This tip is about a polarizing issue in the cycling community, wearing a helmet.  I still don’t wear one all the time, but I know that I should.

The fact is, even if you ride safely, accidents can still happen.  Even at slow speeds, falling from your bike down to the concrete is enough to put a hurt’n on your noggin.  A crash which would normally give you a little road rash with which to impress others could turn into a serious head injury.  Sure they make look nerdy, but they could save your life or at the very least prevent a really bad headache.

I used to argue that people in Europe didn’t wear helmets and they have a lower injury rate than in America.  I finally came to the realization that this isn’t Europe and riding here is not as safe in most cities.  This is due both to lack of cycling infrastructure and the awareness of motorists towards bikes on the road.  So now I’m a helmet convert (mostly) and you should be too!

You might think that you can visually check to see when cars are near, but sometimes this can fail you. I personally came close to being hit because I was listening to music, even after reading the same advice I am dispensing now.

This is a great bit that I think every motorist should read.  Often times I think close calls happen not out of spite or even lack of attention, but lack of knowledge about how to safely drive when cyclists are near.

How do you respond when people tell you this?

Exercising your right to ride on the road is one step,  by being in traffic and not beside it, you force drivers to notice you more.  This also goes with not riding on side-walks where you are more likely to be hit but a turning vehicle because they don’t see you coming.

Wearing bright clothing is also a big help, it’s no secret that yellow is a popular color in cycling apparel, this is because it stands out at all times of the day.  If you can get something with reflective trim it will help after the sun goes down.

And finally, a good set of lights is essential.  Even in a well lit area you should have both head and tail lights.  The headlight can be set to blink mode if street lights provide enough lighting, set it to solid otherwise.  The rear light should always be set to blink.

Many riders do this, especially new riders and their reasoning seems sound: they would rather see traffic coming towards them so they can react, rather than getting hit from behind.  Unfortunately, you put yourself in more risk by doing so.

There are two key reasons why riding with traffic is a better alternative.  First is the issue of passing.  When you are riding with traffic and a car is behind you, if they can’t immediately pass they can simply slow down until they have the opportunity to do so.  Compare to riding against traffic where the cyclist could be forced off the road if there is not enough space for both car and bike.

Despite being able to see oncoming traffic, you can still be hit while riding against the flow.  Say for example you are in a residential area riding at 15mph and the speed limit is 35mph.  If you are hit from the rear, you lessen the speed of the impact by 15mph for a total of 20mph.  Riding against traffic however, the velocities add and you then have the force of 50mph… a big difference!

Thankfully the cyclist was not seriously hurt.  Details about the incident are not clear right now, but Alexander was not cited.

A member of reddit.com has posted a plea for help.  His friend Tim Scafuro has been traveling cross-country and is now missing.

From the post:

His last known location was Charlestown, MD traveling to Keedysville, MD. 3 days ago he told a friend he would meet her in Keedysville because he happened to catch a ride with someone driving to Frederick. His phone has been on and will just ring through. We have filed a missing persons report and I know theres not much that can be done but I thought it was worth a shot to put the word out there.
Edit: This is his blog, if anyone can ascertain anything from it, maybe different places to look and research it’d be a great help. We’ve already called all the area hospitals and we know he hasn’t been arrested. Tomorrow i’m going to call the libraries and Cafes around Charlestown to see if anyone saw him there. Thank you all for your support.

This is the most recent picture of Tim:

Please contact cward508@gmail.com if you have any information.  Thank you.

Part of my commute takes me through a residential area with very light traffic.  I needed to make a left turn and looked back to make sure it was clear.  I saw a car pretty far back and thought I had plenty of time.  It was only a few moments from when I looked till the time I turned, maybe 15-20 seconds, but in that time, the car got much closer than I expected and I ended up turning right in front of it forcing them to lock up their brakes to avoid hitting me.

The car was apparently going faster than I thought;  I should have taken another quick glance immediately before the turn.  Even worse: I was wearing headphones and couldn’t hear the car which would have also helped me avoid the situation.  I’m just thankful the driver was being observant this morning.

I have read about the dangers of wearing headphones while riding on the street before.  I’ve always justified my own usage of them by saying I was observant and always checked my surroundings.  I think this morning proved me to that it’s probably a better idea to ride without them.  So lesson learned and I’m thankfully still safe, I guess I couldn’t ask for much more.

My fair city of Hattiesburg MS shows the Longleaf Trace Rails to Trails, but no recommended streets.  I wonder if they lack the data… or that they recommend no one ride on the streets here.  My future home of Austin however shows lots of data.  Check the official video for more info: