Question for cyclists
MamaFunky
Posts: 735 Member
I would love to get into cycling. My main concern though is safety on the roads. We live in a rural area with mainly two-lane roads. When I go for my runs most cars will go over in the other lane to give me room or I will also go into the grass to give them room and give them a nice "thank you" wave. I imagine with a bike you can't always move over onto the grass b/c of mailboxes, etc. Are most drivers considerate? I am sure there are some people that won't move over, but just wanted to see what your experiences are. I sadly had a good friend whose father was killed in a bicycle accident years ago, so it's something I wonder about often. We have a lot of cyclists that are out here, but most seem to be in groups on the weekends. Any thoughts or advice?
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Not all drivers are considerate unfortunately. However I have logged tens of thousands of miles riding on the roads and to be honest if I encounter 1 real jerk of a driver for every 200 miles I ride, I would say that is a lot. I ride on mostly rural roads with low traffic, however. I suspect if you were to ride in a more densely populated area you would naturally encounter more bad drivers.
In general I find drivers are courteous to me.0 -
try joining a club and riding with others, wear something very visible-a safety vest of neon shirt.1
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I would love to get into cycling. My main concern though is safety on the roads. We live in a rural area with mainly two-lane roads. When I go for my runs most cars will go over in the other lane to give me room or I will also go into the grass to give them room and give them a nice "thank you" wave. I imagine with a bike you can't always move over onto the grass b/c of mailboxes, etc. Are most drivers considerate? I am sure there are some people that won't move over, but just wanted to see what your experiences are. I sadly had a good friend whose father was killed in a bicycle accident years ago, so it's something I wonder about often. We have a lot of cyclists that are out here, but most seem to be in groups on the weekends. Any thoughts or advice?
I live in very much the same type of area, and most of my riding is on 2-lane roads with no shoulder. IME, most drivers are *reasonably* considerate. They will give you room when there is room to give, but they don't always slow down and wait to pass just because they can't give you that extra room. There is the occasional nice person who does, and there is the occasional *kitten*, but by in large people around here I would describe as "sufficiently considerate".
If you have a large cycling community, that might help as drivers are more accustomed to seeing riders on the roads, but that's just a guess.
I will say that the 1 big issue I had with traffic could easily have been avoided had I been more aware of approaching traffic and traffic patterns in general. 99% of the time, you are as safe as you make yourself.
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Not all drivers are considerate unfortunately. However I have logged tens of thousands of miles riding on the roads and to be honest if I encounter 1 real jerk of a driver for every 200 miles I ride, I would say that is a lot. I ride on mostly rural roads with low traffic, however. I suspect if you were to ride in a more densely populated area you would naturally encounter more bad drivers.
In general I find drivers are courteous to me.
^^^ This has been pretty much my experience too.
You need to be seen (high viz clothing, I also ride day and night with a very bright flashing red LED light showing to the rear and a very bright white led light facing forward - both can be seen in full daylight from a distance) and you need to ride predictably (obey traffic laws, signal turns etc).
The fact that drivers already try to give you room while you run is a good sign that you have attentive, courteous drivers in your area.0 -
You're right that you can't always veer off the road to avoid a collision, especially on a skinny-tire road bike that needs pavement.Are most drivers considerate? I am sure there are some people that won't move over, but just wanted to see what your experiences are.
I'm a lot more concerned about the obliviots texting away than the rude people. Nobody wants to get sued or become a pariah in their community, those are enough reasons that nobody will hit you deliberately.
In my experience, truly rural areas tend to have the most courteous drivers, cities at rush hour have the most impatient and ones who will take too much risk, and sidewalks and bike paths can be some of the most dangerous places to ride. You wouldn't expect that last part to be true, and the details depend on a lot of factors, but on the road you can generally expect everybody to behave in a predictable manner, hold their line, etc; on a path, that all goes to hell.0 -
I'm a bit diff from the average cyclist. I don't have any bright riding gear and I don't have a helmet. Because of this, I like to stay more aware of my surroundings and always obey street signs/signals. I live near DC where everyone are known for being *kitten* drivers. People get hit all the time, but I guess I've been lucky and never had any incidents on the street. I like to ride on the shoulder or side of the lane unless it narrows up and cars would have to squeeze past me. If it starts to narrow, I will move into the center so they don't even try it. I never go on roads above 40mph, and if its a sketchy area, I may even jump onto the sidewalk and slow things up.
