Beginning Urban Biking: 5 Tips

Five quick tips if you're beginning to bike in the city:

1. Wear a helmet! 

Obviously. I have friends who don’t wear helmets, and I see people without helmets all the time. But as someone who’s fallen off my bike and hit my head, I can’t imagine hitting my head on the road without a helmet on.

2. Use a front and rear light. 

Probably 30-40% of bikers I see have no lights on at night. Lights make a huge difference to being visible. And while not wearing a helmet will only hurt yourself, not wearing lights puts others at risk of getting hurt if you end up hitting or getting hit by them.

3. Claim the lane and avoid the door zone. 

A lot of bikers I see ride way over in the very right side of the lane. I get it, it feels safer to be that much farther away from the cars. But you’re actually putting yourself in harm’s way of getting doored by parked cars and of cars who aren’t fully changing lanes to pass you. Riding in the center of the lane (when there’s no separated bike lane of course!) will make all but the most audacious drivers wait until they can lane change properly to pass you. And you won’t get doored. Win win!

4. Ride in the flow of car traffic. 

Bike as if you were a car as much as possible. This means riding in the center of the lane, not weaving in between cars, and yes, stopping at red lights. To be perfectly honest, I don’t do this myself 100% of the time. I will do things like ride between lanes of cars if there’s a long line stopped at a light. But biking like a car makes you a much more predictable biker to drivers and others, and also will help redeem the tarnished image of bicyclists that many drivers have. Think of it as your own PR campaign.

5. Stay cool and be respectful. 

When the inevitable happens and some jerk cuts you off or yells at you for no apparent reason, stay cool. I know I have to struggle hard to not give in to anger and I don’t always succeed. But just try to take a few deep breaths and let them go. You’re probably never going to see them again and it’s just not worth it.

This is just a short list of must-do’s while biking. Do you have any other tips for biking in the city?