{"id":1004,"date":"2011-08-17T13:10:23","date_gmt":"2011-08-17T20:10:23","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/cana16.com\/?page_id=1004"},"modified":"2015-03-26T12:10:49","modified_gmt":"2015-03-26T19:10:49","slug":"cana-bike-club","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/cana16.com\/?page_id=1004","title":{"rendered":"Bike Club"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><a href=\"https:\/\/cana16.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/08\/300px-Cycling_road_pictogram_svg.png\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignleft  wp-image-1013\" title=\"300px-Cycling_(road)_pictogram_svg\" src=\"https:\/\/cana16.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/08\/300px-Cycling_road_pictogram_svg.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"300\" height=\"300\" srcset=\"https:\/\/cana16.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/08\/300px-Cycling_road_pictogram_svg.png 300w, https:\/\/cana16.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/08\/300px-Cycling_road_pictogram_svg-150x150.png 150w, https:\/\/cana16.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/08\/300px-Cycling_road_pictogram_svg-60x60.png 60w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p><span style=\"color: #ff0000;\"><strong>SEASON STARTS IN JUNE!!!<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n<p><strong>Please join the Central Austin Neighborhood Association (CANA) for weekly family oriented bicycle rides through Chicago and Oak Park.<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong>PLEASE NOTE TIME CHANGE!<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong>We meet every Wednesday evening at 6:00 PM and Saturday morning at 10:00 AM for a short ride with families and friends. The rides are open to anyone.<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong>Let&#8217;s make healthy activities a part of our lifestyle!<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong>Where: Rides start at 301 N.\u00a0 Mayfield<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong>When: Every Wednesday at 6:00 PM and Saturday at 10:00 AM<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong>Any questions, please call Ron @ 708 308 8985<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong>If you need help with bike maintenance or air for tires, please let us know.<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong>Also<a title=\"Bicycle Safety Web Site\" href=\"http:\/\/bicyclesafe.com\/\" target=\"_blank\"> Bicycle Safety <\/a>is an important part of how we roll!<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong><a href=\"http:\/\/www.dandalaw.com\/resources\/should-you-wear-a-helmet\" target=\"_blank\">Click here for a Special Safety Message from Emily and Mia <\/a>who found this link on the importance\u00a0of wearing helmets\u00a0during their youth center project on safety, conducted by Rachel Martin. Enjoy the pizza prize and keep up the great work! Stay safe!<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<div id='gallery-1' class='gallery galleryid-1004 gallery-columns-2 gallery-size-thumbnail'><dl class='gallery-item'>\n\t\t\t<dt class='gallery-icon landscape'>\n\t\t\t\t<a href='https:\/\/cana16.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/08\/celtic_cycling03.jpg'><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"150\" height=\"150\" src=\"https:\/\/cana16.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/08\/celtic_cycling03-150x150.jpg\" class=\"attachment-thumbnail size-thumbnail\" alt=\"\" srcset=\"https:\/\/cana16.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/08\/celtic_cycling03-150x150.jpg 150w, https:\/\/cana16.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/08\/celtic_cycling03-60x60.jpg 60w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 150px) 100vw, 150px\" \/><\/a>\n\t\t\t<\/dt><\/dl><dl class='gallery-item'>\n\t\t\t<dt class='gallery-icon landscape'>\n\t\t\t\t<a href='https:\/\/cana16.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/08\/rondo3.jpg'><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"150\" height=\"150\" src=\"https:\/\/cana16.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/08\/rondo3-150x150.jpg\" class=\"attachment-thumbnail size-thumbnail\" alt=\"\" srcset=\"https:\/\/cana16.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/08\/rondo3-150x150.jpg 150w, https:\/\/cana16.