9
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 traffic 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 1.C) before you get on a bike.
3. Be thoroughly familiar with the controls of your bicycle: brakes (Section 4.C.); pedals (Section 4.E.); shifting (Section 4.D.)
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.
Before you attempt to jump, do stunt riding or race with your bike, read and understand Section 2.F.
7. Ride at a speed appropriate for conditions. Higher speed means higher risk.
B. Riding Safety
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