Road Fear... how to get over it?

[ElectraMinx]

I am 40. Quite fit. I love cycling, started again after amost 25 years and... I just can't be brave enough to do it on the road. I live in Maidstone, Kent. My house is away from the town center, so not much traffic, but I just can't do it. There are some cars parked on the road and I am afraid that if I cycle and have to over take those cars, I will be smashed by the road traffic. I don't have a car and literally walk everywhere and sometimes it's quite a distance. I don't want to use public transport, I want to cycle!!! I have all safety equipment, I am like an armed soldier and highly visible to all drivers. I feel very confident on the bike (although I am still getting used to my new bike), but only being on the pavement. Getting on the road gives me a shiver and although I crave to cycle - I keep my bike in the shed and use it rarely, because of this problem. I am desperate!!!! Any advice pls???
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GUYS, I LOVE YOU ALL!!! FEELING MORE CONFIDENT JUST READING THIS ALL!!!! MORE, MORE PLS - I MIGHT GET ROLLING THIS EVENING!!! BY THE WAY - ANYONE FROM MAIDSTONE WHO FEELS BRAVE TO TRAIN ME? AS A CHARITY OBVIOUSLY LOL.

 

[marinyork]

Get some adult cycle training off your council. Many councils offer this (some for free I think). Get cyclecraft out of a public library.

Other than that I would say that to overcome a phobia of the traffic the best thing would be to regularly (every day) get out on very small trips to get you used to the roads. Build up by doing quieter times, build up to busier times, busier routes etc.

 

[Black Sheep]

find a parked car on its own and overtake just the one car?


best bet is to take the bike to somewhere quiet just round the corner from where you live and ride home that short distance, doing so on an evening or other quiet time will mean less traffic about.

idealy you want to be a couple of feet from the curb so you have some space to retreat into if needed, you must maintain this amount of space when overtaking a parked car.

do it little by little

acquire a copy of cyclecraft and start reading its very useful for how to act on the road and ride with traffic.

 

[I am Spartacus]

Check the CTC website for local instructors... get that confidence training as soon as.. cost is probably 20 to 30 per hour
Give up riding on the pavement, bikes belong on the road.

You sound as though you have no road experience at all.. eg car driving ..
Roads are not populated by maniacs at every turn who want the sight of your blood - far from it.. but you need to be taught how to use your road space.
just get the training

 

[summerdays]

Get cyclecraft

Get some adult training

Start small - small back roads with no cars on ...

And maybe find a friend locally who would cycle with you too

Look at it this way - do you think they want to hit you? You mess up their paint work ... their car would be off the road ... police ... insurance .... they want to avoid you if they can which you can help by cycling in a predictable manner.

 

[Arch]

Another vote here for Cyclecraft and training.

I can understand how you feel, I think. I have a thing with cattle grids - I just can't ride over them, having had a bad experience once. I think you have an advantage over me though. I can't take crossing a cattle grid in stages - one day I'll have to just do it, and at enough speed to get across, or never beat it. You can start on a very quiet back street, and gradually work up to more traffic. Find a set of quiet residential roads, and treat them as your own private test track. Maybe on a Sunday morning to start with. Make yourself ride on the road, when there's nothing coming. If a car appears, you can pull over and let it pass. Practice all the stuff you need - looking behind, signalling, turning. The better able you are to do all that without a wobble, the more confident you'll get. And hone your senses. The more aware you are of what's around you, the quicker you can react to keep yourself safe.

For overtaking parked cars, the key is to a) be completley aware of what's behind you, move out in plenty of time, as opposed to swerving out at the last minute and c) leaving plenty of space on your left in case someone opens a door as you pass.

If it helps, break your journey up to start with. Ride where the road is clear, get off and walk on the pavement if it narrows or there are lots of parked cars. That's the great thing about a bike - if a junction is particularly horrid, or something, you can just do it as a pedestrian.

And good luck. Although you might read a lot of horror stories and near misses (and we all remember the near misses, but not the dozens of far, far off misses) on here, actually you are pretty unlikely to be hit, especially from behind. Having the ride training and confidence will only help to make that risk even smaller.