The biggest issues I have faced so far are: 1) parking lot drivers not being aware 2) people not checking traffic or their surroundings when coming to an alleged stop on a cross road or parking lot exit. Because of #2, I like to stay on the street instead of the sidewalk, because they often block sidewalks and crosswalks where they stop the car.0 -
I do not typically ride path ways. I actually find them more dangerous than road ways. People running with headphones, people walking with strollers, people walking with dogs. I cannot stand it. When I get out on the pathways I want to go. And that's pretty bad being I have about 74 miles of straight pathway with an average gradient of less than 4% . . https://ridewithgps.com/routes/15953239
I ride 9.5 miles to and from work a couple times a week, and on the weekends I sometimes ride around 50-55 miles on the roads. Sometimes during morning rush hour, sometimes during even rush hour. Sometimes during off peak hours.
I find that some motorist are/can be a Captain Jerkhole and some are in the middle and some are extremely nice and cautious around cyclist. . I've only had one person be a complete "Jerkhole" and want to try to start something with me as a cyclist. Until I reminded him that I had a GoPro on my helmet and anything will be reported to the local PD. And I've got roughly 1,200 miles on my road bike and about 300 miles on my fixed gear bike.
As far as riding on the road way the more visible you are the better off you'll be. Personally I use a Bontrager Flare 3 tail-light and a Bontrager Ion700 RT and Cateye Volt 400 [forward blinker] just to make sure I'm seen both in the daylight and the even hours.
And typically if you ride with some commonsense and ride with some confidence you're going to be just fine.1 -
I do not typically ride path ways. I actually find them more dangerous than road ways. People running with headphones, people walking with strollers, people walking with dogs. I cannot stand it. When I get out on the pathways I want to go. And that's pretty bad being I have about 74 miles of straight pathway with an average gradient of less than 4% . . https://ridewithgps.com/routes/15953239
I ride 9.5 miles to and from work a couple times a week, and on the weekends I sometimes ride around 50-55 miles on the roads. Sometimes during morning rush hour, sometimes during even rush hour. Sometimes during off peak hours.
I find that some motorist are Captain Jerkhole and some are in the middle and some are extremely nice and cautious around cyclist. . I've only had one person be a complete "Jerkhole" and want to try to start something with me as a cyclist. Until I reminded him that I had a GoPro on my helmet and anything will be reported to the local PD. And I've got roughly 1,200 miles on my road bike and about 300 miles on my fixed gear bike.
As far as riding on the road way the more visible you are the better off you'll be. Personally I use a Bontrager Flare 3 tail-light and a Bontrager Ion700 RT and Cateye Volt 400 [forward blinker] just to make sure I'm seen both in the daylight and the even hours.
And typically if you ride with some commonsense and ride with some confidence you're going to be just fine.
I had some clown try to run me off of the road in Anderson Township.
I found riding in Ohio to be more dangerous than riding in Los Angeles and I rode more miles in LA than I can remember.
Yeah, it's a good idea to be seen via bike mounted lights and high viz attire.
... just my .020 -
I ride on mostly rural roads with low traffic, however. I suspect if you were to ride in a more densely populated area you would naturally encounter more bad drivers.
I always find my worst experiences on the major roads in town, rural roads are completely fine, and indeed flogging through London on my Brompton is entirely comfortable
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I would love to get into cycling. My main concern though is safety on the roads. We live in a rural area with mainly two-lane roads. When I go for my runs most cars will go over in the other lane to give me room or I will also go into the grass to give them room and give them a nice "thank you" wave. I imagine with a bike you can't always move over onto the grass b/c of mailboxes, etc. Are most drivers considerate? I am sure there are some people that won't move over, but just wanted to see what your experiences are. I sadly had a good friend whose father was killed in a bicycle accident years ago, so it's something I wonder about often. We have a lot of cyclists that are out here, but most seem to be in groups on the weekends. Any thoughts or advice?
