now, into other cyclists both times! The first time was at a traffic circle, I came in from 6 o clock and he came in from 3 o clock, except he went clockwise which is illegal and I smashed right into him. I came out with a couple of bruises and my stem had to be re adjusted but everything else was fine. After that I bought a bike light and made an effort to ride more on main roads to avoid careless cyclists, or so I thought.

Second crash happened earlier tonight and was more serious. I was traveling along a main road in the right lane at about 40km/hr when I saw two cyclists on the curb, they both looked at me but for some reason one guy thought he could make it across the road before I got there. He rode right into my line, I tried slowing down but ended up hitting him and flying over the bars. He's fine, of course. I on the other hand suffered a deep cut to my finger and my bike is dead...

I've only ridden a little over 1000km's since I've gotten that bike, two accidents within that time seems like a lot. I look at the crashes that I had been in and to me it looks like the other cyclists were in the wrong but then I got to thinking, maybe I'm just a bad rider? Could I have swerved out of the way to avoid those other riders? Maybe I shouldn't be going that fast if I can't avoid surprises on the road. Is it safe to make a sharp swerve at speeds of 40km/hr or higher? What are some drills that I could do to improve my riding? Any tips at all would be greatly appreciated.

10 Wheels

Slow down... You are not racing.

dperreno

I would just say to ride more defensively. Give other riders, cars, dogs, etc. plenty of room, and just ASSUME that they are going to turn or run into you. Use your brakes. Along those lines, don't ride too close to parked cars - those doors have a tendency to be flung open when you least expect it.

Bekologist

I'd suggest finding a league of american bicyclists cycling seminar in your area.

smart cycling tips

League of American Bicyclists home page

Leebo

Disc brakes, improved bike handling skills, daytime blinkies front and rear, might help some.

RavingManiac

When you see a potentially dangerous situation, always assume that the worst will happen and ride accordingly. For example, the two bikes you noticed on the sidewalk, assume they will ride out in front of you at the worst possible time.

Monster Pete

Ride as if you're riding a low-powered motorcycle. You are the driver of a road vehicle and so should act accordingly. Don't hug the curb to keep 'out of the way' of cars, but give yourself some space from the edge of the road. If the lane is too narrow for a car to pass within the lane, you should take the lane by riding closer to the middle. Otherwise ride roughly 1m from the edge of the roadway.

When encountering a line of parked cars for example, don't weave in and out, but stay in the lane and ride predictably, so other traffic knows what you're doing.

Most important is to ride in a safe and predictable manner. This means riding on the correct side of the road and keeping a good lookout for other traffic and potentially dangerous situations.

SkippyX

+1

I trust right of way like I trust crackheads and politicians.

I try to ride as if everyone else on the road is a homicidal maniac whose mission in life is to kill me.

Of course, that doesn't keep me from the occasional wreck that I caused by being stupid.

dimachka

This doesn't sound so unusual for a new rider I think. With practice you will learn to react to crazy situations much quicker. The advice others have given about assuming everyone else will act like a complete moron could not be more true. Just keep at it, you'll be comfortable soon enough. I think after ~1500 miles or so is when I really felt comfortable on the road in any situation. (You should realize that accidents can always happen though, even to the most experienced riders)

Doohickie

People are idiots. Stop being one of them.

dynodonn 

I'm for the riding slower option, until the OP obtains better skills/experience, and 25+mph on a bicycle is not the same as when driving an automobile which might only end up at the most as a two week stay at the local body shop versus a lengthy one for the OP in the hospital.

rumble_fish

Thanks for the input everyone! I think you guys are right about assuming the worst in every potential threat, I haven't been doing that. Tonight kind of made me realize that it doesn't take any kind of testing for someone to ride a bicycle on the street, idiots who know nothing about road rules share the road with everyone else. Pretty scary thought actually.

About slowing down, yeah maybe you're right about that. The first crash I had I was probably going too fast for a residential road, and on top of that it was dark. But about the second incident, is it unreasonable to be going 40km/hr on a well lit big city road? I wasn't weaving in and out of traffic at this point, I was just traveling along the lane like every other vehicle would do. Really, when I saw that the two cyclists on the curb saw me I figured I was safe to continue on the road I was already traveling on. I suppose that kind of thinking is what got my bike killed After the accident I asked him if he saw me and he did in fact see me. So of course I asked him why he tried to cut through my lane and his reply was simply that he was stupid. At that point I was speechless. I really wanted to punch him but he was really apologetic about it so what could I do? I just wish people like that were not around.

So anyways, is it really considered reckless to travel on main roads at the speeds I was going?

mprelaw

Exactly. Riding fast is fun. Riding fast in congested areas is stupid, if not suicidal.

Save the 25 mph runs for rural straightaways. Yes, it's unreasonable to ride that fast on city streets. You're not as easy for a pedestrian to see as you think you are, and less visible to cars. You're going close to 40 feet every second. Doesn't take long to cover 100'. And even if they do see you, they're used to cyclists pedalling at half your speed. They may think they have more time to get out of your way than they really have.

dimachka

I don't think 25 mph is unreasonable for certain areas in the city (or certain cities). That said, you need to take into account the traffic and street conditions on any particular road you are on. I doubt I would go >25mph on a street I've never ridden before in the city. Also, I wouldn't recommend speeds like that until you are 100% comfortable at lower speeds. However, I doubt there is a commute these days where I don't hit the upper 20s riding through downtown Boston.

degnaw

I don't see 25mph as being recklessly fast - I certainly haven't seen any speed limits less than 25mph. Just leave plenty of room for a potential escape path and you should be fine.

Of course, at those speeds, it can't hurt to improve front visibility with some sort of obnoxiously bright flashing light.

CB HI

Make him pay for your new bicycle!

CB HI

25 mph is not too fast, but at speed cyclist need to know how and be ready to perform emergency stops and quick turns.

gcottay

+1 and the best time for us all to learn or refresh those skills is before we need them.

Commodus

I don't think it's reckless at all. I travel at these speeds literally every single day on my commute. As you say, we are simply traveling like any other vehicle would - assuming that 40 km/h is actually not over the speed limit. If you travel at 30, perhaps some random idiot will walk out in front of you as well. Shall we go 20? 10? At what point do we get off our bikes and walk?

jakub.ner

Fish, sorry to hear about your mis-adventures. You sure got nailed by other people's bad judgment .

Nice that you've started recently and are keeping the pace high. I find the faster your ride--the closer matched to rest of traffic--the easier it is to do certain things safely. And you really never know when a ped will jump the curb to catch the bus on the other side or some such... it's instant, can't be ready for it. You already doing the right stuff by getting visible.

Practice using your front brake as hard as you can including getting your butt behind the saddle. Practice bunny hops to clear grates/curbs.

Paul Barnard

Yep, most of us don't spend much time at that speed and even less time practicing controlled braking and evasive maneuvers.

Doohickie

It's one thing to travel at that speed when you're experienced and aware. rumble_fish seems to be neither, so maybe he should take it a little slower until he improves on both counts.

rumble_fish

So slowing down will improve my awareness and I will become experienced? Wise advice chicken head, I don't know what this forum would be without your 12 000 informative posts.

hagen2456

Well, most people don't expect bikes to travel as fast as 25 mph. That's what will cause a number of accidents.

John Forester

Just what is the cause that you imply, Hagen? Consider a traffic situation in which traffic moves at 25mph or more. Any person who has to operate with respect to that traffic ought to consider his movements with respect to traffic moving at that speed. If some vehicle in that traffic is moving at a lower speed, allowing for the higher speed will very largely also make the movement safe with respect to the lower speed vehicle. So, what's the problem?