Start here · Essential guide
Essential Cycling Skills for Riding in a City
A practical overview of city cycling: planning a route, choosing your road position, staying visible, handling junctions, and parking and locking your bike.
Riding Skills
Traffic, bike lanes, shared paths and bike share skills.
Start here · Essential guide
A practical overview of city cycling: planning a route, choosing your road position, staying visible, handling junctions, and parking and locking your bike.
Learn how to keep control at low speed in narrow gaps, alleys and crowds: slow balance, sharp turns, looking ahead and when to dismount and walk.
How to share an off-road bike path with walkers, runners and dogs: choosing a sensible speed, using a bell kindly and passing others courteously.
How to ride in painted on-road bike lanes: what to do where lanes end, how to cross junctions, avoid parked cars and leave the lane when it is unsafe.
How to handle a heavy bike share bike in lanes and on paths: checking brakes and lights first, setting the seat and adapting to slower, heavier steering.
Practical tips for a bike share journey: finding and docking bikes, planning a route along lanes, and avoiding being stranded at a full dock.
Tips for visitors and occasional riders using bike share on paths: riding in everyday clothes, carrying bags comfortably and staying relaxed and visible.
Learn how lane position, predictable riding, clear signals, eye contact and awareness of door zones and blind spots help you ride safely among motor vehicles.
How to cope with rush-hour riding: busy junctions, buses and lorries, pedestrians and stop-start traffic, with calm, defensive habits to keep you safer.
A complete urban cycling guide: planning routes, parking and locking your bike, staying visible, and choosing practical commuting kit for city streets.
Related topics