I nearly killed a couple of cyclists today.

I was driving home from work tonight. I drive on country roads and that means lots of twisty bits and no street lights. It even had patchy fog, which meant that my speed was down and my lights were dipped.

Suddenly there is a dark shape in the road ahead of me and I slam on the brakes. There is a slight muddy surface and, with the damp, my tyres lose traction and I skidd towards the dark shapes. I am just making up my mind to hit the shapes, rather than heroically plough into the oncoming car on the other side of the road, when the tyres bite and I manage to stop.

The shapes are two cyclists on jump bikes (BMX), wearing black hoodies that are pulled up because it is cold. No lights. No reflectors.

I pull past them, role the window down and bib.

"Sorry mate" they say.

"Don't appologise, just fix your bloody lights".

If I had room for two bikes and cyclists in the back I would have given them a lift. But that is not the point.

The other night I replied to someone on answers who was whining about lights because he was afraid that they were gay and he would get the micky taken out of him.

ROADKILL!!!!!

So can we, as cyclists do something to prevent these pillocks from ending up as a statistic. Perhaps a mass night ride from various city centers or similar. I don't know, but even if we don't promote the idea of lights, we should help to keep them off of the unlit country roads.

Luck

Bike Size

One of the most common question to appear on Yahoo Answers Cycling section is "What size bike should I buy?"

I will pop my stock answer here for general information.

The frame size varies depending upon the style of bike you have. A mountain bike will have a higher ground clearance than a road or comfort bike and so a 19" mountain bike frame would fit me. But a 19" road bike frame would be too small.

As a general rule. Stand over the frame with your feet 12" apart. The top tube should be between 2"-4" from your family jewels. If your assets are any nearer to the top tube you will do yourself an injury if you have to dismount quickly.

Using a wall for support, rotate the crank so that the peddle is at its lowest point. Adjust the saddle height so that your leg is locked out when your heal is on the peddle. In this way your leg should be slightly bent when riding on the balls of your feet.

The saddle should be about 1' from the frame, give or take. This will give you a bit of flex, offering a little suspension. If the saddle is so high that you do not have at least 1.5" of seat post in the frame, or the seat post is beyond the safety mark, then the frame is too small for you. If the saddle is down on its lowest point or just above, the frame is too big for you.

If the frame is too big for you, then you will find yourself stretched out accross the frame, rather than sitting comfortably.

When buying a bike, try and attend a test weekend, or at least get to rent the bike you are interested in or even ride it around the car park. It might look like a dream bike, but if you don't like what you are sitting on, chances are that you will not grow into it. Bikes can be very expensive, so even if all of the magazine critics love/hate it, it is you that has to ride the bike and the final decision is up to you. If it isn't comfortable, don't buy it.

Female/Male geometry is different. In comparison to men, women have short bodies and long legs. This means that if a woman rides a male bike that fits her legs, she will be stretched out over the frame because the length is designed with a mans longer body in mind. Bear this in mind when selecting a bike.

Luck