Biking on the street

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  • glevinso
    glevinso Posts: 1,895 Member
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    West Chester? Howdy neighbor! There is some damn fine riding around here. I assume you ride on the Chester Valley Trail and the Schuylkill River Trail? Those are a great place to get experienced. You are in a great area to get into some real riding though as I am sure you have seen on weekends with all the local cyclists. Some suggestions for bike friendly areas to ride are to ride up rt282 in Downingtown out to Glenmoore. Also head out towards French Creek State Park. Lots of great roads out there that aren't as packed with cars.

    Check out the route the French Creek Iron Tour takes - those roads tend to be less traveled and are quite scenic. All within a few minutes ride from West Chester
  • threedogswc
    threedogswc Posts: 37 Member
    edited August 2015
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    glevinso wrote: »
    West Chester? Howdy neighbor! There is some damn fine riding around here. I assume you ride on the Chester Valley Trail and the Schuylkill River Trail? Those are a great place to get experienced. You are in a great area to get into some real riding though as I am sure you have seen on weekends with all the local cyclists. Some suggestions for bike friendly areas to ride are to ride up rt282 in Downingtown out to Glenmoore. Also head out towards French Creek State Park. Lots of great roads out there that aren't as packed with cars.

    Check out the route the French Creek Iron Tour takes - those roads tend to be less traveled and are quite scenic. All within a few minutes ride from West Chester

    Howdy back at ya! Yeh usually the chester valley trail. I'm a newbie and I have a hybrid. The trails are ok but too many people and too many dogs. I'll check out a little further downing town to glenmoore is a good idea.
  • shabaity
    shabaity Posts: 792 Member
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    Cherimoose wrote: »
    Wear bright colors.

    Ride on the sidewalk if you don't feel safe.

    Bicycle Street Smarts:
    http://www.bikexprt.com/streetsmarts/usa/

    How to ride on the street:
    http://antranik.org/how-to-ride-your-bicycle-safely-on-the-street/
    It's illegal in some places to ride on a sidewalk.
  • Machka9
    Machka9 Posts: 25,059 Member
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    threedogswc wrote: »
    where I live is not very bike friendly. I really want to ride more into town. Now I'm riding on bike specific trails but have to travel to get to them. Anyone have any tips for riding in a suburban area?

    -- Obey the rules of the road. You are a vehicle of the road, therefore the road rules apply to you. Look up the rules of the road in your area. Try the highway traffic act for your area as a place to start, and especially look for the rules pertaining to cyclists and bicycles.

    -- Ride close to the curb ... in my country, that would be, stay to the left. But yours might be stay to the right. Ride with the flow of traffic, not against it. You are not a pedestrian.

    -- In saying ride close to the curb, don't ride right up against it. Ride about a foot or so out from the curb to give yourself room to dodge debris.

    -- Do not ride on sidewalks unless you are sure it is legal to do so, and then ride carefully at pedestrian pace. When you are up on the sidewalk, you are a pedestrian.

    -- Be predictable. Signal your intentions. Ride in a straight line - no weaving or wobbling. Ride intentionally - no weaving or wobbling. Keeping up a decent speed and looking like you know what you're doing helps.

    -- You are invisible. Cyclists don a "cloaking device" when they hop on a bicycle. This, of course, poses problems when a car wants to occupy the spot where you, the invisible cyclist, are located. Assume no one sees you and act accordingly ... in other words, it is up to you to get out of the way.

    -- Use lights, reflectors, hi-vis clothing, mirror, bell ... all the little safety things which might make you less invisible. And do not use earbuds or headphones or whatever. Don't block your hearing. Listening for worrying traffic noises behind you is important.

    -- Explore and find cyclist-friendly routes. New cyclists often think of the routes they use while driving ... the direct but busy routes. However, there are often quieter routes available. Study maps and have a good explore.



  • hekla90
    hekla90 Posts: 595 Member
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    coryrood wrote: »
    Obey traffic laws and be courteous to vehicles since you are smaller than yhem. Hold as far right as possible.


    That is absolutely horrible advice. You can take the lane as a bike in the U.S. and you should. Staying far right is just inviting people to push limits and try to pass you (possibly hitting you) when it isn't safe to pass. You are essentially considered slow moving traffic. Keeping as far to the shoulder as possible is dangerous and not safe especially if you are in an already bike unfriendly area.

    I'm stunned how many people are suggesting you do something so well known to be dangerous. Also look at the shoulder of the road it's where all the cheap in the street is swept, glass, rocks, Nails. etc. more hazards than just cars.
  • glevinso
    glevinso Posts: 1,895 Member
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    I always say that I ride as far to the right of the road as is safe. Which sometimes is the middle of the road but sometimes is also near the shoulder. For example on a deserted road, sure I ride very close to the edge. Someone passing from behind is not likely to buzz me.

    If it is a 2-lane road (one lane each way) and there is a decent amount of oncoming traffic I *will* move well into the road to discourage people from trying to pass with no room. I'll move back over when *I* decide the people behind me can safely pass.
  • Machka9
    Machka9 Posts: 25,059 Member
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    glevinso wrote: »
    I always say that I ride as far to the right of the road as is safe. Which sometimes is the middle of the road but sometimes is also near the shoulder. For example on a deserted road, sure I ride very close to the edge. Someone passing from behind is not likely to buzz me.

    If it is a 2-lane road (one lane each way) and there is a decent amount of oncoming traffic I *will* move well into the road to discourage people from trying to pass with no room. I'll move back over when *I* decide the people behind me can safely pass.

    Yes, tailor it to the situation.

    As it happens that's the law too ... it usually states somewhere in there "as far to the right (or left in my case) as practicable". (Each of us can look up the highway traffic acts as they pertain to bicycles in our own area to see what it says.)

    Which means ... if you've got to dodge a pothole, obviously it's not practicable to hold your line and stay as far to the right as possible. If the whole curb is full of debris (as it often is soon after the snow melts), it is not practicable to ride as far to the right as possible. But if you've got a nice, smooth, relatively quiet country road ... then you can ride as far to the right as both practicable and possible. :)

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