LCAG

…for urban riders
by Patrick Field, who runs the London School of Cycling.

Once you can do it getting around, by bike, on busy streets is easy. The difficulties are all in getting the skills and experience you need, not in using them once you’re a safe and comfortable cyclist. Don’t expect it to be simple from the start but time and thought invested in learning, and money spent on equipment and clothing will be paid back a thousand fold once you’re fully and freely mobile.

The knack of travelling by bike on roads shared with heavy flows of pushy motor-traffic includes important technical elements – you need to be able to control your bike and understand the rules of traffic – but traffic riding is essentially a social endeavour: you’re sharing space with others. The hazard is not the road, not really even cars, trucks and buses, the hazards come from other people. Once you understand this you’re halfway to becoming a safe and comfortable rider.

Cycling is too new to have developed a classical form, we are still in the pioneer era. You can learn a lot from listening to accomplished riders but – at risk of sounding Californian – becoming a cyclist is a process of self-discovery. ‘What kind of rider am I?’ Understand the principles and then apply them to develop a style that suits your needs and personality.

CONTROL SKILLS

If you’re new to riding or coming back after a lay-off begin by checking and polishing your control skills away from other traffic. Pay particular attention to stopping and starting. Riding a bike is not difficult but it’s very different from standing or walking; don’t try to mix riding and walking by scooting or shuffling. Either sit on your bike and ride it or get off and push.

Beginners need their seat set low enough so they can touch the ground easily while in the saddle. As take-offs and landings become routine you can wait standing across your bike – not sitting on the seat – and use the pedals to step up to the seat as you set-off, and to climb down as you stop. Mastery of this technique will allow you to raise your seat so that pedalling is more comfortable and less of an effort.

A bike ridden at, or above, jogging pace is much easier to steer than one going at, or below, walking speed. When faced with a tricky situation the best options are either to stop or to keep going briskly, going forward slowly is often trickiest. Keeping your head up and looking ahead will help you stay in smooth, dynamic control.

You need to be able to ride one-handed to give bold and confident signals and to look over your shoulder to see what’s going on behind. It’s necessary to be vigilant and aware of what’s going on all around but focus your attention on where you want to go, not on what you want to avoid. If you pay too much attention to obstacles they can draw you inexorably towards them.

If your bike has a choice of gears select those that allow your feet to spin without a lot of straining or pushing. This may feel strange at first – riding a bike is definitely not natural – but once you get used to it, it’s much less effort and better for your bike and body. On the road it’s easier to adjust your speed when your legs are spinning freely, and harder to accelerate or slow down if you’re struggling to keep the pedals turning.

Practise making sudden stops to get a feeling of how much space you need in different weather conditions and on different road surfaces. Use both brakes and hold your weight back with your arms. In emergency braking you’re looking for the point just before the back wheel locks and skids. Check your bike carefully, or show it to an experienced rider or take it to a shop. Confidence in your machine and your bike-handling skills will make traffic riding much more pleasant.

THE RULES OF TRAFFIC

Make sure you understand the rules of traffic before you go onto the road especially if you don’t have experience of driving a car or riding a motor-cycle. Consider getting a copy of The Highway Code – most newsagents sell it – but remember it explains how things are supposed to be, not exactly how they are…

Even on a busy street corner you might wait months to see two cars bump, which reveals how formal the system is. The person who doesn’t follow the ‘rules’ is very rare and you can usually spot them coming from a long way off. Traffic mostly behaves in very predictable ways but you won’t find these rules written down, you have to study them on the streets and they may vary from town to town or even in different districts of the same city.

GRADUAL EXPOSURE

Start riding on roads you’re familiar with, when there’s not too much busy traffic and where the junctions aren’t too complex. You can work up to busier and bigger roads as your skill and confidence grows. Don’t worry about walking across junctions you find difficult. It’s better to walk a little of a journey than leave your bike at home. Take a little time to watch the traffic at places where you find problems. Which lane of traffic goes where? How do other people on bikes manage? You can learn from watching both the accomplished and the incompetent. You’ll soon make progress and be riding where you used to walk.

