Tips for beginner commuters

AndrewJ said:

I have been commuting to work by bicycle for about 15 years now. Sure,
90% of car drivers are very good. But if you actually want to survive
commuter riding, then there is only one rule you need:

Every car on the road is trying to kill you. Now.

If cars were really trying to kill you you'd be dead by now. It's not
that hard to deliberately hit a bicycle with a car.
--
Cheers | ~~ __@
Euan | ~~ _-\<,
Melbourne, Australia | ~ (*)/ (*)

As a new bike rider I ant to be told the following
do it
be brave
and how to turn right from a very busy two way four lane street into a one
way three lane street when all the cars want to get into that left hand lane
as well;
and going the other way the from Redfern St right and then left past the TNT
towers past Redfern Station (Sydney): I am not comfortable doing this
particularly when there are huge garbage trucks and busses etc swinging all
over the place so:
do it
be brave.
Still I did 51k yesterday going round in circles (Centennial Park) at
22k/hour so something good is happening.
GQ

"flyingdutch" <[email hidden]> wrote in
message news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

Bleve said:

I'm looking at doing a "reduced risk road riding" DVD/video in the
next
12 months, and some of the overriding concepts I'm wanting to
illustrate are, in no particular order as yet :

Be predictable
Observe and anticipate
Be visable
Use road space for your safety - occupy lanes when necessary
(roundabouts, turning lanes etc)
Self control and courtesy
Plan your route to reduce your risk
Know your rights and know your responsibilities

The order could be more logical, oh hang on. you did mention 'no
particular order..."
anyway the (imho better order)...

Plan your route to reduce your risk
Know your rights and know your responsibilities
Be visable
Be predictable
Observe and anticipate
Use road space for your safety - occupy lanes when necessary
(roundabouts, turning lanes etc)
Self control and courtesy

--
flyingdutch

On 2006-04-24, GEORGE QUINN (aka Bruce)
was almost, but not quite, entirely unlike tea:

Your name is shouting. I find this oddly peculiar 🙂

Quoted message said:

As a new bike rider I ant to be told the following
do it
be brave
and how to turn right from a very busy two way four lane street into a one
way three lane street when all the cars want to get into that left hand lane
as well;
and going the other way the from Redfern St right and then left past the TNT
towers past Redfern Station (Sydney): I am not comfortable doing this
particularly when there are huge garbage trucks and busses etc swinging all
over the place so:

Hmm. Interesting problem. Does the street go left as well as right?
Ie, are you on the stem of a T junction, or a cross road? Because it
sounds like the best option for all but the most confident of riders
(or really non busy times) would be the hook turn. Legal in a state
near you!

Quoted message said:

do it
be brave.
Still I did 51k yesterday going round in circles (Centennial Park) at
22k/hour so something good is happening.

Cool.

--
TimC
I hate mornings. I know they hate me back, too. -- Joel Gluth

"flyingdutch" <[email hidden]> wrote in
message news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

The order could be more logical, oh hang on. you did mention 'no
particular order..."
anyway the (imho better order)...

Plan your route to reduce your risk
Know your rights and know your responsibilities
Be visable
Be predictable
Observe and anticipate
Use road space for your safety - occupy lanes when necessary
(roundabouts, turning lanes etc)
Self control and courtesy

**disclaimer** - said "self control" and courtesy is likely to go out the
window when clipped by a car mirror when approaching a roundabout out
Diamond Creek way!!!!

You left a couple out:

sarcasm is your friend: "where is the danger??, you are only allowed by law
to honk your horn to warn other road users of danger....I will get out of
the centre of the only available lane as soon as I know I am not going to
ride into the danger that you are warning me about".

don't pedal through corners unless you have eggbeaters.

"rolls eyes"

Gags

"cfsmtb" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

As the petrol *tipping point* of $1.40+ litre looms, I have been
wondering about a list that could be quickly reeled off as advice for
those starting to commute to work.

- Leave all your work clothes at work and drop them off weekly at a
laundrette near your workplace where a nice lady washes and irons them for
$12 a week, thus meaning you never have to carry a backpack on your commute
and don't have to do ironing etc yourself

- If you're super-clean before you leave home, then you probably don't need
a shower at work

- Always carry a spare tube, as it's quicker than fixing a puncture that you
might not even be able to find without a water container. And always carry a
pump, and tyre levers/repair kit.

