Emergency Maneuvers

​Even if you take precautions while outside on your bike, are alert to your surroundings, and predictable in your actions, there may be a time when you’ll need an emergency maneuver.  According to Larry Mysz, League Cycling Instructor and speaker at the Oct. 13 meeting of the Chicago Cycling Club, sometimes you can’t avoid an obstacle and you need to stop or turn quickly.  If you know how to do this and have practiced the move it will be second nature when you need it and you will be able to “save your bacon”, that is, come out of the situation unharmed.     

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Examples of times when you might need to act quickly when on your bike: 

• Pedestrian steps out from between parked cars
• Car door opens in front of you
• Dog or child runs out
• You are going too fast for a curve
• Car turns right in front of you (right hook)
• Obstruction in the road, such as a pot hole, debris, road kill, glass, or gravel
• You bump the rear wheel of the bike riding in front of you

Two of the most valuable moves in the League of American Bicyclists bike safety curriculum that can be used to avoid a crash are the Quick Stop and Quick Turn.

​Quick Stop
Eighty percent of the braking on a bike comes from the front brake.  But if you brake too hard there is a risk the rear wheel will rise up and the rider will be thrown over the handlebars.  To counteract this, you should transfer as much of your weight as possible to the rear of the bike.  Use both brakes, because studies of braking with just the front, just the rear, and with both brakes have shown that you reduce the distance required to stop the most with both brakes.   

1. Put the pedals in the 3 o’clock and 9 o’clock position so they are level to the ground
2. Stand on the pedals and rise off the saddle
3. Push your weight to the back over the saddle of the bike keeping arms and knees soft and flexed
4. Squeeze both brakes, but apply more pressure to the front
5. If the bike starts to skid, lighten up on the front brake

Quick Turn
To turn a bike it has to lean, but it takes time to setup a lean and in an emergency, you do not have time to implement that unless you force a lean with a counter steer. 

1. For a right turn, turn the handlebars quickly to the left turning the right shoulder left.  This is the counter steer.
2. Then turn the handlebars quickly to the right to catch the fall and complete the turn right
3. Do not use brakes during the turn, this will just slow down the maneuver
4. Keep the outside pedal in the downward position so it will not scrape the ground
5. Keep looking long, or straight ahead
6. Reverse the directions for a left turn

For these maneuvers to become automatic, you will need to practice them so you can react will know exactly what to do without a lot of thought.  You will not have time to think though the options when you need to react quickly to avoid a crash.  In a parking lot or on a light traffic trail you can practice a quick stop at a leaf or mark on the road.  In a parking lot or driveway you can practice a quick turn onto a low traffic street.  There are YouTube videos and, during non-pandemic times, bike safety classes you can take to understand the nuances of these maneuvers.  Larry Mysz's presentation contained videos of these maneuvers in action, and you can watch the Zoom recording.   Passcode: 5s46E7d?

Preparation and practice will help you be safe. 
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