The adventures of bicycling to work...

I bicycle to work, for a number of reasons. One, if I drove it would take me longer, and cost more because in the United Kingdom, there aren't that many free parking areas, and definitely aren't any that are close to where I work. Two, it is the fastest form of transportation.

However, because I don't want to be perceived as one of those "asshole bikers" people tend to think, I obey the rules of the road. First, I don't ride on the side walk unless it is marked for both pedestrians and bicycles, with a sign like this one.

I try to obey traffic rules to the best of my ability. I stop at red lights, pedestrian or otherwise. I yield at roundabouts, I stay in the bicycle lane if I am able and I use arm signals to allow drivers to know what my intentions are.

However, I've learned very quickly that if I plan on surviving, I need to break the rule occasionally because some drivers are either completely unaware of us, or they just plain hate us. I've had cars pull out in front of me, both at night and during the day, and with each occasion of this happening, I was wearing my bright yellow high visibility reflective vest, and at night, with my lights on set to strobe. In all but one of the situations of drivers pulling out in front of me, I avoided a collision by going up onto the sidewalk. The one incident, I actually had enough time to stop.

I've had one guy veer into a clearly marked bicycle lane because he was angry that I was speeding past cars standing still in traffic. The only reason I know the guy did it on purpose is because when I was forced to stop behind him, he leaned out the window and laughed. He then moved back into the car lane, allowing me to pass him, again laughing at me through his opened passenger window.

I had one lady brush into me, THREE TIMES, as she passed by me when traffic for her started moving again. This particular incident, I hate to admit, I actually snapped and confronted the lady when she was yet again sitting in traffic. The only reason I know it was the same lady was because of her silly "baby on board" sign stuck to her rear window.

Since I've actually started to live in Ipswich, since late last September, I've gradually become more and more of a aggressive bicyclist. Not one of those "asshole bikers" that people tend to have a hatred to, but one that tends to force drivers to slow down, stop or avoid getting close to me.

I do this by a number of ways. When going through roundabouts, I am in the middle of the lane, not along the edge of the roundabout. The reason I do this is because it prevents cars wondering if I'm going to go through an exit or take an exit off the roundabout. With me in the middle of the lane, it forces cars behind me to wait for me to exit. As always, I clearly use arm signals to indicate my intentions to drivers around me, but unlike them, I can't keep my arm up as I am navigating through a roundabout. Yes, I know that this behavior of mine is probably considered annoying to drivers, because they have to wait a few seconds more to go through the roundabout but I feel it is safer for me, because I take up space not allowing a driver to come up beside me, and potentially cutting me off as they exit a roundabout ahead of me.

I also have learned to split lane, or whatever they call it in England. I do this for two main reasons. One, cars tend to hug the curb in traffic, and two, drivers also tend to look in their driver side mirrors more than their passenger side one. This means that I have a higher probability of being seen by drivers. Now, I understand that this might seem more dangerous because I am riding into the opposite side traffic, but since cars tend to hug the curbs more in traffic than when traffic is moving, I have plenty of room without having to moving into the opposing lanes.

I love riding my bicycle. I now ride roughly 10 miles each morning as exercise before taking a quick shower and then jumping back on that same bicycle to head to work. I also want to obey all traffic laws to the best of my ability. I also want to be safe, I have a wife and 4 kids to take care of. If I have to become another "asshole biker" or annoy some drivers for a few seconds to be safe, then I will do so.

So one bicyclist to other bicyclist, I say, please, try to obey the laws as much as possible to remove the "asshole biker" tag that so many drivers have for us. Also, as a bicyclist to drivers, I say, please watch out for us. We are riding 20 to 30lbs bicycles and will never win in a collision with your 2000 to 3000 lbs vehicle. We also have the same right to be on the road as you do.

Be safe everyone.