Cheers
David M

--
Frank
[email hidden]
Drop DACKS to reply
"Bleve" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

cfsmtb wrote:

[chomp]

I'm looking at doing a "reduced risk road riding" DVD/video in the next
12 months, and some of the overriding concepts I'm wanting to
illustrate are, in no particular order as yet :

Be predictable
Observe and anticipate
Be visable
Use road space for your safety - occupy lanes when necessary
(roundabouts, turning lanes etc)
Self control and courtesy
Plan your route to reduce your risk
Know your rights and know your responsibilities

On the first item "Be predictable" - it might be worth emphasising that
being predictable is more important than being right. We're none of us
perfect, but I've seen so many close calls from people realising they've
stuffed up and doing things like a panic stop half way across the road, lane
switching in a hurry, etc. I've no doubt we've all seen similar (and
sometimes done it!).

Obviously the 'predictable is better than right' bit shouldn't be emphasised
too much - you can't give people carte blanche to do as they please.

I reckon it would be a nice-to-have to make viewing the DVD mandatory for
driver training and produced in short segments that can be used as adverts
on the telly.

My early Tuesday morning 2c worth...

Frank

cfsmtb said:

As the petrol *tipping point* of $1.40+ litre looms, I have been
wondering about a list that could be quickly reeled off as advice for
those starting to commute to work.

Either a top five or even a top ten. I thought about behaviour
including being predictictable, assertive etc. But as one rather
aggressive cyclist in Thornbury on Saturday arvo illustrated to me,
(and everyone else watching), being assertive and not knowing any basic
road skills certainly isn't a good look. Neither is it good public
relations for cycling.

- You are legally a road vehicle;

- Behave in a predictictable way, ie: hold your line while in traffic;

- Keep at least one meter from parked cars, don't be forced into the
gutter;

- Follow all traffic signals & stop for red lights, including ped
lights;

- Keep a reasonable speed on shared offroad bikepaths, stick to the
left, slow on all corners and say "passing" when indeed passing another
path user;

- Curb your aggression, be polite, acknowledge other road users;

- Switch your lights on at dusk. If you haven't front & rear lights,
get them promptly;

- Get appropriate cycling clothes/rain jacket and footwear. It may look
funny to you but it's been designed for cycling. Saves your work
clothes, and if you commute a shorter distance you can wear what you
want.

- Wear a helmet, on your head, not on the handlebars. It's the law and
internerd h*lm*t arguments are useless when you're about to be fined by
the police.

- Be nice. Or something that approaches that form of behaviour for
you.

Ok I'm rambling and haven't had a coffee yet. All contributions welcome
except for boxtards. All I'm thinking of is a nifty list that we can all
easier use at the lights & at work for newbies.

The other thing we need is a track database where we can add cycling
routes. Google earth is the ideal tool for this but I think you may need
to pay for the upgrade to draw routes, they are easy to save and store
and anyone can load them onto google earth.

Friday

Zebee Johnstone said:

If you have to get them on little cards, make lots of little cards!

Aha - you realised the next step before I mentioned it!

Next piece of *homework*. Who can collate this all into a nifty little foldout card? Any budding designers out there want to have a crack at it? I'll put up a hand for hosting the finished result, as the personal coffers won't cover a mass print run. 😄

Yup. I guess the point I was making that you can't assume the best
about driver behaviour. You have to assume the worst, and be surprised
when it doesn't come out that way.

Some examples:

At a stop sign, a car will not always stop.
On a roundabout, a car may not either stop or even give way to you. It
may actually drive straight through you.
When a car is stationary and there is a person in it, you have to
assume they are about to open the door. [Even if they look.]
At a red light, a car will not always stop. It may actually stop, see
the red light, see you and ("it's only a bicycle"😉 drive straight at
you. [Actual experience, more than once at the same light.]

Of course there is always bad behaviour from cyclists:

Riding at 70km/hr on a shared bike path.
Running red lights.
Riding ten abreast on a major highway through a red light.
etc. etc.

Euan said:

AndrewJ said:

I have been commuting to work by bicycle for about 15 years now. Sure,
90% of car drivers are very good. But if you actually want to survive
commuter riding, then there is only one rule you need:

Every car on the road is trying to kill you. Now.

If cars were really trying to kill you you'd be dead by now. It's not
that hard to deliberately hit a bicycle with a car.

I prefer to think, "Every motorist is a useless, braindead idiot, barely
in control of his/her own life, let alone his/her vehicle."

It's fortunately not true in most cases, but it's saved me in other
cases.

Just the other day, I passed an unsignalled intersection on my left, and
a driver started to roll forward before I was clear. Gotta love that,
when someone starts driving a tonne of metal and plastic straight at
you. Fortunately I had claimed the lane and had plenty of room to move
across. I guess she wouldn't have done it if a car had been next to me.
I wonder if she paused to think what would happen if I had slowed down
or fallen off? I think she was probably a useless, braindead idiot,
barely in control of her own life, let alone her vehicle...