JUNCTIONS

Getting in the right position early and dealing with one issue at a time is also important at junctions. For example when turning right into a side road the first element is crossing the carriageway you’re in. Look behind early, signal right if necessary and – when it’s safe to do so – make a diagonal move to take a position just to the left of the road’s centre-line.

Now you’ve dealt with any potential conflict with traffic going in the same direction as you – which can pass on your left, if there’s room, or stay behind until you turn – and can concentrate on looking for a gap in the traffic coming in the other direction. Try to time your arrival at the junction to coincide with a gap in this traffic. If not possible you’ll have to wait in the middle of the road. This may seem exposed but is where everyone using the road is most watchful. Once there’s a gap in oncoming traffic take a quick look over your right shoulder then turn across the on-coming carriageway into the side road, looking out for any traffic emerging from the side road. A square turn, from a point in line with your position in the road you’re entering, gets you across the opposite carriageway quickest and reduces the risk of conflict with traffic coming out of the road you’re turning into.

POSITION ON THE ROAD

Riding safely on the road involves controlling the space around you. An important element is to consider ‘where on the road shall I ride?’ Positioning is not an exact science – there’s often more than one ‘correct’ answer but it’s important to be definite, don’t drift. Three issues to think about are: where will I get an easy and unobstructed passage? Where can I see and be seen? And, what does my position tell others about what I’m planning to do next?

Beginners often try to ‘keep out of the way’ because they don’t want to be a nuisance, and end up riding too close to parked cars or the edge of the road. This is dangerous because it makes it more likely that other people won’t see you. Everyone using the road looks where they’re going and almost always where they expect other traffic to be. If you can be seen you’re safe. Successful riders don’t try and keep out of the way of traffic – they are part of the traffic. Be courteous and helpful – by using your bike you’re already doing everyone a favour – but take enough space to make sure others take notice of you.

The first position to consider is the centre of the leftmost lane of moving traffic (left illustration). Here you are safe from any swinging car doors, you’re easy to see and have a better view around obstacles and into side roads. If potentially faster traffic is building up behind and the road ahead is clear you can choose to move to the left to help them overtake, but only if safe to do so. There’s no point letting motor-traffic try to squeeze through if there isn’t room to pass safely or to go past if it’s going to block the road a few yards ahead.

Always take a quick look behind before you change your position on the road. On a busy road you should have a good idea of what’s going on behind, but don’t look back for too long or you may miss hazards developing ahead.

DEALING WITH CONGESTION

When you meet congestion the safest option is to join the queue in the middle of the leftmost lane or – when approaching a junction – in the appropriate lane for the direction you’re going (illustration right). This will stop other vehicles pulling alongside you and causing turning conflicts. A second option is to get off and walk to the head of the queue on the pavement (illustration below).

If you want to avoid delay, and the opposite carriageway is clear, another choice is to overtake the queue on the right. Don’t speed and be aware of refuge space on the left side of the centreline in case oncoming traffic appears. If you do cross into the other carriageway go far enough over to be visible and safe from vehicles leaving the queue with a sudden ‘U’ turn. When you reach the front you can use an Advance Stop Line (ASL) refuge if there is one, otherwise take care how you rejoin the waiting traffic. When ‘jumping’ the queue where there is no ASL it is often safest to integrate behind the first vehicle in the queue. Take a position where everyone can see you.

If you decide to move ahead on the inside of stationary motor-traffic, either against the kerb or between files of vehicles, go slowly, and watch out for opening doors or pedestrians crossing. If congestion means you have to pass parked cars in the zone where you might be hit by an opened door slow down to walking pace.

Long lorries pose a particular hazard for cyclists. Never try to pass between a truck and the kerb (see left). If a truck is behind you take the middle of the lane to prevent it passing you without changing lanes. If a truck is waiting ahead of you don’t try to overtake it unless you are certain you can get safely past before it starts moving. When following a truck stay in a place where the driver can see you. Watch the wing mirrors. If you can’t see the driver she can’t see you.