5 ms·

I run but I always wanted to cycle, it is just sharing the road with cars feel super-scary to me. Do you have any advice?

mathieuh 2y ago
I get up really early and stay on back roads. But for cars, there's a lot you can do in terms of road position and so on. For me, if I feel like I'm approaching a dangerous situation I move into the middle of the road. I also generally ride quite far away from the kerb. A lot of drivers will happily pass you way too close if you give them the opportunity, but there aren't a lot of people who will just drive straight through the back of you if you're in the way. That leads into riding defensively. I ride with the mindset that everyone is trying to kill both me and themselves. I expect people to pull out in front of me, I expect doors to open etc. To get a bit more used to being around cars I would recommend getting up early. But really the main thing is confidence. You have just as much a right to be there as anyone else, and in reality the vast majority of drivers are great. I very rarely have bad experiences with cars. Obviously it takes time to build up confidence, but at the end of the day a confident, assertive rider who signals and manoeuvres well ahead of time is going to be safer than a nervous, skittish rider.
desertrider12 2y ago
Look at gravel or mountain biking! If you live near some farmland, ranches or a national forest, there are likely miles of public dirt roads that hardly get any car traffic. trailforks.com is a good place to start to see what's near you.
thro1 2y ago
If you start cycling, don't forget to keep running or start jumping - different muscles are involved. Practice of crashing (judo, aitrack) can't be underestimated. The relative speed between vehicles it's what does matter - keep the flow (or between the waves), the distance and attention (doors, sideways, blind spots, bus stops), be obvious predictable, use your imagination (fly trajectory) and signaling - even take a middle of the road when needed to not confuse someone he can take a chance to overtake you at wrong moment.

mathieuh 2y ago

I get up really early and stay on back roads. But for cars, there's a lot you can do in terms of road position and so on. For me, if I feel like I'm approaching a dangerous situation I move into the middle of the road. I also generally ride quite far away from the kerb. A lot of drivers will happily pass you way too close if you give them the opportunity, but there aren't a lot of people who will just drive straight through the back of you if you're in the way. That leads into riding defensively. I ride with the mindset that everyone is trying to kill both me and themselves. I expect people to pull out in front of me, I expect doors to open etc. To get a bit more used to being around cars I would recommend getting up early. But really the main thing is confidence. You have just as much a right to be there as anyone else, and in reality the vast majority of drivers are great. I very rarely have bad experiences with cars. Obviously it takes time to build up confidence, but at the end of the day a confident, assertive rider who signals and manoeuvres well ahead of time is going to be safer than a nervous, skittish rider.

desertrider12 2y ago

Look at gravel or mountain biking! If you live near some farmland, ranches or a national forest, there are likely miles of public dirt roads that hardly get any car traffic. trailforks.com is a good place to start to see what's near you.

thro1 2y ago

If you start cycling, don't forget to keep running or start jumping - different muscles are involved. Practice of crashing (judo, aitrack) can't be underestimated. The relative speed between vehicles it's what does matter - keep the flow (or between the waves), the distance and attention (doors, sideways, blind spots, bus stops), be obvious predictable, use your imagination (fly trajectory) and signaling - even take a middle of the road when needed to not confuse someone he can take a chance to overtake you at wrong moment.