Help a newbie out

xsizo

I use to cycle to work back when I was in cork, it was fairly easy since it was a straight road with little to no cars when I am there.

Now that I rented a bicycle here in Dublin city and tried to cycle around town for 20 min I almost got hit twice by the bus and the turn/traffic light are so confusion. I know that I might sound very ignorant here but it's my first time cycling in the city!

Could some one guide me and tell me where I can find more helpful information regarding cycling in the city like how to currently follow the cycling lines on the load and what signs to use to communicate with others in the road.

Thank you

clint_silver

xsizo wrote: »

I use to cycle to work back when I was in cork, it was fairly easy since it was a straight road with little to no cars when I am there.

Now that I rented a bicycle here in Dublin city and tried to cycle around town for 20 min I almost got hit twice by the bus and the turn/traffic light are so confusion. I know that I might sound very ignorant here but it's my first time cycling in the city!

Could some one guide me and tell me where I can find more helpful information regarding cycling in the city like how to currently follow the cycling lines on the load and what signs to use to communicate with others in the road.

Thank you

take a lot more care. i commuted into town in late 80s early 90s for a number of years and was very gung ho about it. i recently started commuting again after nearly a 20 year gap and do find things are more dangerous. {I'll come back to this point}

I take an unbelievable amount of care now, I assume any bus is going to hit me and take appropriate measures. If he looks like he's going to pull out, stop and let him even if youre travelling fast. If he looks like he's going to pull in, dont go on the inside, this is law anyway but is forgotten. Youll know the bus stops after a while.

If youre not 90 degrees on, Never EVER cross a luas line at anything other that dead slow. I have knees and elbow scrapes to show why.

dont jump out from the lights before gone red.

signs as normal. keep turning your head, wait til you see a car slowing for you in traffic, then pull out. Even if you do all the signs right ASSUME that driver behind you is going to not care and will ignore your signs.

after a few near misses when i started back and initially getting disillusioned I enjoy cycling a lot more now once I started to stick those habits.


My first point to come back to above is I should have done all those things 20 years ago anyway.

thegreatiam

look out for:

• drivers not indicating
• drivers indicating and not turning
• drivers happily driving the wrong way up a one way street
• drivers driving extremely close to you
• drivers pulling in infront of you with no lights and passengers opening doors
• learn to love getting yelled at for things which arent your fault
• pedestrians stepping out in front of you
• having to cycle 3 or 4 roads further than you need to because of a one way system
• busses pulling in and out directly in front of you
• drivers pulling out of side roads without seeing you
• luas tracks grabbing your tyres
• cobbled streets
• wet cobbled streets full of seemingly mindless pedestrians

daragh_

OP. Why not give the Dublin Cycling Campaign a shout. They run a Bike Buddy Scheme. Linky

petethedrummer

Assume you are invisible.
Assume everyone wants to kill you.
Take your time.
Enjoy.

That sounds like I'm being negative but I cycle through the city centre all the time and quite enjoy it. I detour unnecessarily through it on my way home from work, rather than taking the direct and probably safer route home.

xsizo

Just cycled all the way to howth with my friend, was a bit risky.... In fact, it was so risky that we started to cycle on the side walk.
Also I noticed this, the further we are from the city the less respect we got from the car drivers.

xsizo

We also bought some reflective bands and installed them on our bikes. One more thing please, I am looking for a new helmet could anyone suggest any?

The one I am using is a 7 years old carbon fiber helmet given to me by my dad