Thursday, October 18, 2012

Book larnin' - Be Unpredictable!

Nothing teaches like real world experience, but I've picked up a bit of biking instruction, good and bad, from reading.  This is an interesting bit from Grant Petersen's book "Just Ride":

"Be unpredictable."

Everybody says to be predictable when you're out riding on the streets.  Problem is, you can be as predictable as all get out, but that's still not going to stop a vehicle driver from pretending they don't see you and cutting you off or pulling out in front of you or giving you the ol' right hook.  Grant says, swerve a little bit, keep 'em guessing what you're doing, keep 'em on their toes.  Make them look out for you.  Of course, he says to keep this within reason - like when you're moving to the left lane to make at turn, you should probably stay predictable.

This bit of advice to be unpredictable makes me feel less bad when I accidentally swerve and look like I don't know how to ride a bike.  I'm just making drivers look out for me.  Maybe they'll give me a wider berth.

***disclaimer: I'm not advocating this is good advice.  I'll leave that up to you to decide. Remember, he says swerve a "little", not swerve into the other lane...

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