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/08\/rondo3-60x60.jpg 60w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 150px) 100vw, 150px\" \/><\/a>\n\t\t\t<\/dt><\/dl><br style=\"clear: both\" \/><dl class='gallery-item'>\n\t\t\t<dt class='gallery-icon landscape'>\n\t\t\t\t<a href='https:\/\/cana16.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/08\/300px-Cycling_road_pictogram_svg.png'><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"150\" height=\"150\" src=\"https:\/\/cana16.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/08\/300px-Cycling_road_pictogram_svg-150x150.png\" class=\"attachment-thumbnail size-thumbnail\" alt=\"\" srcset=\"https:\/\/cana16.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/08\/300px-Cycling_road_pictogram_svg-150x150.png 150w, https:\/\/cana16.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/08\/300px-Cycling_road_pictogram_svg-60x60.png 60w, https:\/\/cana16.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/08\/300px-Cycling_road_pictogram_svg.png 300w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 150px) 100vw, 150px\" \/><\/a>\n\t\t\t<\/dt><\/dl><dl class='gallery-item'>\n\t\t\t<dt class='gallery-icon landscape'>\n\t\t\t\t<a href='https:\/\/cana16.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/08\/P1000574.jpg'><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"150\" height=\"150\" src=\"https:\/\/cana16.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/08\/P1000574-150x150.jpg\" class=\"attachment-thumbnail size-thumbnail\" alt=\"\" aria-describedby=\"gallery-1-1048\" srcset=\"https:\/\/cana16.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/08\/P1000574-150x150.jpg 150w, https:\/\/cana16.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/08\/P1000574-60x60.jpg 60w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 150px) 100vw, 150px\" \/><\/a>\n\t\t\t<\/dt>\n\t\t\t\t<dd class='wp-caption-text gallery-caption' id='gallery-1-1048'>\n\t\t\t\tCANA Bike Rides Need You\n\t\t\t\t<\/dd><\/dl><br style=\"clear: both\" \/><dl class='gallery-item'>\n\t\t\t<dt class='gallery-icon landscape'>\n\t\t\t\t<a href='https:\/\/cana16.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/10\/P1000681.jpg'><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"150\" height=\"150\" src=\"https:\/\/cana16.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/10\/P1000681-150x150.jpg\" class=\"attachment-thumbnail size-thumbnail\" alt=\"\" srcset=\"https:\/\/cana16.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/10\/P1000681-150x150.jpg 150w, https:\/\/cana16.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/10\/P1000681-60x60.jpg 60w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 150px) 100vw, 150px\" \/><\/a>\n\t\t\t<\/dt><\/dl><dl class='gallery-item'>\n\t\t\t<dt class='gallery-icon landscape'>\n\t\t\t\t<a href='https:\/\/cana16.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/08\/P1000670.jpg'><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"150\" height=\"150\" src=\"https:\/\/cana16.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/08\/P1000670-150x150.jpg\" class=\"attachment-thumbnail size-thumbnail\" alt=\"\" srcset=\"https:\/\/cana16.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/08\/P1000670-150x150.jpg 150w, https:\/\/cana16.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/08\/P1000670-60x60.jpg 60w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 150px) 100vw, 150px\" \/><\/a>\n\t\t\t<\/dt><\/dl><br style=\"clear: both\" \/><dl class='gallery-item'>\n\t\t\t<dt class='gallery-icon landscape'>\n\t\t\t\t<a href='https:\/\/cana16.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/08\/P1000671.jpg'><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"150\" height=\"150\" src=\"https:\/\/cana16.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/08\/P1000671-150x150.jpg\" class=\"attachment-thumbnail size-thumbnail\" alt=\"\" srcset=\"https:\/\/cana16.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/08\/P1000671-150x150.jpg 150w, https:\/\/cana16.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/08\/P1000671-60x60.jpg 60w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 150px) 100vw, 150px\" \/><\/a>\n\t\t\t<\/dt><\/dl><dl class='gallery-item'>\n\t\t\t<dt class='gallery-icon landscape'>\n\t\t\t\t<a href='https:\/\/cana16.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/08\/P1000672.jpg'><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"150\" height=\"150\" src=\"https:\/\/cana16.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/08\/P1000672-150x150.jpg\" class=\"attachment-thumbnail size-thumbnail\" alt=\"\" srcset=\"https:\/\/cana16.