Welcome to my truth

Thanks to six weeks off the bike while my body repaired itself, it's a slow slow process getting back to the level I was at before. The weather hasn't been terribly good either: it's been pouring with rain or blowing a gale, and usually both, so there hasn't been the drive to simply put miles in. At the moment, riding six or seven miles to work and the same home in bad weather is about my limit. For someone who does a lot of exercise, you'd think I'd be really fit and healthy, wouldn't you? I guess even fit people have things go wrong sometimes.

So without having really done many miles since I last wrote, I've been adjusting and maintaining instead. Annie was in dire need of a wash and some new brake blocks, Speedy was completely filthy after a few days of commuting on frosty - then gritted and wet - roads, and some of the wiring for its lights had died. Then this week I discovered that the Stealthmachine's front disc brake had become almost useless for some reason. So a scrub and a hosedown here, a few deft tweaks of an allen wrench there, new brake pads and new battery plugs and I think I'm almost done.

And now for something I've been meaning for months to post here: it's an interview-cum-questionaire which I actually took part in during the summer last year, but I'd forgotten all about it, probably because I got wrapped up in mending something. A writer and cycle contributor was asking various cyclists about their own experiences on the road and what their opinions of rules, regulations and learning were like. You can probably second-guess some or all of my answers depending on how well you know me and how much of this page you've read!

June 6th, 2005

Would you tell us a little about yourself, to start us off? Do you cycle much? What sort of cycling do you do?

Hello. I'm Becky and I live in the rather hilly city of Edinburgh. I ride a bike fairly often, it's mostly how I get around the city. I do have a car as well but it doesn't get used all that much, it's more for long distances or for transporting something. There's a pretty good bus service here too, I don't catch the bus very often either because I can usually cycle into town quicker. I'll bus it or drive if I need to look more respectable and less windblown!

You're already sounding like you might be more than a leisure cyclist who only rides in the summer. Are you more of a practical cyclist? Do you race as well, or go touring?

I'm what you would call a utility cyclist, I commute on my bike a lot, I use it to go shopping or for any other minor journey really. I don't do racing or anything, I'm not nearly fit enough for that. I did go through a phase of mountain biking about ten years ago, but my bike started to have road tyres on it more often than the knobbly tyres, and riding up really steep muddy tracks started to feel like too much hard work! I do like to go to events though, do little group rides and meet other people. That makes a change from riding by myself all the time.

I'd like to ask you about your cycling experiences, good and bad. It doesn't matter where you ride: roads, paths or wherever, but generally speaking, do you feel safe when you ride?

I think so. I ride on roads a lot and I feel at least as safe as when I'm driving, but there are more escape routes available, if you need them, simply because a bike is that much smaller. But I've been cycling for most of my life, my first bike was given to me when I was about six and I've never been without a bike since. I did my cycle proficiency when I was at primary school and I learned to ride on the road. I had a few times - well, more than a few I think [laughs] - where I made mistakes in traffic and cars beeped at me, and for me that was always really, really embarrassing, but you learn from that. I still make mistakes now and again, but I like to think that I'm pretty safe on a bike. Actually, I think car driving made me more aware about anticipation of things because you're often going faster, and that's something I've definitely got better at on the bike in the last few years.

What, if anything, makes you uncomfortable?

I can think of a few things. I don't like those awkwardly designed mini-roundabouts on T-junctions, the ones where traffic on the main road behaves as though it was a regular T-junction, without any traffic lights. The problem with that is that even though it's supposed to work like a roundabout, it automatically takes away any priority from small vehicles who want to enter the main road from the side road, the traffic doesn't give way in the way it should. I've had quite a few bad experiences with those. I also don't like cornering on wet road surfaces because it can sometimes hold a layer of oil that you don't always see. Slow cornering is usually fine, but the times when I find myself cornering hardest are on roundabouts! If your wheel slides out, you might catch it or you might not, and that can be pretty scary if there's a lot of other traffic.

Do you consider yourself to be a skilled cyclist?

Yes, I think I'm pretty skilled. I mentioned learning to anticipate things, and that's one of the skills, one of the main bits of my awareness when I'm riding. So I feel I'm able to avoid a lot of the situations that might lead to an accident, and I ride in the rush hour traffic if I need to. It's not like I see all these other cyclists crashing into things! But if I'm following someone else on a bike, I'll notice the way they maybe don't look over their shoulder before they pull out to pass a parked car, and when they do pull out it's quite late on. I'll already have checked behind me and made my manoeuvre when they pull out.

Something else that I've picked up on, it was after reading a book on cycling techniques, is putting myself more in the middle of the lane. I've got quite...particular...about my own safety and I make more decisions about when it's safe for car drivers to pass. I think being skilled is really about making yourself safe, but to do that sometimes you need to be the boss and not let car drivers walk all over you if that's going to put you in danger, or if it could put you in danger. That's the key really, it's knowing what could happen as a result of one thing and thinking ahead. That makes cycling sound like a real chore, doesn't it? And really dangerous!

