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Home » Cycling skills » Traffic skills for cyclists

Traffic skills for cyclists

Techniques for integrating into traffic on your bike

“Don’t you just get on and pedal?”

Driving a car properly in traffic involves a number of important approaches and skills.

The same goes for riding a bike, and then some. Why? Because we’re:

  • Generally traveling at a lower speed than others around us.
  • Smaller, and therefore less easily seen.
  • Different from most other road users (motor vehicle drivers), and thus subject to:
    • not being looked for, and/or
    • being: ignored / treated less courteously / harassed.*

* Sometimes the opposite happens, which can require its own techniques.

For these reasons and more, we need approaches and skills beyond those required for driving a car.

Sure, it’s possible to go out on the road without any forethought and training. It’s also possible to make sound on a violin without lessons. The end results are different.


Here are the topics we cover in-depth in our online ‘Traffic Smarts for Cyclist’ courses:

These will help you increase your competence and comfort in traffic, regardless of your current experience level.

  1. Being an MVP-C (Maneuverable, Visible, Predictable, and Communicative).
  2. Ensuring you have the right equipment, and parking your bike securely.
  3. Refining your bike handling skills.
  4. Considering how people behave in traffic.
  5. Knowing your rights & duties.
  6. Scanning & signaling properly.
  7. Choosing your place on the road.
  8. Managing intersections effectively.
  9. Handling other situations, such as riding:
    • on sidewalks.
    • near trucks & buses.
    • side-by side.
    • on paths & trails.


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The Center for Cycling Education

3 weeks ago

The Center for Cycling Education

A worthwhile article. Thanks very much to Ron Richings for sharing.

"Cycling alone in the dark is still a privilege."

"Planners need to be thinking about the people who are the least likely cyclists: older people, the disabled, women, and children,” Clement said. “And if you think of disabled people first, in particular, you’ll often cover everybody’s needs.”"

usa.streetsblog.org/2021/02/12/how-to-support-women-on-bikes-in-winter/
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How to Support Women on Bikes in Winter

usa.streetsblog.org

“In order for the bike boom to continue, we have to include everyone, and that’s not just about snow clearance,” said one panelist at the Winter Cycling Conference.
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The Center for Cycling Education

6 months ago

The Center for Cycling Education

Framing things in the right way. This is fun to watch.

(Thanks to Christopher Stanton for making me aware of this.)
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How I Deal With Kids Playing in My Driveway | The Saga of My Driveway Racetrack

www.youtube.com

Every night I would get an alert from my driveway security camera, and at first I was a bit annoyed, but then I found myself looking forward to the evening a...
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The Center for Cycling Education

1 years ago

The Center for Cycling Education

Superb individual, master designer and builder of bikes and trailers, philanthropist, activist, and professional cyclist. Above all, a truly decent and caring person.

Tomorrow it will be two weeks since I and many others lost our good friend, Tony Hoar. It has taken me some time to come to grips with this loss, and to write this post.

I had the distinct fortune of knowing Tony as a good friend for nearly twenty years. We spoke several times a week, about life, the world, and our respective vocations.

This man was singularly farsighted, caring, and influential. He gave so much of himself on a regular basis, and devoted his life to reducing our dependence on fossil fuels. His bike trailers transformed the way that I view transportation, and helped me live my life and do my work by bike instead of by car.

Tony my friend, you will be deeply missed, and always remembered. I promise you this, and to continue working on the things we both know to be so important. Thank you for everything you are, and always will be.

www.timescolonist.com/news/local/tour-de-france-cult-figure-inventor-tony-hoar-dies-at-87-1.23971311
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The Center for Cycling Education updated their cover photo.

1 years ago

The Center for Cycling Education

Southbound on 5th Avenue, Manhattan, NYC, just north of 59th Street--Central Park is to the right.

The initial signal was straight out with the left arm. The lowered left arm is to let those following know that I'm changing lanes, but only moving into the right part of the adjacent lane.

Important points:
1) There's no room for the driver at left to move into my lane, which is why I moved far left in my lane to prepare to move over--ya gotta be quick here.
2) I looked far down the road, and know that the cabbie in front of me has plenty of space ahead and no possible fares on the sidewalk to the right; there will be no braking.

Subtleties matter.
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The Center for Cycling Education

1 years ago

The Center for Cycling Education

Let's be honest. When you ride in traffic:
1) How comfortable are you, and
2) How often do you have negative interactions with drivers?

Many riders have become accustomed to daily frustrations and near-misses. That doesn't equate to comfort.

There are ways to address these.

What do you put up with on a regular basis?
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