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Having to Clip Out Is No Excuse

08.29.2010 by Ray Niekamp // 19 Comments

Our friend Jeff Hemmel sent this story about another crackdown on bicyclists — this one in St. Petersburg, Fla., where police ticketed 16 cyclists in one day for failure to stop at a stop sign.

We’ve covered stop sign issues here before — and police crackdowns on stop sign scofflaws — so this isn’t really anything new.  What interested me on reading the article was this sentence: “Petrak said she knows she should obey stop signs, but clipping and unclipping her bike shoes slows her down and can make it dangerous when crossing intersections.”

Roll eyes here.

When I took the League of American Bicyclists Road I course — now Traffic Skills 101 — I got points deducted during our ride through the city because I didn’t put a foot on the ground at a stop sign. Their attitude is that stop means stop.  That’s the attitude the Austin Police took last year when they ticketed several members of my club for not stopping at a stop sign. But to them, a full stop means the cyclist should put a foot on the ground.

Okay, I’ll come clean.  I still don’t put a foot down at every stop sign.  Certainly, if there’s no traffic at an intersection, I’ll slow, then go.  If there is traffic at the stop sign, I’ll slow to a track stand, kind of — I’m not very good at them, but I can hold my position for a few seconds, anyway. But unless I get a signal from the driver right away that I can go, I clip out and stop. That’s a very unmistakable signal that I want the driver to go before me.  It’s also one reason I have my pedals set to very light tension.

But I think that comments about the burden of having to unclip at stop signs do nothing to mitigate the antagonism between motorists and cyclists.  We come across as whiners who want everything our way.

If it’s too much of a hassle to clip out, I suggest a little practice is in order.  Do it while supporting yourself against a wall, or a tree, or a light pole.  Keep doing it until it becomes second nature.  Tip: I have found that I clip in faster and easier if I just do it by feel.  It’s when I sneak a look down at my foot that I have to try two or three or more times to get clipped in.

And as far as the safety issue of crossing intersections, I learned long ago that the cyclist’s first job is to get across.  More often than not, I just rest my foot on the pedal and pedal across the intersection, then I worry about getting clipped in.  Sorry, but it’s not a big deal.

What’s your take?

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Categories // Safety, Technique Tags // clipless pedals, stop sign

Passing on the Right

08.17.2010 by Ray Niekamp // 4 Comments

Lots of cyclists were on the road Saturday morning. Pat and I had hop-scotched with several beginners who were being led along the Mopac route by an experienced cyclist.

I had just passed them again, and was settling into an easy pace, when suddenly, a young woman zipped by me on the right!

I had no idea she was there.  I never heard her.  She never announced herself.

I was just on the verge of moving to the right side of the shoulder when she passed.  If I had made my move a second or two earlier, we would have crashed.

Uh oh. He's passing on the right!

One of the most basic rules of cycling you learn early on: Never pass on the right. Most organized rides specifically address that in their instructions to riders, e.g. the MS 150. Ride to the right and pass on the left.  It’s kinda like vehicular cycling. A car wouldn’t pass on the right (okay, it shouldn’t), so you shouldn’t, either.

You should never hear the call, “On your Right.”  However, there are many cyclists with varying experience.  Be on the lookout for those that will pass on your right.  If someone does this, kindly remind him or her that they should pass on the left.  Also, it is common courtesy to say “Thank You” to the person yelling “on your left.” This indicates to them that you’ve heard them.

Now, there are some sites that indicate that passing on the right is OK, but only in emergencies.  But that would be a rare situation. So rare, that if you must pass on the right be sure to give plenty of notice to the “passee.”

I’ve been kicking myself since that Saturday morning ride, because when she passed me on the right, I was so surprised, I said nothing.  In the past, I have complained to cyclists who pass me on the left without letting me know they’re there — I’m not sure why I let it go this time. It won’t happen again.

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Categories // Safety Tags // Safety

Hug the Curb or Take the Lane?

07.22.2010 by Ray Niekamp // 7 Comments

Riding with my wife last weekend, we approached a stoplight. The road was four lanes, and a right turn lane bended off just before the light. I was leading my wife by several lengths. I scanned back, signaled that I was moving left, and crossed the right turn lane to merge into the farthest right straight ahead lane.

My wife dutifully followed, but she didn’t like it.

“Ooh, I’m not comfortable here,” she said.

“This is the safest place you can be,” I replied. “The right turners have to go behind you to turn, and you’ve got a clear shot across the road onto the shoulder on the other side.”

“I know,” she said. “But I still don’t like being here.”

The light changed, and we moved ahead. We could immediately point at the shoulder. All the cars that came up behind us moved to the far left lane anyway, so we were by ourselves in the right traffic lane at the light.

About two miles later, we came to another light. This time, a hatch-marked triangle filled the space between the right lane and the right turn lane. Once again, I crossed from the shoulder into the right lane. Once again, my wife followed, but I pointed her to the triangle.

“Feel better there?” I asked.

“This is way better,” she said.

Taking the lane. From bikecommute.com.

When I took my Road I course (now Traffic Skills 101) two years ago, the notion of “taking the lane” was foreign to me. Bikes stayed on the right, period. I had no idea a cyclist could use the road like a car, and do it safely. The class was an eye-opener.

Now, I routinely practice “vehicular cycling,” considering my bike another vehicle on the road. When you ride predictably like that, cars are more likely to give you a break, because they understand what you’re about to do. I’m happy to take the lane, because I know that’s often the safest place I can be on the road.

Pat has not taken any kind of a bike handling class, and hasn’t been exposed to the practice of vehicular cycling. Being in the middle of traffic is not her thing. She’s comfortable hugging the curb. If a right turn lane looms, she’ll often stop before she gets to it. It’s a cautious kind of riding, but it’s not as predictable as riding like a car would be.

Unfortunately, I can’t show her that she’s wrong. Despite the stance of classes like Traffic Skills 101, there are no scientific studies that support the contention that vehicular cycling is safer than hugging the curb.

Infrastructure gets studied, and those studies have shown that segregated biking facilities, like bike lanes, are safer than having to share the road with motor vehicles. But the United States isn’t Holland, and we don’t have the well-developed cycling lanes they do. We must ride on the road, so we must learn to coexist with our motorized brethren. I encourage everyone to take a bike handling course like Traffic Skills 101.

Now, if I could just convince my wife…

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Categories // Safety Tags // Safety

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