Sami Sarkis/Getty Images
READ MORE ABOUT:
From here on out, we'll be featuring a weekly tip aimed at making cycling safer and more fun for you. Feel free to send us your tips as well.
Avoiding Obstacles
As cyclists, we traverse roads that are often filled with potholes, branches, glass, road kill, and other obstacles and hazards that can damage our bikes, make us crash or simply unnerve us. If you ride your bike with any frequency, it is almost a guarantee that at some point you will come across an unexpected hazard. When that happens, you need not panic; avoiding the obstacle is as easy as following a simple rule: look past the obstacle, not at it.
An Obvious Solution, Infrequently Practiced
The easiest way to avoid an obstacle is to look past it. Why? Because the natural tendency is to continue looking at an obstacle as you approach it, and the more you look at it the more you steer towards it. By looking past the obstacle, in other words by looking at the line you need to take to get around it, you are more likely to steer clear of the danger and continue safely on your way.
Practice Makes Perfect
Don't assume that you will automatically look past obstacles on the road. To practice, find a parking lot or other safe place and practice approaching a cone, pothole or patch of debris, noticing it, and then looking at the line you need to avoid it. This simple solution can keep you upright as you commute to work or just ride around town.
More on Cycling
Beverly Hills: Where Cyclists Are Treated As Second-Class
Should Cyclists be Allowed to Blow Through Stop Signs?
It's More Dangerous Not to Ride a Bike
To Helmet or Not to Helmet; This is the Question
What Some Drivers Think About Cyclists in Tucson
-
- {}