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/08\/P1000672-150x150.jpg 150w, https:\/\/cana16.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/08\/P1000672-60x60.jpg 60w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 150px) 100vw, 150px\" \/><\/a>\n\t\t\t<\/dt><\/dl><br style=\"clear: both\" \/><dl class='gallery-item'>\n\t\t\t<dt class='gallery-icon landscape'>\n\t\t\t\t<a href='https:\/\/cana16.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/08\/P1000673.jpg'><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"150\" height=\"150\" src=\"https:\/\/cana16.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/08\/P1000673-150x150.jpg\" class=\"attachment-thumbnail size-thumbnail\" alt=\"\" srcset=\"https:\/\/cana16.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/08\/P1000673-150x150.jpg 150w, https:\/\/cana16.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/08\/P1000673-60x60.jpg 60w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 150px) 100vw, 150px\" \/><\/a>\n\t\t\t<\/dt><\/dl><dl class='gallery-item'>\n\t\t\t<dt class='gallery-icon landscape'>\n\t\t\t\t<a href='https:\/\/cana16.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/08\/P1000674.jpg'><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"150\" height=\"150\" src=\"https:\/\/cana16.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/08\/P1000674-150x150.jpg\" class=\"attachment-thumbnail size-thumbnail\" alt=\"\" srcset=\"https:\/\/cana16.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/08\/P1000674-150x150.jpg 150w, https:\/\/cana16.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/08\/P1000674-60x60.jpg 60w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 150px) 100vw, 150px\" \/><\/a>\n\t\t\t<\/dt><\/dl><br style=\"clear: both\" \/><dl class='gallery-item'>\n\t\t\t<dt class='gallery-icon landscape'>\n\t\t\t\t<a href='https:\/\/cana16.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/08\/P1000675.jpg'><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"150\" height=\"150\" src=\"https:\/\/cana16.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/08\/P1000675-150x150.jpg\" class=\"attachment-thumbnail size-thumbnail\" alt=\"\" srcset=\"https:\/\/cana16.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/08\/P1000675-150x150.jpg 150w, https:\/\/cana16.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/08\/P1000675-60x60.jpg 60w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 150px) 100vw, 150px\" \/><\/a>\n\t\t\t<\/dt><\/dl><dl class='gallery-item'>\n\t\t\t<dt class='gallery-icon landscape'>\n\t\t\t\t<a href='https:\/\/cana16.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/08\/P1000676.jpg'><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"150\" height=\"150\" src=\"https:\/\/cana16.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/08\/P1000676-150x150.jpg\" class=\"attachment-thumbnail size-thumbnail\" alt=\"\" srcset=\"https:\/\/cana16.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/08\/P1000676-150x150.jpg 150w, https:\/\/cana16.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/08\/P1000676-60x60.jpg 60w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 150px) 100vw, 150px\" \/><\/a>\n\t\t\t<\/dt><\/dl><br style=\"clear: both\" \/><dl class='gallery-item'>\n\t\t\t<dt class='gallery-icon landscape'>\n\t\t\t\t<a href='https:\/\/cana16.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/08\/P1000677.jpg'><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"150\" height=\"150\" src=\"https:\/\/cana16.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/08\/P1000677-150x150.jpg\" class=\"attachment-thumbnail size-thumbnail\" alt=\"\" srcset=\"https:\/\/cana16.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/08\/P1000677-150x150.jpg 150w, https:\/\/cana16.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/08\/P1000677-60x60.jpg 60w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 150px) 100vw, 150px\" \/><\/a>\n\t\t\t<\/dt><\/dl><dl class='gallery-item'>\n\t\t\t<dt class='gallery-icon landscape'>\n\t\t\t\t<a href='https:\/\/cana16.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/08\/P1000678.jpg'><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"150\" height=\"150\" src=\"https:\/\/cana16.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/08\/P1000678-150x150.jpg\" class=\"attachment-thumbnail size-thumbnail\" alt=\"\" srcset=\"https:\/\/cana16.