I live in the country in a rural area and have to deal with very similar situations as you do. Two lane roads and most places no shoulder or grass to move to if a car does not yield to me. We have great routes that we set up in the country where we cycle 15-45 miles early in the morning mainly on weekends. Or Friday morning early before rush hour. It seems like cycling during rush hour where I live brings out more maniacs and hostility.
However, I feel so much safer cycling than running. I run on the edge of the road on the white line and many cars come within inches of me. There might be a drop off so I cannot move to the side of the road or the grass. Sometimes I run at 5:00 in the morning to keep from dodging cars. I can't wait for the hot weather to break so I can run at 10 or 11 in the morning where cars are not the problem. Now let's talk about the pit bulls......0 -
As others have stated, I'm leery of riding these days because of cell phones. I see people constantly wandering out of their lane onto the shoulder because they can't keep their eyes off their phone while they're driving. It's scary. As to rural areas, other than a near fist fight in the city, my worst experiences as a cyclists were in rural areas. Had a truck pass me doing about 45 once. The passenger thought that throwing a bottle at me would be hilarious. I was doing about 15 so that would have been a 30+ mph bottle to my back if he hadn't had such *kitten* aim and missed.
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@cricket490 - lol. yes I hear you about the pit bulls and the dogs. There was a dog I have never seen before on my run today that was outside. Thankfully he ran back up to his house. whew.
Thank you all for the responses. The thought of cycling just sounds like fun. I love running, but there is only so far I can go. With cycling it just seems like you could cover more ground and explore more areas. I really appreciate hearing all our your experiences. We have some off road courses nearby, but I would love to just get on a bike and go from my house. Thanks for the suggestions about the light and the bright clothes too. I never thought about a light during daytime.0 -
I used to be an avid rider - 400 miles/week except in the winters. Not any more. The enjoyment and love I had for cycling was completely erased by idiot drivers. I had things thrown at me, obscenities yelled at me, cars sideswiping me, I'd see drivers swerving coming toward me from the opposite lane on their phones, you name it. Rural roads, city streets, didn't matter. You can wear all the bright clothes and lights you want - it won't help you when they're looking down at their phone. And to add insult to injury - I was a courteous and respectful cyclist. One day I just put the bicycle away and haven't been on it since.
I really miss it... and think about getting on again, until I get in my car and realize I don't even feel safe in that...
Funny thing is - I rode in France a few years back. Cyclists are treated like royalty over there....1 -
Motorsheen wrote: »I do not typically ride path ways. I actually find them more dangerous than road ways. People running with headphones, people walking with strollers, people walking with dogs. I cannot stand it. When I get out on the pathways I want to go. And that's pretty bad being I have about 74 miles of straight pathway with an average gradient of less than 4% . . https://ridewithgps.com/routes/15953239
I ride 9.5 miles to and from work a couple times a week, and on the weekends I sometimes ride around 50-55 miles on the roads. Sometimes during morning rush hour, sometimes during even rush hour. Sometimes during off peak hours.
I find that some motorist are Captain Jerkhole and some are in the middle and some are extremely nice and cautious around cyclist. . I've only had one person be a complete "Jerkhole" and want to try to start something with me as a cyclist. Until I reminded him that I had a GoPro on my helmet and anything will be reported to the local PD. And I've got roughly 1,200 miles on my road bike and about 300 miles on my fixed gear bike.
As far as riding on the road way the more visible you are the better off you'll be. Personally I use a Bontrager Flare 3 tail-light and a Bontrager Ion700 RT and Cateye Volt 400 [forward blinker] just to make sure I'm seen both in the daylight and the even hours.
And typically if you ride with some commonsense and ride with some confidence you're going to be just fine.
I had some clown try to run me off of the road in Anderson Township.
I found riding in Ohio to be more dangerous than riding in Los Angeles and I rode more miles in LA than I can remember.
Yeah, it's a good idea to be seen via bike mounted lights and high viz attire.
