Posts

A Philadelphia Bike Lane Learning Experience

October 4, 2019/5 Comments/in The Savvy Cyclist /by John Allen

In My First Post

…about bike lanes in Philadelphia, I showed how I rode on Spruce Street, a narrow one-way street in Center City with a bike lane.

When my safety required it, I merged out of the bike lane — for example, whenever I might be at risk from a right-turning motor vehicle. At those times, it was safest to be in line with motor vehicles, where the driver behind me could see me.

Such Assertiveness May Seem Strange and Forbidding

It’s indeed counterintuitive to practice “driver behavior,” and take your place in the queue with motor vehicles. Yes, they are big, and heavy, and they can go fast. But these vehicles also are controlled by drivers. You use head turns and hand signals to communicate with drivers, and move into line when one has made room for you. That driver’s vehicle is protecting you from all the other ones behind!

Putting “driver behavior” into practice on Spruce Street was easy, as traffic there is mostly slow. I had no trouble just falling into line with vehicles waiting at a traffic light.

A First-Timer’s Mistakes

If you think that CyclingSavvy Instructors always do everything right, watch today’s video. This was my first ride ever on Spruce Street. I wouldn’t do everything quite the same way a second time.

There were a couple of times when I didn’t move far enough OUT of the bike lane. I was in line with motor traffic, but I stayed in the right tire track — on the passenger side of cars — so that bicyclists in the bike lane would show in my video.

Right Tire Track Distracted Me From My Safety

That distracted me from an option which would have made my ride go better. As I reviewed raw footage, it dawned on me that most of the streets which cross Spruce Street are one-way. Some are one way right-to-left, others left-to-right.

I could take advantage of this!

Avoiding Unnecessary Delay at Intersections

Look at the incidents at one-way left-to-right cross streets. In one of these, a motorist ahead of me pulled over to the right curb just past the intersection. In the other, a motorist behind me turned right. Neither used turn signals. The driver who merged right delayed me, and I delayed the one who turned right.

Things would have gone more smoothly if I had been riding farther to the left. That is my usual practice where traffic can turn right, but it is even more emphatically correct where traffic can’t turn left.

I still won’t pull all the way over to the left, out of line with the motor traffic: even if a motorist is unlikely to turn the wrong way into a one-way street, one could still merge over to the left curb, like the one who merged over to the right curb in my video. It’s safest to wait in line.

Just For Fun

I’ve included a third incident where the mistake was made years earlier, in the design department of an automobile manufacturer halfway around the world.

In this segment, the driver did use a turn signal, but it was so far around on the other side of the car, I couldn’t see it.

This driver was yielding right-of-way to me when I should have yielded to him. To avoid a “no, you go first” situation, I went ahead. If I’d known that the driver wanted to turn right and would have to follow me, I would have been more assertively polite. Why would I want motorists behind me if they don’t have to be? I don’t!

The first two incidents illustrate why I never assume motorists will use their turn signals. The third incident brought home to me that I sometimes can’t assume that they are not using turn signals.

Savvy Cyclists Learn From Their Mistakes

While I kept safe, the encounters I’ve described could have gone more smoothly. Every ride can be a learning experience, and the next ride can go better.

More to Come

I have one more post about Spruce Street on the way. So far I’ve done my best to avoid discussing politics and religion.

But in my final Spruce Street post, churches are involved. In that post I’m going to let loose!

Learning A New Street Dance

August 15, 2018/2 Comments/in The Savvy Cyclist /by Marc Caruso

I am a proud savvy cyclist…and I have a confession.

I took CyclingSavvy twice, first in Philadelphia and then Charlotte.

You might ask: Didn’t I learn anything the first time?

Using the top floor of a downtown Philly parking garage for Train Your Bike, the parking lot skills session. Even experienced cyclists – like Marc – learn new things. From left: instructor Karen Karabell, Marc Caruso, Camille Gervasio, Shannon Walsh and John A Petty II

Yes.

I learned an incredible amount about training my bike and how to ride comfortably and confidently with traffic. But some things don’t sink in until later or, in my case, the second time around.

In Philly, I learned from Karen Karabell that there’s nothing scary about empty pavement behind you. How do you get “scary” roads to yourself? You make the lights and the law work for you.

A great example is choosing where you enter a road from. Use traffic lights to your advantage by turning right on green. You have no obligation to turn right on red.

By turning right on green, motorists on the road you’re turning onto are stopped at a red light. When they finally get a green, they’ll be far enough back to use one of the adjacent travel lanes to pass you, in whichever lane you’re not in.

