Bike Safety for Photographers
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Photography trekking is a fantastic way to capture landscape photography while also riding a bicycle. It combines the benefits for mind, body, and soul that come from the physical exercise and the exercise of creativity.
Bike safety is a major concern for all responsible riders, and this includes photography trekkers. Trekkers or Trekkies? Nah, we won’t rehash that…Bike safety for photographers includes both how to safely ride a bike and how to protect camera gear on a bicycle.
Several of the top camera and bike makers have excellent programs which enable photography trekkers to safely practice this method. For instance,Trek has a program, the #GoByBike campaign, that promotes bike safety along with the other benefits of photo trekking.
How to Safely Ride a Bike
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Since riding a bicycle is a primary component of photography trekking, we should be sure to learn what is involved in bike safety for photographers or in general.
The U.S. Department of Transportation National Highway Traffic Safety Administration has published a set of guidelines for bike safety that all riders should see. Below are their top seven guidelines.
Wear a Helmet!
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The number one, toppermost, absolutely most important rule of bike safety is to wear a helmet. Wear a helmet! Helmets are paramount for bike safety.
Helmets help protect against traumatic brain injury. If you’re in a hospital or in recovery, you won’t be enjoying either bike riding or taking pictures. So please, wear a helmet.
Check Your Bike
First off, choose the right for you. The right bike for someone else may give you some tips, but you will need to make the choice for yourself based on what type of riding you want to do.
As an example, the Trek Remedy 9.9 (pictured above) is one of the top trail mountain bikes and is a great choice for many styles of rider doing photography trekking, but if you will never go off-road, a road bike suitable for gravel roads might be your choice. The Trek Checkpoint SL6 is an excellent example of this type of bike.
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Follow the Rules of the Road
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You may not need to have a license to ride a bike, but to ride safely you should know and follow local laws and regulations. Common courtesy goes in this section, too. Motorized vehicle drivers have responsibilities toward others on the road, so do bike riders and pedestrians.
Be Predictable
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Let’s face it, riding a bike on a street used by motorized traffic is inherently dangerous, so anything you as a bike rider can do to contribute towards your own safety is a wise choice. Being predictable also applies to off-road riding in groups. Make it as obvious as possible what your next move is.
Be Visible
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Another fact of bike safety is that the larger vehicles tend to not see smaller ones. This applies to motorcycles, bicycles, and pedestrians. Reflective clothing and lights and reflectors on the bike itself will contribute to greater visibility in all weather and light conditions.
Ride With Care & Stay Alert
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Stay alert and ride with care round out the 7 basic bike safety rules. Your safety is primarily your responsibility, but we can all contribute to overall road safety and courtesy.
Protect Your Gear
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There are several good methods of how to protect camera gear on a bicycle, most of them involve a bag. You can also carry your camera with a holster or a harness strap which allows rapid access but you run a risk of damage from dropping or other impacts.
Pannier Bag
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When browsing through all the fun views on #GoByBike, you’ll notice how many bikers use pannier bags as cargo carriers for all sorts of gear. You can even use pannier bags for your grocery shopping, they’re really versatile.
For protecting your cameras and lenses, you’ll probably want to add some padding to yours. Soft sided or hard cases are other options, but the soft sided cases are more generally more adaptable for a large amount of gear.
Sling Bags
photo by vetkit via iStock
While pannier bags attach to the bike, sling bags stay on you. A sling bag mixes the best features of shoulder bags, backpacks, and fanny packs, giving rapid access to gear while being very easy to carry securely.
Bike Safety for Photographers
Photography trekking is one of the best things for landscape photographers. So many pictures and so many experiences await you. Practice bike safety and be creative and you will enjoy photography trekking every bit as much as I do.
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