Where from here..?

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Arch

Married to Night Train
Location
Salford, UK
The cycle lane one is tricky. If they are stationary or going slower than you, then I think thy ought (I mean in legal terms, not just moral) to look out for you coming up on their left and give way, as they are in effect changing lanes. (If they are going faster than you, then the problem doesn't really apply). But best to assume they won't look, or give way. Some people would say never filter down the left, but overtake on the right, or wait in line. This is also because of the risk of a passenger suddenly deciding to get out and opening their door in your face.

Personally, I do filter down the inside - but only a) at a speed where I can stop very quickly, :biggrin: there is a decent width to get through without resrting to scoooting with one foot on the kerb, c) while constantly checking cars for passengers and d) never down the inside of a longer vehicle if there is a risk of it moving off before I've got past it. If in doubt, I wait in line.

Actually, I'm not sure anyone has said it, so it's perhaps worth stressing that last one; you shouldn't ever go down the inside of a long vehicle at a junction (and I'd say that covers a long wheelbase transit or longer) unless you can be very sure you can clear it before the lights change or whatever. You probably know, but long vehicles have all sorts of blind spots, and far too many cyclists get crushed by them turning left. I don't even want to be alongside one going straight on if I can help it.

With going round parked cars - yes you have the right of way, but as you say, that doesn't help if you get squished (or even just cut up). Thinking and planning ahead are the key, and taking a good road position in order to claim your space in time. Cyclecraft will tell you about it.

As LC says, paranoia is good. The more you cycle the more you'll develop a sort of sixth sense about potential hazards - its the sort of thing any good driver ought to have as well. The nest thing (as with driving) is to make sure you are going to have time to react - so keep your speed sensible, and your brakes covered and be looking out for escape routes all the time...

But I wouldn't want to put you off! This will all become second nature, and you'll find yourself avoiding trouble before it becomes trouble.
 
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Kizibu

Kizibu

Well-Known Member
This is probably cheating but I have now looked up the Highway Code on cyle lane (and bus lane) priority when there is a left turning. Its online I find. Last time I looked at a Highway Code it still had the signals waggon drivers were supposed to make with their whips .... and there were no special waggon lanes, let alone bus and cycle ones. The official line on left turns now is as follows:

"Turning left

182
Use your mirrors and give a left-turn signal well before you turn left. Do not overtake just before you turn left and watch out for traffic coming up on your left before you make the turn, especially if driving a large vehicle. Cyclists, motorcyclists and other road users in particular may be hidden from your view.

183
When turning

• keep as close to the left as is safe and practicable
• give way to any vehicles using a bus lane, cycle lane or tramway from either direction

But knowing you have priority in cycle lane (183) is not much help if drivers don't look or don't see you (182).

Paranoid or not, being a cyclist seems not unlike being a wildebeest or antelope on the African plains: 24/7 alertness is the price of survival for them and even then some end up as some predator's dinner. And you have to keep your mind on the job. I once promised a game park guide a bonus for every lion he found for us. He took us straight to the breeding grounds of the local antelope - lions, it seems, knew when their prey might be caught with their metaphorical pants down...
 
Checking the actual highway code is tantamount to cheating. On forums, people usually find it more fun to guess (as I did) and then argue about each other's guesses. B)

Still, interesting findings .. I wouldn't rely on anyone giving way to you in a cycle or bus lane, though; just check out the thread in Commuting about getting shouted at by somebody crossing on a red light whilst in a cycle lane, for example. "Got meself worked up" I think it's called.

Equally, "Do not overtake just before you turn left" is a good one as well. That's one to look out for: I had an experience of that the other night on my way home going along a biggish road through a housing estate. It's "traffic calmed" by the simple measure of chucking big bumps in every 100 yards or so .. not a problem for me 'cos 1) I ain't going that fast anyway, and 2) I commute on a "hybridised" mountain bike so bumps are just fun. I can generally keep up with the traffic through this one.

