Staying Safe

In Part I of this series, I talked about the trike I ride and what makes it go.    In this installment of the 4 part series, I discuss  some of the optional gear installed on my trike that makes it a safe vehicle to travel in.

“Riding that thing alone on crowded highways sounds really dangerous!”

I get that comment from friends and family pretty often. It’s true that there are some inherent dangers in riding any bike, but I don’t think that the bike I ride or the distances I choose to travel make my journeys any more so.   And of course, I do as much as I can to minimize the risks.

The most important aspects of cycling safety have nothing to do with the equipment we use, but rather with the way we choose to ride. I’ve discussed this already is a separate cycling safety section.

Brakes

Going down the hills  near my neighborhood in Southern California, I would routinely reach speeds in excess of 40 miles per hour on the trike. The fastest I have ever recorded traveling in my trike is 48 miles per hour.   If I am going to ride at these speeds, I certainly need to stop the trike when I want to.   For that, the trike is equipped with two Avid BB7 mechanical disk brakes, one on both front wheels. Disc brakes give plenty of stopping power, and are far easier to adjust and maintain than standard bicycle rim brakes. Hydraulic disc brakes could potentially give more stopping power than mechanical brakes, but the difficulties of repair and/or adjustment in an emergency make them unsuitable for use on an extended solo tour.

The rear wheel of the trike is equipped with an Avid Single Digit 5 Rim Brake. This brake is not used to stop the trike while riding. The danger of potentially locking the rear wheel and causing the rear end to swing to one side thus causing the trike to flip over makes rear wheel running brakes inappropriate for trikes. But this brake can be used as a drag brake, slowing the wheel slightly on a very long and/or steep descent. More commonly, I can use this brake as a parking brake, keeping the trike from rolling away from me when I am not sitting in it.

Navigation

Off road bicycle trails are very safe to ride on.  Roads with low traffic volumes, roads that have marked bicycle lanes and roads that are part of a marked bicycle route are also desirable alternatives. I use a Garmin Edge 705 Cycling Computer on the trike to help me find those safer routes. I can create routes on any of the Internet mapping sites, like Ride With GPS or Map My Ride, and download them into the Garmin. The Garmin will then guide me turn-by-turn through that route. I can also ask the Garmin to navigate to a point of interest or an address, and it will choose an acceptable cycling route. It will remember the route I ride and let me upload it at the end of the day to see where I was. The smart little gadget will also display and record my speed, total distance, elevation, cadence and heart rate while I ride.  It’s  an indispensable tool when riding in unfamiliar places.

Lights

Regardless of what routes I choose, I am going to end up on roads with cars and trucks. One important aspect of staying safe in that environment is to be certain that drivers of other vehicles can see me and that I can see them. To make sure that I am visible, I have festooned the trike with bright, flashing lights from Dinotte Lighting. I have the 400R red tail light and the XML-3 front head light.  In addition to letting me see clearly at night, these lights also act as daytime running lights.  These are the brightest lights I have found for daylight use. I often receive positive comments from motorists telling me how visible I am, from a mile or more away, in bright daylight, due to the bright, flashing, red tail light.

Flags

I have a bright, reflective safety flag from Purple Sky Flags that flaps and glints in the sunlight as I ride.  The flag has streamers on the top and bottom that induce even more motion from the flag as I ride.   I also fly a nice big American Flag that I picked up in the local hardware store.  Flags are much more visible if they move around a lot, and these flags are designed to flap wave regularly in a light breeze.

The trike also has many reflectors, and I have placed reflective tape over many of the trike’s surfaces. All-in-all, I think I am extremely hard to miss when I’m on the road.

Mirrors

Car drivers can see me.  But I also need to see the other vehicles on the road.  When riding the trike, it is awkward to turn around to look behind me, so I have two large Mirrycle Rear View Mirrors.   One mirror is on either side of the trike, so I can clearly see what is happening behind me .

Next Up

If I am going out on a solo tour, I need to carry all the  stuff I need on the trike. In Part III, I’ll talk about how that happens…