LETTER: Ride right with bikes

Editor,

Except for a few days of highly unusual but badly needed rain, we’ve seen great weather for that campus tradition of riding your bike to class.

Among all the commuting cyclists, we see some who haven’t had the chance to learn more about their bike than how to balance and steer and to “look out for cars.”

Alas, that last bit of learning is their biggest mistake. It leads to all sorts of dangerous actions in the name of safety.

Mistake No. 1 is to ride on the left side of the street, the better to “look out for cars.”

Mistake No. 2 is to ride on roadside sidewalks, the better to stay away from cars.

Mistake No. 3 is to weave around parked cars, the better to “keep as far right as possible.”

Mistake No. 4 is to switch between “car rules” and “pedestrian rules” as the opportunities arise.

The safer rule is to ride “visibly, predictably and legally.”

State law requires you to obey vehicular law.

Bike safety programs, including the Boy Scout cycling merit badge, say that’s the safest way, too.

Here’s a Web page with more details: http://cc.usu.edu/~bob/bike/where_to_ride.html.

See you on the safer, right side of the road.

Bob Bayn

AUS/IT Services