So, I can hear a car behind me being revved quite hard and it's not slowing down for the next bump .. maybe 20 yards beyond the bump is a left turn. I did the quick glance over my shoulder thing to try to make some kind of contact and see if I can work out more about their intentions: but it's dark so I can't be sure if we've connected and all I can tell is it's a small car being driven hard.

It's either just being raced through the estate or is in the "gotta get past that b****y bike before the turning" mode. I hadn't heard it racing up to this point so I assume the latter (to be honest, I probably would have assumed that anywya) and, as we're going up a slight hill, I just stop pedalling which slows me down fairly quickly.

Sure enough, the car bounced over the bump, with some interesting screeching / banging noises as various bits of metal connected with the road and immediately it was halfway past me the left indicator came on. I slowed down a bit more (little bit of back brake) and it swung in front of me and then carried on at a normal speed down the side road. Had I continued at my original speed they'd have probably been alongside me when they started indicating and then it would have become very interesting very quickly.

What did they gain? Possibly one second, maybe less. :biggrin: After all, this takes much longer to type (and read!) than it did to happen. And whatever was making all the noise as they cleared the bump can't have been good for the car. :biggrin:

So, maybe paranoia is too strong a word, although not much. But you're right, alertness is key .. coupled with observation and using all your senses: smell for the antelope, hearing in my case above. It's rare for smell to help us, though if you can smell diesel you'd better be careful - especially near a roundabout: a diesel spill will have you off quicker than you'd imagine.

And Arch is spot on: you need to use your alertness and observation to plan escape routes: "what will I do if that car DOES overtake me?" "where can I go if that dog runs out?". It's not always the case that just jumping on the brakes is best .. sometimes it's good to just go round the hazard.

Another top tip I picked up in my motorcycling days is that you go where you look. If there's a hazard in front of you, the natural reaction is to focus on it .. but that tends to lead you towards it. Try to look where you want to go.

But, most of all, have fun. And don't let all this doom and gloom put you off. It's not that bad. Although London sounds pretty scary! :ohmy:
 

Arch

Married to Night Train
Location
Salford, UK
On the way home yesterday, I thought of some advice:

Pedestrians to watch out for (in no particular order):

those standing at the edge of the road
those walking close to the edge with their backs to you
those walking close to the edge facing you
all the rest

And with vehicles:

those indicating
those not indicating
those moving
those stationery in queues
all the rest

You get the idea...:angry:
 
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Kizibu

Kizibu

Well-Known Member
Along is coming - how about up?

Andy in Sig said:
Find a loop which you can build up to: say ten miles. Once you can do that no problem try to do it at least twice a week. At weekend do a bigger loop about three times the length of your weekday loop. Once you can manage 3 x 10 weekday rides and 1 x 30 at the weekend, start gradually expanding the loops, say 13 and 40 until you're doing 30 and 100 or whatever it is you feel comfortable with. Also don't get puritanical about it: I've always found it a good idea to build in a cafe stop at around three quarters of the way round. Remember that the main thing is enjoyment.

quote]

I'm working on these lines - thanks for the helpful advice Andy. Did 12 mile version of my original 7 mile loop today and found some nice off-road trails through woodland I did not know existed before. Even in the drizzle it was very pleasant ride and I felt better at the end of it than I had on much shorter rides just a week ago. So I feel like I'm making progress. Originally set myslef a target of riding 20 miles a week to start with and did 27 first week so am upping that taget already.

But distance does not seem to be the only important parameter. There is also the matter of ups and downs. I calculated today that I climbed a total of 316 metres on this 12 mile loop - that's over a 1,000 feet old money. I climbed 257 metres on my first real ride of the bike. Does that sound a reasonable way to start? Not much choice really given the local terrain

My legs are less inclined to turn to jelly after a week but my lungs still burn a bit after panting up hills.
 

Randochap

Senior hunter
Welcome back! As someone who has ridden pretty steadily for over forty years (beginning as schoolboy in UK) it is wonderful to hear from someone who has come back into the fold.

