56
I've had to commute routes where I need to use a narrow staircase to go up and down a pedestrian bridge over a highway.
For starters, any place where you have to share narrow space with pedestrian, the polite way to do so is to dismount.
I shoulder the bike or walk it. The bike always goes to the far side ( If there is a fence or wall, the bike goes towards ...
49
Frankly if you're going up/down steps, you're in the pedestrian's space and not somewhere suitable for cycling.
You know how sometimes vehicle traffic intrudes on our cycle lanes? Parking inconsiderately, putting cyclists at risk? That's what you'd be doing to the pedestrians by riding in their space. Don't be that-guy.
Your solutions are to either walk ...
44
Ride like every driver is a psychopath who hates cyclists; you will be wrong 95% of the time. What if the driver who just cut you off is one of the 5% and has a knife (US == gun)?
It’s easier said than done (and not always possible). I have learnt the best approach is swear quietly to myself a few times, take a deep breath and keep riding. Avoiding becoming ...
29
The simple, short answer is practice. Simply riding around at moderate to slow speeds, practicing starting off, braking, stopping and negotiating tight turns will help build balance, confidence and control of the bike. Do this in a quiet spot away from people and cars if you can. If you are worried about falling do it on grass.
The most useful foundational ...
26
You're talking about a "bunny hop" and it can be done at speed on a loaded bike but it's high risk. You'd almost certainly be better off jumping off the bike and rolling. US Bike Trials call it a "side hop", but in anglonesia I've mostly heard it called a bunny hop.
Here's a photo of the 2006 Cycle Messenger World Champion doing more or less that at about ...
26
because I have no problem stopping
Objectively, this is nonsense. At best, you can stop before you start going down the steps. Once you start going down steps on a bike though, you are completely unable to stop before you reach the bottom, and you have very limited control over your speed whilst you're doing it. And that's assuming you stay on your ...
26
I have ridden bikes with different sizes of wheels, from 29" MTB/622 Road wheels, through 20" folder, 12" scooters, and one folding A-bike with 6" wheels.
My perception is that the bigger the wheel's radius, the better it is at rolling.
The smaller wheels will hang up much more easily on small obstructions like stones, cracks/joints, or ...
25
What to do when a driver cuts you off?
Stay safe
Keep situational awareness in all directions - there may be another vehicle coming so look for it.
Keep moving - don't stop, get out to a safe place if you want to stop and collect yourself
What NOT to do:
Yell - it's unlikely to be intelligible from inside the car.
Hit the car with a hand/foot
Push back ...
20
In my experience, no. The problem is that however polite you try to be you're taking the lane so you're in their way.
My commute takes me over a narrow one-lane-each-way bridge that's a bit of a choke point, so it's busy. It's also a raised bridge, so sight lines are very poor. Since I ride it twice a day I've had the chance to experiment with some ...
18
Whatever you do, don't be a jerk. Noone likes a cyclist who reinforces the bad stereotypes.
Do Share The Road Even though you're in the right, there's no need to be offensive.
Personally I find bells lazy, most cyclists have a good loud voice and a "Hi there, just gonna pass on your left" is far nicer than "ringring"
Absolutely never ...
16
Sometimes though, I still get drivers cutting right across me when I want to go straight and they are turning left over my lane.
What to do?
Try not to be there!
Seriously, the biggest skill you can build for travelling in built-up areas is predicting what the driver in front of you is going to do. That's as true for cars and motorbikes as it is for ...
15
The last one. As already mentioned, you're describing a bunny hop.
Allowing the rear to hit the curb - even if there is relatively little weight over it - will increase the risk of pinch punctures, potential rim damage, and it will slow you down considerably more than a clean bunny hop.
Hops are weird. Once you can do them you will never understand why you ...
13
Personal anecdotes incoming. Some useful advice after that.
I see red and I want to go bang on the window and yell at the guy
From personal experience cycling in London and flipping off drivers (bad idea!) who have driven dangerously near me I can tell you that confronting them in a negative way is a bad idea. Twice I have been chased by cars.
How can I ...
11
I have had my phone attached to the handlebars in a little sleeve made of gaffer tape and some clear plastic I got out of the recycle bin and it's been good for a few years (I've replaced the sleeve thingy a few times as it disintegrated). For protection it's got a strip of high density foam at the back of it so that it doesn't clunk on the gooseneck when I ...
11
Short answer: yes, there is a way to do it. I fully support Mσᶎ's answer and have more to say than will fit in comments.
Firstly, regarding the original premise.
