Bike Safety Tips: How to Stay Safe and Comfortable While Riding

Whether you’re biking for exercise or for your daily commute, cycling is an inexpensive, satisfying way to get around town. Of course, any time you take the road with your bicycle, it’s important you stay safe and follow all the rules of the road.

Here are some bike safety tips for you to consider the next time you head out in Boca Raton, FL:

• Wear a helmet: It should go without saying, but unfortunately there are far too many people who do not wear helmets when out riding their bikes. This is the simplest thing you can do to protect yourself—helmets can be a life-saving difference maker if you get into an accident. At the very least, they’ll significantly reduce your chances of sustaining a head injury.
• Ensure visibility: Take some extra precautions to make sure you are visible to other drivers. Wear bright, reflective clothing, and make sure you have reflectors on your bike. If you’re going to be riding at night, make sure you also have a bike light with flashing capability.
• Use signals: Just as you would use a turn signal while you’re driving (or at least, we hope you do!), you should be sure to communicate your intentions when you’re riding a bike. This means using the proper hand signals to show when you’re going to be turning. It can also help to implement a rear light on your bike that senses when you slow down—at night, this acts as a sort of brake light for your bike.
• Get a good lock: Nearly 200,000 bikes are reported stolen every year, according to various studies, so it’s important for you to have a high-quality bike lock that will keep your bike safe while you’re away from it. You can find a wide variety of types of bike locks at bike shops and online. Folding locks fold down to fit in your pocket and then unfold to provide high levels of protection. It’s also important to know exactly how to lock up your bike—if you do so incorrectly, a would-be thief might just be able to detach the locked part of your bike and take the rest of it with them.
• Alert others to your presence: Just as you should communicate your intentions to other people on the road, you should also communicate your presence. This is especially important when you’re on bike paths where people may be walking. Rather than relying on yelling out “on your left,” which can be startling, you can get a bell that you can start using from a distance, and still catch the attention of pedestrians without frightening them. They’re easy to install on any size handlebar.

Are you interested in learning more about the steps you can take to ensure better bike safety in Boca Raton, FL? We encourage you to contact Bicycle Doctor House Calls today with any questions, or to schedule mobile bike repair. We’d be happy to provide you with further information and make sure you bike is road ready!

Categorised in: Bike Safety

This post was written by Writer