I think the biggest thing that people need to understand is the staying
out of the gutter/when to keep left/when to claim a lane issue. It's
not just a problem with new riders but also with those who have ridden
in other countries where it's safe to keep left all the time - many
Asian and European students at uni can be found riding in the gutters
with cars squishing past them, or riding right up against parked cars
with only a few cm clearance.

Tam

"Tamyka Bell" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

I think the biggest thing that people need to understand is the staying
out of the gutter/when to keep left/when to claim a lane issue. It's
not just a problem with new riders but also with those who have ridden
in other countries where it's safe to keep left all the time - many
Asian and European students at uni can be found riding in the gutters
with cars squishing past them, or riding right up against parked cars
with only a few cm clearance.

It's certainly damn hard - especially when you're travelling much slower -
but it does work - or so I've found when I've forced myself to claim the
lane. Yes cars have to slow, but big deal, it's only a second or two.

It's scary, but works.

Tony F
newbie occasional commuter, long time rider

For a commute you go over the same ground many times. So you learn when
to claim the lane, and when to keep to the left.

Of course there is also "when to run the red light". Take St Kilda Rd
just near the shrine. Here the bike lane ends and somehow you are to
make it to the next light, where the bike lane starts again. You can
either seize the lane, or you can run the red light and move to the
next light. Most times I run the red light, it is safer.

For the beginner, I imagine it is quite difficult. Do I levitate from
here to the next bike lane?

There is also the bike lane at St Kilda road with the dotted lines.
Really nasty as the traffic crosses in front of you at ridiculous
speeds.

What's needed is a map of every bike rideable route with warnings for
the spots to watch. It's no good trying to educate car drivers. The
problem drivers are barely in charge of their bowel movements.

In aus.bicycle on 25 Apr 2006 22:24:08 -0700

AndrewJ said:

What's needed is a map of every bike rideable route with warnings for
the spots to watch. It's no good trying to educate car drivers. The
problem drivers are barely in charge of their bowel movements.

There's one of those for Sydney, called "Bike-It".

Maybe a few Melbournites could do something similar?

He's taken a streetmap of Sydney - basically a 20km radius of the CBD
- and marked bike routes on it. Some are official, some are "local
riders reckon this way is better".

there are useful information markers - squeezes, warnings about blind
entries, things like that. Plus which stations have elevators or
streetlevel platforms or escalators...

He has some through routes marked, from say canterbury to bondi via
redfern, to give people ideas of which way to take. mostly it's
marking roads that are suitable for bikes because of fewer cars or
they are flatter, or have better intersections.

About the only gripe I have is that he doesn't take enough notice of
hills - marks some, but his ideas of 'steep' and those of most people
who need such a book are markedly different!

He also has a topographical map available, but the one I saw wasn't
really big enough to be useful.

Go to UBD or Melways and ask what sort of permission you'd need to use
their street info. If BV (you listening Dutchy?) did it they might
be willing to let them have the maps for a small cut of the cover
price.

Zebee

Zebee Johnstone said:

Go to UBD or Melways and ask what sort of permission you'd need to use
their street info. If BV (you listening Dutchy?) did it they might
be willing to let them have the maps for a small cut of the cover
price.

gimme a minute and I'll whip some up....
OH, HANG ON. I already_have!!!!!! 🙄

TravelSmart Maps. For Vic-DOI.
Currently 9 (i think?) exist. more to follow.
Basically Melways Maps with all the emphasis on PT and Cycling routes/paths.
Lotsa urbanbicyclist tips etc on the back, as well as local/relevant walking groups info, PT train/tram network info, Carshare info.
Alot of work goes into these in conjunction with localBUGs to get the goss on recommended routes etc
cant supply a link as files are huge

Flying"mapperista"Dutch

AndrewJ said:

I have been commuting to work by bicycle for about 15 years now. Sure,
90% of car drivers are very good. But if you actually want to survive
commuter riding, then there is only one rule you need:

Every car on the road is trying to kill you. Now.

They aren't, but it is good practice to assume that you are *invisible*
to everyone in front of you and ride accordingly.

That's why we have SMIDSYs, because we *are* invisible. ;-)

--
BrettS

In aus.bicycle on Wed, 26 Apr 2006 22:21:28 +1000

flyingdutch said:

Zebee Johnstone said:

Go to UBD or Melways and ask what sort of permission you'd need to use
their street info. If BV (you listening Dutchy?) did it they might
be willing to let them have the maps for a small cut of the cover
price.

gimme a minute and I'll whip some up....
OH, HANG ON. I already_have!!!!!! 🙄

TravelSmart Maps. For Vic-DOI.
Currently 9 (i think?) exist. more to follow.
Basically Melways Maps with all the emphasis on PT and Cycling
routes/paths.