You happen to look over your shoulder (or in your mirror) and see a vehicle approaching from behind, either fully in the bike lane, or close enough that they can't safely pass.
If I'm riding a ...
11
The "trick" you're looking for is a side hop. It's really a variation on a bunny hop.
Basically, you perform a standard bunny hop but when the handlebars and front wheel reach their zenith, you pull the front end over the obstacle while pushing them forward. The forward motion pulls the rear wheel up, as with a standard bunny hop. However, you additionally ...
11
I cycle round a city (Chester) every day, typically covering five to ten miles in a trip. Even though this is on allegedly high quality roads the reality is that there are a lot of potholes and other rough surfaces. Indeed, some of the roads are cobbled and inherently rough.
I use a road bicycle (no suspension) with 700C wheels, and even with the large wheel ...
10
Yes, it can.
I had my HTC One (M8) mounted to my handlebars and after only ONE RIDE the camera broke. The focus element of the camera was a moving part that just couldn't stand up to the shock. The phone still worked fine, but phones w/o cameras suck so I had to get a new one.
10
In the UK there is a national training scheme targeting child cyclists, often organized through schools. It claims to have trained about 2.5 million children to date. It has been running under different names for a long time - I took part in it back in the 1950s! Go to https://bikeability.org.uk/. "Level 1" is mainly about controlling the bike. Levels 2 and ...
9
Some tips I've gathered from being on both sides of the fence. Since you're specifically asking riding safely and minimizing motorist antagonism, there are some which will work but might not appeal to your sense of justice/fairness:
Even higher visibility. One way of antagonising drivers is to appear at the last moment, since they won't have time to plan ...
9
There is a lot of discussion about this topic (i.e. a lot of anecdotes) because pedals are a very personal matter (cf. LondonCyclist or Zach Gallardo). However, I think that you're over-thinking this in some way: The "safest" pedal is the pedal you're most used to and comfortable with.
Consider, for example, a hypothetical case where clipless pedals have ...
9
I think there will be a significant subjective element to answering this question, but pressing on:
Full face helmets are relatively heavy
Full face helmets offer less ventilation that standard helmets
Full face helmets are less aerodynamic that standard helmets
Riders don't want to look silly or weird
Full face helmets are not marketed to cross country MTB,...
9
I agree with the advice to practice.
There's a book, Effective Cycling by John Forester, which covers everything--the physiology of cycling, bike maintenance, interacting with traffic, etc. Some of the advice on bike maintenance is outdated at this point, and I think some of what he wrote about physiology has been superseded by improved scientific ...
9
I reckon I drive, walk and cycle equal distances each year, so I feel a bit qualified to comment from all perspectives.
Yes, people should not cut you up, but you can help.
Flashing lights on cyclists or dazzling (bright, upward facing) lights on cyclists. Absolutely daft and dangerous. I never have any trouble seeing a light. What I have trouble with is ...
8
You can't really burn "tummy fat." Your body has an order that it will store fat in and it will lose fat in the reverse order. You can lose bodyfat, but it goes away in the reverse order that you put it on. You can make it appear that you've proportionally lost more weight in your tummy by building up the muscles there.
8
Answer (tl;dr) Find another route.
I checked around using google street view to get the image in the question. Some observations...
There are no cyclists visible anywhere. There are also no motorcyclists I noticed.
The lighting is poor and patchy
Many of the vehicles travelling the lower deck do not have lights on.
The road surface is patchy and ...
8
I often wear a regular cycling helmet as it may slightly reduce the severity of traumatic brain injury in certain crashes. The probability of such a crash is very low. The probability of a crash where the helmet is sufficient to mitigate brain injury in a significant way is even slimmer. However, since the reward for the rare cases where it helps is high (so ...
8
You can do nothing
By the time they've cut in front of you, it's happened and you can't change the past. All you can do is keep calm, and make sure you don't let their aggressive driving lead to you making a mistake. Screaming, bashing windows, aggressively chasing them, etc. don't help you get safely to your destination and are unlikely to make any ...
7
Short answer: Height does matter (in fact, there are multiple "heights" which you can find out about in the long answer's links), but there are a ton of other factors (e.g. top tube length which is probably more important). The bike's geometry is what determines how well it works for you.
Long answer: What you need is a bike fit (which can be done at most ...
7
When you say "to burn tummy fat", presumable you're talking about weight loss and general toning?
What worked for me was a short, 10-minute / 2-point-something km commute, twice a day, five days a week, over two or three years. Because the ride was so short I was able to give pretty much 100% for the whole ride, with natural stops at red lights.
I went ...
Only top voted, non community-wiki answers of a minimum length are eligible