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/08\/P1000678-150x150.jpg 150w, https:\/\/cana16.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/08\/P1000678-60x60.jpg 60w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 150px) 100vw, 150px\" \/><\/a>\n\t\t\t<\/dt><\/dl><br style=\"clear: both\" \/><dl class='gallery-item'>\n\t\t\t<dt class='gallery-icon landscape'>\n\t\t\t\t<a href='https:\/\/cana16.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/08\/P1000679.jpg'><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"150\" height=\"150\" src=\"https:\/\/cana16.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/08\/P1000679-150x150.jpg\" class=\"attachment-thumbnail size-thumbnail\" alt=\"\" srcset=\"https:\/\/cana16.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/08\/P1000679-150x150.jpg 150w, https:\/\/cana16.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/08\/P1000679-60x60.jpg 60w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 150px) 100vw, 150px\" \/><\/a>\n\t\t\t<\/dt><\/dl><dl class='gallery-item'>\n\t\t\t<dt class='gallery-icon landscape'>\n\t\t\t\t<a href='https:\/\/cana16.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/08\/P1000680.jpg'><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"150\" height=\"150\" src=\"https:\/\/cana16.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/08\/P1000680-150x150.jpg\" class=\"attachment-thumbnail size-thumbnail\" alt=\"\" srcset=\"https:\/\/cana16.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/08\/P1000680-150x150.jpg 150w, https:\/\/cana16.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/08\/P1000680-60x60.jpg 60w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 150px) 100vw, 150px\" \/><\/a>\n\t\t\t<\/dt><\/dl><br style=\"clear: both\" \/>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p><strong><strong>See safety info from <a href=\"http:\/\/www.bicyclesafe.com\/\">www.BicycleSafe.com<\/a> below<\/strong>:<a name=\"tips\"><\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n<p>__<\/p>\n<table border=\"0\" cellspacing=\"1\" cellpadding=\"0\" align=\"center\" bgcolor=\"#cccccc\">\n<tbody>\n<tr>\n<td colspan=\"2\" bgcolor=\"#330066\"><center><span style=\"font-family: Verdana; color: #ccff33; font-size: small;\"><strong>More General Tips<\/strong><\/span><\/center><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr bgcolor=\"#ffffff\">\n<td valign=\"top\" bgcolor=\"#ffffff\" width=\"55%\">\n<h2><span style=\"font-family: Trebuchet MS; color: #990000;\"><strong>Avoid busy streets.<\/strong> <\/span><\/h2>\n<p>One of the biggest mistakes that people make when they start biking is to take the exact same routes they used when they were driving.\u00a0 It&#8217;s usually better to take different streets with fewer and slower cars.\u00a0 Sure, cyclists have a right to the road, but that&#8217;s a small consolation when you&#8217;re dead.\u00a0 Consider how far you can take this strategy:\u00a0 If you learn your routes well, you&#8217;ll find that in many cities you can travel through neighborhoods to get to most places, only <strong>crossing<\/strong> the busiest streets rather than <strong>traveling<\/strong> on them.<\/p>\n<h2><span style=\"font-family: Trebuchet MS; color: #990000;\"><strong>Light up.<\/strong> <\/span><\/h2>\n<p>Too obvious?\u00a0 Well, if it&#8217;s so obvious, then why do most night-time cyclists ride without lights?\u00a0 Bike shops have <a href=\"http:\/\/performancebike.com\/\" target=\"_blank\">rear red blinkies for $15 or less<\/a>.\u00a0 Headlights are just as important as rear lights.\u00a0 Look for the new kind with LED&#8217;s since they last ten times as long on a set of batteries as old-style lights.<a name=\"laneposition\"><\/a><\/p>\n<table border=\"0\" width=\"100\" cellspacing=\"0\" cellpadding=\"6\" align=\"right\" bgcolor=\"#e5ffe5\">\n<tbody>\n<tr>\n<td valign=\"top\">One cyclist tied this bright noodle to the back of his bike, exactly the width of his handlebars, to show drivers how much space he takes up on the road.<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n<h2><span style=\"font-family: Trebuchet MS; color: #990000;\"><strong>Take the whole lane when appropriate.<\/strong><\/span><\/h2>\n<p>It&#8217;s often safer to take the whole lane, or at least ride a little bit to the left, rather than hug the right curb. Here&#8217;s why:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><a href=\"http:\/\/bicyclesafe.com\/#rightcross\">Cars at intersections ahead of you<\/a>can see you better if you&#8217;re squarely in the road rather than on the extreme edge where you&#8217;re easily overlooked.