BY DAVID NORTH
Former Chair
Los Alamos County Transportation Board
Normal folks have probably already been told about helmets, lights, reflectors and whatnot. Instead, let’s take a look at three aspects of safety you might now have heard about:
1. Gloves.
2. It’s safer to ride a bike than not.
3. Road tricks to avoid trouble.
The first point is easy. Should something happen while you’re riding, parking, locking, or loading a bike, there’s a tendency to stick your hands out if you fall, or something else is falling. That’s why I try to remember to put on riding gloves before handling the bike. Open fingers work fine; usually it’s the inner fingers and palm that are at the most risk.
The second point addresses the question “just how dangerous is riding a bike?” If you want to be safe, it’s good to understand the risks of any activity. And there are some surprises.
Is cycling more dangerous than driving? Hard to say. Obviously, in bike vs SUV, the bike loses. Statistics indicate that by the mile travelled, bikes are a bit riskier. That’s not as simple as it seems though, since most bike miles are in the same close-to-home range where the vast majority of auto accidents happen. Not many freeway miles on a bicycle. So, not clear.
But here’s your first surprise: a DOT study showed that cycling is actually about 15% safer than walking. (Best theory on that one has to do with time spent crossing roads or intersections, which is the most dangerous part of road travel regardless of method).
Taking a look at the overall picture, University of Glasgow researchers followed 263,450 commuters of all sorts over the years and at the end of the study, bicycle commuters had the lowest mortality rate for any reason, far better than people who drove. They concluded that the health benefits far outweigh any risk.
A further epidemiology study looked at the exercise habits of over 80K people and found that cyclists were 15% less likely to die of any cause — along with swimmers, people who did aerobics, and racquet sports players. Here’s the surprise finding: neither running nor soccer did any good in that regard. A separate Dutch study had similar findings, almost to the percent.
Okay, what if you really crank it up? Tour de France riders in aggregate live on average 8 years longer than the general population. Not that many normal folks will ride in that class… but the point is clear — if you want to live a longer healthy life (statistically) then get on your bikes and ride.
So, what tricks might give you a safer edge?
First on my list is knowing it’s perfectly legal to ride on the sidewalk in Los Alamos County. This is especially important along major roads like Diamond or Trinity. If traffic is heavy, juke over to the sidewalk. It will slow you down a little, especially if you have to accommodate the rare pedestrian, but it’s a lot safer.
Curiously, when you’re on a sidewalk you’re sorta partially a pedestrian. You can stay on your bike and press a walk button, then ride across in the crosswalk just like someone walking. But this doesn’t apply if you’re in the road.
All this is good to know on quiet roads too. You can usually hear someone coming from behind, and there may be a car parked at the side of the road. You can either go into the lane or, as I prefer, drop over to the sidewalk until the car goes by. You just never know what those zany phone-reading drivers are going to do.
Speaking of quiet roads, stay away from the main arteries when possible, and even better use bike and/or multi-use trails. If you took my advice to use a mountain or gravel bike, the easy smooth unpaved trails should also be on the menu. The biggest danger you face is automobiles.
Another thing to know is the Idaho Stop, which is legal in New Mexico as of this year. People on bikes have much better visibility and more time to see what’s coming, so a STOP sign is actually a YEILD sign for bikes; your best play is to slow down a bit until you’re sure there’s no cross traffic, then zoom across. It also means that stop LIGHTS are stop SIGNS for bike riders — first come to a complete stop, but if the intersection is clear and nobody is coming, you can get going. Watch out for cars turning right, since they have the same prerogative but a lot more mass.
If you must go on narrow busy roads (think SR4) include a rear-view mirror in your equipment and pay attention to it. On the rare occasion I go on such roads there are some vehicles (especially trucks) where I will pull off onto an unpaved shoulder. You do have the right to ride in the lane, and sometimes there’s no choice, but when you do stay as far right as you can. One sure way to get injured in just about any form of transportation is to push your rights to the limit. Let’s all be nice out there.
Learn to hold your line when in traffic. Few things are more dangerous than swerving all over the place. I’ve ridden with some people who don’t even know they do this until someone points it out.
Know your equipment, especially your brakes. Learn the proper pressure for maximum stopping power before a skid, and make sure you can keep from pulling to hard on the front brake or you’ll learn what “endo” means the hard way. If you hear strange sounds or stuff feels loose, deal with it sooner rather than later. Bad brakes, loose axles, or just anything slipping out of adjustment is a risk you don’t need to take.
But I think the most valuable bit of advice is just don’t ride harder or longer than is comfortable. If you’re tired, or short of breath, or even getting dizzy, you’re prone to do something you’ll regret. Slow down, or stop and rest. Know your limits and stay within them. If you do that one simple thing you’ll probably be fine … as long as you don’t try to do some stupid tricks.
Don’t ask.
Dave North spent four years dealing with bicycling issues during his tenure on the Transportation Board and rides bikes almost daily. This is an exclusive series to The Reporter about how to get the most out of cycling in Los Alamos County.
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