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I'd go for the air-horn, for example the AirZound. It is my opinion that screaming and yelling (the primal scream) can cause a lot of unnecessary social distress, and is not a good alterntive for traffic communication and signalling under normal conditions. It ends up being more effective when you're in "panic" as said, which is barely a day-by-day ...

Screaming is faster and much more effective: I suspect it's usually best. Or use an electric horn or air horn. About screaming: The BHSI writes as follows. We don't find that horns do much for safety on a bicycle. Your voice is faster to react and adapts better to different situations. The primal scream produces good adrenalin-based reactions in ...

For any question about law, you always have to check local laws. The general rule is that you go with traffic and ride as far to the side as safe, taking the lane when it makes you safer. In many places this is how the law is written, but even when it isn't you may wish to do so. From what I recall of the League of American Bicyclists safe cycling class I ...

While it's important to keep a positive attitude for your bike, I'd say it's equally important to keep a negative attitude for your car. I have a car and I hate it really bad. I hate it for polluting my, already fairly polluted city. Hate it for being 15x heavier than I am, so it is essentially a contraption whose main goal is to carry itself first, and then ...

I guess you have two main tasks, and they involve preparing your "internal" (psychic, mostly) environment, and you external (domestic, mostly) environment. About internal environment: You have to convince yourself, or keep convinced, that you actually LIKE TO, WANT TO and SHOULD ride your bike; You should think AND feel AND know that riding a lot is wiser ...

I have noticed that shouting (whatever words you use) is often taken personally by the drivers. It's probably the most effective and quickest to use in an emergency as described. I've seen several cyclists with a football whistle on a lanyard round the neck (mine is on my helmet strap) that can be held loosly between the teeth.

Having cars in a drive-through is easy because they can only go by the ordering|payment|delivery windows one at a time. Any bicycles or pedestrians in that funnel could overtake each other and make a big confusion out of the sequence. That would ruin the process for the business because it's specifically meant to only handle an unchanging sequence of ...

The easiest way to approach this problem is with simple physics. Compare a 180lb cyclist on a 40lb loaded touring bike averaging 15mph for 100mi/day and a car averaging 22mg for 100mi/day. The power calculator I use estimates 130W of power necessary for the cyclist to maintain a 15mph pace. At 15mph, the trip would take 6.66 hours. Multiplying the two ...

I rode the Southern Tier last year and used a GPS app on my phone that estimated caloric output. Probably not very accurately, but it gives us a number to kick around. My distance was right around 3000 miles. Total estimated calories burned over the ride was 143,000. That would be equivalent to 265 Big Macs (540 cals per Big Mac). Not that I ate any Big ...

A few suggestions: Get some training. This will cover things like correct road positioning, which can make a big difference to how other road users interact with you. Try quieter routes or cycling at different times of day when there is less traffic around. This cycle route planner will help with routes. Try to find other people to cycle with. Cycling in a ...

Above all this is a matter of mindset and discipline. I've found myself in the same position since starting a job much further away from my home than my previous job, so I know how you feel. You've got to want to ride and get into the mindset that you have no other option but to ride to get to work. This is easier said than done and if you're like me, it's ...

If I were going cross-country I'd figure 60-80 miles/day, except in the mountains (which I probably can no longer manage), and many riders would figure 80-100. Generally you ride 5-6 days/week. Meals can be cheap or expensive. If you carry expensive camping food then that's probably $15/meal. If you carry pasta then you can get by on $2 per meal, I'd ...

When I tried it at McDonalds, they told me they were only insured for motorized vehicles coming through the drive through and would not serve me. They had a campaign on at the time promoting something along the lines of how their food was healthy when enjoyed as part of a healthy life-style. I pointed out that I was cycling as part of my healthy lifestyle, ...

In the South West there are lots of amazing places to stay over in National Parks such as Mesa Verde and cool towns such as Telluride in Colorado. Whether you are travelling by RV or bicycle you want to be able to join the dots between these places and not miss any of them out. To achieve this by RV you only need 2-4 hours of driving time, whereas by ...

After a few years of riding in the streets, I have found that cars will do stupid things no matter how obvious you are to them. Have you ever seen a car pull out in front of a semi? I have, those things are BIG!! For the most part, you might be able to get someone's attention after a few attempts at whatever you decide to use, sounds or lights, but in the ...

All you say is absolutely true, the rest of us just put up with it I suppose. But here's a suggestion that's specific to where you live - if you want to get back on the bike, how about heading for the velodrome? http://www.nationalcyclingcentre.com/t/velodrome-track Obviously this would depend just how good your sight is, but this is something I've ...

Sign up for a race or century in the upcoming summer. I find having a goal or something to work for motivating. I check the weather forecasts all the time, a bike ride on a sunny (usually still cold) day in the midst of the Pacific Northwest winter are awesome rides. As others have said, I will drive with my bike to work to get in a lunch ride, or even ...

One tip I have picked up to avoid cars passing so close is to ride further away from the kerb (but not so far you're hogging the road and then drivers get annoyed). This seems to have some pycological effect on drivers to give you more room. I can't explain it, but found it to work in most cases. I have also seen bikes with mirrors fitted and some sort ...

Have you explored corrective measures for the eyesight. If you have and are still struggling to see what is straight ahead it may not just be moving traffic coming up behind you that could pose a risk. The ability to read a number plate from around 30m is a fairly basic requirement and this might mean you are missing other risks and riding your luck a ...

Four things: fitness, endorphins, money. Also something a bit more intangible. Keep a check on your weight. If you find it going up because you're cycling less, then there's a good reason to ride more. Who knows? Maybe weight control was the reason you got a bike in the first place? That was certainly the case for me and the knowledge that I am now slim ...

I've always just used my voice as a warning to pedestrians about to step in front of me, and a few instances over the years to a driver or two who wasn't paying attention to their driving. I just use a loud/sustained a "Hoooooooo", repeated as necessary, ( like Santa's Ho, Ho, Ho ), to get someones attention. It can be loud enough to attract attention and ...

Depending on the situation, you may be able to "flash" your front light by covering and uncovering it with your hand. I've managed to make drivers dip their headlights with this technique, but it's not that easy to do in a rush or when braking. Of course it will only work when you're facing the car.

So far as I know, in the most if not all states in the US it's legal. The laws may specify "as far to the right as safely possible" or something like that, but they generally leave it up to you to evaluate what's safe. Minnesota law, eg, states: Subd. 4.Riding on roadway or shoulder. (a) Every person operating a bicycle upon a roadway shall ride as close ...

This depends on the local situation I'd say. for instance the German road traffic act (StVO, Straßenverkehrsordnung) says in §2: (2) Es ist möglichst weit rechts zu fahren, nicht nur bei Gegenverkehr, beim Überholtwerden, an Kuppen, in Kurven oder bei Unübersichtlichkeit. (2) One has to drive as much on the right side as possible, not only with ...