Help for new biker with concerns for bike safety and general wimp factor

[Tim Kelley]

1) Warm – a nice pair of cycling gloves. You probably won’t need them much longer though. Conspicuous – a bright rear flasher. Planet Bike or Portland Design Works make a great product.

2) East Falls Church has tons (maybe 100 racks?) of bike parking so a bike would “hide” well there. Virginia Square has secure bike lockers provided by WMATA. If you get one you can just roll your bike into a little “shed” and close the door. Ballston is probably the least safest with a lot of people coming through. Anytime you lock up anywhere, use a U-lock through the frame.

3) Take the lane. Don’t ride in the gutter to invite cars to have space to push you off to the side.

I’ll also put in a plug for Two Wheel Tuesdays sessions (http://www.BikeArlington.com/TWT), which are going on now. These types of questions (and more!) would be covered in depth at one of these meet ups.

[eminva]

Tim’s advice is all good (although he didn’t mention obtaining a Bike Arlington safety vest!). There are also bike lockers at East Falls Church.

I had a bike stolen five years ago at Ballston. It looked like a brazen mid-day heist — when I got back in the afternoon, the bike parking area was strewn with destroyed locks (all varieties) and suspiciously few bikes. The bike parking area is right next to a taxi stand and a bus circle, so there must have been witnesses. If you have an old “beater” bike, you can park it anywhere with a good lock, but if you have something worth protecting, I’d advise you get a locker at one of the stations where that is available.

Liz

[baiskeli]

I had my bike stolen at Ballston (the one day I forgot my U-lock and used a cable lock). A neighbor had his bike stolen there. I once saw two Mormon kids out doing their missions – you know, those kids in ties on bikes – looking at two snipped cable locks where their bikes had been, at Ballston.

There’s a really bad problem there, and the police ought to put out warnings signs about using U-locks and maybe some cameras to catch, or at least deter, thieves.

I don’t know about the other stations, but I think thieves go wherever the bikes are. The main factor is your lock, not your location.

[dasgeh]

What is up with Ballston? It seems to be the center of crime in Arlington…

Anyhoo… great advice on everything. I just wanted to ask where you’re biking to and from? There may be an option for you to bypass Water Street (aka that street under the Whitehurst Freeway) altogether in the afternoons.

Welcome and happy biking.

[bikenurse]

Warm and bright: Endura Gridlock jacket in yellow. I wear mine all winter with an Endura merino wool baselayer. Has a tab on the back for a light.
A great confidence builder is bike to work day, May 17th. There should be a meet up in your area.
Good luck with your commuting!

[DismalScientist]

1) Don’t forget headlights. I use cheap Chinese LED flashlights bought off ebay. One on the handlebar and the other tied to my helmet with a piece of bike tube. Others on the forum no doubt scoff at my cheapness.:rolleyes:

2) As an alternative to Metro, consider taking the bus. That way you take your bike with you and don’t need to lock up at a Metro station.

3) There’s no pressure to bike all winter. There is no shame in bailing out with the bus or Metro when it is too cold or wet for your comfort. (Unless, of course, you are in the Freezing Saddles competition.:rolleyes:)

[Dickie]

@corm0407 48147 wrote:

Hi,
1) Best thing you bought that kept you warm?
2) Conspicuous?
3) East Falls Church, Ballston or Virginia Square?
4) Best lock?
5) Georgetown?

1) Pearl Izumi thermal socks and soft shell PRO WXB booties… toasty!
2) Knog Pulsar rear light, + all the cool free swag from BikeArlington.
3) East Falls Church, lots of racks, lockers, less foot traffic and loitering.
4) I use a kryptonite NY standard U-Lock, very happy with it.
5) As Tim stated, take the lane…. don’t give drivers an inch or else they’ll take a mile. You will probably be traveling at traffic speed anyway.

[dasgeh]

And – are you a woman? If so, WABA wants to help you bike more…

[Terpfan]

The trick I use on warmth is my biking gloves (better when it’s 40+) and then another set of cheap gloves (like ones you can buy at CVS for $7) over top of them. Some form of covering for your ears. Otherwise, I really don’t mind the cold that much. It’s the cold+wind or cold+rain that I mind.

Security wise, I usually only lock my bike up at work in a parking garage. Otherwise, if I leave it at Metro (rare occassion), I will often bring my cable with me. So then I loop the cable through both tires and onto a ulock. I ulock main frame to the bike rack. And I take off things I don’t feel like replacing (blinkies, lights, air pump…I don’t care so much about my fixer baggie thing as it’s only worth maybe $15 with stuff in it). When I ride to Terps games, I lock the saddle (sear) up in my friend’s car as I’ve noticed plenty of missing saddles there.

