With all the recent bike safety talk, I thought I’d point out a few books that will make you a more confident and safe cyclist.
- The Art of Urban Cycling by Robert Hurst (2004). This book is current, not dumbed down and very well done. I highly recommend it. Anyone that says, “Road rash is a precious gift. Road rash is your friend. Bask in it, appreciate it, love it. Above all, learn from it,” obviously knows what they’re talking about. (*This book is also available from the Mult. Co. library).
- Bicycling Street Smarts – Riding Confidently, Legally and Safely by John S. Allen.
- Bicyclist Manual (*PDF file) by Oregon Dept. of Transportation.
If you’ve got safe cycling tips or other resources you’d like to share, feel free to leave them as comments so the whole cycling community can benefit from them.
If you are interested in learning freeride skills for mountain biking, check out 2 awesome videos at:
http://www.westcoaststyle.org/home/index.php
They are bith excellent at teaching you the skills you need to stay safe of the trails, no matter what level you ride.
Don’t forget the wonderful Urban Bikers’ Tips and Tricks (online excerpt here), by longtime Chicago bike advocate Dave Glowacz. You can check it out at the Multnomah County Library too. It has great info about buying a good city bike, not getting said bike stolen, biking safely in traffic, avoiding common errors, schlepping stuff, dressing for the weather, and personal safety.
Jessica beat me to Urban Bikers’ Tips & Tricks, but for fixed-gear/singlespeed cyclists (and there are a LOT of us in Portland) I’d recommend the online article Fixed Gear 101, by Greg Goode. It has a lot of excellent tips for handling a bike in the city.