... just my .02
Ohio/Cincinnati is still fairly new to the Cycling Game, while we are one of the faster growing segments in the country..... we're still infants. I live over on the West side of town, towards Green Township/Cheviot and ride over to Otto Arlmetter, Lunken and even up to Mt Lookout and back on my days off and not had one bad incident.... guess I've been lucky.0 -
Thank you all for the responses. The thought of cycling just sounds like fun. I love running, but there is only so far I can go. With cycling it just seems like you could cover more ground and explore more areas. I really appreciate hearing all our your experiences.
Cycling is (or can be) incredibly fun. It's somewhat like running, but, you can make it as hard or easy as you like. (My average HR is much lower on the bike than when I run.) You still get the endorphines when you finish a good ride, just like running. You're right about being outdoors, exploring, feeling the wind in your face, etc. It can be a very wonderful time.
I ride a road bike. I can't just go off road anywhere I like, I can handle dirt roads, but most trails are too much for me. I'm sure you can figure out what your bike is capable of and suited for.
I can fit a road bike in a sedan - I'm 6'1" so I ride a large bike. The wheels come off easily and go in the trunk, the rest of the bike goes on the floor behind the front seats, in front of the rear ones. There are other arrangements that work too. But it's much more fun to ride in new or scenic places, and it's easier to find comfort and safety this way.
With all that said, I can post a bunch of pictures to make you drool at all the fun you should be having if you like.
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We would drive to a bigger city and cycle on a greenway (safer) until a cyclist friend told us to get in our car and clock a route on the country roads to cycle. Once we did this and added more and more miles we found with the extended miles, hills and curves it was a much better workout and enjoyed it more than the flat, easy greenway.
MamaFunky, Yes the dogs. This week the weather was cooler in the 80's so I decided to run at 11:00. It felt great and hardly any cars. Three miles into the run I see a huge dog that looked like a mastiff sitting in the yard. He started running at a truck in front of me and once he crossed the road I turned around and started walking home. I did not want to find out if he chased runners. Another disadvantage of living in the country.0 -
Strava's "Global Heatmap" shows where a lot of cyclists ride, near you and where you go on vacation too. It's a wonderful, amazing tool for finding new places to ride.
http://labs.strava.com/heatmap/1 -
I am surprised that I have not read what I am going to say. Did I miss it up there?
I do not know any serious riders who have not been hit by a car at least once.
It is just the way it is.0 -
GiddyupTim, I am glad that I'm not a serious cyclist.
You do have a valid point. I was going to venture into triathlons years ago and started reading books about training. On cycling, the first page of the first chapter said if you cycle to train for a triathlon you will be hit by a car. It changed my mind.0 -
More bike lanes.
Things have got to change.0 -
I am all about cycling!!! Add me!0
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I am an avid cyclist. At one time when I also took up riding a motorcycle, well meaning people started to tell me horror stories. They also pointed out websites that were gory motorcycle accidents. In motorcycle class they even say "it is not a matter of if you fall over but when you fall over." So, you are probably going to receive a number of posts about how dangerous cycling is. Being an avid cyclist I have ridden many miles and have seen great scenery, wildlife and crazy drivers. So, you have to ask yourself what type of cyclist are you. You are a runner and know the roads however if you are a bit nervous about cycling, try to join a club. Yes, you can drive your car to the starting point of the club ride. Sometimes a club will use roads less travelled. I also recommend that you try to ride early in the mornings - less traffic. If you are really afraid of cars, try riding on a multi-use path. Also, wear a helmet it is a requirement when joining a club anyway.0
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GiddyupTim wrote: »More bike lanes.
Things have got to change.
I live in the Netherlands. It's easy to take our cycling infrastructure for granted. Here's the strava heatmap zoomed out to show the difference in cycling intensity. And this is strava, that "serious" cyclists use to clock their miles. Groningen, in the north of the country has a modal share of 60%, and growing: nearly 2/3 of traffic movement inside the city is by bike.
http://labs.strava.com/heatmap/#3/-65.56641/47.33882/blue/bike
It's not about the terrain, but about the infrastructure...joining a local club and/or an advocacy group seems a very good idea.