Strategy, Courtesy and Mindfulness

We practiced the right-on-green technique in Charlotte, too. Before I tell you what happened, you need to know that the on-road Tour is like nothing you’ve ever done before.

You’ll be riding on roads you can’t believe you’re using — and you’ll be doing it by yourself, unless you don’t want to. Then an instructor will ride with you. But by the time you get to that point in the workshop, almost everyone wants to try on their own.

Marc making a left turn in Charlotte

A Savvy Cyclist Can Go Anywhere

As a savvy cyclist, I’m not a road warrior. Just the opposite!

CyclingSavvy instructors teach strategy, courtesy and mindfulness. They figure you’re probably OK riding on your neighborhood cul de sac, or on a trail. What they want is to show you how to make connections, so that you can ride out of your neighborhood, or not have to put your bike on a car to go to the trail.

When Motorists Want to Turn Right on Red

In Charlotte, we watched each student set off to practice right-on-green. It was a busy road and motorists would appear behind them. John Allen instructed the students to move to the left side of the lane and wave the motorists to pass on their right.

savvy cyclist facilitating right on red [orlando]

Staying to the left side of a lane allows motorists to turn right on red while you wait for a green light.

The motorists passed and made the right on red. When the light turned green, the student doing the feature would turn right.

The result was obvious: No cars on the big “scary” road behind the student. By turning right on green, motorists on that road were held back by a red light.

After making the turn, we were instructed to go directly into the lane we wanted. Motorists turning right on green with us could choose another lane and pass us easily.

Epiphany In Charlotte

Instructor Pamela Murray shook my thinking about shoulder checks.

Marc leads other savvy cyclists on the Tour of Charlotte

I use a helmet mirror, so some shoulder checks seemed unnecessary in my mind. Before taking CyclingSavvy in Charlotte, I only did shoulder checks when making lateral movements.

When I merged or turned, I’d do a shoulder check, signal, and shoulder check again to make sure it’s safe. Otherwise, I just used my mirror and then communicated with hand signals like “slow,” or “pass” when it was safe to pass me.

What this does, though, is make it seem like the motorist is communicating with just an inanimate piece of metal.

A Fellow Human

When you turn your head over your shoulder, you’re showing your face to the person behind you and making yourself recognized as another human being, not just a bike.

As a result of seeing your face, they’ll be more apt to take direction from you. People like to help other people out.

I’m grateful for the incredible, knowledgeable CyclingSavvy instructors who’ve helped change my street game into a savvy cyclist dance.

Celebrating last November after a great day in Charlotte. Left to right: Carl Fenske (who became a CyclingSavvy Instructor in February 2018), Marc Caruso, Doug Guerena, Pamela Murray, Charlene Poole, John Allen, John Gaul and Shannon Walsh

Discovery and Choices

May 23, 2018/3 Comments/in The Savvy Cyclist /by Susan Wall

I’m a “loner” cyclist. To me, cycling has always been an individual adventure. A block of time appears on my calendar… the weather cooperates… and suddenly I’m thinking, “Where can I go on my bike? What excuse do I have to roll around outside for an hour or more?”

Maybe I have an errand to run, and can do it on my bike. If not, I’ll pick a destination in range, or drive to a farther away spot, and plan a route.

Maybe I’ll take a picnic, ride across a bridge to an island then hike around the island.

Much of the day’s pleasure is in anticipating all the possibilities!

The man who goes alone can start today; but he who travels with another must wait until that other is ready, and it may be a long time before they get off.

Henry David Thoreau said this, and it’s a conscious reason why I rarely plan a bike trip with anyone else. Spontaneity rules my rides! I choose the destination, the route, the pace, and the intensity.

Another Choice: Lane Position

Before Cycling Savvy, I didn’t completely understand the option of choosing where to be in the traffic lane. I knew that in Maine I had the right as a cyclist to be given three feet of clearance by passing vehicles. But until taking CyclingSavvy, I didn’t think of my bike as a vehicle.

Cyclists are legally drivers in all 50 states.

A slide from “Truth & Techniques of Traffic Cycling.” Cyclists were classified as drivers before the rise of the automobile. More than 100 years later, cyclists are legally considered drivers in all 50 states

The course I took here in Portland last summer validated my core sense that I did have a right to travel safely on roadways. I learned about the door zone and reasons to ride clear of traffic lane debris, which is typically pushed to the edge of the road by motor vehicles. I now feel much more comfortable when controlling the lane when needed.