*grin* AdnrewJ didn't know about 'em, no one else mentioned 'em, guess
they need a bit more publicity....

Such as being part of this new cyclist kit.

Does every bike shop know to sell them to new cyclists? I got told
about BikeIt by bikeshops.

Zebee

Zebee Johnstone said:

*grin* AdnrewJ didn't know about 'em, no one else mentioned 'em, guess
they need a bit more publicity....

Such as being part of this new cyclist kit.

Does every bike shop know to sell them to new cyclists? I got told
about BikeIt by bikeshops.

Zebee

are they in other states?
Have only been done in smaller quantities thus far, approx 10K in each area
(are based around major activitiy centres, not necessarily council areas. IE Melb Uni,CBD,Latrobe,CommGames venues, etc Banyule is not far off...)
That WOULD be awesome, wouldnt it. Another thing to work at...

Michael Warner said:

cfsmtb said:

As the petrol *tipping point* of $1.40+ litre looms

There is no "tipping point" - it was supposed to be $1.00,
then $1.20 - just more and more people going into debt and
living on cat food in order to service their caging habit.

On that sort of note: apparently (and this is at the point of a
persistent rumour, rather than having been officially confirmed), my
group is to be moved to a different location within the sniversity.
There are several problems with this plan:

(1) We lose ready access to the campus lifestyle that makes sniversity
work so much fun.
(2) The site in question is nowhere near as well serviced by public
transport as the sniversity itself.
(3) The site in question has a massive lack of car parking.
(4) The site in question does not have any showers.
(5) The site in question has a massive lack of bicycle parking
facilities.
(6) We go from having offices, to having cubicles.
(7) We won't be allowed to bring our bikes into our cubicles.

Put all those points together, and I find myself very strongly inclined
to request a pay rise, on the basis that I will be forced to spend
around $65 a month on public transport that I otherwise could avoid by
the simple expedient of riding a bicycle. This is especially salient
when I look closely at my finances; I'm scraping through, but I don't
have a great deal of room to maneuver.

--
My Usenet From: address now expires after two weeks. If you email me, and
the mail bounces, try changing the bit before the "@ to usenet".

Stuart Lamble said:

Michael Warner said:

cfsmtb said:

As the petrol *tipping point* of $1.40+ litre looms

There is no "tipping point" - it was supposed to be $1.00,
then $1.20 - just more and more people going into debt and
living on cat food in order to service their caging habit.

On that sort of note: apparently (and this is at the point of a
persistent rumour, rather than having been officially confirmed), my
group is to be moved to a different location within the sniversity.
There are several problems with this plan:

(1) We lose ready access to the campus lifestyle that makes sniversity
work so much fun.
(2) The site in question is nowhere near as well serviced by public
transport as the sniversity itself.
(3) The site in question has a massive lack of car parking.
(4) The site in question does not have any showers.
(5) The site in question has a massive lack of bicycle parking
facilities.
(6) We go from having offices, to having cubicles.
(7) We won't be allowed to bring our bikes into our cubicles.

Put all those points together, and I find myself very strongly inclined
to request a pay rise, on the basis that I will be forced to spend
around $65 a month on public transport that I otherwise could avoid by
the simple expedient of riding a bicycle. This is especially salient
when I look closely at my finances; I'm scraping through, but I don't
have a great deal of room to maneuver.

Dude - that sucks!

Changing from physics to HM is one of the things that inspired my cycle
commuting - there is a shower on every floor of my building, except the
bottom floor, which has 3 male showers and 3 female showers. It is also
next to the gym, the squash courts, and the tennis courts, which also
have showers. The physics building had one shower, in the men's toilets
on level 2. (Of course, I probably could've protested that...)

Tam

tony f said:

It's certainly damn hard - especially when you're travelling much slower -
but it does work - or so I've found when I've forced myself to claim the
lane. Yes cars have to slow, but big deal, it's only a second or two.

It's scary, but works.

Scarier than riding along where there is no room to move while cars, whose
drivers seem to have little idea where the far side of their vehicle
actually is, fly past centimetres away and any misjudgement by either party
....?
That was what scared me.

I saw this girl riding along like that the other day, right in the gutter,
it made my skin crawl. It's not a good section of road to ride along
anyway, I normally cross over the other side at the lights and ride up a
nice parallel back street.

dewatf.