Bicycle Safety
ABC Check
Dear Bike to School Families,
Bike to School Month is off and rolling…and so are all of you! It’s great seeing the bike racks full each morning!
This week’s Bike Safety Topic: road-readying your bike! Before you head out on the bike, take 2 minutes to do an “ABC Quick Check”:
A is for air: Squeeze your front & back tire between thumb & forefinger. They should feel firm. If not, use an air pump with a tire gauge and fill until you have the recommended PSI (”pounds per square inch”) level marked on the sidewalls of your tire. Note tire condition; there should not be any “bald spots” (spots without tread) on the surface, nor major cracking or bulging on the sidewalls.
B is for brakes: Squeeze the front and back brakes (or step back on the pedals for coaster brakes) while pushing the bike forward to make sure your bike will stop. Spin the tires to make sure brakes are not rubbing on the rims.
C is for chains, cranks & cogs: Spin your pedals forward to make sure the bike is in gear and chain moves smoothly and stays on the cogs as the pedals rotate.
“Quick” is for quick releases: Check quick release levers to make sure they are snug and set properly. Adult bikes often have quick releases for wheels, seat post, and brakes; kid bikes may have these parts bolted on instead. It’s good to check for loose bolts too! Make sure everything is good and tight.
Once you get in the habit and become a little familiar with the bike, ABC Quick Check takes less than a minute. We recommend performing this check before every ride.
If your bike doesn’t pass the “ABC Quick Check” and you aren’t comfortable tightening & adjusting brakes, etc. take it to a mechanic.
Have fun and enjoy the ride!
Sidewalks
Dear Bike to School Families,
Wow, we’re almost half way through May already and I hope that you’re having a great Bike to School Month!
This week’s safety message concerns sidewalk cycling. For young kids, cycling on the sidewalk may be safer and more comfortable than cycling in the street. But sidewalk riding can also be dangerous, particularly when you re-enter the street (such as at an intersection.) The following information will help you to safely negotiate sidewalks with kids & bikes.
- The design speed of sidewalks is 5 mph, about the speed of a fast walker.
- Drivers pulling out from side streets and driveways may not expect cyclists on the sidewalk.
- Drivers turning at an intersection may not see cyclists on the sidewalk because of signs, parked cars, lights, or trees & bushes. These may prevent cyclists from seeing cars as well.
- Drivers turning out of driveways often look only in the direction of oncoming traffic. They may not notice a cyclist approaching on their right on the sidewalk.
- On the sidewalk, take it SLOW.
- Every time you leave the sidewalk and enter the street, STOP, MAKE SURE YOU CAN SEE WELL, AND CHECK TO MAKE SURE NO CARS ARE COMING before you go.
- Slow and CHECK FOR RUNNING CARS BEFORE CROSSING EVERY DRIVEWAY.
I also like to ride the sidewalk the “right” way (with traffic). This helps make riding on the right a habit, and makes it easier to re-enter the street.
I wish you happy and safe cycling, whether on the sidewalk, trail, or street.
Streets
Ride on the Right: Expanded Version
Being able to ride in the street with traffic can really expand where you and your child can go on bike. And it can be safe and fun, too! Below are some guidelines that can make riding with traffic safer and more enjoyable.
First of all, you should ride with traffic, not against it. In this country, traffic stays to the right, so you will too!
In general you should ride as far to the right as is safe. As a caveat to this maxim, please note that there are some very good reasons to ride further out in the lane, rather than hugging the right-hand curb. Road shoulders are often filled with debris and hazards like gravel, glass and grates. Riding to the left of these hazards can save you from getting flat tires or losing control of your bike on loose gravel.
Riding away from the right-hand curb or shoulder can also increase your visibility to other drivers. Often, motorists are only looking for other cars. If you are positioned like a car on the road, it’s more likely that motorists will see you.
Another consideration when you are riding in the street is on-street parking. Opening car doors can be a real hazard to cyclists. To avoid getting “doored” (i.e. running into an open car door), ride three to five feet to the left of parked cars. If there is a bike lane running next to on-street parking, this will mean riding near the left line of the lane.
Finally, ride predictably! Do not weave in and out of parked cars. Keep your line of travel clear and straight.
Riding with traffic can take some getting used to. Make sure you feel comfortable on your bike and that you can travel in a straight line very easily. Low-traffic trails and residential streets are great place to build your riding confidence before venturing out on to higher traffic streets. Select routes with which you feel comfortable and go from there.
May happy trails await you!
Bicycle Safety – Hills
Dear Bike to School Families,
I hope that you and your child have enjoyed riding to school this month. Given Seattle’s terrain, you may have encountered some hills on your route to school. Below are some tips on how to ride hills successfully with kids.
Hills Topic #1: Riding UP!
1) Train your kids well by the way you ride. If you can’t ride up a hill in a straight line, on the right, get off and walk. ”Snaking” up hills puts you in the line of TWO lanes/directions of traffic and makes you completely unpredictable to motorists. Teach your kids to get off and walk when they can’t control the front wheel of their bike (”keep it going straight ahead”) on a hill.
2) If your kid is riding a geared bicycle, train them to gear down “before it gets hard to pedal.” Practice going through all the gears on the flat (the waterfront trail at Magnuson Park is perfect for this) so they get a sense of what makes it harder or easier to pedal.
Hills Topic #2: Riding DOWN!
New riders do not have a good sense of speed, and riding a bike fast is fun (for most of us, anyway). This can make cycling downhill with kids dangerous (not to mention nerve-wracking for parents). Here’s how to train your kids to approach down-slopes safely:
1) Start by making sure they have good braking technique.
Coaster brakes: If their bike has coaster brakes, train them to “pump” the brakes for quick stops or for regaining control if they are going fast: BRAKE-let up a little-BRAKE-let up a little-STEP ON THE BRAKES.
Hand brakes: If they have hand brakes train them to BRAKE WITH BOTH HANDS at the same time, putting more effort into the front (left hand) brake. Some of us were trained to apply the rear brake first, to avoid going over the handlebars, but the front brake has most of the stopping power, and applying pressure to both at the same time will enable you to stop efficiently without doing an end-over. Test this out with your kids by pushing your bikes forward, hard, and applying just one brake at a time. The front brake will make the bike stop; the back will make it skid. Then test it out using both brakes at the same time.
2. Practice first on “safe” hills. When I am working on a skill with kids I go to a place where the “worst outcome” is something we can all live with! A grassy hill (Laurelhurst park has some good ones) is a great place to begin downhill practice, as is a gently sloping neighborhood street with a long, flat “ride-out” at the end. The trail that goes over Kite Hill in Magnuson park is a GREAT place to practice downhill skills for more advanced riders (it has a pretty steep slope, plus gravel!)
3. Lead from behind. Kids without a lot of cycling experience cannot tell when they are going too fast to stop or regain control of the bike, but you can help them develop that sense by calling out braking instructions as you go. Make sure they can hear you, and talk through what you are doing on your own bike–and what they should be doing on theirs: ”I can feel my bike going faster; it’s time to begin braking.
Gentle pressure to slow down, now hard on the brakes to stop!”
4. With kids, I always approach a steep down-slope with the reminder: ”OK, we’re going down a hill here. Remember: both hands on the brakes (or BRAKE-BRAKE-STOP for coaster brakes) and keep your bike under control!”
The goal is control, not speed. It’s fun to ride fast if you’re under control and can stop; it’s not fun to ride fast if you’re out of control.
Have a happy final week on Bike to School Month!
Ashley Geisendorfer
apa@cascadebicycleclub.org
206-957-6623