Controlling the traffic lane with authority, assurance and comfort is what Cycling Savvy preaches and teaches. I learned specific information on clothing choices for visibility, and motion and signal cues to alert drivers to my intentions.

In addition to this, I try to practice wisdom, patience, and trust balanced with caution while riding. The final element I now bring to my rides in city traffic is “largeness.” As a small person on a small bike, I consciously aim to enlarge my presence on the road by standing on my pedals, weaving slightly at times to give the impression that I really need the space I’m taking, and keeping my arms out farther from my body, just to be more “seen.”

Freedom

Analyzing the Congress Street feature of the CyclingSavvy Tour of Portland.

I’ve been a city cyclist for years, obedient to traffic lights and stop signs, and was delighted to learn in my Cycling Savvy class about how to pre-plan a passage through a complicated intersection with dedicated turn lanes. Our class observed the process of planning, then executing several of these in Portland, before we came to the most complex one of the day.

As soon as this particular passage was laid out for us, I asked the instructor’s okay to go for it. He later told me he wasn’t really thinking it through when he absent-mindedly said “yes.” The other instructor was supposed to go first to demonstrate! Before that could happen, I began pedaling away, as all the other students stood watching.

Almost immediately, a skeptical driver passed me on the right and loudly called out to me: “You’re in the left lane!” My reply — totally emboldened by my training — was, “I know!”

I sailed along to complete the upcoming left turn, easily and safely avoiding traffic merging in from the right.

Two students begin the Congress Street feature.

Sue Wall, smiling big in the center, at the end of the feature

Now, in addition to all the other choices I make when planning a ride, I’m aware of and grateful for my choice to ride freely wherever I need to in the traffic lane.

I choose an approach of appreciation for all my fellow travelers, and of freedom from fear and anxiety. Cycling Savvy training shows everyone how to make these choices!

Let’s Talk About Being “Reasonable”

May 16, 2018/5 Comments/in The Savvy Cyclist /by Eli Damon

If you’re a savvy cyclist, you’re not shy about claiming your space on the road.

You know about all of the difficulties you can get into when you cling to the edge, and how much more practical bicycle transportation becomes when you use the technique of lane control.

Has anyone ever told you that you’re being unreasonable by controlling a lane?

Have they told you that it exposes you to dangerous motorist behavior?

Have they told you that you’re unnecessarily inconveniencing motorists?

I certainly hear those things. But it only takes a little bit of observation to see that motorist behavior around you is consistently safer and more cautious when you control the lane.

Here’s my video response to one such critic:

In the video, I ride the same stretch of road twice, once at the edge of the lane and once in the center of the lane. These rides are shown simultaneously in the video, with each pass highlighted.

In the center of the lane, all passes are safe. At the edge, about half of the passes are unsafe, because the motorist comes too close to me, too close to oncoming traffic, or both.

Don’t let anyone tell you that you’re being unreasonable by controlling the lane.

Show them this video, or make your own to show the benefits of lane control on your local roads. I’d be happy to share my filming and editing techniques with you. Just ask.

A Little Instruction Really Changes Things

March 14, 2018/5 Comments/in The Savvy Cyclist /by Tom Armstrong

How are you at backing up with a trailer on your car? If you’re like many people, you haven’t had reason to do so, and thus find the idea daunting.

It seems like a black art to many, based on the reactions I’ve gotten from people when I backed trailers into narrow spaces.

Decoding the black arts of trailers and savvy cycling.

My wife, Jenn, was going on a road trip with my sister. One of several things they planned to accomplish involved moving some things that won’t fit in or on our car. Rather than rent a truck for the whole trip, renting a trailer made sense, since it could be picked up close to the first house and dropped off close to the second.

It made sense to me, but not to Jenn.

Jenn didn’t feel comfortable maneuvering a trailer in close quarters, and especially didn’t feel good about having to back up with a trailer, after an unpleasant experience she had a few years ago.

Why is this related to savvy cycling, you ask? Read on.

I’m pretty good with trailers, having done a LOT of backing up with them in various occupations (tow truck driver, airport tug driver, bicycle trailer user). I figured that with a couple of short sessions, Jenn would gain confidence in her ability to navigate in tighter quarters than she had thought herself able to manage before.

Since we’re both CyclingSavvy instructors, we know the value of parking lot drills. It’s important to have a quiet place to develop and practice a skill before venturing out on actual roads and using the skill “in the real world.”

With that in mind, we rented a trailer the same size as the one they’d be using for the trip, and headed to a mall parking lot to practice.

