Riding Safely with Trikes
I am new to riding in groups with PBC as well as riding recumbent trikes. As such, I have several observations to share with everyone.
My, oh my, aren’t our flags pretty? Now, now, no touching or grabbing! We do know that they can be very distracting to the riders behind us. Sorry, but they are designed to make us visible to motorists since we are so low to the ground. Actually, the flags on trikes seem to enhance the visibility of the whole group to motorists. And the little kids (and big kids) along the way seem to really love the flags and trikes. ✎
Trikes have three wheels, obviously. And they all have different tracks. That makes it harder to miss road hazards. Trikes are also lower to the ground, so we don’t see the hazards that far ahead. So, when we do, it is a split-second decision to go over or around. And when we go around it takes a lot of room. Therefore, riding in a trike’s blind spot is not advisable, particularly on bumpy roads. Only a few trikes have shock absorbers, so we often avoid even small sharp depressions.
Most bike riders have helmet-mounted, rearview mirrors and can usually see what is behind them with just a glance and then only small head movements. Most trikes have two rearview mirrors with fixed positions, but these require a bigger head movement left to right to see everything. Often the bumpy roads cause these mirrors to move out of adjustment. Now, throw in the fact that we are effectively seated in a chair, and it is not so easy to twist our torso to see around to our sides. This means that our vision to the sides and rear is not always that great. And with all those tall bikes and riders ahead of us, our front view is sometimes limited as well. On the bright side, we are really comfy in our riding.
I hope this gives you some insight on being safe when passing or riding beside or behind a trike.
Kim Hutchinson, Member at Large