We have been cyclists for many years, we experience the products we produce and design on our bicycle. Thanks to the experience of numerous professional teams, we test and improve them year after year, but unfortunately we are not yet able to create a product that makes us immune from road accidents.
It is a growing negative sensation that invests us while we pedal, lack of security, distraction and stupidity, perhaps carelessness, but in the last ten years the situation has worsened considerably. And then what to do?
We asked our guys in the company, passionate cyclists, we asked the same question to those who work there with bicycles, to the athletes we sponsor and to the UCI teams and we have collected a series of useful tips that we can apply every day to ensure that our ride of pure amusement does not turn into tragedy.
Dress in visible colors.
We abandon the classic black, even if it is fashionable and we use a type of clothing that can make us more visible, especially in winter when the days get short. Some studies have shown that at a speed of 50km/h the yellow color is visible at 40 metres, white at 55 and green at distances greater than 100 metres.
Use the front and rear lights
Lights are another key ingredient for your safety. There are special rear radars on the market which signal the presence of oncoming cars on the cycle computer. Not only that, as the car approaches, the rear light increases the flashing frequency to increase visibility.
Just a matter of marketing?
No.
We gladly tested the Garmin Radar 715 and were incredibly amazed. Safety is guaranteed by a very strong light that makes us visible, the intermittence that increases as the car approaches helps the driver to remain attentive at all times. The result is that of an overtaking with a wide margin by us.
Fantastic.
Avoid groups.
The highway code is clear.
“ Cyclists must proceed in a single file in all cases where traffic conditions require it and, in any case, never more than two side by side. When they circulate outside inhabited centers they must always proceed in a single file, unless one of them is less than ten years old and proceeds on the right”
Unfortunately, we are the weak element circulating on the road, the one most prone to injury in the event of a road accident. It is therefore a good rule to proceed in single file, respecting the highway code and common sense.
Respect the right of way and traffic lights.
As previously mentioned, we are the weakest on the road. We respect precedence. Even if the personal average could decrease, the most important thing we have is life, so let’s try to think with our heads while always respecting the highway code. Let us always remember that it is precisely when we lower our attention bar that the worst things happen.
“I’ve already passed here many times, I pass even if I don’t have the right of way. I went through a red light many times and nothing ever happened”, are the classic phrases we hear from cyclists.
Even the professionals of our supported teams have recommended that we scrupulously follow the highway code. And if they tell them that they do it by profession…
Alternative roads with less traffic.
We try to travel as far as possible on unfrequented roads. We have a bicycle, and this is precisely the beauty of this fascinating means of transport, freedom.
We go out for fun, so we can also leave the rush at home, take alternative routes, perhaps slower but less frequented by cars for this very reason will certainly make us feel better, without the anxiety of being invisible.
In summary, therefore, it is very important to respect the highway code, scrupulously follow stop signs, precedence and traffic lights and be visible at all costs. Let’s avoid going in groups and take a few hours to explore less busy streets. Haste, as in everything, is a bad adviser, and life is only one.