I have a blinking light on the back and a strong front light. I try to wear bright clothing (neon Pearl Izumi jacket, red jacket, red shirt, etc). And I try to avoid unpredictable things. When I’m on the street, I will often take the whole lane because slowly, but surely I have found that it’s the safer option.

[KLizotte]

I highly recommend that you take a Confident Cycling class that is sponsored by WABA (one is even being held this Saturday). Everyone raves about them.

Blatant cut-and-paste from the WABA website:

Confident City Cycling (CCC)

Participants of all levels are encouraged to attend these 3 hour classes which will have options for multiple skill levels ranging from simple bike handling skills and using trails, to learning avoidance maneuvers and riding with traffic.

The “Trails” group will discover basic bicycling information and on-bike skills such as: bicycle selection, fit, inspection, gearing, cadence, clothing, accessories, bike handling basics like starting and stopping, riding straight, scanning and signaling

The “Traffic” group will explore vehicular cycling principles, roadway positioning, lane changes, turns and parking lot drills to learn avoidance maneuvers.

On-line study is recommended prior to arriving at class by registering and completing the material on http://www.bikeed.org.

Participants must bring their own bikes, helmets, and water. Clipless/SPD shoes/pedals are not recommended for this class. Participants will be required to sign liability waivers. Certain jurisdictions may require a fee. See upcoming courses at
http://www.waba.org/education/calendar.php

[ebubar]

Welcome to a fellow “new” commuter! I’ve crazily been starting my commute during the winter.

I’ve pretty recently started riding to work more regularly. Regarding not wanting to ride all the way, I’m a fan of the half-commute to build up strength (bike to work and metro home, then metro back and bike home the next day). I have the advantage of an entire lab all to myself to lock my stuff up in though.

For being seen I have a bright neon yellow Pearl Izumi jacket (convertible so it’ll become a vest pretty soon with weather getting warmer!). I imagine that it makes me very visible. All my coworkers seem to see me coming.

For locking up I use a U-Lock through the frame and back tire and a chain lock through the frame and front tire, attaching to the back U-Lock. I think I saw a European blog or something that did a study showing this to be the “best” way to lock your bike up. Its worked for me at the Takoma metro, but there tend to be lots of bikes always locked up there and its a pretty visible area.

[oldbikechick]

I also sometimes utilize the “one-way” commute as I have a secure place to store my bike. This was how I eased back into it after maternity leave when I just did not have the energy for the two-way commute, the pumping, etc. every day. Although often when I’ve wimped out for whatever reason (rain, snow, etc) I end up regretting it jammed into the mass of humanity on the metro, or inevitably there will be some sort of delay. I find that my incentives to keep going over the winter (and hot summer) months are: It is a far more enjoyable (and reliable) commute, except in the worst of weather; it’s the only way I get any exercise; I am in such a better frame of mind when I get to work and home. To keep warm – I have been toasty in most weather with a merino base-layer, fleece and windbreaker and if it’s in the teens, I wear my ski jacket. I even wore my ski goggles this year, reaching a new low in biking fashion, but at least my eyes didn’t freeze. My feet have been warm all winter with a combo of thick ski socks, my ventilated “summer” biking shoes and shoe covers. If you don’t have ski gear to re-purpose, you could just skip the coldest days. I invested in a better light this year and haven’t regretted it. Regarding safety, I have chosen a somewhat less than direct route to stay mostly on bike paths and off the street, although I know that’s not an option for everyone. It takes longer but is less stressful and more enjoyable for me.

[jwfisher3]

Lots of great advice here – I’ll focus specifically on the issue of that stretch of Water Street, since I have the same stretch as part of my bike commute. Tim Kelley is absolutely correct (naturally) in urging you to take the lane. The issue with Water Street as you come off the Rock Creek Parkway to head to the CCT is this is tourist mecca – there are movie theaters, people jaywalking, the Whitehurst Freeway overhead, and streets (e.g. Thomas Jefferson, 31st, etc.) that dead-end into Water Street. I think you have to use your visibility – bright clothing, blinkies -even in daytime to maximize drivers and pedestrians noticing you. Another key is to be predictable – signal your intention to stop at each and every stop sign, and put a foot down, make eye contact with drivers so you know they know you’re there. Let pedestrians know that you will yield to them in the crosswalks just as cars must do. Watch for cars doing the “Crazy Ivan” u-turns if they spot parking opening up. Stop at CycleLife Cafe once in a while for a juice or a cappuccino. All these things will increase your comfort level, but always be anticipatory of the unexpected. I always feel better as I ride onto the trailhead, which brings its own issues.

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