Best biking advice you received?
Discussion
Probably from the guy who trained me originally and then got me through the Rospa advanced test (ex policeman that used to teach police riders):
“Don’t speed in town because there are lots of hazards, don’t exceed speed limit by more than 10 mph on the motorway or dual carriageway as that is where you will get nicked. On NSL roads use your discretion to make progress”.
Despite being an ex copper he also called the NSL sign the GLF sign.
Other good piece of advice I sometimes struggle to follow: don’t exceed the speed that would allow you to stop within the road you can see ahead.
“Don’t speed in town because there are lots of hazards, don’t exceed speed limit by more than 10 mph on the motorway or dual carriageway as that is where you will get nicked. On NSL roads use your discretion to make progress”.
Despite being an ex copper he also called the NSL sign the GLF sign.
Other good piece of advice I sometimes struggle to follow: don’t exceed the speed that would allow you to stop within the road you can see ahead.
Not given, more worked out for myself.
If you think you're going too wide, just look, lean and push more!
I find that every time I panic about going to fast into a corner, I'm generally nowhere near the limit of the bike/tyres, so it will easily take more if I just have the balls to trust it. I'm sure I get into one of those situations a few times a year, especially on new roads.
It can be hard to do in a split second when you're panicking, but works every time.
If you think you're going too wide, just look, lean and push more!
I find that every time I panic about going to fast into a corner, I'm generally nowhere near the limit of the bike/tyres, so it will easily take more if I just have the balls to trust it. I'm sure I get into one of those situations a few times a year, especially on new roads.
It can be hard to do in a split second when you're panicking, but works every time.
Lee540 said:
Look where you want to go
Exactly this, your body, arms and bike will follow.Also
‘Ride your width’ I was told, which is a bit of a cock-eyed way of saying, take up your full width of your lane, that is ride where a driver in a car would be.
‘Make eye contact’ - particularly when a car is waiting to come out of a side road, if they haven’t seen you, have your thumb on the horn. That leads to the point I made to my wife about pulling out of a side road onto a fast, empty road when driving a car...”don’t look for cars (you will always see them) look for bikes”. Essentially, look once into the distance to check approaching traffic, and then look bring your eyes quickly to the near space to re-check what you have missed - essentially ‘look once, look twice, think bike!’
Pica-Pica said:
‘Make eye contact’
I agree with everything else you wrote except this. Never rely on having made eye contact as a guarantee the driver has seen you. They can be looking straight into your eyes and still pull out on you, because they were looking for a car, and you’re not a car. I really think this is one of the most dangerous common myths about bike/car interactions. I thought of another one - when the sun is low, say in spring and autumn, your shadow points to people who can’t see you.
underwhelmist said:
Lee540 said:
Look where you want to go
This, this, a thousand times this. I had “ Respice ubi vultis ire” engraved onto my F800GS pazzo brake lever (text wouldn’t fit in English)!
Also... if too fast in a corner, drop your inside shoulder and naturally tightens the turn.
Edited by mikedxb on Tuesday 6th October 05:26
Edited by mikedxb on Tuesday 6th October 05:31
Edited by mikedxb on Tuesday 6th October 05:32
underwhelmist said:
Pica-Pica said:
‘Make eye contact’
I agree with everything else you wrote except this. Never rely on having made eye contact as a guarantee the driver has seen you. They can be looking straight into your eyes and still pull out on you, because they were looking for a car, and you’re not a car. I really think this is one of the most dangerous common myths about bike/car interactions. I thought of another one - when the sun is low, say in spring and autumn, your shadow points to people who can’t see you.
AceOfHearts said:
Advice i received from my dad when approaching junctions and cars that might not have seen you, is to watch their wheels. If they start creeping out and look like they are going to pull out, you will see the wheel rotate easier than the actual car moving forward.
This is a good piece of advice my driving instructor gave me when I was 17 - before you can tell from looking at them, the wheel tells the whole story.As said above "look where you want to go" is probably the best, 2nd best (for me anyway) was just to relax - everything is smoother, giving less stress etc etc.
georgefreeman918 said:
Assume that all other roads haven’t seen you!
This one for me, when I first started riding I was far too complacent had 4 non-fault accidents from just assuming people were looking.Then I adjusted my riding, I'll slow down before junctions and adjust my road positioning if there's a car, I'm always scanning side roads, looking at car wheels, looking out for pedestrians, looking for dogs and moving out in the road if there is, avoiding road markings and manhole covers, I ride with my lights on during the day and had a lot less close calls!
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