How to Ride a Bicycle (Like an Adult)

Hi friends!

I think most of you already know the mechanics of riding a bike. This post is not about that (and besides I don't think I  could teach that in a blog post).  Since it is spring and most of us are pulling our bikes out of our shed/garages/ dining room (my roommates are lovely people and allow me to stash my ride by the kitchen table in the wintertime. I'm lucky), I thought it would be a good time to remind y'all of some bike safety tips. 

Most of us learn to ride as kids. My parent's safety tips were: wear a helmet. watch for cars. don't be stupid. Those rules still hold true today with some extra detail. Here it goes:

How to Ride a Bicycle (Like An Adult)

You are a vehicle. Meaning that you can ride on the road (it's required in some cities, like mine) and you MUST ride with traffic. The number one cause of cyclist deaths is biking against traffic. Obviously, a bike lane is ideal, but be aware that these lanes sometimes abruptly end and that silly motorists sometimes confuse them for parking spots. For etiquette's sake, it's nice to stay to the right hand side of the lane so faster vehicles (read: cars) can pass you. If you feel it's necessary to ride in the center of the lane, do so. The law is completely on your side. You have a right to be there. If a car cannot safely pass you, they must slow down and drive behind you until it does become safe to pass you.

In my personal experience, I don't always find this the safest options because, I'm not going to sugarcoat this, drivers can be raging jerks. I've had nasty people ride inches away from my back tire, laying on the horn and cussing me out. I've had people pass me and throw things-- like drinks and trash-- at me. I only ride in the center of the lane if I absolutely have to because I don't want some idiot breaking me or my bike, even if the law is on my side.

Wear a helmet. Your cranium is important because it houses that wonderful little control center that your body capable of doing fun things like knitting socks and riding bicycles. Protect it.

Also, "helmet hair" is a good excuse for a bad hair day.

Be predictable. If you follow traffic laws, drivers can anticipate what you're going to do next. If you're weaving on and off the sidewalk into the road, taking your hands off your handlebars, or popping wheelies you are not predictable and not safe. Pick either the sidewalk, bike lane, or the road, and stick to it. This requires that you know where sidewalks and bike lanes end and plan accordingly. In my commute to work, I use the road even though there's a sidewalk right next to me for about three quarters of the way there. My reason for doing this is that the sidewalk ends at a busy intersection where I'd have to turn right onto the road at the same time a lot of cars might be turning right on red. They don't anticipate me coming off the sidewalk because many of them are unaware that the sidewalk ends there. It's generally not safe to weave on and off the road, if you must do so, make sure you signal it (see below) and that it's in a relatively quiet part of the road.

Use turn signals!!! Bikes don't usually have turn signals but you, the rider, have arms with which you can signal which way you're going. There are fancy signals:

Source

In my experience, I confuse people when I use the L shaped arm turn signal so I tend to point with my left arm when I'm going left and point with my right arm when I'm going right. I use the stop signal often, and haven't had a problem with it because usually I'm stopping at stop sign or a red light, and drivers can infer what that signal means as I slow down.

Be visible. If you ride bikes anywhere near dawn or dusk, invest in a front and back bike light. I have a set from Noah that have a regular setting and a flash setting. I always use the flash setting when riding at dawn, dusk, or after dark because it makes me super visible to drivers. I've noticed motorists usually give me a wider berth during these times of day. I appreciate that a lot.

If you want to know, specifically about how to stay to the right, or how to handle stops, or other safety tips, check out these links: 

Bike Expert: Street Smarts

How to Not Get Hit By Cars

That's it! Be safe and happy riding, 

Madelyn

P.S. As I am a North Carolinian, my knowledge of the rules of the road are specific to NC. NC has equitable biking laws, unfortunately most other states do not. This doesn't change the overall rules in this post, but there might be minutia specific to your state that you'll also want to consider while riding. You can see a map of the specific laws about bicyclist by state here. 

Pimp My Bike Basket

Do you remember that old show on MTV called Pimp My Ride? (Is it still on?) I only saw, like, one episode and I distinctly remember thinking, who seriously cares enough about their car to install a turn table in the backseat? I'm sure some people would look at this post and think, who seriously cares enough about their bike to hot glue ribbon onto their bike basket? Yeah, that would be me.

Inspired by this post, I bought some orange (my favorite color!) pom-pom ribbon at the fabric store, grabbed a glue gun, and went to town! It was a super easy, 5-minute project.  Personally, I like the look of wicker baskets better than wire, and the things that I usually throw in the basket, like my keys, would fall through in a wire basket with big holes. 