The people you see on the road, pedalling along nice and slowly and relaxed, they might just be taking their time, or maybe they're not very fit, or maybe they're just not confident enough about riding, so they go slowly and close to the pavement. Sometimes I'll see someone riding along but a bit...erratically? That sounds awful to say! But it makes their movements hard to predict, so that's probably the other part about being skilled, it's making your intentions obvious to everyone else. You might be on a bike and be an obstacle, but at least you can learn to be a good obstacle.

Did I answer the question enough?

Just about! You've spent quite a lot of time on your bike, obviously, so what is your average weekly mileage?

I'd say it varies between about 40 and 75 miles. If I ride to work every day, it's a minimum of about 45 miles, but I tend to ride a bit at the weekend too.

Ok, this is one of the big questions. Do you strive to obey the Highway Code? Are there any parts you would rewrite, if you could?

You know, I think the Highway Code is all good advice if you treat a pedal-powered vehicle as a vehicle. Sometimes the word 'vehicle' is assumed to mean something with an engine, and that's not really correct. A bike is still a vehicle, it's just sometimes very slow. I don't know the Highway Code rule numbers off the top of my head, but there's a section about reflectors on bikes, and they're actually referencing the Road Vehicle Lighting Regulations. They say that your bike must have the front and rear reflectors, and it must have pedal reflectors. So first I'd rewrite that bit in the Lighting Regs so that people who ride recumbents aren't automatically breaking the law, and then I'd rewrite that bit in the Highway Code.

It also suggests that cycle routes can make your journey safer, and that you should use them wherever practicable. Well, sure, if you're a cyclist who doesn't enjoy being amongst cars and lorries then it's good advice. But there's a whole undercurrent about cycle lanes and paths that the Highway Code doesn't talk about, it's only giving advice remember, and when they say 'safer', they mean safe from vehicle dangers. What about frost and ice, or wet leaves? Or thorns? I think the roads are a lot safer when it comes to being kept clean. So I'd rewrite it to say you should use them wherever it's convenient.

There's also a bit about how to use roundabouts, I think roundabouts are the best and the worst thing for cyclists, personally. If they're clear, you can sail round without slowing down too much, but when they're busy you need to really be on top of things. The Highway Code suggests that you might feel safer to go around roundabouts on the outside, even if you're turning right. That's dangerous, because that's not how roundabout protocol works. Someone following you will think you're leaving the roundabout if you're right on the edge and if they happen to be leaving at the same exit, you might well be hit if they turn and you don't. You need to be able to get some speed up to match car speeds, and if you can't then at least take the whole lane and be really obvious to everyone what you want to do.

But do you obey the Highway Code?

Of course I do. If you think about it, if everyone on the road and every pedestrian followed the Highway Code, there'd probably never be an accident. There's always going to be a bit of ebb and flow in terms of how people interpret the Code and how accurately they hold to it, but I've read it often enough and I'd like to be respected on the road. You can't demand respect, you can only earn it.

Have you ever had a serious accident? If so, who do you think was at fault?

I've had one accident, a car driver turned left directly in front of me. She'd only just emerged from a side road on my right, turned onto the main road and then turned left onto another side road. I went straight into the side of her car. I still remember what she said afterwards, she said: "I just didn't see you!" [4]

You've only ever had one serious accident? What about at other times, do you often have close calls? And if you do, do you blame the environment and other road users, or your riding style?

I have to say that most of the time I'm quite patient and aware. Usually I'm not in a real hurry, so I tend to chill out a wee bit. It's much easier to let the impatient car drivers have the blood pressure problems! Though sometimes the red mist comes down, over my eyes, and I do some sort of manoeveure I wouldn't normally try. And I usually think afterwards, "Becky you bloody idiot, what were you thinking?" I think close calls usually happen when the traffic is very dense but still moving quickly. On a bike sometimes you have to have the bit between your teeth and go for it, so that you don't get squeezed out on a railing or end up taking the wrong lane, and if you're riding towards your limit, that's when mistakes can happen.

And complex junctions, that's when things can get a bit fraught. Maybe that's just me, I don't like to feel like I'm holding people up on the road. I probably ride quite assertively, I wouldn't say aggressively, usually, but now and again I get it a bit wrong and try to fit through a gap that isn't quite there. I could say: "Oh, it's always everyone else's fault!" but I'm too honest really! [laughs] It's probably about equal, other people on the road and me, on average.

So would you be willing to take instruction to improve your road skills? Would an experienced cyclist like you consider herself 'trainable'? And, do you think there's a male/female divide in willingness to accept instruction and possible criticism?

Oh yeah, I might have been cycling for quite a long time but I'd never say that I knew everything, every technique going. I suppose you'd get some people who are set in their ways, [affects old woman voice] "I've been cycling for 90 years and I've never had an accident!" but you know, there's more traffic on the roads than ever and times change. People talk about how you should have to resit your driving test every so often, and it's kind of the same thing. Do you think you're good enough? And are you good enough? And do you want to improve yourself?

