Biking to work can be a fun and rewarding experience - giving you the opportunity to burn a few calories and spare the Earth some pollution.
Drivers are often in a hurry during morning and evening commutes and are not always accustomed to watching out for cyclists. Here are some suggestions for selecting a safe route to work:
- Select a route in which you have to make as few left turns as possible. As a result, you may have to take one route to work and a different one to get home.
- Only cross major roads at lighted intersections as opposed to side streets.
- Ride on streets that are wide enough to avoid cycling near parked cars. Watch out for opening car doors.
- Pick streets where the traffic lights are timed to turn green for those traveling at 20 MPH or slower. Then, you can easily make most of the lights on your bicycle and avoid intersection accidents.
- Start your ride on streets that are not uphill. This will give you an opportunity to warm up your legs for a bit.
- Practice your route on the weekends a few times before taking it to work. Time it out to make sure that you can arrive on time and do so safely.
