Mec Bike - D First Ride

11
MEC BIKE MANUAL
10
Before you attempt to jump, do stunt riding or race with your bike, read
and understand Section 2F.
7 Ride at a speed appropriate for conditions. Higher speed means higher risk.
B Riding safety
1 Obey all Rules of the Road and all local trac laws.
2 You are sharing the road or the path with others — motorists, pedestrians
and other cyclists. Respect their rights.
3 Ride defensively. Always assume that others do not see you.
4 Look ahead, and be ready to avoid:
– vehicles slowing or turning, entering the road or your lane ahead
of you, or coming up behind you.
– parked car doors opening.
– pedestrians stepping out.
– children or pets playing near the road.
– pot holes, sewer grating, railroad tracks, expansion joints, road or sidewalk
construction, debris and other obstructions that could cause you to swerve
into trac, catch your wheel or cause you to have an accident.
– the many other hazards and distractions which can occur on a
bicycle ride.
5 Ride in designated bike lanes, on designated bike paths or as close to
the edge of the road as possible, in the direction of trac flow or as
directed by local governing laws.
6 Stop at stop signs and trac lights; slow down and look both ways at street
intersections. Remember that a bicycle always loses in a collision with a
motor vehicle, so be prepared to yield even if you have the right of way.
7 Use approved hand signals for turning and stopping.
8 Never ride with headphones. They mask trac sounds and emergency
vehicle sirens, distract you from concentrating on what’s going on around
you, and their wires can tangle in the moving parts of the bicycle, causing
you to lose control.
9 Never carry a passenger, unless it is a small child wearing an approved
helmet and secured in a correctly mounted child carrier or a child-
carrying trailer.
10 Never carry anything which obstructs your vision or your complete
control of the bicycle, or which could become entangled in the moving
parts of the bicycle.
11 Never hitch a ride by holding on to another vehicle.
12 Don’t do stunts, wheelies or jumps. If you intend to do stunts, wheelies,
jumps or go racing with your bike despite our advice not to, read Section 2F,
Downhill, Stunt or Competition Biking, now. Think carefully about your skills
before deciding to take the large risks that go with this kind of riding.
2 Safety
A The basics
WARNING The area in which you ride may require specific safety devices.
It is your responsibility to familiarize yourself with the laws of the area
where you ride and to comply with all applicable laws, including properly
equipping yourself and your bike as the law requires.
Observe all local bicycle laws and regulations. Observe regulations about
bicycle lighting, licensing of bicycles, riding on sidewalks, laws regulating
bike path and trail use, helmet laws, child carrier laws, special bicycle trac
laws. It’s your responsibility to know and obey the laws.
1 Always wear a cycling helmet which meets the latest
certification standards and is appropriate for the
type of riding you do. Always follow the helmet
manufacturer’s instructions for fit, use and care of
your helmet. Most serious bicycle injuries involve
head injuries which might have been avoided if the
rider had worn an appropriate helmet.
WARNING Failure to wear a helmet when riding may result
in serious injury or death.
2 Always do the Mechanical Safety Check (Section 1C) before you get on
a bike.
3 Be thoroughly familiar with the controls of your bicycle: brakes (Section 4C);
pedals (Section 4E); shifting (Section 4D).
4 Be careful to keep body parts and other objects away from the sharp
teeth of chainrings, the moving chain, the turning pedals and cranks, and
the spinning wheels of your bicycle.
5 Always wear:
– shoes that will stay on your feet and will grip the pedals. Make sure
that shoe laces cannot get into moving parts, and never ride barefoot or
in sandals.
– bright, visible clothing that is not so loose that it can be tangled in the
bicycle or snagged by objects at the side of the road or trail.
– protective eyewear, to protect against airborne dirt, dust and bugs — tinted
when the sun is bright, clear when it’s not.
6 Don’t jump with your bike. Jumping a bike, particularly a BMX or mountain
bike, can be fun; but it can put huge and unpredictable stress on the
bicycle and its components. Riders who insist on jumping their bikes risk
serious damage, to their bicycles as well as to themselves.