Safety Tips for Noobs

Is it ever a good idea to bother signalling when turning left off a road? I can't see it is - I mean who are you telling?

Oh God.

When you are stopped for the lights, always be either in front of a vehicle or behind - try not to be alongside them. If you do happen to be alongside, always better in my experience to wait until the vehicle has moved off before you start.

Its good for letting peds who may be waiting to cross as well

Get a copy of John Franklin, Cyclecraft.

It is always good to indicate and if you turn left, as well as checking what is behind you on the right, also check if anyone is coming on the left. A lot of cyclists are so conditioned to undertake vehicles that they will do that to other cyclists.

Also take your time, observe, you don't need to filter to get to the front of the lights, etc. As Willo says, be in front or behind a vehicle.

Check what other cyclists are doing, you can learn a lot from them. Yesterday I followed a guy from Clapham Common to Stockwell, he was going at a steady speed, did not take any risks but was confident and most importantly predictable. I followed him to boost my confidence as there was a long lorry driving next to us and a lot of traffic that unnerved me a bit.

If someone does something crazy, don't focus on it, focus on what you are doing. Be polite, smile and enjoy.

good or you paul-michel for having the balls to say you want help on this! I salute you!

+100

oh and get really good lights and change the batteries. It is insane to see so many cyclists without any lights.

When I first started I would find myself racing along and then having to stop abruptly. I realised that there were a number of much older folk getting about faster than me because they knew the roads and had much better observation skills. They would achieve this with far less effort than me sprinting and stopping. I spent a few weeks trying to tail these people on my commute, to get their perspective and also quickly started to find the little things that get you around more quickly and safely. They tended to have a good eye and appreciation for where space was opening up and safe practice.

When I first started I would find myself racing along and then having to stop abruptly. I realised that there were a number of much older folk getting about faster than me because they knew the roads and had much better observation skills. They would achieve this with far less effort than me sprinting and stopping. I spent a few weeks trying to tail these people on my commute, to get their perspective and also quickly started to find the little things that get you around more quickly and safely. They tended to have a good eye and appreciation for where space was opening up and safe practice.

Interesting. Already I feel I'm a bit frsutrated with the shorts I am doing that I am having to slow down a lot. I just really want to pump the legs on the single speed (isnt that what they are made for?) :)

Is it ever a good idea to bother signalling when turning left off a road? I can't see it is - I mean who are you telling?

To me, its probably more dangerous to do so because youve got less control of the bike and may lose control and go under a car if you were to hit a pot hole or something.

Paul-Michel, that you are asking the question is an excellent indicator (no pun intended) why it's very good that you're doing training.

The answer is, of course, yes, it is a good idea. The point is that training will aim to teach you the bike handling skills to make this sort of manoeuvre without any problems. This is Stage 1 of the National Standard. Obviously, if the street is deserted, you don't need to indicate, but chances are that in London the street won't be deserted.

Likewise, general control skills are also a feature of training, so that if you were to hit a pothole after training you'd have a much better chance of staying upright than before.

Do as much cycle training as you need to bring you up to scratch. They'll tell you how far along you are--Level 1, 2, or 3. As an adult, you should certainly aspire to Level 3. I don't know what Lewisham's policy is but you might be able to get another two hours on them, or perhaps yet more if you work or study elsewhere. Ring CTUK to find out what's available (020-7231 6005). And it's always worth paying for cycle training yourself if you don't have a free option, as it will pay off its cost in, I reckon, about a week just from the increase in your enjoyment.

Remember, every motorist wants to kill you ...

This is not true, not even as a piece of pre-emptive practical guidance. Very few motorists are actively aggressive towards you. They all know that hitting you--whether from the front, from the side, or from behind--will be a lot more trouble for them than it's worth.

By all means, exercise skill and caution, but don't be unnecessarily alarmist.

Hello jar,

Good work Oliver :-)

Being a) skint and b) time-poor, how can one help in this noble quest?

thanks! It's great that you're interested. There are many ways to get involved in cycle training.

