just noticed this on the 'recent' posts as it's been necrobumped from 2 years ago. Since my last post, i have spent 2 years cycling to work at rush hour and can actually say it's not as bad as i initially thought it would be.
I'm going to reply to some of the newer above posts here as well:
Probably the reason there are less road deaths to cyclists nowadays is because they're riding on the pavements putting the wind up pedestrians.
I DO NOT condone any cyclist riding like a lunatic on pavements, however i can completely understand why cyclists ride on the pavement. In the two years i have been cycling to work i have realised that at some points it's just MUCH safer on the pavement than the road. I ride from Warren Drive, Wallasey to VCH, Mill Lane, Liscard and most of the way i ride on the road. There's one bit that i refuse to ride on the road and that's about 2/3 of Belvidere road (from by PEaches and Herbs to the end by the traffic lights by all the estate agents) and that's simply because drivers fly along there on their way to the tunnel or whatever on their way to work that i have parked cars to the left and a live lane of traffic to my right. If one of the parked cars pulls out on me (as they have done in the past) then i have to veer into a live lane of traffic, likewise if a car comes too close i have to travel toward parked cars which don't have any run-off and so i'm stuffed either way. Between the two points mentioned above I do ride on the pavement BUT i don't ride fast or like a lunatic. I drop my seat and roll/cruise it at about 5mph top speed (fast walk/slow jog pace) so that any pedestrians coming my way are aware i'm there and anyone i'm behind i don't always catch up and when i do i make sure to pass them with a wide berth and not much faster than they're going. I know it's 'illegal' to ride on the pavement but trust me when i say that sometimes, we don't have much of a choice.
Should be compulsory bells like they do in Germany and they have to let you know they are approaching you instead of sneaking up on you from behind and putting the wind up you. A pox on them.
ALL bikes regardless of what they're made for legally have to leave the shop with reflectors and a bell. I bought a pretty decent full-suspension trail riding mountain bike a few months back, it's not designed for pootling to the shops and back, it's designed for flying down a muddy hill and hitting some jumps/drops. That HAD to leave the Giant shop in Liverpool with a front and back reflector and a bell, i wasn't legally allowed to take them off until i got outside, the guys in the shop wouldn't actually let me take them off until i was outside!
this is probably one of the best pieces of advice i can give any cyclist. I actually had a discussion about lights on "wallasey gossip" facebook page not that long ago where someone was making a point that cyclists without lights on are riding on roads and someone else said "you can get lights from poundland" and i had to interject and say that cheap/crap lights are sometimes more dangerous than none at all. I shall explain thusly: if you know you have no lights on your bike then you're probably more aware of your surroundings and the fact you might get rear-ended. If you have insufficient/inefficient lights on your bike, especially the back one, you might THINK that you're perfectly visible when in reality the crap lights are unable to be seen by drivers with slightly tinted front windows, with drivers who have sight issues or even in rain/drizzly conditions and so you might cycle in the middle of the lane believing you're perfectly visible and safe when in reality you're not. I ALWAYS suggest that any cyclist spends a minimum of £15 on a good set of lights from a shop like Evans or ChainReactionCycles so that they can be seen. I'm not saying go out and buy a Hope R4+ front light and a Hope District rear light but do do your research and make sure that you can be seen.
