Accident Prevention Series - Introduction

Improving your road skills

Amos Brumble has been racing bicycles since 1988 and has entered and won some of the most prestigious and grueling bike races in the world. Having grown up in Westerly, Rhode Island Amos spent his formative youth in Belgium – the unofficial cycling capitol of the world. While in Belgium Amos raced and studied under some of the most revered names within the industry. Today Amos lives in Westerly and runs Brumble Bikes. He still races his bike and currently holds a United States Cycling Federation (USCF) Category 1 license and races for the CCB International racing team. Though Amos still competes, and still wins, he is often seen mentoring or coaching the myriad of cyclists who look to him for his unique and caring mentoring.

Cycling is an activity we started doing as kids. From those first wobbly pedal strokes to cruising along for miles, the pleasure we experience from riding that is hard to replace. But, as we get older, we recognize the risks associated with cycling. We see how we can be hurt and, sadly, ride less often. If we have children, we may be reluctant to get them out riding.

As a long time cyclist and Cat 1 racer with a solid record of avoiding getting car/bike accidents, I would like to pass on some helpful tips and suggestions that may help restore some of the joy of cycling and enthusiasm to share it with our kids.

Learn to Identify and Anticipate High Risk Situations

The most effective and best step that you can take as a cyclist riding on the road is to learn to recognize situations where vehicle/bike issues can occur. This fundamental defensive action should help avoid accidents and dangerous situations. The four most common situations where bad things can happen are:

1. Oncoming drivers cutting you off by making a left turn across your line of travel.
2. Drivers passing you from behind and then making a right turn turning shortly after passing you.
3. Drivers merging into traffic from side streets into your path.
4. Drivers opening doors in parked cars into your line of travel.