Questions, so many questions

[Deleted member 20519]

I'm fairly new to cycling so as you'd expect, I have lots and lots of questions. If you're kind enough to answer some of them, it would be greatly appreciated!

How do you deal with hills without getting tired?

How fast should you be going on a straight road?

What gear should you be in?

How do you deal with road rage?

How do you deal with stupid drivers?

Can I overtake a car if I'm going faster than them?

Do I have the right to take primary position?

How can I make my bike faster?

How can I make my bike safer?

How can I be safer?

What do I do to stop a driver from dangerously overtaking me?

Do cyclists still use the hand signal for when they stop?

When commuting, do you take a change of clothes?

How much water are you supposed to take with you on a ride?

Do I have to stay in the cycle lane?

Should I confront drivers?

What to do if confronted by someone?

Where do I report dangerous driving too?

That's all I can think of, sorry for so many of them

 

[caimg]

Hey there! Welcome to cycling!

Without even a hint of frustration / impatience, the search engine will answer most if not all of those questions. I've only been here a few months and seen all of those topics crop up one time or another!

 

[caimg]

...though I'll answer lots of them by saying this: cycle defensively. When you're more experienced and confident then you can be more assertive (not temper or consideration wise) but for now focus on enjoying cycling and picking up good road-craft. At the beginning at least this'll probably mean acting subserviently to the almighty car...

 

[Nebulous]

Speed is a bit of an obsession of mine, as I want to be as fast as I can be- others see a bike as a means of transport/recreation and as an opportunity to slow things down a bit, rather than speed it up. Most people are somewhere in between.

The only thing I would say if you want to get faster is you'll need to work very hard at it, and attack it from different angles, including:-

Position on the bike
Equipment, including clothes and shoes
Structured training - lots of it with variety and challenges to raise your game.
Diet
Depending where you are at - possibly weight loss.

That's about enough to keep you going for a while.

Hills are always difficult, and are my biggest weakness. I'm getting better though, and that's simply by working at them. One thing I'm finding is that effort is rewarded. Upping my training load / miles show improvements quite quickly, often within 2-3 weeks.

 

[Andrew_Culture]

I was going to post a YouTube link on the subject of hill climbing, but there are so many you might be better served have a look yourself.

The best hill-climb advice I had was to shift back on your seat and push with those huge muscles on the backs of your thighs. Limber up first though!

 

[MattHB]

How do you deal with hills without getting tired?
do more of them

How fast should you be going on a straight road?
as fast as you can!

What gear should you be in?
whichever one feels comfy, it's individual

How do you deal with road rage?
don't get involved

How do you deal with stupid drivers?
assume that they're ALL stupider than you first thought

Can I overtake a car if I'm going faster than them?
if its slow sure, if it's going to wind the driver up, no

Do I have the right to take primary position?
yes, but use it sensibly

How can I make my bike faster?
pedal faster! And/or get a lighter one

How can I make my bike safer?
clean clean clean

How can I be safer?
be seen and assume that all drivers are stupid, as well as pedestrians

What do I do to stop a driver from dangerously overtaking me?
take correct road positioning, but you can't control them.

Do cyclists still use the hand signal for when they stop?
I've never seen it

When commuting, do you take a change of clothes?
yes, although wearing my Lycra feels kinda sexxxxy!

How much water are you supposed to take with you on a ride?
as much as you need

Do I have to stay in the cycle lane?
no, but it's usually the best idea

Should I confront drivers?
no no and no. They drive a one ton metal bomb, they're harder than you

What to do if confronted by someone?
apologise and move off, even if they were wrong. It's not worth it.

Where do I report dangerous driving too?
the police

 

[Crankarm]

I'm fairly new to cycling so as you'd expect, I have lots and lots of questions. If you're kind enough to answer some of them, it would be greatly appreciated!

How do you deal with hills without getting tired?

Get a car.

How fast should you be going on a straight road?

You should always ride within the speed limit and your capabilities.

What gear should you be in?

Preferably something stylish and exponseeve.

How do you deal with road rage?

I don't as I don't ride on the roads.