<\/li>\n<li>Taking the lane prevents cars from passing you too closely on narrow roadways.<\/li>\n<li>Riding a bit to the left prevents you from being a victim of <a href=\"http:\/\/bicyclesafe.com\/#doored\">the door prize<\/a>.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>You might worry about slowing down the traffic behind you if you take the lane.\u00a0 But if you&#8217;re on the kind of street where you&#8217;ve got cars blocked up behind you or constantly changing lanes to get around you, you&#8217;re probably on the wrong street and should find a quieter neighborhood street.<\/p>\n<p>Taking the lane works especially well in most <a href=\"http:\/\/www.civil.ubc.ca\/research\/ite\/\">traffic circles<\/a>.\u00a0 The traffic generally moves slower so it&#8217;s easy to keep up, riding in the lane makes you more visible to motorists, and taking the lane prevents motorists from <a href=\"http:\/\/bicyclesafe.com\/#righthook\">right hooking<\/a> you as they exit the circle.<\/p>\n<p>It&#8217;s perfectly legal for you to take the lane when appropriate.\u00a0 <a href=\"http:\/\/bicycleaustin.com\/laws\/\" target=\"_blank\">Texas State Law<\/a> (and the laws of most other states) says you have to ride as far to the right as is &#8220;practicable&#8221;.\u00a0 Here are some things that make it <em>impracticable<\/em> to ride to the extreme right:<\/p>\n<ol>\n<li><strong>You&#8217;re in a heavy traffic area with lots of side streets, parking lots, or driveways ahead and to your right.<\/strong>\u00a0 Cars turning left won&#8217;t see you because they&#8217;re looking for traffic in the <em>middle<\/em> of the road, not on the extreme edge of the road.\u00a0 Move left. See <a href=\"http:\/\/bicyclesafe.com\/#rightcross\">Collision diagram #1<\/a>above.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Cars are passing you too closely.<\/strong>\u00a0 If the lane is too narrow for cars to pass you safely, then move left and take the whole lane.\u00a0 Getting buzzed by cars is dangerous.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Cars are parked on the right-hand side of the road.<\/strong>\u00a0 If you ride too close to these you&#8217;re gonna get doored when someone gets out of their car.\u00a0 Move left.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n<p>There are risks to both riding to the extreme right as well as taking the lane.\u00a0 Whether you ride to the right or take the lane depends on the conditions of the roadway you&#8217;re on.\u00a0 On wide roadways with few intersections\/driveways, right further right.\u00a0 On narrow roads with lots of intersections, ride farther to the left.\u00a0\u00a0 It&#8217;s not always better to take the lane or to hug the curb; it depends on the roadway you&#8217;re on.<\/td>\n<td valign=\"top\">\n<h2><span style=\"font-family: Trebuchet MS; color: #990000;\"><strong>Signal your turns.<\/strong> <\/span><\/h2>\n<p>You&#8217;re less likely to get hit when your movement doesn&#8217;t take motorists by surprise. Let them know you&#8217;re about to turn or move left or right by signalling with your arm. Point your left arm out to move left, and point your right arm out to move right. (You might have learned an old way of signaling a right turn with your left arm, but drivers have no idea what that means, so it&#8217;s useless. Signal a right turn with your right arm.) Before signaling left, be sure to check your mirror or loo behind you before signaling (since a car passing too closely can take your arm out).<\/p>\n<h2><span style=\"font-family: Trebuchet MS; color: #990000;\"><strong>Re-think music players and mobile phones.<\/strong><\/span><\/h2>\n<p>It&#8217;s more important to hear what&#8217;s around you when you&#8217;re biking than when you&#8217;re driving. Whether you want to ride with headphones is your choice, but doing so does increase your risk. Similarly, texting or talking with a mobile phone raises the risk level. When you&#8217;re mixing with car traffic, the fewer distractions the better. Also, you&#8217;ll want both hands free in case you have to brake suddenly.<\/p>\n<h2><span style=\"font-family: Trebuchet MS; color: #990000;\"><strong>Ride as if you were invisible.<\/strong> <\/span><\/h2>\n<p><strong>It&#8217;s often helpful to ride in such a way that motorists won&#8217;t hit you even if they don&#8217;t see you.