I would just reiterate what others here have said: take it easy at first. It can be very exciting when you first get back on a bike, reconnecting with that feeling of freedom and self-reliance -- tuning up a neglected "engine", etc. But be careful you don't overstress joints and sinew. They're not as resilient as they were 40 years ago.

The most important thing is not mileage or vertical rise so much as consistency. It's early days yet. Make sure you ride regularly (not every day) and consistently. Soon enough, you'll be able to take on bigger challenges ... but not if you injure yourself. Then, all will be lost and you'll be back to square one.

Working in the bike trade, nothing gave me more pleasure than setting somone up to get back on the bike after a long layoff.

You might find some useful technical and inspirational info at Veloweb, linked below.
 
Kizibu,

Well done. Do stay relaxed and persevere. Make sure you give your body enough time to rest between rides, if you are finding them strenuous.

The main thing is being out there on the bike. It will get easier. Who knows, you might even be enjoying hills in a few months time.

On dealing with traffic, you could have a look at John Franklin's CycleCraft available from The Stationary Office. (I'm sure Google will help turn up what's needed).

All the best
Ed
 
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Kizibu

Kizibu

Well-Known Member
ed_o_brain said:
Kizibu,


The main thing is being out there on the bike. It will get easier. Who knows, you might even be enjoying hills in a few months time.

On dealing with traffic, you could have a look at John Franklin's CycleCraft available from The Stationary Office. (I'm sure Google will help turn up what's needed).

All the best
Ed

Thanks Ed. You might be right. I did 14 miles and climbed over 600 feet today and felt less knackered afterwards than the first day nearly a fortnight ago when I rode two miles home from the bike shop. From where I live I have to start with a half mile 6% climb which then becomes more gradual (but relentless) for the next half a mile. Each time seems to be a tiny bit easier. And inclines I used to have to use my low range for I seem to be able to manage at the bottom of the mid range. So I begin to believe all of you who have been telling me it'll get easier. I think the legs at least are starting to get the message...hope the lungs will also take the hint as well. They still burn like I've been breathing fire after that first half mile. Though I have literally breathed fire , circus-style (it was part of a weird management training programme!) and its a lot less painful than that first half mile!

I have been glued to Cyclecraft in between rides (thanks to others who suggested this). It's well scary to a natural gutter crawler like me! I'm applying some of it where I think my skills are up to it or the conditions condusive.There are some junctions so awful that I'd feel like getting out of my car to walk across the road. I'm still pretty wobbly - especially when looking behind me which is usually the moment you least want to be wobbling. And its a bit hard to be assertive in traffic when you are completely breathless and moving at less than 5 mph uphill. I'm still at the stage of building basic bike skills I think. What John Franklin says makes a lot of sense. I guess I'd feel a bit easier about it if I thought car and lorry drivers had read it too. I can't be the only motorist to find it a bit of a revelation.
 

Arch

Married to Night Train
Location
Salford, UK
Kizibu said:
I have been glued to Cyclecraft in between rides (thanks to others who suggested this). It's well scary to a natural gutter crawler like me! I'm applying some of it where I think my skills are up to it or the conditions condusive.There are some junctions so awful that I'd feel like getting out of my car to walk across the road. I'm still pretty wobbly - especially when looking behind me which is usually the moment you least want to be wobbling. And its a bit hard to be assertive in traffic when you are completely breathless and moving at less than 5 mph uphill. I'm still at the stage of building basic bike skills I think. What John Franklin says makes a lot of sense. I guess I'd feel a bit easier about it if I thought car and lorry drivers had read it too. I can't be the only motorist to find it a bit of a revelation.

The beauty of cycling is that if a junction really is that bad, you CAN get off and walk, or use a ped crossing or whatever.

