One of my rules is not to filter at lights if I wouldn’t be happy with that amount of room if the cars/buses/lorries/whatever were moving (unless I know the timing of the lights and know I can get to the front and visible before the lights go green). Basically, assuming that the traffic *will* start to move while I’m filtering, and acting accordingly.

It doesn’t mean that I never filter – just that I use common sense when deciding whether to!

And I’d like to thank the cyclist on the way to work yesterday who let me know my main rear light had gone – all the more so as the backup light died on the way home but only after I’d changed the batteries in the main one.

Read the rest of my post – I do it for social reasons and to avoid potential fodder for idiots in metal boxes!

Yes saw that. I pas 54 sets of lights on my in from Woking to London – not sure I would what to be that social 😉

useful for the anti fodder reason alone.

as a matter or interest where do you ride into London from?

Si

Move out for left hand bends. Increases the time an approaching car has to see you.

Ride behind and further out than your children.

Obey the Highway Code – want to be treated like a road user -act like one!

Pay attention to what you are doing.

Two lights on the back if you’re riding at night, if you only have one and it fails then it’s unlikley you would know.

This. I like one flashing and one ‘on’, on both ends of the bike.

Also remember that helmet lights often don’t make you visible due to the focused beam. I was pulled out on by a bus the other week whilst riding on a short section of road to get home, with just my helmet light turned down low and my small bar light on flashing (normal bar light not on this bike). I think the bus driver genuinely missed my little light and helmet light due to the car which was overtaking me at the time.

I won’t follow any so called rules about where to ride in the road, as a rule! I’d say I’m less than a metre from the kerb.
I find righteous cyclist absolute shit and an embarrassment.
All that’s required is common sense, finesse, manners and sadly a big dose of humble pie.

Want a massive generalization?
I think cyclists are too competitive on the road, each ride to many is their sport, their challenge. Yet ride with someone with greater goals and their riding is superbe.
Most good riders I ride with think the average modern day cyclist is a total merchant banker.

Get from A to B as quick as your fat arse will allow. Anything goes, just be aware of your surroundings.

Use a mirror. But still do shoulder checks if changing lanes, taking the centre of the lane, or turning left or right. As well as confirming what your mirror has told you the shoulder check signal to drivers that you are going to do something.

I remember a friend gave me this piece of sage advice once about riding on the road.

“Ride slowly, a long way from the kerb and wobble a lot if you want people to give you a wide berth.”

“Being six foot five inches tall helps too.”

Obey the Highway Code – want to be treated like a road user -act like one!

It doesn’t mean that I never filter – just that I use common sense when deciding whether to!

Being six foot five inches tall helps too.

+1
Being predictable helps as well

djaustin – Member
Obey the Highway Code – want to be treated like a road user -act like one!

Sorry, never heard of it!

Pay attention to what you are doing.

I find paying attention to what other people are doing is generally more useful. 😉

Overall the most helpful thing I could say to anyone riding a bike on the road is always assume nobody has seen you and don’t expect to be treated with any respect whatsoever if they do.

I can’t tell the difference between the sound of a car that’ll mow me down, and one that’ll safely pass!

I can (we’ve done this before btw).

I would add to the above not to use only flashing lights front or rear. Main lights should be steady, extra flashy ones are helpful. Only flashing lights and especially ones that flash slowly make it much harder to judge speed and direction, which is what motorists need to know. It’s entirely possible that a slowly flashing light could be off as a motorists’s eye flits across where you are – eyes move pretty quickly.

Plus if they are very bright and flashing it makes it hard for the motorists to see much of anything including other cars and obstacles. Also applies to other cyclists!

