|
STEER
OUT OF TROUBLE
A
bicycle is a highly maneuverable machine, but that maneuverability
makes it quite tippable. You have to take extra care to stay upright
and read the road for the special hazards that can cause a bike
to fall.
Beware of any slippery or loose surface: gravel, snow,
ice, leaves, oil patches, wet manhole covers and crosswalk markings.
Avoid these, or ride over them slowly. Don't turn, brake or accelerate.
Be ready to put a foot down for balance.
Check behind yourself for traffic, then cross a diagonal railroad
crossing at a right angle.
Be especially careful of diagonal
railroad crossings, trolley tracks, a row of raised lane-line dots
or a step between the shoulder and the travel lane. Any of them
can push your front wheel to the side and sweep your bike out from
under you. When you can't avoid them, cross them as nearly as possible
at right angles.
Beware of steel-grid bridge decks,
which, especially when wet, will steer your bike parallel to the
gridding, making balancing difficult. Test a grid deck at a low
speed, and walk or use the bridge sidewalk if necessary.
Any bump, rock or pothole more than
an inch high can squash your bicycle's tires flat against the rims,
damaging the wheels. Avoid the bumps if you can, and walk your bike
if the going gets too rough.
 |
| Avoid a rock by turning the handlebars
to one side; then correct your balance by turning them the other
way. |
GOOD
NEWS
Now for the good news: Thanks to your bicycle's
small size and quick steering, you can prepare yourself for situations
like this one. It's a pleasant, two-lane country road, just wide
enough for cars to pass you in your lane. You look up at the scenery
and then down at the road. There's a rock directly in front of you.
And there's a car just behind you. You can't swerve left into the
traffic and you don't want to swerve to the right, into the gravel
and dirt. What to do?
Make your wheels weave around the
rock while riding in a straight line -- the rock-dodge maneuver.
Just as you reach the rock, steer quickly left, then right to correct
your balance, then straight again.
Because you correct the balance quickly,
your body doesn't have time to follow the bike's weave. You continue
nearly in a straight line. To give yourself better odds against
rocks and potholes, go to an empty parking lot and practice the
rock dodge until it becomes easy.
QUICK
TURNS
Picture yourself in another pinch: You're riding
along a street, approaching an intersection, and a car on your left
suddenly begins a right turn. The side of the car is headed straight
for you! You have to turn quickly alongside the car to get out of
trouble.
 |
| In order to turn sharply to the
right, twitch the handlebars to the left first to start your
lean to the right. |
To begin a turn
quickly, you have to lean your bike over quickly. But how do you
maneuver?
Your bicycle balances the same way
you balance a yardstick on the palm of your hand. If you want to
move the yardstick to the right, you move your hand to the left.
Then, the yardstick leans to the right, and you follow it with your
hand.
Just the same way, if you steer your
bicycle out from under you to the left for a moment, then you can
turn to the right. You must first steer momentarily toward the car
you're trying to avoid.
Try this technique in your parking-lot
practice area. At slow speeds at first, yank the handlebars quickly
to the left. Your bicycle will lean to the right, and then you can
steer right. Practice first at slow speeds, then at faster ones.
The faster you go, the less sharply you have to steer.
The instant turn is useful in many
situations. If a car coming toward you begins a left turn, turn
right into the side street with it. If a car pulls out of a side
street from the right, swerve into the side street. It's best to
turn to the right, behind the car -- but if it's too late for that,
turn left with the car. Even if you hit the car, the nearer you're
going in the same direction, the lighter the impact.
Accident avoidance. a) Instant turn to the right
of a right-turning car. b) Instant turn to avoid a car running a
stop sign. c) Instant turn ahead of a left-turning car.
TOO
FAST!
Sooner or later, you may find yourself going
around a downhill curve too fast. A variation on the instant turn
can get you through this situation in one piece.
The usual, panic reaction is to steer
straight and brake. But then you're likely to go headfirst off the
road before you can stop. Instead, steer with the curve. Don't brake.
Straighten the handlebars momentarily, as in the instant turn, to
drop your bike into a deeper lean.
If you're going around a curve too fast, straighten the handlebars
momentarily to drop into a deeper lean.
Usually, you'll
make it around the curve -- your tires have more traction than you
normally use. If you do skid out, you'll fall on your side and slide
to a stop.
If you're about to ride into a wall
or over a cliff, you may decide to deliberately skid out. Lean into
a turn, then hit the brakes. The fall may hurt -- but not as much
as the alternative.
JUMP?
There is a pothole straight ahead, and no time
for even a rock dodge. You were so busy looking up at the traffic
that you didn't see the pothole ahead, and now you're about to trash
your wheels. If only you could fly . . .
Unfortunately, you can't fly your
bike like the kid in E.T., but you can jump your bike. Holding the
pedals horizontal, squat down and pull up on the handlebars. Then
jump up and yank your legs up under you. You'll be past the pothole
faster than reading "squat-pull-jump-yank."
Jumping is the quickest last-resort
way to avoid a pothole or other road-surface hazard. Once you get
good at it, you can even use it to climb low curbs or to cross diagonal
railroad tracks. In your empty parking lot, practice jumping your
bike. You must lift first the front wheel, then the rear wheel as
it takes its turn with the bump. Your timing depends on how fast
you're riding.
Once you know your emergency maneuvers,
you'll gain a much expanded sense of security, confidence and style.
You'll be able to "ride loose," to use the language of
California all-terrain riders. It's a sign of an experienced rider,
and it saves your bike a lot of wear and tear.
Ways
to deal with tough situations >
Back
to top
|
