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CHAPTER 2
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RIDING YOUR BIKE
SHIFTING
Using your gears to maintain an easy quick spin helps you ride longer with less effort because mashing hard gears tires legs and hurts knees. Practice spinning at 60 to 90 Rpm’s on the flats and about 50 up hills. A cycling computer with cadence will help you track your Rpm’s.
Learn to shift the back gears before learning to shift the front gears. Keep pedaling when shifting, easing off slightly with your foot pressure as you shift. On the rear, the smaller the cog the harder it is to pedal. The larger the cog then the easier it is to pedal. So, going downhill you shift to a smaller back cog. Going up hill you shift to a bigger back cog. If you are going up hill and shift the wrong way, it will be harder so you will know to shift the other way. If you are going downhill and shift the wrong way, you will be pedaling air!
After learning to shift the rear deraileur, you are ready for the front. Keep pedaling but ease off the foot pressure on the pedals. Some bikes have 3 rings in the front. The smallest one is called "granny gear" and is for hill climbing. The middle one is for flat riding. The largest one is for going down hills. Most riding time will be done in the middle ring.
When you have a bike that has many gears, some of them will be the same. The idea is to get the broadest range you can get. It is not so much having 24 individual gears but being able to pedal both up hill and down.
Be careful not to cross your chain at too great an angle. In other words, do not put the chain on the small ring in the front and the small ring in the back or the large ring in the front and the large ring in the back. It will put too much strain on the drive train.
Change your chain regularly. It will save you from having to replace the chain rings. Check your chain by measuring from the center of a pin exactly 12 inches. It should line up with the center of another pin. If it is stretched over 1/8th of an inch then have it replaced.
NOTES:
TRAFFIC
Basic riding
You are a vehicle and are required to follow the rules of the road. Keep right because you are slow moving. Ride in a predictable pattern. Don’t weave in an out of parked cars, driveways, and sidewalks. Don’t ride on the sidewalk. Ride single file except when passing. Signal your intentions. Never, ever ride against traffic! Be visible. Ride alertly. Wear a helmet.
Wear bright clothing. Yellow and lime green are seen the best. Have reflectors on your bike. Wear a triangle on your back or a safety vest. Have a horn or bell on your bike.
Do not do:
How to get used to traffic
Ride on a quiet street. Practice looking inside cars for doors that might open in front of you. Learn how your bike performs and how much room you really need.
Learn how long it takes to stop.
Know when to take the lane. If the road is not wide enough for you and a car to share the lane safely then take it!
Move over when safe to do so and let the cars by.
What to always look for
Look on the road in front of you for hazards – grates, glass, rocks, etc.
Look ahead and on either side for pedestrians and cars.
Intersections
Maintain your position in traffic.
It is illegal to pass on the right unless you are in a striped bike lane or wide shoulder that goes all the way to the light. Before crossing in front of a vehicle stopped at an intersection be sure to make eye contact, otherwise they may not have seen you.
Make eye contact
Use your hands. Wave or signal, pointing where you are going. Hold up your palm to tell them to halt. Use your voice. Yell, "Bike" or "Yahoo".
Motorists at stop signs or lights who do not yield to bicyclists are the leading cause of accidents for Bicyclists
.Oncoming traffic will turn to their left in front of you . Many motorists will either misjudge your speed or simply not see you. If a motorist turns in front of you, make an emergency turn to go the same direction as the vehicle.
Motorists turning right directly in front of you from beside you are another leading
cause of accidents for Bicyclists.
Vehicles can turn in front of you from any
direction!
Moving Left or right
Use your mirrors but look over your shoulder quickly to get driver’s attention. Signal and merge only if the motorist behind you does not speed up to fill the gap.
If a vehicle that is in front of you signals a right turn, then move to the left of the lane you are in and take the lane.
If there is a right turn lane and you are going straight, move to the left to get out of the right turn lane just as if you were a car.
Position yourself for the intersection.
If a vehicle ahead of you signals a left turn do not move to the right as you normally would if you were in a car because the vehicles behind you may move to the right to avoid the turning car and squeeze you out on the right.
When turning left be in the rightmost area of the left turn lane or the lane you are turning left from to keep left turning motorists from passing you on the right cutting you off from the right curb after the turn.
Bike lanes at intersections are fair game to motorists. Move to the left of the lane to make yourself more visible. Watch the vehicles.
Bike lanes next to parked cars are dangerous. Look for people in cars about to open their doors as well as those about to pull out. Ride to the left of the bike lane. Use your voice, bell or other noise maker.
When making a right turn, stay in the middle of the lane to look as if you are going straight before you turn right to avoid squeeze play from vehicles behind you turning right or vehicles in front of you turning to their left.
Reading Traffic
A person is about to turn if he moves his head left or right , looks in his mirror , slows down or does not speed up when you expect him to.
A vehicle is about to speed up if a bunch of smoke comes out the tail pipe .
If a car in front of you shakes suddenly watch for a pot hole.
If you move to the right to let a vehicle pass and it does not pass, if it is safe , wave them by.