Words of wisdom from oldgit!! And judging by his name, it clearly works.

get a cheap camera and film your comutes /rides,

dont be a kerb crawler,stay away from the kerb,

always have a pen and a notebook looks go for when you stop and speak to errant drivers,

always cll errant drivers sir or madam and be polite, it toltally throws them,

always believe BMW and Audi drivers have small penises to match their brains, and the sight of a lycra clad groin seems to make them want to run you over or get close for a better look,

Mirrors are fitted to cars that women drive so they can do their makeup/hair etc, no matter where theyre looking,

Carry a whistle works wonders when somebody pulls out on you,

Project – have driven BMW’s, Audi’s and currently a Lexus – you sound like a cock!

suppose some body has to drive an overpriced toyotalexus, probably a company one.

BMW driver here?

Carry a whistle works wonders when somebody pulls out on you,

As do brakes. I mean if you have time to reach for a whistle, put it in your mouth and blow, won’t the offender be at home having his/her tea by then?

Yeah! Your right the Lexus is rubbish, but always give cyclists plenty of room/ consideration – even the idiotic ones!

oldgit – Member
BMW driver here?

😀 haha, that should shut him up !

I have one too 😆

“film your rides” really, do you do that?

Taxis have very tight turning circles. They will demonstrate this at any opportunity but are more inclined to show it off to you as you approach them. You get a great view of the drivers nasal hair as you come to a stop at his window.

Also, i discovered last night that at lights. waiting traffic may just randomly pull out into the right lane with no signal and no mirror use. They will however be suprised by you inspecting their nasal hair like you did with the taxi drivers.

the shoulder check signals to drivers that you are going to do something

the shoulder check signals to most drivers that you are going to do something, kn06bers will take it as an invitation to try to pass

FWIW

1) Use lights when it gets dark
2) Don’t ride a dark bike in dark clothes with a dark hat especially at night! It’s tough enough getting someone to see you WITHOUT making yourself and the bike blend into the tarmac (besides its dull).
3) If you’re only going to have a little bit of colour put it on something that moves.
4) Don’t under/overtake on the rare occasions someone actually bothers to use their indicators – this is really really dumb and to be fair it might make them wonder why they bothered!
5) Remember cars have blind spots and particularly rubbish places to ride while keeping pace with a car are:
(i) Anywhere close to the rear corners (my old Golf could practically hide a transit van behind the rear pillar)
(ii) just behind the B (middle) pillars
6) Do all the things in terms of observing, planning and thinking that we all wish the majority of drivers did.
7) Be assertive not aggressive
8) I’m not sure if you should fold out the wing mirrors of those who’ve managed to drive the last 20 miles with them folded in. They won’t notice, thank you or use them (otherwise they’d have noticed they were folded up) but while they’re folded in you have a warning signal that the driver is unlikely to bother with any kind of observation before manoeuvring.

Don’t ride a dark bike in dark clothes with a dark hat especially at night! It’s tough enough getting someone to see you WITHOUT making yourself and the bike blend into the tarmac (besides its dull).

I am constantly amazed at the people I see on bikes wearing dark clothes (hoodies especially), no lights, no helmets cycling at night on roads, it’s pretty much suicide…

Before you take the right of way, look at the car driver that could pull out in the eye. Glare at them.

They’ll see you, and you’ll know that they’ve seen you.

how does the top of the front wheel of a car move first? TJ. Id look where I was going rather than at a wheel.

you can get tiny little mirrors that fit into the handlebar ends,from rosebikes.the procedure I’ve found works is-ride in the middle of the lane,when you see a car behind about to overtake,pull in a bit,you both get more space.
the absolute bestest thing is to live in some scenic out of the world place,I really miss tuscany,some rides could go for an hours without seeing a car.

how does the top of the front wheel of a car move first? TJ. Id look where I was going rather than at a wheel.

It’s most noticeable at the top (I think) because there’s no “squashing of tyre” and it is higher up so you’re not staring at the road surface.

