We teach the instant stop in Traffic Skills 101 and I daresay, that most who learned it there, couldn’t do it in an emergency today. That’s because it takes practice to get it right and then, an occasional refresher. And like most athletic maneuvers, the set-up has huge influence on the outcome.

So what’s the anatomy of a panic stop? The front brake on a bicycle has potentially most of the bike’s stopping power. As brakes are applied, one’s weight will normally shift forward placing more weight on the front wheel than the rear so the rear will start to lose traction sooner. The farther forward the weight transfer the more effective the front brake. In extreme cases the front wheel may even lock up and over the handle bars you go.

The technique we teach for the instant stop is to come off the saddle, raise your butt up and behind the saddle over the rear wheel and hold it there with arm strength, while applying the brakes. Front brake pressure should be up to three times rear brake pressure. By doing this, you’re putting weight directly over the rear wheel, making the rear brake more effective and limiting the front brake’s ability to force you to lose control.

If the rear tire begins to skid, release pressure slightly on the front brake. The rear tire skidding is an indicator that the front brake is becoming too effective. Releasing the non-skidding brake is an unnatural act and must be practiced.

In order to get the leg positioning to push your your butt up and behind the saddle your feet must be at the three and nine o’clock position. And they have to stay there until you are again back over the saddle, just before completing the stop. For grins, lets call this butt-aft position the IS (instant stop) position.

Cyclists who are operationally good at the instant stop will clearly have their butt behind the saddle. Cyclists who are expert, can actually lay their belly on the saddle.

When I was flying fighters, we had a saying, “You fight like you train.” In the heat of battle, what you do must be ingrained in your body, to do well. Closer to our world, if you have been riding with a clipless system for a while, I challenge you to sit down and write a detailed description of what you do when you come to a stop and dismount. Chances are, you’ll have to think about it for a few minutes before writing. That’s because when we first get the clips we pretty quickly figure out how to stop without falling, as long as we consciously go through the steps. Steven Covey calls that conscious competence. Over time, we stop thinking about it and just do it. That’s called unconscious competence.When Jodi and I recently rode with friends in Reno Nevada, the bike I was riding had standard pedals. Yet I found myself twisting my landing foot to unclip at each stop, like the foot had a mind of its own.

In the instant stop, the set-up is to get to the IS position immediately as you simultaneously begin to brake. This is crucial to successfully completing the maneuver. But that’s not the normal way most people stop. I have recently begun going to the IS position any time I begin to brake from cruising speed. Then I actually brake normally and get back on the seat as I slow towards walking speed. This way, I’m training my body for the set-up. If after I start braking I see a need to stop quicker, I’m already in position.

The idea of this is if an unexpected obstacle necessitates an instant stop, the act of reaching for the brakes will trigger an automatic body response to assume the IS position because there won’t be time to think about it. Just to act.

Occasionally, you may want to execute a full practice instant stop just to keep your skills honed. Make sure you are alone or the other riders have been warned, and there are no cars in close proximity. Also, it’s not a good idea to practice it right at an intersection or stop sign.

The closest I’ve come to executing an instant stop for real since routinely assuming the IS position was recently on a North Florida Bicycle Club ride. I was approaching the stop sign at about 15 mph on a substandard width two-lane road that “T’d” into a through road. As I began to stop, a flat bed tractor trailer turned left onto my road and its trailer ate up a huge chunk of my lane. I slowed rapidly and being already in the IS position, felt much more in control of the situation.

Initially, it takes a little more effort to go to the IS position, just like it did to unclip. After a while, just like unclipping, it will be second nature. Wouldn’t it be a good idea to add this IS to your defensive cycling skills? It can mean the difference between a disasterous panic stop or a well controlled instant stop. The trailer incident sure sold me.

The meeting will be held Saturday, November 14, at the Fairfield Inn & Suites, 1750 Hunt Trace, Clermont, 352-394-6585, from 3:30-5:30 pm. Other activities on Saturday include packet pick-up and registration, and a sponsor/vendor expo at Waterfront Park. The Horrible Hundred Main Event occurs Sunday, November 15, at Waterfront Park with a Century, 70-mile and 35-mile route options beginning at 8:00 am.

In support of the Florida Bicycle Club Presidents meeting, the Florida Freewheelers and the Horrible Hundred will provide one (1) complimentary ride registration to each club for their president or designee if they choose to attend the meeting. Interested individuals should register HERE and indicate you’re attending the Florida Bicycle Club Presidents meeting in the “My story” portion of the registration form. Hit submit, but do not proceed to Google check out since your registration fee is complimentary.  Additionally, please RSVP to Laura Hallam if you can join us at laura@floridabicycle.org.

FBA Board of Director members and staff will facilitate the meeting since FFW President Art Ackerman and Horrible Hundred Director Tom Bargnesi will have their hands full with final preparations for the HH.  They have pledged their support and hope this meeting is the beginning of an annual event.

