So I just bought a mountain bike to use for getting around base and though I used to bike all the time back home, I lived in the middle of nowhere and only biked on rural roads and trails.

I looked in an AFI (Air Force Instruction) for the regulations and all it says is you must wear a helmet, have a headlight and reflective gear at night, and not ride on high traffic roads during hours of high traffic.

Today I road out toward the main gate to the gas station there and it's a multilane road as the hospital is there too, and it's the main exit. Being the weekend there wasn't a lot of traffic and I just stuck to the right hand side of the road. However returning from the gas station there's a traffic light and several lanes (left turn, right turn, etc). So I assume on a bike I just fall in behind traffic in the turning lane right? The light is just a blinking yellow, so basically turning traffic yields to traffic on the main road. I just followed right behind a car that was turning, but if there were more traffic do I have to give a turn signal?

I remember learning bicycle / motorcycle hand signals once but kind of forget them. Something like arm at a 90 degree angle is right turn, straight left is left, is that right?

Are you required to use those signals in a city? (Again I couldn't find any regulation for on base but I assume it'd follow city rules).


Aside from all that, the town of Mountain Home is about 10-15 miles off base, do you think it's practical to bike there? The road is sort of like a highway, but it's the only road, pretty much through a desert (though not a hot desert) where the speed limit is like 75. The road is all flat so what average speed might I make in 21st gear? If I just ride along the side of this road I should be cool and hopefully not die, right? haha. Like I said I've never ridden a bike on a road like this.

As a cyclist, you should follow the same rules as a motorist.That means stopping at lights, signalling, etc. And don't cycle on the footpath.

Basically, act like you're a car, you dont need to ride in the gutter, but a bit closer to the side of the road is best. You arent supposed to slip inbetween/past cars if theyve stopped at lights, although most people tend to just slip past which can be pretty dangerous

Always indicate. It doesnt matter if you're in the middle of town, or a country lane. Always do it. Always. Ive had cyclists bike right into me before because they didnt indicate, and how the hell am i supposed to know what they are going to do if they don't indicate?

What I like to do is get going as fast as humanly possible, slam into the back of a stationary vehicle at a stop light, and try to get my flailing body to vault over the pole. Do this at a busy intersection so another car can cushion your fall, and if you survive, tally your score based on the amount of damage you caused and how long it takes for the cops to arrest you.

Haha. So don't bike on the sidewalk? Gah totally did that today lol. Alright I'll have to look up how to signal properly. I'm trying to figure out if I should bike into town to see the Avengers. It will be over after 9 so I'd be biking back along that road in the dark (I have a helmet headlight and reflective vest as required for on base). But it's a Saturday night and the last thing I need is for some DUI to ram me off the road going 90mph (it's literally a completely straight road from here to town so everyone speeds and races on it). Also apparently our base has the largest meth community around it...So now I'm thinking someone will cut the lock on my bike at the movie theater, or jump me on the way back to base... LOL. I need a pocket knife until I can afford a gun.

EDIT:

Okay looked up the hand signals. Basically you don't even use the 90 degree thing for a right turn anymore, they say just point where you're turning as motorists tend not to understand what the other signal means.

So let's say I'm coming to a stop sign and I make a complete stop. While I'm waiting for traffic to clear to make my turn do I keep my arm out so as people pull up behind me they know where I'm going? Lol, or should I just point before I make the turn?

You should get a bell, or horn.

I HATE cyclists.

Why do you have to go on a major road during rush hour traffic when you're not going to go more than 15 or 20 MPH?

I want to run them over everytime I'm stuck behind them. Yes, you're healthy, but it seems you lack common sense.

Not if you can help it. If you absolutely have to for whatever reason, then go slowly and don't expect pedestrians to move; on the sidewalk they have right of way, not you.

Install turn signals on bike...


Stay away from Austin too many dead cyclists this year.

Someone plays Saints' Row III

THIS!
If you are a cyclist stay away from the roads and go to parks where you can go in circles all day.

What if they have no other way to get places? I rode my bike everyday to work during the summer but of course used the bike lanes. And of course you get the dumb, reckless drivers that don't look both ways when making a right turn. I nearly got hit because of that.

If you are a driver stay away from the roads and go to tracks where you can go in circles all day.

Use your manly military hands. You shouldnt need anything more


Ive never heard of the 90 degree thing, i just signal left or right. Theres no point being still and holding your arm out for ages, i tend to do it when im moving. No need to stand there with your arm out for ages.

If there is no bike lanes then use the sidewalks. If there is no sidewalk or bike lane then use public transportation.

Yeah, I'll stick to cycling on the roads.

By law cyclists have as much right to use the road as a motorist. The motorist can wait for a suitable time to pass a cyclist. If at all possible, not in the same lane. Filled up my camelbak, about to head out and see if I make the ride, rest during the Avengers, and hurry back in the dark..lol We'll see how that goes. Let's hope I can take my camelbak and backpack into the movie theater, because I'm not going to leave it all out with the bike...lol.

They're for pedestrian use, not cyclists. Like it or not, cycles are road vehicles, and as such don't really mix well with pedestrians. Fortunately, most realise this, though a few don't (or don't care.)

Exactly what you shouldnt do.
Go in a bike lane, if there isn't one go on the road. Do not go on the pavement.

How about no, have some respect for others and share the road. If you have to change lanes and go around do so but don't speed past a cyclist just cause "They're in your way".



Yea, that's pretty much it. I would personally advise against riding where the speed limit is 75 and doesn't have a bike lane but that's just me. I ride all over Louisville but the speed limit usually is 45 max around the city and I never have an issue with cars. Usually ride with others and we stick to the right side of the road if there is no bike lane and the road is wide. Some roads we ride with traffic and follow all normal road rules. Rarely we get some [censored] who has to do 50 in a 35 zone that needs to speed past us.

Yeah every cyclist I've ever seen expects me to move when I'm on foot. No - you watch out for me - you're the one on a vehicle.

Round these parts sidewalks are for scooters. Crazy bastards.

I'm not sure I need any more reasons to not go out, but if I lived there, that one would be perfect.

Around here by law a cyclist HAS to use the road. Sidewalks can get you a ticket, not that I've ever actually seen it happen.

I've seen it happen. Damn university police..

Luckily, the university and neighboring areas are full of bike lanes, so I don't usually have to deal with the annoyance of disrespectful motorists acting like you're the biggest annoyance on the planet for riding a bicycle. Though I have before.

I'm not a cyclist, but my Dad is, and he can definitely relate. The crap he's had to put up with occasionally is pretty ridiculous. The worst incident was where someone threw a baseball at him out of a moving car. Aside from the fact that he was damn near killed (a couple inches higher and it would have gone straight into his face), they never caught the [censored] that did it either.