Also, it's the last week of National Bike Month so get out and enjoy! Happy Memorial Day everyone!!

-Madelyn 

Presta vs. Schrader Valves

When I bought my blue bike in the summer of 2012, I was clueless about bicycle maintenance.

Exhibit A: I had no idea there was a tube inside the wheel of the bike. The first time I got a flat tire, which was about a week after getting the bike, I discovered that the tire wasn't just flat-- there was a hole in it, but the hole wasn't actually in the tire, but rather in the tube inside the tire. Wow! (I know, all you cyclists are laughing at me right now. That's okay.) This is how I tend to learn and pick up new hobbies, not necessarily doing a lot of research prior to starting, but rather just jumping in enthusiastically and troubleshooting as I go. Taking up biking, relearning an instrument, and learning to use a sewing machine-- they all end up being more detailed and complicated that I expected, but I think that just makes it more fun. So, anyway, back to my flat tire. I ended up just taking it to a bike shop and having them replace it and charge me way too much money. I vowed that, next time, I would do it myself.

Fast forward a year, I am riding my bike from class back to my dorm when I hear the tell-tale ppppffffttttt of rushing air and my back wheel starts to squish and squeak. I say a few choice words, get off my bike and walk it to the closest bus stop. After multiple attempts to pump it back up I decide there must be a hole in the tube. A friend of mine used to work in a bike shop and is a fantastic bike doctor/guru. I brought it to him and he helped me patch it. Unfortunately, the tear was in an awkward place, where the valve meets the tube and it held for all of a few days. I had to buy a new tube.

But when I did, I was surprised (again!) to learn that there are different types of valves on the tubes that require different pumps (or at least different nozzles on the pumps) in order to get air into the tire. How did I discover this, you may ask? By buying the kind that was not compatible with my pump. Again, with the leaping before I look... Oops.

Another bike friend lent me her pump and all was well; now my front wheel is a Schrader valve and my back wheel has a Presta valve. In hopes that you won't make the same mistake I did, I'm going to show you (and explain) the difference in layman's terms.

Schrader:

Schrader valves are the more traditional valves-- it's probably the kind that you had on your bike growing up. I bought my pump from Schwinn, the same company that made my bike and it did not say "compatible with Schrader valves" on the packaging. Maybe it did in the manual and I missed it, but it was not advertised. I think it's safe to say that most pumps in big box stores like Walmart or Target are compatible with Schrader valves only unless specifically stated otherwise.

Presta:

Mountain bikes, racing bikes, and other fancy bikes tend to use Presta valves because they're (supposedly) easier to pump. I have not yet experienced that, but then again, I am not a mountain biker or a hard-core cyclist. I have not found a pump compatible with Presta valves anywhere other than in a bicycle shop.

What do you think, fellow bicyclists-- do you have a preference for Presta or Schrader valves? Do you have a funny story, something you didn't expect to happen or a problem you didn't expect to have when you first got into bicycling?

Love, Madelyn

Want to read a more in-depth analysis of the difference between the two valves? Start here.

Ladies on a Roll: 10 Reasons I Ride

photo courtesy of Hayley Gaines of Remember When Photography

Have you seen the new report of current data from the league of American bicyclists? It's exciting stuff for girls who ride bicycles! (You can find the full report here.) In the report, they bust 10 myths about girls and bicycles including: 

1. Women Don't Like Bicycles. 82% of American Women have a positive view of bicycles. 

2. Women Aren't Interested in Riding. 47% of potential cyclists in Portland. Ore., who are “Interested but Concerned” about riding a bike are women.

3. Women Don't Bike to Work in Significant Numbers. 1.9 million women regularly commuted to work by bike in 2011. The overall number of women who bike commute grew 56% from 2007 to 2011. 

4. Women Aren't Concerned About Biking in Their Communities. 2/3 of American women agree: “My community would be a better place to live if biking were safer and more comfortable.”

5. Bicycle Riding is Not a Popular Activity Among Women. Bicycle riding ranked #9 out of 47 popular sports for total female participation in 2011, surpassing yoga, tennis, and softball.

Yippee!! I find these new statistics super exciting. I still feel, in my town, that I am part of a small minority of bicyclists, let alone female bicyclist who commute to work or school on two wheels. But these new stats give me hope of that changing over the next few years. On this happy note, I'd figure I'd share with you a few reasons I ride: 

1. It is so much more fun than driving a car. I hate driving. I'll pick riding my bike to the grocery store over driving my car there any day.

