Newby Commuter

[Baneli]

Okay hello everyone, Im new to commuting and will be starting my 5 mile ride to work on monday and I thought it would be a good idea to join a place were everyone enjoys the wonders of bikes

My ride doesn't start at home as I have to drive 2 miles to a village where I will be leaving my car for the day as that 2 mile road is a deadly drive next to a river which isn't safe even for cars... as a new rider I simply wont feel safe riding along there for a start. So a short drive into a villege and leaving my car at a safe space were alot of people park for the day and move on to their workplace. My choice but touch wood my car will be fine. Do many people do this for a start? to try break in the ride easy to their system? I am doing the commute simply to save money/fitness and because im feed up of driving everywhere! Riding is so my more enjoyable

Just a view pointers, I have red up on the highway code and all the safety in riding but a few things I have felt a little unsure about in some areas. I will be riding in country/villages so no city riding but what there is a que of traffic at a junction or roundabout do you go past them on the left or right?

Also I have read that you should keep left of the road but I have seen so many videos of cyclists riding almost in the middle of the lane which forces the cars to stop and wait to overtake, is that a good idea or stupid? I can see it being okay in citys but not on a fast 60mph road.

I am sure I will think and come across many of things once I start the ride and really looking forward to it

 

[upsidedown]

Welcome and keep the questions coming.

Driving part of the way is a great idea, you might find eventually that you feel confident doing the whole ride, maybe not, just do whatever suits you.

For road positioning i always advise new riders to look where the left hand wheels of cars are and ride there, that way you will avoid most potholes and drain covers, and the road will have been swept clean of glass and thorns by big thick car tyres.

At roundabout it's your call, personally i wait in line in a strong position in the centre of the road, act like a car and you're more likely to be treated like one. If you are in the middle of the lane it's unlikely somebody will come around your right hand side and try to cut to the left for the first exit. If you're not confident get off and cross as a pedestrian, nothing wrong with that.

If you see a lorry ahead at a junction, please, please, please do not be tempted to go down it's left hand side whether it's indicating or not. If it's turning left you're in trouble and if it's going straight on it's got to overtake you. Either way better to let it get on it's way and as far as possible from you.


Loads of experience on here so ask away.

stay safe.

cheers

paul

 

[oliglynn]

not sure on the legitimacy of overtaking queues of traffic, but when I do, I make the choice of left or right based on the situation (proximity of oncoming traffic, space between cars and the kerb, position of road furniture etc). If passing to the right I aim to get back in to a central or left hand position when I find a gap near or at the front of the queue.

+1 on strong roundabout positioning - there's nothing worse than people cutting you up to overtake you on a busy roundabout - the drivers can bl**dy well wait!

as for positioning on fast roads, i'd tend to assume a foot or 2 from the edge - allowing you to miss drain covers and debris, and giving you a little space to move into if needed. Makes drivers think twice about squeezing past you with oncoming traffic too.

 

[gambatte]

Hiya,

Remember, the left of the road, not the left of the lane.

You want to keep clear of the gutter - theres a reason why cars don't drive there, its full of garbage, its where most of the metalwork and potholes are.

Also if you ride there and you get a close pass you've no 'escape' or safety margin. Its recommended that you're a minimum of 500mm away and at the last round of changes to the highway code there was a thought that should be a minimum of 700mmm (note 'minimum')

 

[Alan Whicker]

Always assume that drivers haven't seen you.

Be assertive and predictable in your movements - that is, hold a line without swerving all over the road (hard with a bee in your helmet, as I found out last night)

When indicating, use the 'kung fu' hand position - arm straight out with your fingers together, palm forward, thumb at the top. It presents a greater and more visible surface area to other road users. Every little helps. I also like to do a bit of a 'karate chop' motion, which seems to attract Mr Mondeo's attention a bit more.

Do frequent 'lifesaver' shoulder checks - a quick glance every now and then. You'd be amazed how easily things can sneak up behind you.

If you come to a junction/roundabout/whatever that you don't feel confident traversing - get off and push! No shame in that. I do it all the time.

And don't let bad days put you off!

 

[Baneli]

Hey, thanks for all the quick replies really useful.

I am lucky with my route that the rounder bouts are actually mini ones that not much traffic builds up at anyway but the odd time it does and I will be turning left at both of them on the way and right on the way back so I can easily sit in the road and hold my space!

Upsidedown - I did think of biking the 2 mile bit at first but I NEVER see anyone biking along it and the more I think that if I come up against a lorry I am going in that river but will see how I feel in a couple months time about it. I have been watching so many videos on youtube it's unreal and have learnt never to go up the inside of anything bigger then a car

I am really looking forward to starting and it will only be 4 times a week due to another job I start half hour after I finish on Tuesday Once I get fitter I will start the bike to the gym again I have 5 months to get fit and in shape and would love to see how much money I save! It's also more of a test for me to see if I can make it a permanent thing on my return from Oz.

 

[gambatte]

It's also more of a test for me to see if I can make it a permanent thing on my return from Oz.

Aaaah.... so how is Toto, Dorothy?

 

[hillrep]

Lots of good advice here already.

Let me be the first to recommend Cyclecraft by John Franklin It is an excellent guide to cycling in traffic.


Enjoy your commuting!

 

[cyberknight]

At the top of the commuting page is a post with a guide to commuting ...

here is the link to the pdf file

http://www.cyclechat.net/index.php?app=core&module=attach&section=attach&attach_id=1153

Another vote for cyclecraft as well

I ride on unlit country lanes and not riding in the gutter is just as important as on busy roads because another issue with gutter riding is that you become less visible to other vehicles , when you ride further out you start to enter the "concentration" zone where the driver is looking and you have a better chance of them giving you more room rather than just squeezing you into the kerb.
Another benefit of riding further out is that if you do get squeezed you an another foot or so to use as an escape plan rather than just hitting the kerb, hedge or car !.

As for you tube you have to remember that in general people only publish the bad , stupid or just plain idiotic .For every bad clip that gets posted you could have hundreds or even thousands of good encounters with other vehicles but it would be a bit boring to watch "nice overtake 4762 "

Enjoy your commute !!!

 

[Baneli]

haha yeah you are right, Youtube is just full of the bad and idiotic but have been very entertaining I have to say.

I did my first ride this morning Drove 2 miles to the next village and then left the car and cycled the rest. Felt really good to get here and took me around 20 mins, was rushed so didnt have time to time it but will do on wednesday. According to the good old Mapometer the route was 4.97 Miles so going to say 5 and I burnt around 680 calories with my weight (But I know thats soooo not going to be right lol) But 5 miles is better the sluging it in a car

 

[cyberknight]

Well done try this !!

http://www.caloriesp.../index_burn.php

edit i did a ride yesterday and used 3400 kcals in 4.5 hours , thats 755 an hour which sounds about right if thats any help.( i am 11 stone though so that will alter the results )

 

[Baneli]

Wow thats amasing!! Thats like 1lb of fat in one ride! God I would love to be able to do that got to build up to it first, and get a better bike.... lol. Well thats website thinks I burnt about 275 Calories and did an advarage speed of 15MPH so got room for improvment