Bicycle Myths That You Should Not Believe In 
There are quite a few myths about bicycles that are simply untrue. Believing in these can make you unsafe and even take away some of the advantages to cycling for fun or for transportation. Learn what these myths are and what is not true about them. Myth: Helmets increase your change of an accident. If you compare the statistics behind cyclists in accidents with helmets and without helmets it seems that those with helmets tend to get into more accidents. Many believe that the helmet must be causing the cyclists to have some sort of issues therefore being in more accidents. While the number of accidents can at times be higher, that’s not the way to evaluate risk. Risk is evaluated as percentage of accidents per exposure. Cyclists who use helmets are on the roads much more often, therefore it’s expected that there will be more accidents. Helmets still make you much safer and there are no vision or accident issues associated with using them. Myth: Taking the lane is an unsafe practice. Taking the lane is when you are riding on the roads and you decide to get into the middle of the lane in certain circumstances versus staying to the side. Many are afraid of being rear ended and hurt. This type of accident does not happen too much. The reason to take the lane is because at times cars might not see you off the to the side at stop lights and end up hitting you when they turn. Read up on the practice of taking the lane and in what situations it actually makes you safer. Myth: Bicycle commuting takes too much time. This depends on the area you live in. For most commuters around the country the average speed of driving while in a car is around 11 miles per hour. Most people can easily cycle this fast making the differences in time not much different at all.