City Cycling - Safety!

Let's talk about safety. City Cycling is great, but if we don't get home in one piece that's a problem. The number one rule safety rule is to wear a helmet!
I really get bothered when I see the young City Cycling riders on a City Cycling family ride wearing protective head gear and the parents are not. What a terrible example this sets for our most precious blessings. In California, the under age City Cycling group is legally bound to wear a helmet and the powers at be give the older group permission to be stupid! Why would we instruct our youngsters to wear a helmet for their protection then set a bad example by not wearing one our self? Many adult riders are over confident and feel that helmets are for the inexperienced. However, a great deal of the time it is not our actions that result in injury but the actions of others. So bottom line is, wear a helmet.
With that said, when purchasing the very thing that is going us from a permanent state of drooling, don't buy the cheapest piece of junk you can find. Ask yourself, "What is my head worth?" By the time you pay the hospital and all the associated costs of being scraped off the pavement, the cost of the helmet is very reasonable. I knew a cyclist that tipped over and bumped his head on the corner of the curb while test riding a friend's bike. This occurred while on a break during a ride and he wasn't wearing his helmet, though it was nearby. As a result he spent the night under observation with a concussion at the local hospital - always wear your helmet while riding!
The next most important safety item for City Cycling is to obey the rules of the road, just like a car. This means using the left hand turn lanes when needed. If riding with your family, left turns should be made using the crosswalks - but remember crosswalks are for pedestrians. Get off your bikes and walk them across the road. Please, we ride with traffic not against traffic.
On long rides it is nice to have some music. This is safe providing it is in one ear only, keep the traffic side ear open. If you have to have your phone, don't put your blue tooth in the other ear. Most of us use phones that will play music muting it, when a call comes in. You say "I'm on a bike path, there are no cars why do I need any ears open?" Proper protocol while City Cycling is to verbally announce when passing. If both ears are full of music and phone calls you can't hear the announcements. When riding in the states we ride on the right side of the path passing on the left. When we pass we announce "on your left" loud enough for all to hear and with enough lead time for the announcement to be processed. Please don't pass on the right - it's just not acceptable.
An often overlooked item is stopping while riding in a group of two or more. When you need to stop, announce "stopping" and hold your hand down to your left, palm open and aft. I see this all too often where failure to announce your intentions results negatively.
On a large ride of several thousand as in an MS ride, a sudden stop can injure several City Cyclists at once. One of our church City Cycling clubs worked all summer to get prepared, training and raising the required sponsor donations for the fall MS ride. After a very long and steep uphill there was a resting station with nourishment. After a short recuperation we headed off. Our group was about 20 City Cycling members and the overall count for the event was in the thousands. The event coordinators setup the portable restrooms about 200 yards down the hill from the resting station - they realize that was a mistake after it was too late. One of our City Cycling members saw the restrooms and her urgent need resulted in the corresponding urgent stop with no verbal or hand signals. This led to a very large pileup with injured riders and damaged equipment. One of our City Cycling members had to be transported to the local ER. This goes for turns as well. If a rider is behind you and slightly to your left and you turn left you will clip their front tire. As with a car, give turn signals.
Road debris can be an issue while group riding as well. You might see potentially hazardous debris while those behind you do not. When you spot debris automatically point to it with your arm and index finger extended at a 45 degree angle. Last thing we need is get a flat or kick up the hazard into a City Cycling member.
Please be courteous while riding even if you're riding alone. Some trails are very busy, creating group type situations. If it doesn't feel right don't do it. If we practice safe riding techniques all the time we are much more likely to get home in one piece.

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