You can get trained as a cycle trainer yourself (a really good training course, I hear, that many people felt gave them transferable skills) and work for a cycle training organisation or work voluntarily as a cycle trainer (which may not be an option if you're skint).

If you have kids at a local school, you can get the school to develop a cycle training programme if it doesn't already have one.

You can join your local LCC group, who will in all likelihood be doing something on cycle training. Or you can start doing your own thing with them--they'll be able to point you in the right direction and introduce you to people in councils or schools, etc.

You can help us lobby the Mayor of London on cycle training, for instance as an office volunteer.

As ever, you can do your own lobbying--write to the Mayor of London, to your MP, to your local councillors, etc.

We may well run a school cycle training campaign this year (TBC) so you could get involved in that.

PM me if you want to know any more.

Best,
Oliver.

^ Thanks Oliver,

I'll be at the lobbying from home level I think, as Time is a real issue for me.

Contrary to what one might think seeing how much time I've spent on the forum over the last day or so...

I'll def check the LCC though....

:-)

my advice: keep riding, don't ride like a dick or try and look cool. Use your eyes and ears, learn to look over your shoulders, HTFU.

if you're still alive in two years you've passed.

I just really want to pump the legs on the single speed (isnt that what they are made for?) :)
\
just take it easy. there's too many them nooobz out there already trying to race without a clue what's going on around them.

know what's going on behind you. make sure they know you know. there's a lot of ways to communicate different things without words. nod, gesture, thank, whatever. respect others, give and take.

also feeling a bit of mortality and shame from time to time when you screw up helps (it happens to the best, just less ;)

don't ride like a dick

hahah.. i told someone that at the lights the other day. he was grinning at me trying to share some mutual whatever, i said 'you ride like a dick'. well, he was. his expression had me chuckling all the way to work.

Always look behind you before changing your line - black cabs and vans often cut it pretty fine when passing. A few sessions at Herne Hill Velodrome is good for knocking this into you :-)

When coming up to traffic islands or any other road restriction, always take control of the lane - I've lost count of the number of dicks who think they've just got time to nip round before forcing me uncomfortably close to the kerb.

If you're filtering through traffic, make sure you've got a Plan B to move to somewhere safer if you start to get boxed in. Always stay behind or in front of buses and lorries...

And say thanks to drivers if appropriate - he may be that bit kinder to the next guy...

Always look behind you before changing your line - black cabs and vans often cut it pretty fine when passing. A few sessions at Herne Hill Velodrome is good for knocking this into you :-)

Blimey, black cabs and vans at Herne Hill Velodrome now--whatever next? Is this some sort of inverse motorpacing?

And say thanks to drivers if appropriate - he may be that bit kinder to the next guy...

+1 A few times when i've let cars out and they give you a wave to say thanks it does make you much less agressive towards cars, and I assume the reverse is true.

+1 A few times when i've let cars out and they give you a wave to say thanks it does make you much less agressive towards cars, and I assume the reverse is true.

Exactly. Drivers are human. I kid you not.

Exactly. Drivers are human. I kid you not.

Not that that means it's the cars that are bad =P

But yes, i've always said this, a nice guy is a nice guy whether (s)he is in a car, on a bike, or walking along a footpath, the numpties are numpties whether they're in a car, on a bike (personally I find these ones worse than the numpties in cars) or on a path. Don't blame it on the bikes/cars.

P.S. I just realised how much I like the word numpty, insults are so much more fun when they make you sound like a kid.

Saw a transit van this week that had a nice printed sticker on the back saying "Warning: this vehicle may turn left".
I know it's well meant but somehow it sounds wrong. Perhaps because it's almost trying to remove the responsibility from the driver.

I had a couple of pints this afternoon, just got back and thought this thread title was 'Safety tips for nobs'...........

Any ideas? Always use lube?

make sure your inner lube is always pumped well; hard.

my advice: keep riding, don't ride like a dick or try and look cool. Use your eyes and ears, learn to look over your shoulders, HTFU.

YouTube - spray some Ballsâ„¢ on your face

when riding naked, use an old inner tube to strap your penis along the top tube so it doesn't get caught in the drivetrain.

this is especially important with a fixed wheel bike