The majority of biking cities are popping with bike lanes and adding a bike lane every week as they improve their initiatives to get more Americans on bikes, but is this really the right way to bike, or is a a vehicular cyclist initiative the correct motivation for city planners?  The choice for many successful cities is a mix of both vehicular cyclist training and adding a bike lane here and there.  The reason is, you can’t come up with the secret sauce that will match every biker or cyclist.  Some bike for easy transport, and some bike for exercise, and others are using the stress management of the sport to their best obsession advantages.  Bike lanes or not, you always end up without a lane, so everyone needs to learn vehicular cyclist skills, as the bike lanes always end somewhere.

Vehicular Cyclist Skills are Necessary For Every

Biker

Vehicular Cyclist Awareness

Where you ride, matters, but all bike lanes will eventually end you up in a traffic snafu here and there.  Imagine a perfect world, where a bike lane is present at your front door, and then continues to your end destination.  The mere idea is ridiculous!  So, when you are biking, be sure to always consider the road, and the majority of users are in motor vehicles.  For this reason, use the bike lanes when you can, but, always prepare for your ride with a vehicular cyclist skill upgrade.

For one, you are permitted and legal in the road, biking with cars and trucks.  They do not entirely own the road.  I repeat, they do not own the road completely.  The majority of vehicular motor drivers are mean and angry folks, who have stress built up for their commute.  Add to the mix the new mobile communication networks, and you have distracted driving that may create a instant disaster.  The fact is, each year, many cyclists are killed by motorists, and it is not a statistic that is going to drop anytime soon.  In fact, as we become more and more a realistic society, and more cyclists are added to the mix, you are going to see this number jump.  The next few years are going to be a boost to cycling, as Americans take the image of Lance Armstrong, and change it to everyday road riding.  And, as we add these new inexperienced riders to our roads, we need to improve cycling by enforcing vehicular cyclist training in every bike purchase.

Buy your road bike and Get Vehicular Cyclist Training

What I propose is that every road bike purchased, be followed with a safety lecture from every bike shop.  The best shops are a huge resource for any cyclist, and bring good training with stern eye stares at new riders.  Your life is really in your hands, so a little preparation will be good for us all.

To start, a great book that will really scare the pants off you, but bring you forward to more preparedness so you are ready when you get your first adrenaline pumping experience of the car vs. bike is Effective Cycling by John Forester.  The book is a good one to prep you as a new cyclist that yes, you can ride with cars, but yes, you are the smaller force in the midst of the speed and mass.  John Forester is quoted as saying, “Cyclists fare best when they act and are treated as drivers of vehicles.”

The reason this is true, is that you are not lolly lazily riding along when you are mixed in with traffic.  Often being in the bike lane creates a mixed message to all that you are protected and safe.  This could not be further from the truth, as you need to always be aware of the surrounding motor traffic, and other cyclists, as they may not be as prepared as you.

Constant Improvement Involves Vehicular Cyclist Training

When riding to work, school or for fun, here are some must have tips for you to always remember:

• Use your skull cap as it is the only protection of your brain!
• Mirrors, lights, safety tape and all kinds of reflective accessories increase visibility
• A mirror on your helmet is a good idea
• As is biker insurance, and a video camera for your protection
• Watch bike lanes when they end, as it can be the most dangerous area of any bike lane
• Cars turn into bike lanes to turn left or right, expect them to be there
• When you ride within traffic, expect angry motorist to want you to move; remember Gandhi at these moments-violence is never the answer.

So, are you ready to ride as a vehicular cyclist?