Bicycling

From OSU Wiki

You are a new arrival at Oregon State University, or even perhaps a grizzled veteran of the university system. Perhaps you have sold your car to fund the education expenses, or maybe the thrill of wind in your hair and exercise tantalizes your senses. Whatever the circumstances or reasons, you should consider opting to use a bike as your primary means of transportation in and about the OSU campus.

The myriad benefits to both health and your wallet should be a strong inducement to choosing this relatively safe and mostly harmless means of travel. As gas prices continue to spiral ever upward along with rising tuition and general costs, cutting a few hundred dollars off of traveling expenses for the year begins to look appealing. Certainly a person could opt to walk, but not everyone cares to invest the fifteen minutes to an hour that such an endeavor would require. If you enjoy jogging, please reconsider to biking in order to preserve the cartilage in your knees beyond the age of 35.

Every building on campus has a bike rack out front, ready and willing to accept and protect the cheap 10-speed selected as your new means of transportation. Appropriately locking up your bike will insure that it will be there when you return. (Hint: don't chain up your quick release tire only, unless the desire for returning to find only a front wheel, or rear wheel, is very strong.) Below are a few tips for safety, traveling and rules and regulations. Just remember, when rain begins coming down at a rate of multiple inches per hour, I strongly recommend the Corvallis transit system as an alternative.

Traveling: Route Selection

Route selection is a critical component of being a successful rider. It is a brave soul who would choose Ninth Street, or Kings as a frequent method of traveling to and from the campus. I will rate several factors that go into good route selection, so that you can minimize the chance of disasterous happenings.

4-way yield: As dangerous a traffic control device as ever there was. Frequent bad visibility mixed with a complete lack of understanding as to its use by the casual motorist makes these a top priority to avoid.

High traffic streets: Figure it like this, the less cars and trucks, the less likely a comet can strike in front of the vehicle next to you, causing them to steer uncontrollable into your general path leading to the ultimate demolition of you and your bike. Best to not tempt fate.

Stop signs: Mostly harmless.

Stop lights: See Stop signs.

School zones: Soccer moms. Be very wary.

Time of day: Always best to avoid such times as when people groggily make their way to work, or especially around 4-6p.m. when the mad dash for freedom is underway. When unavoidable, just be prepared for the worst.

Safety

One critical skill to any bicyclists who would like to avoid accidents is a high level of control while riding. Good balance and general high comfort level while riding is necessary to avoid such gaffes as the random swerve into traffic. Failure to master these skills will make you vulnerable to a painful ending.

Just as is the case when driving, being aware of your surroundings while bicycling will help reduce the risk of an accident. It pays especially to be aware of when you are traveling in the blind-spot of a vehicle, doubly so if they are going to be turning in front of you shortly.

For reasons that remain unknown, motorists often overlook anything that is not another vehicle. It is highly suggested that you take nothing for granted when biking, such as assuming the motorist at the stop-sign will in fact give you the right away. I find that making eye contact will frequently help alleviate the chance of being forced into wild maneuvers to avoid impending death from the car rocketing from the stop as they attempt to test the 0-60mph in 6 seconds claim. If you are unable to receive the eye contact, this is perhaps a good indication that they either don't like you, or don't see you.

General maintenance upon your bicycle is strongly suggested. The last thing anyone would want to occur is breaking or throwing a chain as you strive for max speed, which can result in a most unpleasant acquaintance of your face with the ground.

Rules and Regulations

Bicyclists frequently make the mistake of failing to realize that traffic signs do in fact apply to them. Failure to obey signs can have disasterous results. In a battle between a motorized vehicle and a bike, it would be safe to say that the winner is rarely the bicyclists. In the event of a bicycle-person collision, the pain is often two way, or even fatal as was the case in just such a pile-up in Corvallis that gained some national attention. To protect yourself and others around you, obeying traffic control devices is critical.

When cycling at night, or particularly early in the day, it is required by law that you have some means of being easily seen. This role is usually filled by a variety of objects ranging from a light on the front of the bike, to possibly a reflective jacket. Nobody wants a ticket for something silly like this. Either don't bike during these times, or get the necessary equipment.