Looking at where you’re going isn’t enough you need to also be looking for other clues / hazards etc. This is what you’d expect a car driver to do. When I’m driving or riding I’m constantly looking at and for dozens of different things:

-angles of wheels
-indicators
-angle of drivers head
-pedestrians on pavement
-push buttons on pedestrian crossings
-brake lights
-changes in the pitch/angle of a vehicle front to back (acceleration and braking clues)
-whether the driver is on the phone
-whether a car has tinted windows or kids shades in the back
-is the driver 100 years old or 17 years old?
-what is in the other driver’s line of vision that might stop them seeing me
-potholes / surface changes
etc
etc
the list is practically endless.

I think I learnt because I have quite poor reactions, which I knew, but had to cover a lot of business miles and had to improve my road safety by relying on something else than my reactions. The answer was don’t get in a position where you need to rely on them.

I apply the same thing on the bike but I’m hopeless on trails that have restricted forward visibility!

gd I agree a lot of it is done without thinking. I’m like you, been knocked off a few times and thought I could have reacted quicker and avoided it even though it was not my fault. Theres an article in the latest CTC magazine about DofT looking into way of makinf cycling safer i.e. traffic lights allowing cyclists to get moving first.

sturmey – Member

how does the top of the front wheel of a car move first? TJ. Id look where I was going rather than at a wheel.

if the car moves an inch forward the top of the front tyre moves 2 inches hence its easier to see

A tip from 12 years of motorcycling (and surviving):

When a car is waiting at a junction, LOOK AT THE WHEELS. Wheel movement is much easier to spot than movement of the vehicle against a background that will be changing as your perspective changes.

(Edit: I posted that then saw what was posted above. Same thing then!)

Don’t look at the tyre TJ ^^ – look at the wheel.

I’ve lost count of the number of times pedestrians have noticed my chain is flat, so now I always carry a chain pump.

My best advice for road riding is to, on no account, live or work in an urban area.

urban roads are safer

urban roads are safer

I disagree.. Can honestly say I’ve never been knocked off my bike in the countryside (or come anywhere near to it), but commuting I have near misses almost daily. Sometimes multiple ones.

I subscribe to oldgits methods..

I won’t follow any so called rules about where to ride in the road, as a rule! I’d say I’m less than a metre from the kerb.
I find righteous cyclist absolute shit and an embarrassment.
All that’s required is common sense, finesse, manners and sadly a big dose of humble pie.

Eaxctly, and if I’m obviously holding up traffic and there are no pedestrians about , I even hop onto the kerb for a while to let them pass.

All riding needs is common sense, quick reactions, being aware of traffic around you and a little consideration for other road users.

On busy roads wobble a bit (doesn’t have to be much). I find I get a lot more room then.

Look at the drivers face/eyes at T junctions etc. If they know you have seen then see you they’ll be much more likely to stay put.

Don’t take chances that save a few seconds. Turning right at traffic lights between cars and having your chain derail is really inconvenient, as well as possibly painful as your knackers hit the stem.

Don’t just have lights, wear suitable clothing. Hi Viz when it’s early/late daylight, and reflectives when it’s dark.

If I could just mount my high horse for a moment.

When in a Sportive, reliability trial or any other mass event on public highways, do your best to be ambassadors for your sport.

I rode the Harp Hilly last week, the event was full by 9am. When I left the event HQ a whole bunch of riders jumped the lights just 10 metres from the HQ bringing the traffic to a standstill.
Then at one mile in I was waiting at a T junction for a mate with a puncture. In the twelve minutes I was there I saw some shocking cycling, mainly down to riders not wanting to unclip. One guy in well known club colours was almost hit by cars coming from both directions as he tried to pull out whilst shouting ‘quick quick’ to his club mates.
You guys above are total crap, absolutely no need.

Edit; I mention it was full because this used to be a class event, usually the preserve of clubmen and with great riding. Well that’s gone.

Earn money. Learn everything on the net. Buy bike. Enter event 😕

Don’t hang your shopping from your bars.

Don’t tie the top of your take away curry bag too tightly – leave a gap for steam to escape. It makes the naan soggy otherwise.