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Been more colorful this year with two honks, almost cut off twice (one, driver ran a stop sign and other slammed the brakes to enter a driveway), and rode up to an verbal altercation at red light (club ride, not involved). 4.6k miles so far this year. Back when I was seriously into cycling, I never encountered this many over the five-year period when I was training and racing. I didn't encounter any in the two years prior when I restarted riding seriously again. Just luck.
When I ride on roads w/o bike lane, I stay inside of the fog line with 1-2 feet room for maneuvering. I don't take up the lane. In the bike lane, I hug to the left next to the drive lane. This increases my visibility and is a subtle suggestion to the drivers to share the lane.
Before getting on the road, I would practice handling. If you're meandering, you're putting a big target on your back. Also I found the bigger the speed differential, the bigger the target. Drivers tends to more aggressive when I'm cruising at 16 mph than 20+. Don't recall having much problems on climbs but I normally pull off to the side (driveway, hard shoulders, etc) to let cars pass as soon as practicable. Generally no problems on descents since I'm keeping pace (at least up to 45+ mph) or can out maneuver them on curvy roads. AND no earphones, wear a helmet, and eye protection as needed.
Good luck and enjoy.0 -
GiddyupTim wrote: »I am surprised that I have not read what I am going to say. Did I miss it up there?
I do not know any serious riders who have not been hit by a car at least once.
It is just the way it is.
On my road bike, I've never been hit by a cage dweller. Lots of long distances, largely non urban, where I can dominate the lane and make progress. I have skidded out on it, and a couple of times at lights I've had the rather embarrassing track-stand topple when I've not managed to get my shoes out of the pedals. That's no more than hurt pride.
On my cross bike, I've offed myself by going too fast round a bend. Never been hit by a cage.
On my mountain bike, I've thrown it down hills, into trees and streams. Again, never been hit by a cage.
On my Brompton, I've been hit a few times. Mostly side-swiped by a car cutting in too quickly after passing me. Once that needed a new front wheel.
What I would say is that hi viz and lights, two on the bike, two on my rucsac and one on my helmet, don't seem to make any difference whatsoever.
That said, overtaking cars have also been the biggest threat on my motorbike, although that's usually because they're passing me when it's not safe to do so anyway.
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I only cycle to commutenow, but IMHO, you always get idiots, not matter what, fortuantely they are not as common. Birght clothing and Obeying the road rules seems to reduce the crazies a bit. Not weaking in out of lanes\parked cars seems to stop the whingers as well.
Pedestrians are a pain IMHO, walking with headphones, not looking for bikes, stepping out, I've nearly cleaned out a few people due to this
As for issues, Car's parked illegally (I'm talking parked on corners, so you can't see round the car, let alone the corner), Cars not indicating, and as stated, the pedestrains stepping out are the only issues really. All of those are issues regardless of cycling or driving0 -
Most people are ok but you will get some people passing too close as they don't understand (or care) how to pass a cyclist safely. Rural roads are usually the best and that's where I mostly ride, however there are some roads that I try to avoid, especially at peak commuting times.1
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Noob cyclist living in a similar type area with the same fears. The only time I go on the main road is to get to the bike trail. So far, it's been fine. Drivers give me a little more room when they can, nobody has thrown anything at me, yelled at me, etc. One day I'll branch out to actual roads, but for now I don't trust people enough.0
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I like to ride on roads that have wider lanes or shoulders while by myself. However, if I have other riders, we can take up the entire lane comfortably and I know noone can try to squeeze past me in the same lane. I'd say about 18 of my 20 miles each day are on the road. (I seem to get tube punctures too quickly if I ride the sidewalk).
Other than cars cutting in front of me just to hit the brakes and turn, the only time I've had a close collision was when someone was in my lane going around a turn in a parking garage. Very close head on collision. I locked up my rear tire and slid around him and just happened to be able to catch and correct it.0 -
Thanks for all of your responses. Its interesting to hear your experiences and opinions. Be safe!0
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