Riding and racing safely
Checking your equipment
- Make sure tyres are correctly inflated, do a quick check for wear in the tyres, make sure wheels are on correctly and quick release levers are tight.
- Check brakes are working effectively and are not rubbing against the rim, also check for wear on the brake pads or stones / glass lodged in the pads. This can quickly lead to damaged rims.
- Check gears are changing smoothly, if the chain is jumping as you change gears, fix as soon as possible and take care when getting out of saddle when this could lead to an accident.
- Ensure you can get your feet comfortably in and out of pedals. Check that shoe cleats aren’t worn (there are many types of pedal, this link provides a good guide to check for wear). Never sprint if your pedals or cleats are worn – if your foot comes out you will likely fall.
- Make sure all other bicycle parts are not loose and there are is no loose clothing that could get caught in pedals, chain, wheels or other moving parts. Generally better to wear tight fitting clothes and avoid shoe laces.
- If you are unsure about your equipment, ask for advice.
- Always wear a helmet – the front of the helmet should cover your forehead and straps should be fitted snugly under the chin.
- Don’t make sudden movements in the group and communicate with riders around you with hand signals and calling out.
- Keep one eye up the road ahead look out for potential risk (parked cars, road cones, put holes, kerb stones, gravel, glass etc.). Warn riders around you. Also keep one eye on the wheel in front of you.
- Don’t overreact to calls from other riders, stay calm.
- Let other riders know if junctions are clear to ride on – But be sure before you do!
- Car up – car coming from behind
- Car down – car coming toward bunch
- On your left (right) – something on the left(right) hand side of the road – bunch likely to be manoeuvring to the right(left)
- On your inside (outside) – other rider moving up the bunch on the inside (outside) don’t steer in that direction
- Bollard! – cyclist at a standstill / going very slowly in the middle of the bunch
- Up and over – rider on the outside moves over to inside line
- Last man – the person behind you will shout as they move to the outside line in the bunch riding up and over indicating that you follow them
- Hole left/right/centre – pot hole in the road to the left/right/centre of rider calling it
- Clear – junction is clear to ride through
- Going left /right …
- Point at holes with your hands indicating location and length.
- If you have a mechanical problem in the middle of the bunch – put your hand up to warn others
- Point at barriers on the road in the way of the bunch
- Follow the wheel in front, don’t overlap the front wheel of your bike with the back wheel of another. If they manoeuvre toward you – you could touch wheels and fall off.
- Generally don’t ride on the wrong side of the road, definitely don’t do it approaching a corner, brow of a hill or when there is oncoming traffic. Don’t leave yourself having to make sudden manoeuvres into the bunch.
- Its generally safer nearer the front but not everyone can be at the front.
- When sprinting, keep a straight line – don’t change direction suddenly. Keep your head up and watch out for problems ahead.
- Going into corners – follow the wheel in front of you, adjust your speed to reflect the severity of the corner.
- On hills, when getting out of the saddle, push on the pedals as you stand and push yourself forward – otherwise the bike goes backwards / slows a lot and riders behind can touch your wheel and fall off, this is called throwing a wheel and is a common cause of crashes.
- Ignore people who tell you to get your head down! – Keep your head up and eyes on the road!
- When leaning into corners, make sure the pedal isn’t at the bottom of the stroke on the leaning side (it can easily hit the ground and a fall could follow).
- You have most control of the bike when holding the bars on the drops, so when you are sprinting, riding fast, riding in crosswinds and on corners, hold the bars here.
- Don’t ride without hands.
- Keep your hands close to the brakes when in the bunch (hands on the brake hoods or drops is best).
- Watch what the more experienced riders around you do – learn from them.