Before passing a vehicle car that is stopped in traffic look at the wheels. If the wheels are turned then the vehicle will be turning when it starts up again.
At a light look at the turn signals on the cars but do not trust them.
Watching the bus
When stopped behind a bus make sure the driver can see you in his mirror.
Passing a bus picking up passengers is dangerous because it may pull out suddenly if the driver does not know you are there. Look to see if passengers are loading before passing or wait.
Busses pull to the right in front of you to let off and pick up passengers so do not follow directly behind or on the right of a bus. Slow down and let the bus go ahead and then just wait. Otherwise you will most likely do the squeeze play routine.
Passing busses on the right is dangerous even if you are in a bike lane because not all passengers may have disengaged.
Ramps
If it is safe to cross over in front of an entrance ramp as you get to it do so otherwise keep in your lane until it is safe to move to the right.
When approaching an entrance ramp move to your left if the traffic is slow enough so that autoists will pass you on your right and enter the ramp. If the autoists do not understand then slow and move to your right entering the ramp slowly letting the autoists pass on your left until there is a break and you can cross over the ramp follow it back up and turn right.
Red lights
I have one word for running red lights DON’T. Eventually you will get hit. One exception is if you have stopped for the red light and there are absolutely no cars around and the light is not changing because you are not tripping the metal detector then proceed with caution at your own risk. Note this is still an illegal move.
NOTES:
HILLS
Going Up Hills
Climbing hills is not that difficult once you know how.
Going up the hill too fast in too hard a gear, will make your heart beat too fast. You can no longer talk while riding. When this happens you are "over your anaerobic threshold", thus using more oxygen then you can supply. When you cannot get enough oxygen to your muscles they begin to hurt. This is because lactic acid (by-product of burning calories without enough oxygen) is building up in them. When your body has had enough of this nonsense, it will make you stop. If you are having trouble knowing how hard you are working, a heart rate monitor will help you get to know your body better.
To avoid this and be able to ride the whole hill, shift to an easier gear before the hill. If it is a very steep hill then shift to your small ring on the front. As you go up the hill shift to a progressively larger ring in the back. Remember to ease up slightly as you shift your gears. Keep your cadence at a comfortable even pace. Go as slowly as required to keep your heart rate and breathing at a comfortable level. If you have cages or clipless pedals then pull up on the pedals as well as push down. Your feet should be making nice round circles not mashing up and down. If you are in the easiest gear and still cannot push the pedals comfortably, take a visit to your local bike shop. Ask them if they can put on some different gears that would make it easier to go up hills. Keep your old gears for when you get stronger.
Climbing hills makes it easier to climb hills!
Breathe deeply through your mouth and nose at the same time. Blow out all the air from your lungs. Think more about the exhale than the inhale. Use your stomach muscles to help you exhale more fully. Relax your body. If your legs begin to ache then slow down. Stop and take a short rest, drink some water, and start again.If it is a long sustained climb then you can alternate between sitting and standing. Practice standing for a count of three then sitting for a count of three. Let the bike rock comfortably under you. As your right foot goes down, pull up on your handlebars with the right arm. As your left foot goes down, pull up on your handlebars with your left arm. This will add leverage to your foot as well as swing the bike gently back and forth. Watch how the pros do it on TV.
Stay to the right of the road but not so close to the edge that you will swerve off. Remember, as long as the motorists behind you can see you, they will try not to hit you because hitting you will make their insurance go up or damage their car. The people may get impatient and they may say something mean but don’t let them push you off the road. They can go around. A motorist only has to slow down and turn his wheel a little bit to navigate around you. It causes them no great physical discomfort and only takes an extra minute if that. You are doing them a service by teaching them the art of patience. If horns honk, just ignore it. We need to teach them that honking their horn does not magically make us disappear, levitate, or somehow go faster than we can go. On the other hand if you are impeding traffic where they cannot get around you, pull over to the right at your earliest convenience and let the traffic go by.
NOTES:
Going Down Hills
Going down hills is a bit trickier.
Do not panic! If you have done a safety check on your bike and have good tires you will be fine. Problems happen when the rider panics or does not have good equipment.As you get over the top of the hill, be sure to stay to the right because motorists cannot see you until they have crested the hill. They cannot avoid what they cannot see. Shift into the bigger ring on the front and smaller rings in the back.
Because you are going faster, look farther ahead than you would on a flat road.
Do not apply the brakes continually down the hill. Let the bike have its way. Sit back farther on the saddle, place your hands in the drops (road bike) or bend your elbows more (mountain bike) to lower the center of gravity. Do not use bar ends or aero bars when going down hill. If it feels too fast, alternate light pressure on the front brake and then the back brake. Otherwise you run the risk of heating up rims and popping tires. If the bike starts to shake, slow down gradually and press one or both legs against the top tube. Breathe!
If it is a long straight stretch of road, it is OK to sit up taller to act like an air brake.