As for drivers reading Cyclecraft, spot on. In my perfect world getting a car licence would involve a set number of lesson on a bike, and on a motorbike, and in a long vehicle like a Transit, in order to help them understand other road user's needs.... Otherwise all we can do is to cycle as 'professionally' as we can (ie, within the rules and with confidence, but also good sense) and drip feed the message to any drivers we happen to know...
 
Arch said:
The beauty of cycling is that if a junction really is that bad, you CAN get off and walk, or use a ped crossing or whatever.

As for drivers reading Cyclecraft, spot on. In my perfect world getting a car licence would involve a set number of lesson on a bike, and on a motorbike, and in a long vehicle like a Transit, in order to help them understand other road user's needs.... Otherwise all we can do is to cycle as 'professionally' as we can (ie, within the rules and with confidence, but also good sense) and drip feed the message to any drivers we happen to know...
Have you met Mrs-LC ? She holds the same view, only she'd also make them walk a mile down the side of a busy A road with no footpath, and along a narrow road in a village in a 30 limit. With a load of traffic coming past at 70mph and 50mph respectively. :biggrin:

And she'd apply it to everyone that wants to use the roads .. whatever they were using them for. Well, within reason: we don't 7 year olds having try outs in articulated vehicles for example !! :ohmy:
 
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Kizibu

Kizibu

Well-Known Member
Well, I have now completed my first 100 miles since buying the bike and climbed a total of 2061 metres in the process (keeping a log is a bit of a motivator). This morning's ride was the most magical so far. I was out early with a hard frost still on the road and ice 2 inches thick in some gutters but in glorious sunshine and not too much wind. I did a circuit of Stanmer woods on a hardened path and saw many of the proverbial early birds - redwings and fieldfares stripping off the berries and great tits and chaffinches working the hedgerows. I even caught a glimpse of a great spotted woodpecker. The sun was very low and almost blinding at times as it filtered through the coppiced trees but the bright rippling light was quite exhilerating. The frozen ground made a few boggy patches more like hard rock paths where cattle prints had churned it over or like the old tramlines where yesterday's bike tracks had frozen into iron ruts. But mostly the going was good and the woods wonderfully peaceful. Pedalling meant I was never cold - except for my face, feet and thumbs. I am beginning to not mind the hills so much, not since I tried riding on the flat into a headwind. Yesterday I had to take my car in for a service (the service cost more than my bike!) in Hove so took the bike on the back and rode home via Devils Dyke, Poynings and Pycombe. There is a cycle track on the bed of the old railway much of the way to the Dyke which was fine (apart from the apalling amounts of dogs mess at the southern end) though it rises to over 600feet. Coming back I rode the cycle path alongside the main A23 Brighton to London road which seemed flat but hardwork into wind and hateful with two or three lanes of traffic thundering past incessantly in the opposite direction. I'd rather have ridden up another 600 feet of comparatively peaceful road.
 

tyred

Squire
Location
Ireland
Sounds like you're really starting to enjoy yourself.

Won't be long until you start convincing yourself you need a second bike...
 
tyred said:
Sounds like you're really starting to enjoy yourself.

Won't be long until you start convincing yourself you need a second bike...
It does, doesn't it .. I also love the way Kizibu describes the experience.

I've just got to the "I could really use a second bike" stage ..
 

Arch

Married to Night Train
Location
Salford, UK
Lazy-Commuter said:
Have you met Mrs-LC ? She holds the same view, only she'd also make them walk a mile down the side of a busy A road with no footpath, and along a narrow road in a village in a 30 limit. With a load of traffic coming past at 70mph and 50mph respectively. ;)

And she'd apply it to everyone that wants to use the roads .. whatever they were using them for. Well, within reason: we don't 7 year olds having try outs in articulated vehicles for example !! :becool:

People who skim past cyclists too close, I'd tie them to a chair in the middle of a runway, and drive vehicles of varying sizes past them various speeds, with inches to spare, see how they like it.

Seriously, I think a better understanding of each other's needs is the only way. One of the reasons cycling is so much nicer in some European countries is because many drivers also cycle, so they have the mindset.
 
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