How do you deal with stupid drivers?

Are drivers stupid?

Can I overtake a car if I'm going faster than them?

Yeah, but over taking car that's doing 85 in the fast lane is not the sharpest move as it means you will be breaking the law as well. Unless you are indeed the Magnatom.

Do I have the right to take primary position?

Primary, secondary................. just slalom down the road so no one can pass you.

How can I make my bike faster?

Get a motor, then it will classed as a motorbike.

How can I make my bike safer?

Leave it at home.

How can I be safer?

Do safe things.

What do I do to stop a driver from dangerously overtaking me?

You are slaloming down the road, they are not going to over take you!

Do cyclists still use the hand signal for when they stop?

When do cyclists stop? They certainly don't at red lights.

When commuting, do you take a change of clothes?

In case I soil myself if I am run over by a horse.

How much water are you supposed to take with you on a ride?

Water is for wimps.

Do I have to stay in the cycle lane?

Yes.

Should I confront drivers?

About what?

What to do if confronted by someone?

Why would you be confronted?

Where do I report dangerous driving too?

Don't bother, no one is interested, not even the police. Just be grateful you are alive and get to live another day.

That's all I can think of, sorry for so many of them

 

[Pat "5mph"]

I like the one about Magnatom: us Scottish riders have a lot to live up too!

 

[lulubel]

My personal favourite - get a car.

So true.

Learn to love riding uphill. You spend much longer doing that than going downhill, so you might as well enjoy it.

 

[T.M.H.N.E.T]

Overthinking this a bit eh?

 

[wheres_my_beard]

Reading Cyclecraft by John Franklin will probably answer most of these questions, and probably some you haven't written or considered yet. I have been riding bikes for the best part of 30 years, and found that there was loads of useful stuff in this book.

Remember that you can only be responsible for your own actions, and not the reactions of others. Be bold, but ride curteously.

 

[Pauluk]

Didn't think there was a speed limit for cycles

 

[TonyEnjoyD]

Didn't think there was a speed limit for cycles

The speed limits are for motorised vehicles.

 

[lulubel]

The speed limits are for motorised vehicles.

This is true. However, I'm currently persuing a personal injury claim against an idiot who pulled out right in front of me on a roundabout. The speed limit on the roundabout is 30k/h and I was doing 29k/h (according to my Garmin) at the time of the crash - I didn't even touch the brakes because it happened so suddenly. I'm glad I have evidence of my speed because one of the driver's possible "defences" is that he didn't realise how fast I was going, and I suspect I would get a lot less sympathy when it comes to compensation if I'd been going faster than 30k/h.

 

[Nosaj]

A hill is just another flat piece of road but set at a slightly different angle.

Any hill will be hard if you attack it and run out of puff half way up. Unfortunately to get used to riding hills you have to ride hills. Over time you will learn what pedalling rhythm you need to get you up a long hill and where you can actually go up a gear or two and carry your momentum up a very short but steep one (this is very individual and takes a while to get it but you will get it). The hard bit is when you come across a new one and it turns into a long hard grind as you get to where you think the top is only to find it go around the corner and continue upwards and then go around the next corner and so on. But next time you will know and will adjust your pace accordingly nothing can be done about that apart from learn from the experience.

Generally and this works for me on a hill that I have never rode before I drop down to a gear that is lower than I would normally ride the incline at and and just twiddle up it. If you are running a compact double or triple the lowest gears are low enough to enable you do this and go on for some time. Better to get to the crest the hill knowing you could have pushed harder with loads left than to get to the top and not be able to ride the flat part. Learn from that and know for next time you get to that hill

At first just take it easy and get to the if that means that you have to stop half way for a break so what if there are any other cyclists behind you simply lean your bike against a hedge and go behind that hedge for a few moments and you can blame the cold weather/too much water etc etc for your reason for the forced stop.

Obviously this assumes that you are looking to get up a hill at your own pace, if you are riding in a group or a race then you just have to do what the rest of us do and chew on the handlebar, or if you really are up against it the front wheel as a means of pain diversion until it is all over.