Scared to Bike in the City? Here’s the Gear You Need to Stay Safe—Plus 10 Smart Tips from Skilled Cyclists

The data wasn’t encouraging. American streets are dangerous places, even in a two-ton box of steel. The Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development said the U.S. had the highest per capita rate of deaths from road accidents among the 38 countries from its data set in 2021, the most recent year for which it has statistics.

And cyclists face considerable threats. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration reported that fatal injuries to cyclists went up by 9.2% between 2019 and 2020, and by another 5.2% by the end of the 2021. Sheryl Porter, a 52-year-old stay-at-home mom in Grand Prairie, Texas, told me drivers sometimes play “Chicken” with her. More chilling, Mark Lowe, 49, a physician assistant in Aurora, Colo., said he once had a driver ride beside him, roll down his window and aim a handgun in his face.

And yet, both bike a lot. Veon McReynolds, 71, a retired university administrator, said the key to staying safe is treating cars like dogs. “If you come up to a dog and feel like it’s going to bite you, you’ll approach that dog a lot differently.” He said even drivers in Houston, full of six-lane highways, respect cyclists who look comfortable and regularly look behind them.

Dressing the part can also help. Though some studies indicate that drivers give cyclists with helmets less room, most people I talked to always wear one. Most also ride with front- and taillights, both to be more visible and ensure they can spot hazards.

After buying a helmet, I borrowed a bike and tried projecting confidence in a small loop in my neighborhood. I’m sure I resembled a giraffe calf, awkwardly shifting my weight to find balance. But for the most part, car drivers gave me a wide berth. It felt a lot less scary than I’d imagined.

For advice more-specific to New York, I took a lesson with Bike New York, a not-for-profit that hosts free classes for cyclists of all ages and experience levels. Rich Conroy, director of education, taught me how to make sure my bike was in good shape before I rode, watched me practice a graceful stop (the trick is to press down on your brakes gradually, not too hard or too quickly), and showed me how to deploy my bike’s gears to crush hills.

The most useful lesson, however, was the “power start.” When stopped at a light, put the foot of your dominant leg on the ground, and keep the other on the pedal, held parallel with the bottom tube. When the light turns green, push off the ground hard, then down on the pedal. You’ll zoom.

Since my lesson, I’ve encountered some unexpected annoyances like construction and tricky intersections. More than once, I’ve had to raise my voice to get the attention of a driver who was seemingly scrolling through TikTok. But I’ve avoided tragedy. I zipped down to a coffee shop to meet a friend. I corralled a group into crossing the Manhattan Bridge, with the promise of dumplings in Chinatown. Even pedaling to Bike Plant, a shop by my house, to buy gloves felt like an adventure.

Of course, New York’s bike infrastructure is relatively good. You can easily navigate from bike lane to bike lane. This wasn’t the case circa 2000. “Biking in New York City used to look like a cross between a ‘70s disaster film and ‘Mad Max,’” said Janette Sadik-Khan, currently a principal at Bloomberg Associates, a philanthropic consulting firm. Then the streets were filled with potholes, glass and loose gravel. In 2007, she became the NYC DOT commissioner, with a mandate to reshape the streets to be safer and more friendly to pedestrians, buses and cyclists.

Ms. Sadik-Khan said she aimed to create connected networks of bike paths, so that you could go from path to path on your way anywhere, minimizing the amount of time you had to bike in the flow of car traffic. Since she left the department in 2013, the city has continued this work. New York now has over 1,500 miles of dedicated bike lanes. The proliferation has dramatically increased cycling traffic, but NYC DOT data collected between 2000 and 2018 indicates the infrastructure improvements have reduced the risk of severe injury and death to cyclists by 80%.

Similar changes might be coming to streets near you in the wake of the pandemic biking boom. According to estimates from StreetLight Data, a mobility analytics research firm, at least 15 U.S. cities saw a staggering 50% year-over-year growth in bicycling between September 2019 and the same month in 2020, including centers like Omaha, Neb., Little Rock, Ark., and Birmingham, Ala.

