Cycling is one of the best ways to explore a new city—or just get around your hometown. Maybe you’re dreaming of a bike tour through Europe (I definitely am!) or simply want to make your daily commute more enjoyable.
Whatever your reason for riding, it’s important to know how to stay safe and comfortable on two wheels. Follow these bike safety tips to protect yourself.
Stay Visible
Drivers can’t avoid you if they can’t see you, so make yourself (and your bike) as visible as possible. I love Knog’s Blinder 1300 Set, a powerful light set that allows you to be seen from far away. The set includes a front light with a 1300-lumen road-focused beam that lights up the road up to 390 feet away, along with a 150-lumen rear light that keeps you visible from both sides.
The Knog set is my go-to for commuting since the lights have a super long run time (1.5 hours on full brightness and 120 hours on Eco flash mode for the front light and up to 50 hours for the rear light) and are waterproof. My favorite feature is the intelligent button LEDs, which show the battery level at a glance.
The compact light set is also great for travel since it can be attached in seconds without any tools. You can pack it and use it on a rental bike.
Wear a Helmet
If you only follow one piece of advice from this list, let it be this one: Always wear a helmet while cycling. Your bike helmet should have a sticker indicating that it meets the Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) standards for cycling.
For my everyday commuting, I wear this stylish helmet by Thousand. I like it not only for its looks, but for the secret pop-lock that safely locks the helmet to your bike, so I don’t have to carry it around all day.
The sleek design is lower-profile than most helmets and comes in a range of fun colors (like rose gold or striped).