Tips and techniques for safer, saner bicycling

First, let’s get this straight: I’m not talking about kids on the sidewalk with their cute pink bikes. I don’t expect them to see me or be aware of their surroundings. When that cyclist is truly old enough to get out on the street, however, and ride with the traffic they have a responsibility to drivers and other cyclists.

I put in between 10 and 20 miles a day on my bike during reasonably good weather. That can be everything from a trip to the store, a doctor appointment or a pleasure ride. I ride all kinds of surface streets with the understanding that I am a wheeled vehicle and subject to the same rules as a driver.

Up til now, I’ve harped on the bad manners of drivers. And, there’s still plenty of that to go around. A week or so ago, A couple drivers thought it smart to speed up to whip around in front of me to get on the freeway or make a simple right turn, when slowing down and easing in from behind would have been the right - and safer - thing to do.

The last few days, I’ve nearly been whacked by other cyclists.

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Great Basin Bicycles: great help when you need it

I was riding around doing some errands today, and my bike lock decided to die. I’ve been riding more than 40 years and have yet to see a bike lock go bad. The housing around the combo part was seriously cracked … I must of dropped it, but I thought “heck, that won’t have anything to do with its functionality.”

Famous last words.

After my husband came to rescue me with the Subaru, we were just a minute from Great Basin Bicycles in south Reno, on Virginia Street. so it seemed like the best place to go for a bolt or cable cutter.

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