<\/strong> You&#8217;re not trying to <em>be<\/em> invisible, you&#8217;re trying to make it irrelevant whether cars see you or not. If you ride in such a way that a car has to see you to take action to avoid hitting you (e.g., by their slowing down or changing lanes), then that means <em>they will definitely hit you if they don&#8217;t see you.<\/em> But if you stay out of their way, then you won&#8217;t get hit <em>even if they didn&#8217;t notice you were there.<\/em><\/p>\n<p>On very fast roads cars have less time to see you because they&#8217;re approaching so fast. Of course, you should avoid fast roads in the first place if at all possible, unless there&#8217;s plenty of room for a car and a bike side by side. And if there IS such room, then on fast roadways, you can practice invisibility by riding to the extreme right. If you&#8217;re far enough right that you&#8217;re not in the part of the lane the cars are in, then they&#8217;ll zoom by and won&#8217;t hit you, even if they never saw you.<\/p>\n<p>Here&#8217;s another example: <strong>It&#8217;s a good idea to signal a left turn, but it&#8217;s a better idea to make your left turn at a time or place where there aren&#8217;t cars behind you that could hit you while you&#8217;re stopped and waiting to make that turn<\/strong>. You can hang out in the middle of the street, stopped, with your left arm out, waiting to make your turn, but you&#8217;re counting on cars behind you to see you and stop. If they don&#8217;t see you, you&#8217;re in trouble.<\/p>\n<p>Naturally we don&#8217;t advocate running red lights, but if you&#8217;re the kind of person who does, then apply the invisibility principle when deciding on whether to run a particular light: <strong>Could any cross traffic possibly hit me if I were invisible?<\/strong> If yes, then absolutely don&#8217;t do it. <span style=\"color: #990000;\"><em>Never make a car have to slow down to avoid hitting you (red light or not). <\/em><\/span>Remember, the more you rely on cars to see you to avoid hitting you, the more chances they&#8217;ll have to actually do so.<\/p>\n<p>Remember, you&#8217;re not trying to BE invisible, you&#8217;re just riding with the assumption that cars can&#8217;t see you. <strong>Of course, you certainly <em>want<\/em> them to see you, and you should help them with that. <\/strong>That&#8217;s why you&#8217;ll wave to motorists whom you think might be about to pull out in front of you, and why you&#8217;ll be lit up like a Christmas tree at night (front and rear lights).<\/p>\n<p>Remember that in many cases you&#8217;ll need to take the lane, in which case you&#8217;re counting on motorists to see you.<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>&nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; SEASON STARTS IN JUNE!!! Please join the Central Austin Neighborhood Association (CANA) for weekly family oriented bicycle rides through Chicago and Oak Park. PLEASE NOTE TIME CHANGE! We meet every Wednesday evening at 6:00 PM and Saturday morning at 10:00 AM for a short ride with families and friends. The&hellip;<\/p>\n<p class=\"more-link-p\"><a class=\"more-link\" href=\"https:\/\/cana16.com\/?page_id=1004\">Read more &rarr;<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":1013,"parent":0,"menu_order":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","template":"","meta":{"footnotes":""},"class_list":["post-1004","page","type-page","status-publish","has-post-thumbnail","hentry"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/cana16.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/pages\/1004","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/cana16.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/pages"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/cana16.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/page"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cana16.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cana16.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=1004"}],"version-history":[{"count":24,"href":"https:\/\/cana16.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/pages\/1004\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2353,"href":"https:\/\/cana16.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/pages\/1004\/revisions\/2353"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cana16.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/1013"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/cana16.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=1004"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}