From January to May 2018, we published five articles on this website about cycling (originally published in 2015).
Titled
-Safety and bike riding (Parts 1 to 4)
-Traffic flow: To follow or not to follow
These articles are available below, with photos and diagrams.
Simply scroll or search by date or title !
In this month of August 2025, we publish “Safety and bike riding” in a new format. Let’s go to it:
Safety and bike riding
12 recommendations for those who ride bicycles and 4 for car drivers.
For those who ride a bicycle, whether child or adult:
- Get on and off your bike as many times as necessary
Keeping away from comfort is the number one rule for the cautious biker. In most cities there are no special lanes for bikers. She will have to use improvised ways, cross streets where sidewalks have no slope, etc. Never take a risk, trying easy but dangerous maneuvers: get off your bike and walk a bit, in complete safety, however.
- Wear a helmet
A bike has neither body nor bumpers, and stays upright only if the biker is able to keep its balance. The helmet will protect your head in a collision, always wear it. It will also be a sign for pedestrians and motorists that you are a responsible biker, and they will tend to show more respect to you.
- Wear light colored clothes when is dark (be seen)
Early in the morning or in the evening, at night or when it is raining, traffic visibility gets poor. Who rides a bike needs to be seen by drivers and a simple, but very efficient way, is to use a light colored shirt. Or a coat, jacket, etc. White color, yellow, bold orange, or any other color that will make the biker recognizable at a distance.
- Use the ringer when approaching (be heard)
Differently from a motorcycle or a car, whose purr tells you they are coming, a bicycle moves silently. If you notice that your arrival was not perceived and that it could create a risky situation, do a short “ring-ring”. It is a courtesy and will save from a fright pedestrians who walk in bike paths and also other bikers, especially when you come from behind or from the sides.
To the biker who rides in the cities, alone and where bike paths are not available:
- Do not compete with cars
Keep distance from cars whenever you have to divide any space with them. Let them pass through; don’t try to compete with them. Automobiles, trucks and buses are bulky and heavy. They need space to brake or to turn in a big curve. You, biker, occupy less space, you are light and have no steel body to protect you… therefore, keep distance.
- Ride in calm streets
Opt to ride in streets where traffic is less intense, whenever possible. Sometimes you may be riding in a heavy traffic avenue, while its parallel street is quieter. It is worth to extend the distance to ride to make it in quieter routes. This is another way to preserve safety, keeping away from automobiles. It is a defensive attitude of bike riding.
- Ride to the traffic flow
As children, we learned about conventions on walking in the cities. As pedestrians, we learned to wait for the traffic light to close in order to cross the street. Traffic is a system of conventions between people. To ride along the traffic flow is a convention that pedestrians understand, and motorcyclists and drivers obey. To ride against the traffic flow is to break a convention, and this gives rise to confusion on people’s mind when taking decisions. Let your intentions be undoubted when riding: always ride along the traffic flow, for your safety.
- Use warning lights at night
To ride in a street in the dark and recognize a figure just when coming close, is like getting a fright. Who travels at night in a public route must use red safety lights, whether it is a truck, a car, a motorcycle or a bicycle. The back warning light is recognized at a distance and allows sufficient time for the driver to divert. Do no take a risk. When riding at night, always turn your back light on.
Facts involving bikers and pedestrians:
- Look at your side, use your neck
When you drive a car, your vision will be limited by some blind spots in the car’s body, and you will need to use rear mirrors. When you ride a bike, you will have total vision. Use this feature in your favor. Look at both sides, move your neck always and pay attention to obstacles, objects and pedestrians around you. To use the neck’s muscles is an excellent exercise, especially for those who spend their days sitting in front of a computer.
- Ride in vacant sidewalks
Many times it is possible for the biker to ride in sidewalks. When vacant, they are a safer place to ride than the street. Some of them have crossed grass and cement patterns or holes, and these end up to be a worse place to ride than the asphalted street. But when there are no bike paths available and when sidewalks are in good shape, they become the best option for a safe ride.
- Keep distance and warn pedestrians
The sidewalk is the pedestrian’s place: never disregard her. When coming close, warn her whenever necessary with a soft bell ring, in order to avoid a fright. When passing beside him, keep distance and ride at the pedestrian’s speed. There is nothing worse for him than a biker than comes up from nothing and passes too close, at full speed. Besides causing the pedestrian a fright, it can make anger grow against bikers in general.
- Don’t use earphones when riding
In many countries around the world, it is against the law to use earphones when driving. Using them while bike riding means a big risk, too: you might not tell the upcoming of other bikers, pedestrians or automobiles. Riding your bike in parks or joint bike paths, where adults, children or leashed animals walk, will demand as much attention as driving in street traffic. Therefore, use your earphones later, after arriving at your destination.
Recommendations to drivers in general:
- Consider that a biker is always in search of balance
Not everyone is able to seat on a bike and stay there without falling. In order to ride a bicycle, a person needs to balance on it. Many times, a biker cannot release her hand from the handlebar to show thankfulness for a gentle driver. In other cases, a biker could not show with an arm gesture her intention to turn to the left, for example. To release a hand from the handlebar could mean lose balance and fall to the ground. Take this always in consideration.
- Keep distance from bikers
Asphalt holes or curls, a pool of oil, a thick layer of pebbles, a small obstacle, or even an ice layer (in places where temperature reaches 32° F or less) can make a biker fall. In streets and roads, the possibility of finding something that causes a biker to go to the ground is very high. Ironically, a biker needs space around her to fall in a safe way. Therefore, never pass too close by a biker. Keep always a reasonable distance (1 yard 2 feet or more).
- Understand the meaning of a biker’s physical effort
A bicycle is moved by the biker’s legs: it has no motor. Therefore, when a biker is standing still and starts to move, he needs more time to reach some speed than a motorcycle, for example. And since a bike ride depends on the biker’s muscles, he could not be able to finish it due to energy failure. He will need to stop to get some nourishment and then keep going. He will always need lots of liquids and protection from excessive heat: a sunstroke, lack of water or food may cause him to faint.
- Pay respect to spaces planned for bikers
In the 21th century, more and more streets and roads around the world are planned to accommodate automobiles. Little space is dedicated to bikers. Who rides a bicycle, has to be satisfied with few bike paths offered by some cities. A driver should pay respect to these spaces, not driving or parking on the lanes planned for bikers. A peaceful coexistence in traffic will depend on obedience to the law, good will and mutual respect between drivers and bikers.
Natura Futura 