How to... Avoid Crashing

Nobody likes a trip to A&E, sohere are some dos and don’ts for avoiding disaster on a bike.

1 STAY ALERT

When you’re riding long distances it’s easy to become distracted or even drift into a near hypnotic state. To avoid it, regularly check your environment. This is especially applicable at this time of year when visibility is poor. On busy roads, check the rear windows of parked cars to see if there are people in there about to fling a door open. If riding in a pack, listen or watch for signs from fellow riders about potential hazards ahead. Also consider this: just because you’ve ridden a route hundreds of times before and think it’s familiar, other road users, ice patches, day-dreaming pedestrians and runaway dogs can change that in an instant!

Fatigue can also obviously do its bit to make you groggy. Combat this by staying sufficiently hydrated. Studies show that fluid loss causes a drop in blood volume which makes the heart work harder to push oxygen and nutrients around your body, resulting in lethargy. So get the recommended 475-825ml of fluids down your neck every hour.

2 DON’T OVERLAP WHEELS