Two or three years ago I bought that book about cycling techniques, here was me doing a dozen miles every day and not getting killed, and as far as I know, not annoying car drivers all the time, so I thought I was doing ok. So Liz said to buy this book and I did, and there was a lot in it that I realised I was doing anyway. But there were other ideas and examples where I thought: "Oh, that's really sensible! Why didn't I think of that?" or "Well if [Franklin] can do it, why can't I?" That book definitely made me ride my bike more...bigly? I mean, taking the road more, when you need to. Being in front of car drivers' faces, rather than always being hidden on the left in someone's blind spot.

And the male/female divide?

I would say that younger males tend to have the more stubborn or cocky outlook when they're let in control of a vehicle. The insurance companies know that sort of thing backwards. Although I think it's probably as much about self-confidence as anything. You'll get some girls who are really tough and confident, and some boys who aren't. I think it takes a certain level of experience, or perhaps an accident, to appreciate the idea that you're not invincible after all, and maybe, you know, maybe you should be looking at yourself in a different way.

Talking of invincibility, do you wear a helmet all the time? Where do you stand on the issue of compulsion?

Ooh, that's a bit controversial! Well I have a helmet and I wear it most of the time, I think of it as insurance against potential knocks and bumps. But I also feel quite ok to ride in the rush hour traffic without one. I think I can see situations happening and try to avoid them, but you know, it's only polystyrene, it's not like some magic forcefield, so I'm riding along knowing that if a car hits me at 30 or 40mph, it can only take the edge off the impact, and the rest of the impact might still be too much. It's a bit morbid isn't it? If I ride along in the winter and I slide and hurt myself, that's my fault. I want to be able to ride along and know that I have the basic right not to be hit by a tonne of metal, rather than the law saying I have to protect myself against other people's actions or I'll get fined or something.

I remember when bike helmets started coming into the shops, I think I was about the third person at my school to buy a helmet. I was doing adventurous things like riding up and down hills on my mountain bike, so a helmet seemed like a good idea just for that; I wasn't being Little Miss Aggressive in traffic or anything! The sort of riding I do now is quite different actually, tarmac is a lot harder than grass and mud. So I've always been anti-compulsion and pro-helmet, as long as people realise that there are limitations to polystyrene.

Do you have any other safety tips?

In traffic, fast is safe. Because you're not having to be overtaken as much, and you can flow with the traffic rather than the other people on the road having to flow around you. That - in theory anyway - means that you're not exposed as much to potential danger. I know not everyone can do fast all the time, and slow is fine as long as you make allowances for it.

One of my bugbears is lights, though. Get some half-decent lights, and ones that work consistently! They're not even very expensive nowadays so there's no excuse not to have some for the dark. Then recharge them frequently so that they don't die on you halfway home. In fact, I would say it's best to have a backup light too. You can do the Christmas Tree approach with lights everywhere, but that can end up being confusing to other people as to whether you're definitely a bike or maybe something different. A bike has a definite signature to it in the dark, so it's a good idea to try to keep to that. And reflectives, get some yellow ankle bands for the dark, they show up much better than little pedal reflectors, and that's if your pedals have reflectors at all. I've started to use the ankle bands on my wrists too, to help car drivers see my signalling - my gloves are black and they don't show up too well at night.

What else...pedestrians! People can and will walk on the bike path without realising it, so be extra aware and be ready with your brakes. Actually, there's a shared path near my work but there's so little signage or colouring to remind you which side is which that the dividing line might as well not be there. Even I forget which side I'm meant to use! And if it's a path next to a busy road, people will tend to walk on the side that's furthest from the road - even if that's the bike lane and it's a different colour, with little bicycles painted on the ground. I think that's more down to human instinct than anything else but you can't go flying along just expecting everyone to be walking in the right place. So basically, be ready to expect anything.

Do you enjoy yourself on your bike?

Every day is filled with terror and I come home dying on my feet! No, seriously, I really like cycling. Once you've got yourself to a basic level of fitness and have a waterproof jacket, you've got the fresh air, the wind, you can hear the birds singing, you can use the roads to get from A to B efficiently or you can use canal paths or whatever to have a change of scenery. Sure, sometimes it's a faff with padlocks and bungies and carrying clothes and things, but when you get into the swing of it, and cycling is kind of just what you do, it doesn't matter in the end. And for me there's the feeling that I've gone all this way under my own steam. Me, a few muscles and my lungs, and a few bananas.

I think many of us would agree with that sentiment. Is there anything else you'd like to add before we finish?

I'll speak from experience here! Don't have more than one bike, really, don't. If you have more than one, it just makes you spend more time fiddling and adjusting things, and it makes it harder to choose which bike to take out each day!

Well, thank you, Becky, for being so generous with your time. I wish you safe riding.

Thank you.

[4] Authoress's note: Little did I know what the following March would hold.

I spoke for a long time because I wanted to expand on a lot of things. It was fun to do and really made me think about what I do on a bike and why. Next time though, I'm getting someone quicker than me to type the audio transcription!