There are also a variety of festivals including the Central Florida Veg Fest in cooperation with Climate Action Day in Orlando. FBA board member Mighk Wilson has arranged to run “Bike Buses” from around Orlando to the festival at Loch Haven Park. We’ll even store your festival purchases at the FBA booth. If you aren’t able to carry them home on your bike,  we’ll also offer a cargo bike service.

Regardless of which event you decide to participate, make plans to ride this weekend.

Board of Directors

David Henderson, President (Miami)

Don Braverman, Vice President (Boynton Beach)

Stephanie Striefel, Secretary (Delray Beach)

Jodi Hohlstein, Treasurer (Orange Park)

Steve Diez (Brooksville)

Mike Lasche (Sarasota)

Mighk Wilson (Orlando)

Advisory Board

Becky Afonso (Oldsmar)

Lisa Blount (Winter Springs)

Keri Caffrey (Orlando)

Paul Casazza (formerly West Palm Beach, now retired to TN)

Raphael Clemente (West Palm Beach)

Dan Connaughton (Gainesville)

Hal Downing (Winter Park)

Herb Hiller (Georgetown)

Hope Howland-Cook (Gainesville)

Dwight Kingsbury (Tallahassee)

Henry Lawrence (Panama City)

Jessica Meurer (Leesburg)

Laura Minns (Orlando)

Danny Page (Orlando)

Roger Pierce (Gainesville)

Carol Pulley (Gulfbreeze/Tallahassee)

Bianca Pyko (Orlando)

Tina Russo (Land O’ Lakes/Tampa)

Robert Seidler (Sopchoppy)

John Sinibaldi (Seminole)

Ted Wendler (DeLand)

Randy Williams (Oviedo)

We need YOU to promote positive change for bicycling in Florida. Come join us in Mount Dora and we’ll explain how you can help.

Wouldn’t it be great if more communities and schools would consider this health and transportation solution. Kudos to Megan Carmichael (Pinellas County Health Dept) and Pamela Easley (Assistant Principal, Belcher Elementary School) for making this project happen at Belcher Elementary.

Story submitted by Ginger Hoke, Lake Mary

At our inaugural Florida Bike Summit at Florida’s state capitol last April, it became very clear that for significant headway to be made at this level – or any level, for that matter – it’s necessary to put dollar values on the benefits of creating communities that are bike/ped-friendly.  Likewise, costs associated with not having that kind of environment are just as important. Beyond money spent on bike-related tourism and accompanying tax revenue collected by the state, cycling and walking impacts many aspects of our economy.  Some examples include individual and government savings or costs related to health, environmental impacts, and the one with arguably the biggest impact – transportation.

To assist FBA begin what we know will be the complex process of collecting and analyzing credible data, we’ve decided to make bike/ped economics the theme of ProBike/ProWalk Florida 2010.  If you think you have something to offer in terms of a conference session topic, please consider submitting a paper that summarizes what you’d like to present by December 1, 2009.  We’d also like to get sessions that are appropriate for professional development credits certified for planners, landscape architects, transportation engineers, and other professionals, so please keep that in mind when developing your topic.

Please direct your questions and submit session summaries with the following information to Dan Moser, FBA Program Manager, at dan@floridabicycle.org:

Contact Information, Session Topic, Topic Significance to Conference, Outline of Presentation/Session, Other Proposed Speakers to Compliment Topic, and Date Submitted.

Your input is vital to the overall success of the 5th edition of our conference.

On October 24, Florida Bicycle Association is teaming up with Central Florida VegFest to run “Bike Buses” from around Orlando to the festival at Loch Haven Park.

Rusted Chain Bike Collective will head up the Bike Valet service to keep bikes secure. Bike bus volunteers will even provide cargo bike services for your acquisitions!

What is a Bike-Bus you ask? Simple: a ride leader or small group of cyclists starts at a predetermined place and time and follows a predetermined route, picking up other bicyclists along the way at “bus stops” – just as a regular bus does.

Figuring that some people will want to buy something at VegFest and might not be able to carry it home with them on their bikes, we’ll also offer a cargo bike service.

The routes are now complete! See the routes and download a map here.

We still need more volunteers to help the Pedal 4 Pride kids and bus driver assistance. To volunteer, please contact Mighk.

Mighk Wilison

Riding assertively, predictably and properly positioned in the traffic lane can make the difference between being a scared gutter bunny who experiences too many near misses, and a confident rider, having fun on their bicycle with motorists giving them the respect, and the passing clearance that they have earned.

