I’ve whined about drivers. I’ve whined about bicyclists. Now I suppose that I need to let non-cyclists have a quick peek into the secret world of cycling. This is all very hush-hush, so don’t tell a soul what you learn here today!
In my last bit of written sniveling, I made mention of the clothing many bicyclists wear. Cycling gear is mystery to many, and function is confused with func-choo (yeah, sound it out and then let your mind wander downhill a bit). Many non-cyclists seem to think that we of the cycling persuasion wear these odd fashions as a way to thumb our noses at “ordinary” people, or perhaps as a way to show how aloof we are while fashionably flipping the middle finger to the motoring public specifically, and to the rest of the world in general.
The simple truth is that we wear cycling clothing because it’s comfortable, and because most of today’s technical fabrics are highly effective at wicking sweat away from our bodies and keeping us a little bit dryer and a little bit cooler. The shorts have a built-in pad that protects the nether regions from chafing after being on the saddle for several hours. Or you could say that it buffers our buns from bedsores. Well, you could say that… but why bother? It’s the thought that counts, and I’m all for staying as comfortable as possible when riding several hours in a day.
Another little secret I’ll let you in on – chamois cream. This is something I laughed at when I was younger, but I use religiously now. It seems the older one gets, the more easily irritated your skin can become. This product is applied to the areas that are in contact with the saddle, and your butt can live to cycle another day.
Shoes are another item of curiosity. Many people have figured out that most cyclists wear shoes that actually lock onto the pedal. This seems a little counter-intuitive; certainly you need to get your foot back off of the pedal in a hurry sometimes, right? Absolutely. A slight flexing rotation of the foot to the right or left and the shoe clicks out of the pedal, freeing your foot to perform whatever task you need. Why lock into a pedal in the first place? You get a much more efficient pedal stroke, being able to apply force much earlier in a revolution and carrying the pedaling force through the revolution much further in each rotation.
If you simply relied on gravity to keep your foot on the pedal, there is only perhaps a third of each pedal stroke where you can apply a lot of force without your foot flying off. When you’re locked into a clipless pedal you can start your down stroke earlier, follow through the rotation further and even learn how to pull upward on the pedal if you so desire. Just as the cages and straps gave toe-clips a big advantage over cycling on a bare pedal, clipless pedals are even more efficient than their predecessors.
Another item that weighs heavily on my mind is the push for, and the adoption of, the 3-foot law. This law simply states that when overtaking a cyclist a motorist needs to give the cyclist a buffer of at least three feet between the car and the bike when passing. This in itself doesn’t seem like it should be nearly as contentious a topic as it is. When I’m passing a bicyclist, I’m going to give them as much room as possible; it’s not a game to see how close you can come to the biker without actually touching them. In NASCAR, “rubbin’ is racin’ “, but doing that to someone on a bike causes injury or death.
As I’ve stated before, I ride a tandem. This means that I’m not only responsible for my own life, but the life of the person riding behind me as well. (In my case, this is my wife.) She doesn’t get any input when it comes to braking and steering, and she needs to trust that I will make correct decisions concerning our safety each and every time a decision is required.
I try to ride as far to the right side of the road as is possible. Most of the roads I ride on have enough room from the painted line in the middle of the road to the edge of the asphalt to fit one-and-a-half to two cars (side by side) – so there is enough room for a car and a bicycle to coexist in the same lane and even obey the 3-foot law. So why is it then, that many bicyclists don’t ride all the way over to the right?
The main reason is debris in the roadway. Sand, gravel, bits of trash and chunks of glass get blown to the sides of the road from the wake of passing traffic. This stuff usually manages to settle in the part of the road that cyclists normally would ride in. We sometimes have to move a little bit to the left of where we’d ideally like to ride because the surface in unsafe to ride on. If it’s overly sandy, we run the risk of crashing, and pieces of glass or sharp gravel can cause flat tires (which can also cause a crash when you lose air rapidly).
So if you see us riding a little further left from the edge of the road than you think we need to be, the odds are good that we see something in the roadway that you don’t. One last thing I’d like to comment on. I’ve noticed in areas where the 3 foot law is in effect that drivers seems to be quite aware of the law, and are sometimes almost too cautious about going around us.
Not all cyclists ride with a mirror, but I do. I love my helmet-mounted mirror and will never ride without it. When I see that there are cars coming up from behind, I will always ride as far to the right as I possibly can. But holding a position right along the edge of the road for an extended period of time can be tough, especially when a road’s edge is broken up in spots, or there’s a lot of debris on the highway. So if you notice me waving at you to come around, it means that I’m aware of your presence, and I’m giving you permission to pass me. The sooner you’ve gone around me, the sooner I can move over to the left a little bit and ride on a slightly safer surface.
In closing, I appreciate when motorists show caution and consideration to bicyclists. I might give them a friendly wave, or a smile followed by a “thank you” when they offer to let us go first at a four-way stop, or when they clearly make it known that they see us coming when they’re about to make a turn onto the road, but are waiting for us to pass. I realize that usually the only interactions between motorists and bicyclists are unpleasant ones, but I would encourage my fellow cyclists to start changing that image by one smile or one wave at a time. The roads are there for everybody; we all can, and should, get along!
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