Optional equipment for safety’s sake
Optional equipment choices can improve your safety and comfort when bicycling. The lowdown on gloves, reflectorized clothing, helmets & more.
John has cycled to work year-round to his IT job for a paper company in Maine for over 20 years, and for all other transportation when possible, generally totaling between 3 and 4 thousand miles per year. He believes cycling for transportation can be a realistic option for many people in urban areas, and wishes more people felt empowered to try it. To that end, he is certified to teach others how to ride legally and confidently by the Bicycle Coalition of Maine and the national CyclingSavvy program. He also serves on several advocacy committees including the BCM Legislative and Policy Committee, and the Westbrook Safe Mobility and Access Committee (WSMAC). He lives in Westbrook, Maine, with his wife Mary, a visual artist.
Optional equipment choices can improve your safety and comfort when bicycling. The lowdown on gloves, reflectorized clothing, helmets & more.
Should you have a bell on your bicycle, or just use your voice? They have different advantages. A bell is required by law in some places.
Should bicyclists use rear-view mirrors? What kinds make sense? Handlebar mirrors, helmet mirrors, eyeglass mirrors: here’s how to choose.
If you ride at night you must use lights, to be seen and to see. But what kind? Read about choices in bicycle lights here.
First article in a series to help beginners get started with bicycling. Today’s topic: Ensuring that the bicycle is safe to ride.
I was the skinny kid bullied in gym class. Now I’m riding 300 miles to my 40th class reunion – and thank CyclingSavvy for the empowerment to do so.
Great passing was not always the norm for me. In my early days of commuting, I remember some terrifying close passes. Nowadays, it’s rare that a motorist doesn’t move at least halfway over a double yellow line to pass me, assuming there is no oncoming traffic. Many change lanes completely to pass. What’s different?
If I had any inclination to ride close to the parked cars — which of course, being a savvy cyclist, I didn’t — the snow would have prevented me. In effect, the snow is creating a very effective door zone buffer!
Communication is the most useful thing that most cyclists never do.
Why did that person–and sometimes it seems most of society–assume cyclists belong at the edge of the road? Why will strangers presume that it’s OK to get in your face and yell at you? While I’m not a sociologist, I have some theories.
CyclingSavvy is a program of the American Bicycling Education Association. Our mission is to provide programs and resources for the education of bicyclists as drivers of vehicles, and bicycling-related education for traffic engineers, transportation planners, law enforcement professionals, educators, and the general public.