2. You're double dipping with your time. During your commute, you're exercising. Yay for multi-tasking. 

3. It's better for the environment. 

4. And better for your wallet. 

5. The wallet thing deserves two points. You save tonnnnnssssss of gas money by biking to work everyday. 

6. Going down a hill feels like you're flying. It's totally worth the uphill. 

7. You never have to look for a parking spot. Or pay for a parking spot, for that matter. 

8. You never have to sit in a traffic jam.

9. You can chalk up any bad hair day to "helmet hair."

10. It's so. much. fun. 

Why do you bike?

Or a better question, why don't you bike? :) 

Happy Monday! 

x M

Earthfare Emergencies via Bike: is it worth getting irate anymore?

Is it worth getting irate anymore? I asked myself this question as some jerk in a white work van pulled up behind me where I was stopped on my bike, signaling with my hand my intent to turn left into Earth Fare once the traffic in the opposite lane cleared.

In the .2 miles I had been on the road, I had obviously done something to ruin this fellow's day. I heard him, three cars behind me, screaming at me to get up on the sidewalk at the previous traffic light. The car immediately behind me had a teenager at the wheel. While we were stopped at the light I had glanced behind me, wondering why the car hadn't gone around me yet (there was plenty of room several times before we got to the stop light), to see his mother calmly talking to him, coaching him on how to pass a cyclist on a busy road. Poor kid.

As much as I would love to bike on the sidewalk sometimes when drivers make me fear for my safety, it is illegal to do so in Boone. Why? Because a bike is a vehicle, albeit a slow one (which seemed to be the reason why this guy was so mad), and while operating a vehicle you may not be on sidewalk. By law. 


When the light turned green and we started moving again, I signaled my intent to turn, moved over to the left of the lane and the kid, and several cars behind him, passed me. No problems.

Waiting to turn, dude in the white van was able to have me as his captive audience for his rage. He pulled up inches away from my fender, blocking traffic in both lanes, and laid on his horn. Oncoming traffic stopped.

I made eye contact and made a face that I hope sent the message: boy, you need to learn the traffic laws and made my turn into the grocery store. He yelled some more and flicked me off.

I was proud of myself for remaining as calm as I did.

In the past two years I've been cycling I've had things thrown at me, people yelling at me, and I have been nearly hit because of people's aggressive and stupid actions several times. I stopped writing and blogging about them because I figured no one wants to hear me complaining about road-rage jerks all the time.

But the fact of the matter is that kind of aggression can get a cyclist hurt, or even killed. Over the summer I was biking in my neighborhood and some guys (also in a white van...sensing a pattern here) thought it would be funny to scream out the window at me as they were passing. It scared me and I swerved, nearly getting hit by the green minivan trying to pass behind them. That experience made me angry to the point of tears. I have just as much of a right to be on the road as everyone else, you have no right to play fast and loose with my life.

So back to the question, is it worth getting irate over these kinds of drivers anymore? In that moment today, I was proud of myself for not reacting with anger when he behaved so abominably-- and dangerously-- towards me. But should I have?

Road rage is a huge and dangerous problem on the road, but it becomes an even bigger problem when it's directed at exceptionally inferior vehicles (i.e. a big white van vs. a bike). Part of me thinks it's not worth the stress to get so angry, part of me thinks they could easily kill me and that is worth getting very, very upset about. I wish I could just carry around a copy of the traffic laws and hand them out to jerks like this guy.

I don't know, any cyclists readers out there have any answers for me? Should I be doing something else, other then obeying all bicycle related vehicle laws?

Let me know.

On happier note: this post is titled Earthfare Emergencies via Bike blah blah blah.... it's a long post name. For a long post. I'm impressed if you read it all the way down here. But there is a reward, I promise. Stick with me. Why that title?

Because sometimes you just want to bake sugar cookies with sprinkles at 11 am on a Friday.

But you've run out of butter.

One of the reasons I love where I live is that Earthfare is literally just down the road precisely for times of crisis like these. We needed butter so we could make these yummy, melt-in your mouth cookies.

Anyway, homeboy with his bad attitude and big white van didn't kill me on my bike ride to Earthfare so I got to come home and make cookies with my roommate, Erica.

Eat them (lots of them, because they're soooo good) and enjoy. You can find the recipe here.

Have a good weekend folks! 

x M