Biking advice bleg
Thanks to a mixture of stubbornness, inertia, and a preference for living in places with viable public transit, I'm a lifelong non-car owner. When I moved to New London, people warned me that I'd need a car. I'm starting to see why: I live in a fairly walkable area, but getting to and from work is a long slog, and the buses here only run once an hour. But I have no great desire to start funneling my income into the oil industry's coffers, so I'm planning on taking up biking.
New London looks pretty navigable by bike, as far as I can tell: there aren't really bike lanes, but most of the streets aren't too wide and busy, and it's a fairly compact town, which means that commuting and errand-running trips will be short (and, I hope, fun). I'm hoping to work my way up to weekend excursions to places slightly further afield: Ocean Beach at the south end of town, or Niantic, seven miles away, where there's a bookstore I want to check out, or even Mystic, ten miles to the east.
Here's where I make a slightly embarrassing admission: I never had a bike when I was growing up. (I think my mother was afraid I'd get flattened by city traffic, or lose control going down the hill our house was on.) My aunt and uncle showed me how to ride, but it was at least 20 years ago, and I never really got to practice. So I expect a learning curve. I also confess to being apprehensive about the prospect of riding in traffic. I think I'm really more afraid of my own fear than of being hit by a car; I'm afraid that I'll come across as an unassertive, inexperienced rider, and that drivers will react accordingly.
On the other hand, I often see people biking along my regular route to and from work with no trouble, and I know of people at the College who bike everywhere. I know enough not to ride against traffic or on the sidewalk or without a helmet, and there's apparently a League of American Bicyclists certified bike instructor in the area. There are several useful Metafilter threads that I've been reading for advice and a bunch of bicycling sites I've bookmarked. My new mantra: if a six-year-old can learn to ride a bike, then so can I, goshdarnit!
So, people of the blogosphere: any advice for the newbie cyclist on how to get over the anxiety and start enjoying the bike commute?
Wow, is it against the law to use the sidewalk there? I take to the sidewalk pretty frequently (which is quite legal here, if you don’t bomb along and endanger pedestrians.) If it’s crowded I get off and walk the bike.
So my approach is to be entirely wimpy, and not worry about it. I don’t like the traffic, I just become a pedestrian. The longer I bike, the bolder I become, but I’m still pretty timid.
I don’t think it’s technically illegal, but every biking advice page I’ve looked at advises against it. And, as a pedestrian, I’ve been almost flattened by bicyclists often enough to see the point. But I think I’ll be using the “get off and walk the bike” strategy to avoid tricky intersections for a while.
I bet there are local (or somewhat local) cycling clubs that could guide you on this question. Found these, for instance: http://www.ctcycle.org/ and http://www.mysticvelo.com/ . At least, the contacts listed at these sites may be able to field questions about being a novice cyclist.
I find your mission really noble, btw. I’ve lived in southern CT before, and I know the poor state of public transportation (esp. if you live out in the sticks, as I did). Chambana is getting to be more bicycle-friendly, but it has a ways to go before it reaches the sort of “Cyclist Nirvana” that some cities out West (such as Seattle and Portland) seemed to have attained. Good luck!
I, too, grew up without a bicycle, and was tremendously embarrassed about the fact that I didn’t learn to ride until I was 16, and to this day still feel shaky on a bike. I’ve been trying to get more comfortable, but I am nowhere near comfortable enough to attempt traffic yet.
My advice: get back on right away if you fall off. The longer you wait, the more difficult it becomes. Other than that, I really don’t have any advice to offer, being in the same boat as you, only maybe even more so.
Glad I’m not the only one out there!
It is indeed illegal here to ride on the sidewalk over the age of 7. I know folk who have been ticketed in New London.
I haven’t been on a bike in eons, but have been giving it a lot of thought lately.
Good to know about the ticketing. Though some of the sidewalks around town are bumpy enough that I’d be inclined to stay off them anyway.
Johanna, thanks for the advice! It’s definitely not just us; I’ve been reading news stories about people getting into biking as adults on account of high gas prices.
I’m assuming that you’ll need to buy a bike — if you can afford it, and if you really plan to bike every day, I’d suggest buying a “commuter bike.” They’re more expensive than, say, a mountain/road hybrid, but they’re AWESOME. I wish I had one. 🙂 Ask your local bike dealer about it, and use your research superpowers to shop around.