40,000-mile cyclist’s tips for avoiding car-bicycle conflict

My undercover mission to investigate car-vs.-cyclist incidents has revealed that small changes might reduce accidents and injuries.

Brent Jacinto, a cyclist who hit 40,000 miles over a 15year span last week, provided advice on how to stay safe.

At my neophyte stage, having spun 200 miles, my wife and I have not had any close calls. Car drivers are slowing down, giving us wide berth, and many wave as they go by us.

There have been no shouting matches, like we’ve seen at times between car drivers and cyclists, each of whom seems to feel their rightful space on the road is violated by the other.

According to the Governors Highway Safety Association, 338 cyclists were killed in California from 2010 to 2012, the most in the nation.

Maybe Jacinto’s recommendations can make a difference.

“The roads were built for cars, not cycling, so sometimes it gets tight out there,” Jacinto said.

He advised to stay clear of narrow roads with no shoulder and high-traffic areas.

“Sometimes they don’t see us,” he added. “Don’t blow through red lights and stop signs.”

A key, Jacinto said, is to “light up your bikes.”

On the handlebars, we have flashing white strobes. That helps avoid being leftturned by crossing traffic ahead of us. On the backs of our seats, we have red lights that can flash in different patterns, and below that, strobe-bright LED orange lights that are rimmed in bright red.

Per Jacinto’s advice, we have two rearview mirrors on the left handlebar — one wide-view mirror for long distance, another smaller one for short distance. We wear helmets, ride single file on the far right and stay aware.

It has worked. Not a single conflict. The riding is euphoric. And Jacinto, after 40,000 miles, is proof it works long-term as well.

You can’t fix stupid, Jacinto noted, and there are plenty of representatives of that on both sides. Cyclists can use lights to be seen, mirrors for awareness and make peace with drivers, not war.