Advice for newbie to city cycling

Roxy12

Hi there,
For those of you use to cycling this might seem like a mental question, but I'm relatively new to cycling in a city (just moved to Dublin a few months ago) - well used to it on country roads only - I would love to cycle to work more but there are a number of terrifying double-lane junctions on my route - How exactly do I navigate these? Am I permitted to cycle on the outside of the cars as there's no room to cycle on the inside of them? I've tried it once and got hooted out of it by a car as the junction is on a really steep hill and when the green light goes it's hard to move off steadily on my bike as all the cars put their foot down and started rushing to overtake - the experience terrified me -

I've cycled in Holland and it's so different there - such a shame Dublin hasn't got better cycle lanes -

Any advice on how exactly I deal with such junctions and stretches of road would be much appreciated - I love cycling but it terrifies me in some areas of Dublin

Squidgy Black

You're allowed to overtake the car from the right, don't mind the honking etc. one piece of advice I'd have if cycling through the city centre is just watch what's known as the 'door zone'. Basically always leave yourself a good bit of room when passing parked cars so if someone opens their door without looking you won't go head first.

To Alcohol

Don't get stuck on the left hand side of any vehicle, particularly HGV's and buses when there's a left hand turn approaching. Stay behind them or pass them on the right hand side if it's safe to do so.

tomasrojo

John Franklin's book Cyclecraft describes in a lot of detail the best ways to deal with most junctions, case by case. Should be something there to help you. Definitely, as said above, do not go up the inside of buses and lorries at junctions, even if a cycle lane is 'telling' you to.

MB Lacey

What's the junction/s you're scared of?
If you put links up here, people could advise on correct road positioning for that given piece of road.

Roxy12

Thanks for the help guys - done it now for a couple of mornings and it's not as scary as at first - each morning is easier and I leave the house a bit earlier to beat the heavy traffic - a lot of morning drivers seem to heed my hand signals so changing lanes is okay! Drivers in the evening seem a bit more hassled and would mow you down so I just keep well out to make sure they see me -today I had a lovely van pull in front of me and stop in the cycle lane causing me to swerve out - to make matters worse he then opened the door and jumps straight out completely oblivious to me - Thankfully I was ready for him

robertxxx

Cycle in the centre of the road or bus lane when the space on the left is not there/too little or is just too dangerous.

endacl

Ask the same question in the motoring forum. Do the opposite of what you're told!

You're a vehicle on the road, with the same rights an responsibilities as any other. Be aware, take care, and treat the lanes as you would if you were in a car. Follow the rotr, keep as far to the left as you safely can, and ignore the honking. I choose to interpret the odd parp as the drivers way of saying 'nice bike'.

Use the cycle lane if its not in sh1te. If you find one that's not in sh1te, report back here so we can all get a look at it!

2011abc

Learn to judge when you can and cant overtake cars.You will be faster than them a surprising amount of the time .Only over take on their right when youre sure youve sufficient acceleration/momentum to get 'around' them .It can be fun when you get the hang of it but always remember you'll come off (a LOT)worse in any 'altercation'!
You can get through most of the traffic lights outbound towards Heuston on the 'Quays' if youre prepared to do sprint intervals !!!Serious buzz leaving the traffic perhaps literally a mile behind !

hmmm

Try and be aware of us poor motorists who don't actually want to hit you but are imperfect humans. There are blind spots in cars, so don't be bobbin all over the place weaving like mad. Don't sit in the blind spot if you can avoid it. Anticipate what we're likely to do, crazy and all as it may seem - e.g. someone driving slowly might be looking for a parking spot and is likely to jerk to the left. Be assertive if needs be, I'd prefer to know where you are and what you're trying to do. Use hand-signals liberally.

Oh and please use lights and reflective gear, not the stealth mode stuff that a lot of cyclists use around cities. Particularly when it's poor light and/or raining.

endacl

hmmm wrote: »

Try and be aware of us poor motorists who don't actually want to hit you but are imperfect humans. There are blind spots in cars, so don't be bobbin all over the place weaving like mad. Don't sit in the blind spot if you can avoid it. Anticipate what we're likely to do, crazy and all as it may seem - e.g. someone driving slowly might be looking for a parking spot and is likely to jerk to the left. Be assertive if needs be, I'd prefer to know where you are and what you're trying to do. Use hand-signals liberally.

Oh and please use lights and reflective gear, not the stealth mode stuff that a lot of cyclists use around cities. Particularly when it's poor light and/or raining.

^^ plus what he said. Some of us really pi55 me off when I'm one of them. And vice versa.

Be aware, be assertive, and don't be a dick. Should be on billboards...