1) Find a better way.
Is there a more bike friendly route to where I want to go? Keep an eye out for handy short-cuts or roads through residential areas. This may lengthen your journey, but it will make it a more pleasant experience. Make Google Maps your new best friend.
2) Show your bike some love.
Ensure your brakes are in tip top shape. Avoid cycling a bike that is too big or too small for you. Ensure your lights and gears are working. Are your tyres pumped enough? Feel good and confident on your bike. If it's roadworthy, you will feel in control of it.
3) Make the right moves.
Start practicing two types of turns. Firstly, look behind you with both hands on the handlebars and then with just one hand. Work on this move until you can do this without wobbling. You need to look behind you before turning to suss out what’s happening behind you before turning and to let other road users know what you are up to.
4) Get noticed.
Make eye contact with drivers- this helps them become even more aware of you. The idea is not just to make yourself visible, but prominent. Use hand signals.
5) Be assertive
Remember that you have as much rights as a motorist on the roads. Be assertive without being cocky or taking risks. A bicycle is legally a vehicle and a cyclist is a driver. Claim the space on the road that you rightly deserve.
Pic to left: Gary and Ferdia give bike maintenance tips as part of Bike Week at NUI, Galway
Pic by Fiona Concannon
6) Hit the right spot
If you cycle in city traffic, you need to be well aware of the two basic road positions. The primary position is in the centre of the leftmost lane while the secondary position is at the left of the leftmost lane. Use the primary position for turning left, stopping in traffic or flowing in with slow moving traffic. It deters overtaking and gives you prominence. The secondary position is when you are cycling along and there is plenty of room for traffic to overtake you. Do not hug the kerb-aim to be at least half a metre out from it.
7) Be aware of the danger zones
Roundabouts are the most problematic junctions for cyclists to negotiate. Dismount and walk. However if you are an experienced cyclist, the best advice is to negotiate it in the same manner as a car with all the same rules applying.
Cycling up inside turning buses and Heavy Goods Vehicles (HGV’s) is highly dangerous. HGV drivers have a few blind spots, so may not be aware of you. If a HGV or bus overtakes you, stop pedalling and allow them to overtake you. For HGV drivers it's often difficult for them to judge when they need to pull back in.
Most collisions happen at junctions and involve turning vehicles. Be extra vigilant.
8) Avoid getting "doored"
When passing alongside parked cars, give yourself extra space, ideally allowing a full car door’s width to spare. The last thing you want on your way home from a tough day in the office is a car door slamming into you.
9) Observe
Become an acute observer of the behaviour of all road users.
10) Enjoy the ride.
Remind yourself of how great a form of transportation the bicycle is. It has no carbon emissions; it’s fun, healthy, efficient, and you don’t have to worry about parking. By cycling you are taking an extra car off the road. You are boosting your health, fitness, well being and life span. The more cyclists there are on the roads, the safer it becomes to ride a bike.
The above information was gleaned from a Cycling Skills talk given by Oisín Ó’Nidh of Galway Cycling Campaign in NUI, Galway on Tuesday lunchtime as part of National Bike Week. Oisín is a UK National Standard Cycling instructor.