Streets in some cities have been closed to car traffic. All the while, splashy bike-lane projects are under way in places like Providence, R.I., and Bloomington, Ind.

I’m ready to try them all. Especially now that it’s spring.

BELLS AND WHISTLES

A few accessories to help keep you safe, and ensure you don’t spend so much time fretting about losing your bike that you never leave home

1. Agreeable Alerter

If you haven’t used a bell since your tricycle days, get one—they’re an easy way to signal your presence to pedestrians and drivers. The Spurcycle Bell ($59) is remarkably resonant, which means people will even hear it from inside their SUVs.

2. Hard Hat

Many new helmets like the Giro Register ($70) are designed with an extra internal liner, which can minimize the amount of rotational forces your head experiences in a crash. Helmets with this feature will have a yellow sticker that says “MIPS” on the side. I’ve also been using an attached EVT Helmet Mirror ($40), which improves my spatial awareness, though it’s no substitute for looking back.

3. Theft Protection

While you can certainly use a regular Bluetooth tracker like the Tile Sticker with your bike, the Knog Scout ($60) is designed to be mounted more stealthily. It’s fully waterproof and can produce an extremely loud sound if you deem your bike lost.

4. Pump it Up

In the case of a flat tire, you’ll always want to keep a patch kit (like the TT02 from Rema Tip Top ($3.50)) and bike pump on hand. The Topeak Mini ($40) is bitty and light (only 6 ounces), but has a foldout foot pad that makes it easy to use.

5. Infinite Illumination

Front and rear lighting help you both see and be seen. The Sinewave Beacon 2 ($350) is a front light that works in conjunction with a Dynamo hub, which, when installed to your wheel, captures some of the energy you use to pedal and converts it to electricity. This makes the Beacon a light you’ll never have to recharge. Bonus: it has a USB port for juicing up your phone.

6. Major Key

It’s a bad idea to leave your bike unlocked in the city, obviously. The Kryptonite New-U New York Lock ($148) features a double deadbolt. For thieves to get your bike, they would have to saw through each arm individually. Most won’t bother with the hassle.

PEDALING POINTERS

Advice care of avid cyclists from all over North America

“Get out and ride with a group or local club.”

—Samuel Bland, 29, software developer, Louisville, K.Y.

“Do the ‘A.B.C.’ bike check. ‘A’ stands for ‘air,’ as in your tires. ‘B’ stands for ‘brakes.’ ‘C’ stands for ‘cranks, chain and cogs,’ which should all be clean and stable.”

—Rich Conroy, 58, education director of Bike New York, Bronx, N.Y.

“Make sure you are rested. If you don’t feel good, you won’t ride well.”

—Sheryl Porter, 52, stay-at-home mom, Grand Prairie, Texas

“Check the weather forecast.” 

—Dori Hornbaker, 56, retired attorney, Fayetteville, Ark.

“Ride defensively. When passing through intersections, for instance, slow down and try to make eye contact with drivers.”

—Mark Lowe, 49, physician assistant, Arvada, Colo.

“Rely on your city’s map of safe, bike infrastructure rather than Google Maps.”

—Charles Montgomery, author ‘Happy City’ (2013), Vancouver, Canada

“Communicate. Learn to make hand signals for your intentions.”

—Lorri Lee Lown, 57, bicycle skills coach, Santa Cruz, Calif.

“Ride earbud-free! But if you do wear earbuds, don’t cover both ears. Leave your roadside ear open, so that you can hear car and street noises.”

—Kenneth Vinson, 56, financial services professional, Los Angeles

“Learn to regularly look back while riding in a straight line. Practice it until you master it.”

—Veon McReynolds, 71, retired college professor/administrator, Houston

“Don’t be cutting off pedestrians—we’re on the same team.”

—Robin Graven-Milne, owner of Bike Plant, Brooklyn, N.Y.

—Responses edited for clarity

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Prop styling by Jacqueline Draper for This Represents; Model: Joseph Oxley