Challenge yourself and save gas money

May 14 to 18 is National Bike-to-Work Week. With the price of gas rising every week, a bicycle is a good alternative if you live close to your work.

Even if you don’t ride your bicycle to work, it is a great time to pull your bike out of storage, clean it, oil it, and get it in riding condition. It is great exercise for the whole family. Riding a bicycle can be fun and definitely has many health benefits.  

There are approximately 57 million cyclists on our roads today.

Safety is a major issue. Learning to share the road is a goal for law enforcement agencies, motorcycle enthusiasts and vehicle operators.

Bike riding requires balance between fun on the road and knowing essential rules that apply to bike riders and cars alike.

The League of American Bicyclists offers several safety reminders when you or your children are on the road.

• Remember that bicycles are vehicles with the same rights, rules, and responsibilities of other road users.

• Motorists should only pass a bicycle when it is safe to do so. Slow down and give the cyclists three feet of passing room.

• As a bicyclist, obey all traffic laws, stop signs, and traffic lights.

• Laws require bicycles to have lights at night, and common sense requires helmet use.

• Learn to share the road.

Let’s get back to helmets. Helmets can prevent many head injuries that can result from falling off a bike and hitting your head on the pavement or other object.

However, wearing a helmet will do nothing to prevent you from getting hit by a car.

You should always wear a helmet to prevent head injuries, but your first goal should be to avoid getting hit by a car.

Many cyclists are killed every year, not from the lack of a helmet, but from not following the rules of the road.

There seems to be three common scenarios that involve motor vehicles and bicyclists. Almost 49 percent of bicycle accidents occur when motorists make a left turn in front of a cyclist approaching from the opposite direction; 27 percent of accidents occur when motorists fail to yield the right-of-way at a junction; 7.3 percent involved bicyclists making a left turn in front of a motorist.

You as a bicyclist have responsibilities when you are on the road.

• Obey all traffic regulations, signs, signals, and markings.

• Observe all local ordinances pertaining to bike safety.

• Keep right:  drive with traffic, not against it and ride single file.

• Keep as close to the curb as possible, but make yourself visible to vehicle drivers.

• Watch out for drain grates, soft shoulders and other road hazards.

• Make sure you have a head light and proper reflectors for night riding and a side mirror for vision.

• Know your hand signals for turning or stopping.

• Drive a safe bike. Have it inspected and make sure the brakes work properly.

Did you know

Kansas City Bike Week is offering a Car-Free challenge.The goal is to get people to replace car trips with bicycling, walking, transit, or carpooling. These trips can be to work or school, the grocery store, the video store, out to eat, or just visiting friends. Live like your life depends on it.   If you are interested in the car-free challenge, log onto http://kcbike.info/bikeweek/rules.php