To negotiate the turns remember outside, inside, outside. Start at the outside of the turn, move to the inside and then drift back to the outside. Do not apply the brake while in the turn. Apply the brake before the turn and allow the bike to gather some speed in the turn. Lean the bike more for sharper turns. Press hard or stand on the outside pedal. Being down lower on the bike and back farther on the saddle drops the center of gravity and helps keep the bike on the curve. Point the inside knee in the direction you want to go. Allow the corner to happen.
Judge the corner and your ability, slow before the turn, weight the outside pedal, lean into the turn, and allow the bike to swing around the curve. Relax!
NOTES:
EMERGENCY MOVES
Emergency Stop
Shift your weight back as far as you can over the back of the seat. Apply both brakes evenly being careful not to skid. If you have not shifted your weight to the back of the seat, you risk of going over the handlebars.
Emergency turn
If you are moving straight and a car on the left moves quickly in front of you to make a right turn, you will need to turn quickly to the right. To do this, turn your handlebars quickly to the left and then around to the right within one second. What this does is lean the bike to the right allowing the turn to happen quickly.
The more lean on the bike, the sharper the turn. Weight the outside pedal.
Reverse the procedure for a quick left turn.
Emergency pothole dodge
Number one rule is to look where you want to go not where the pothole is. Turn the handlebars sharply one direction and then the other. This will get the bike around the pothole quickly and sharply. The rear wheel will follow.
Falling
Try to tuck under everything you can and roll. If you attempt to stop yourself with your hands you run the risk of breaking a collar bone or arms or both. The best part to land on first is the rump and then the back of your shoulder. The worst place to land first is the head. Always wear your helmet.
Railroad tracks
Cross tracks at as much of a 90-degree angle as you can to avoid getting the tires caught in the ruts or sliding on the metal. Slow down because hitting the tracks while going fast can damage your rims.
Wet tracks are slippery. A bike tire can slide on them causing you to fall down. Use extreme caution.
NOTES:
NIGHT RIDING
The magic three for safe night riding:
Must be visible at least 500 feet to the front
Law will allow reflector but light is better. Both must be visible 600 feet to the rear.
The dual headlight set up is expensive; it could save your life. Being seen is being safe.
Reflective clothing helps. There is a line of clothing that looks like regular clothes during the day but reflects light at night. However, a reflective vest works just as well. Reflectors on your pedals help.
The more reflective gear you have the more easily you will be seen.
We have ridden a lot at night. It is our experience that if the autoists see you at night, they generally give you more room then they would during the day. If they cannot see you then you are setting yourself up to be hit.
Never ride at night without a light in dark clothing!
NOTES:
What Will Cause You to Get Hit
Drunk driver.
If you see one report them. You have very little defense no matter what your mode of travel because they are unpredictable.Riding against traffic on the street.
People do not expect you there and may not see you. You may get hit by a vehicle from any direction.Riding on the sidewalk against traffic
. People turning, entering or exiting driveways, cross streets or alleys can hit you. They do not expect you there.Failing to yield.
Cars going straight or turning can hit you.Riding at night without a light
. You will not be seen and can be hit by autos going in any direction.Running stop signs and lights.
Cars crossing the intersection or turning can hit you.Turning left or right from the wrong position.
You may get hit by autos going straight or turning from behind or in front of you.Riding too close to parked vehicles.
You may get doored.Going straight in a right turn lane.
Cars turning right may hit you.Passing vehicles on the right at an intersection.
Cars turning right at an intersection may hit you.NOTES:
Conflicts with Motorists
Avoid them at all costs.
In conflicts with motorists the bicyclist usually looses both in the road and in the courts.
If a motorist cuts you off
Do nothing. Be calm. Make noise to let them know you are there.
If a motoristhonks or yells at you
Do nothing or wave and smile at them as if you know them. Yell, "Hi, Pat" and be overly friendly.
If a motorist hits you with their hand or throws something
Do nothing. Get their license plate, make and model of car. Go to phone and call police and report the incident immediately.
If a motorist tries to run you down or knock you down
Turn at your first opportunity. Make a U-turn and go back the way you came. Take the sidewalk in the opposite direction. Take your bike into places the car cannot go.
NOTES:
Conflicts With Dogs
Most dogs just want to chase you. Getting bit by a dog does not happen very often.
When a dog starts to chase you, shout loudly, "NO!" and "GO HOME".
Call in a friendly voice, "Here boy. Come on boy. Good boy. Nice dog. Lets go." They may just run with you and not bite.
Bark back!
Squirt them with your water bottle.
Outrun them.
Dogs that come at you in a big arc are herders and just want to chase and bark.
Carry dog repellant, but use only as a last resort. Do not spray in front of you. Spray down and to the back.
If you cannot out run the dog or the dog does not stop then you stop and dismount with your bike between you and the dog. The spinning wheels and feet attract dogs. Take out your pump to be prepared to defend yourself, but keep the bike between you and the dog at all times. Tell the dog to go home.
There is a difference between a dog just nipping at you and biting you. They nip to get you to go in a certain direction. If a dog does bite you, write down the address and report it to animal control.
NOTES:
Page One : Table of Contents
Chapter One: Before Riding Your Bike
Chapter Two: Riding Your Bike
Chapter Three: After the Ride