 

[tyred]

I had this when I got back on a bike after about ten years. Fortunately, I live in the country so I don't encounter much traffic in the immediate area around my house. You quickly build a little confidence and try and use the net to find out about road positioning, etc. If you live on a busy street, try and go somewhere quieter like a local residential area or an industrial estate in the evening and build up confidence.

Road positioning is important. To begin with, I used to ride with the hedge brushing my left arm. It's better to keep out a bit as you are more visible to drivers and have room to spare if someone tries a too close for comfort overtake. This is also important when overtaking a parked car as someone may open a door without realising you are there.

There is always the odd idiot but in general, I have found motorists more understanding than I thought they would be. Practice makes perfect really and in a few weeks you'll be wondering what you were so worried about.

 

[betty swollocks]

Go out with others.
maybe West Kent CTC
or
East Kent CTC
have runs which may appeal?
And please don't cycle on the pavement - unless it's shared use, it's illegal and it's more dangerous for you than cycling on the road.

 

[AlexInWonderland]

i have the same issue, im fine with riding on country roads but in the town to get to the country i hate it really, luckily Stevenage has a good network of cycletracks to get to most places.
I think biggest fear is roundabouts.....

 

[Riverman]

Sorry to hear about your predicament, feeling like that about cycling must suck.

Do you cycle around mote park? That's a good place to start in maidstone to get your confidence up. That way at least you can move around abit without going on the roads too much.

I wish you the best of luck. You must try and stay off the pavements though as some places have local bylaws against it. It is generally against the law and although you're unlikely to get caught, if you're doing it a lot you pose quite a hazard to pedestrians.

 

[Flyingfox]

You say you live in a quiet part of Maidstone, start by going around the roads there (even it is just up and down your own road). Do you have any friends or work colleagues who would accompany you? I know Maidstone well and it can be a bit of a nightmare even in a car, but there are plenty of bike paths.

A good friend of mine commutes every day from near Maidstone Barracks to West Malling, she was hesitant at first but plucked up courage after coming out for rides with me, now she finds it a breeze.

 

[Breedon]

Try going out early on a Sunday morning very little traffic about at that time, and get the cycle craft book.
And all so if you’re able to, watch how the good cyclist's ride see how they use the road helped me a few times at junctions, and RELAX very important.
I was nervous at first but now I can race along with the traffic, it all takes time

 

[epicurus.]

http://www.cyclecraft.co.uk/

Buy it. Read it.

 

[HJ]

It takes time to build confidence, try cycling on a few quiet roads to start with. You should be cycling about a 1m out from the kerb, don't be tempted to cycle any closers in as this makes you more vulnerable as drivers are less likely to see you. When approaching parked cars you want to pass at least a doors width out from the car, about 100m back from the car, look behind to see it is clear, give a signal if you need to and move out in good time. By moving out this early you are making it clear that you are part of the traffic and you avoid being pushed to one side. If you leave it too late driver are less likely to see you until it is too late. Remember, you have just as much right to use the road as anyone else, don't be afraid to assert that right.

 

[yenrod]

I am 40. Quite fit. I love cycling, started again after amost 25 years and... I just can't be brave enough to do it on the road. I live in Maidstone, Kent. My house is away from the town center, so not much traffic, but I just can't do it. There are some cars parked on the road and I am afraid that if I cycle and have to over take those cars, I will be smashed by the road traffic. I don't have a car and literally walk everywhere and sometimes it's quite a distance. I don't want to use public transport, I want to cycle!!! I have all safety equipment, I am like an armed soldier and highly visible to all drivers. I feel very confident on the bike (although I am still getting used to my new bike), but only being on the pavement. Getting on the road gives me a shiver and although I crave to cycle - I keep my bike in the shed and use it rarely, because of this problem. I am desperate!!!! Any advice pls???
______________________________________________________________
GUYS, I LOVE YOU ALL!!! FEELING MORE CONFIDENT JUST READING THIS ALL!!!! MORE, MORE PLS - I MIGHT GET ROLLING THIS EVENING!!! BY THE WAY - ANYONE FROM MAIDSTONE WHO FEELS BRAVE TO TRAIN ME? AS A CHARITY OBVIOUSLY LOL.

= go cycling with someone & have them on the outside shielding you (i'd do this if I was local to you)...then you could see how you go from there...