A shared lane is the narrowest traffic lane in Florida in which a bicyclist and an average sized car can share the lane side by side. It is at least fourteen feet wide. From the right hand side of the lane, the first three feet are for the cyclist and the next three feet are for the passing separation required by Florida law. The remaining eight feet are for the vehicle. These lanes are sometimes found in urban areas in lieu of also having a bicycle lane and are often called “wide curb lanes.”

We all have stories about how some driver dusted us off, passed too close and we’re quick to blame the driver. Often times, though, we bring it on ourselves by inviting the close pass.

The average modern Florida traffic lane is about twelve feet wide. Even a cyclist traveling directly over the right hand white line sticks into the lane about one foot. A car passing in the lane could give three feet clearance at the very best. Less if the rider is any further into the lane. It may feel safe to ride the line and the justification may be that the cyclist is being courteous to the motorists. But it is not safe.

A bicyclist riding in a traffic lane is normally expected to be riding 2-3 feet inside the lane so as to avoid obstacles. Add three feet passing clearance and it becomes obvious that a motorist must execute at least a partial lane change to safely pass the cyclist. A full lane change is usually needed for a ten foot wide lane.

The most dangerous place for a cyclist to ride is from about one foot to the right of the lane to about one and one-half feet into the lane. Motorists concentrate mostly on the lane they’re in, looking for obstacles. A cyclist very close to the edge of the lane or just to the right of it may not even be perceived as an obstacle and therefore, the driver may take little or no action to provide safe clearance.

When motorists see an obstacle they make a rather quick decision about how to handle it. When the obstacle is a cyclist, motorists don’t usually think specifically about the three foot rule and from the driver’s position on the left hand side of the vehicle, it’s difficult to judge three feet clearance from a cyclist anyway. The decision about clearance is unconsciously made in that split second when the driver decides whether to make a partial or full lane change, or to try to squeeze on by.

Our personal safety is dependent on forcing the motorist to make the lane change. Drivers who make the conscious decision to do at least a partial lane change unconsciously make the decision to give cyclists a good three feet of clearance. Cyclists who are properly positioned in the lane experience far fewer close passes than those who aren’t.

Most riders unaccustomed to vehicular cycling (driving your bike as if you are a motor vehicle) feel that they have a target painted on their backs and planting oneself squarely in the travel lane takes a huge leap of faith. So what are the odds and consequences of being rear ended on a bicycle?

In Traffic Skills 101 we show that statistically, about fifty percent of all bicycle crashes don’t involve motor vehicles. We cyclists hit rocks, wood, pine cones, potholes, even ourselves and down we go. Of the fifty percent of crashes involving motor vehicles, only seven percent involve being rear ended (three and one-half percent of total bicycle crashes). The preponderance of bicycle with motor vehicle crashes are crossing, turning and head-on. The likelihood of being killed or seriously injured is substantially lower in a rear end crash than any of the others because the relative speed of the motor vehicle at impact is reduced by the forward speed of the bicyclist.

And there is something worse than being directly rear ended. The mirror of a vehicle that catches the cyclist’s handlebar will knock the cyclist’s the front wheel hard right throwing the rider down to the left into the traffic lane.

The farther right of the proper in-lane position the cyclist rides, the greater the opportunity the cyclist has for encountering a crossing or turning mishap. In the shoulder, every driveway and side street becomes an intersection with essentially no stop sign. Drivers often pull into the shoulder and stop just short of the traffic lane before checking for conflicting traffic.

Cyclists in the shoulder and at the right edge of the lane are also prime candidates for a ‘right hook’ by a driver who passes them and immediately turns right in front of them. If the driver has to make a conscious effort go around a properly positioned cyclist before turning right, he will be more aware of the cyclist and if he still turns, the cyclist has somewhere to go.

So how do you get comfortable with this concept of lane positioning? Ride solo or with someone else who is willing to also try it. At first, ride a road that is lightly traveled and where it is easy for a motor vehicle to go around you. A four lane divided highway or a three lane road with a center turn lane, and with a speed limit of 35 MPH or less are excellent. Position yourself properly and start getting used to having traffic flow around you. Then start riding on more heavily traveled roads and two-lane roads where the motorists must cross into the opposing lane to pass. By the way, motorists are allowed to cross the double yellow line to go around obstacles, when it is safe to do so. The confidence will come quickly.

Now that you’re having fun and riding confidently, what happens when you go back on a group ride? Here you are, trying to ride properly positioned with five gutter bunnies hugging the white fog line. The perception to motorists is that there are five people doing it right and then there is this one jerk. If you find yourself in this position, the best thing to do is to ride in the tail-end position. That way you’ll be protecting them all, and motorists might even perceive you as the ‘instructor.’

Of course, you’ll have to be prepared for the obvious comment, “I can’t believe you have the guts to sit out there in traffic!” And you can just smile and keep on pedaling.

This article has been brought to you by the First Coasters. Check out this FBA organization focusing on Duval, St, Johns, Clay and Nassau counties.