Here are some general bicycling safety tips to make your day at the Tour de Cure safer and more enjoyable:
- Concentrate first on learning how to ride safely and with endurance. The Tour De Cure may be one of the most difficult things, physically, that you’ve ever attempted.
- Always stretch before and after riding.
- Have your bike in the best mechanical condition possible. A touring or road bike is the easiest to ride and is the most common type found on the ADA Tour De Cure.
- Safety involves several items. The first is your helmet. DON’T GET ON A BIKE WITHOUT A HELMET. Safety equipment also includes gloves. If you fall they protect the palms of your hands. Riding safely is very important, especially in a large ride like the Tour de Cure. Have a mirror on your helmet or your bike and use it.
- Ride single-file and pass on the outside (left), letting the rider in front of you know you're passing.
- Carry a spare inner tube in case you have a flat. There will be bike repair support along the route, but you should also bring your own tube(s). Even if you do not have the knowledge to change a tire yourself, someone will be glad to help.
- The greatest threat to your well-being on the route is not cars or trucks but other cyclists. Many riders may be riding for the first time surrounded by many other cyclists. While this circumstance promotes a certain euphoria, it also holds hidden dangers, i.e., running into each other and falling down. Give each other plenty of space.
- Before you stop, make sure no bicycles or motor vehicles are immediately behind you. Stop at the right edge of the roadway and immediately move off the roadway. Stay clear of the roadway. Stopping is especially dangerous at the crest of a hill or on a curve.
- Call out to fellow cyclists when you are going to pass on the left or right or up the middle, or are pulling off or pulling on the route.
- Be predictable and don’t weave. Ride in a straight line to make it easier for those riding behind you.
- Don’t draft. Drafting in a crowd is dangerous to yourself and others around you. Drafting vehicles is also dangerous and will not be tolerated on the Tour De Cure.
- Know what the road signs mean.
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