I started with basic rules:

Always turn wider than you think you need to turn, since the trailer tracks a different turn radius. There’s an interactive video in the CyclingSavvy web site about big trucks and how the trailer follows through a turn
Second: Plan your backing up for best visibility; plan for your blind spots. To get the trailer to change path relative to the car, turn the wheel opposite what you think you need to turn (THIS way instead of THAT way)
Lastly, it’s not a failure to pull forward to realign the trailer or start again

decoding black arts, like using trailers and savvy cycling

“How do you drive these things?”

Then I set up easy exercises: Back up guiding on a particular line in the parking lot, trying to keep things straight. Start to turn, and learn when you can and cannot straighten out without pulling forward to do so.

“Hey! That wasn’t as hard as I thought it would be!”

Then I had her back into a marked parking slot from the aisle, to simulate backing into a driveway from the street. After she did a couple of those, I had her pull into a parking slot, then back to the parking slot to the left of the one directly behind her, to gain confidence in directional control.

After a while, she was doing quite well. She had improved tremendously.

The next day we had family visits to do, so Jenn drove with the trailer. When we got to my folks’ house, she backed into the driveway, for practice and to prove to herself that she could. She did it easily! A little while later, she took the opportunity to practice in her parents’ driveway. She did even better, in a narrower driveway! And, yes, it was easy to see how much more confidence she had in her ability to back with a trailer, a thing that many people find a daunting task.

The analogy?

A lot of people find the idea of using bicycles instead of their cars daunting. With a few good pointers from experienced people (like CyclingSavvy instructors), and a little practice (CS Train Your Bike and Tour sessions), much of the mystery is solved.

CyclingSavvy helps people learn how traffic works, and how to participate in the existing system to get what we need through planning, courtesy, and mindfulness.

Jenn’s confidence in her ability to back up with a trailer attached to the car improved through a few brief exercises. She knows that she can go places using a trailer, which enables her to carry stuff with the car that she might not have been comfortable carrying before.

Similarly, you can become a safer, happier, more confident cyclist by attending a CyclingSavvy workshop and using what you learn. A little bit of focused experiential learning and a little bit of practice with new skills will help you realize why the tag line is Empowerment for Unlimited Travel.

And if you’re in my hometown of Louisville, look me up. I’ll be glad to show you how to do some real hauling with your bike.

Bill (not in this picture–Tom was using Andy’s trailer, so he’s there beside Tom, wearing his helmet) truly appreciated Tom hauling his sofa and several boxes of books, under plastic to protect from the rain

When I worked at a bike shop, I could haul more cardboard on my trailer than the store owner could in his minivan. This load weighed about four hundred pounds

These 55-gallon barrels won’t fit in my car, not at the same time

We had to dispose of an old mattress and box spring set. It was easier to haul it with my bicycle than with a car

Our basset hounds, Wilbur and Orville, always want to go with us, however we travel

Events

Three Part Course: Waltham MA – May 2020

November 22, 2018/0 Comments/in CyclingSavvy Full Course /by John Allen

Maximize your cycling experience!

The full CyclingSavvy Course INCLUDES Truth & Techniques (classroom session), Train Your Bike (bike handling) session, and our signature on-road experience — Tour of Waltham.

Truth & Techniques (classroom session) and Train Your Bike (bike handling) are included in this 3-part workshop. Completion of these two sessions is required before taking the Tour session, and you may sign up for individual sessions — see their listings to do that.

Truth & Techniques – Friday, May 8, 2020, 6:30-9:30 PM at Linwood Avenue, Newton

Train Your Bike – Saturday, May 9, 2020 at 9 AM – Noon at MacArthur School

…Lunch break…Pizzi Farms deli and ice-cream stand is just across the street.

Tour of Waltham – Saturday, May 9, 2020 at 1 PM – 4:30 PM from MacArthur School

The Tour of Waltham is an experiential tour of our city’s roads. The course includes some of the most intimidating road features (intersections, interchanges, merges, etc.) a cyclist might find in his/her travels. The students travel as a group, stopping to survey and discuss each exercise location. After observing the feature, discussing the traffic dynamics and the best strategy for safe and easy passage, the students ride through individually and regroup at a nearby location.

Train Your Bike (bike handling) and Truth & Techniques (classroom session) are included in this 3-part workshop. Completion of these two sessions is required before taking the Tour session.

The ticket below gives the time for the first (classroom) session, but it is for the full three-part course, including the Tour of Waltham session.