10 Ways to Stay Safe While Cycling*

1. Wear a Helmet: Wearing a helmet can reduce the risk of a serious injury.
2. Check your equipment before you ride: You can reduce the risk of an equipment-related accident by checking your bike, helmet, and gear before you hit the road. Make sure your tires are properly inflated. Check your reflectors and lights (Red rear strobe light recommended) to make sure that they’re working. Inspect your chains and gears for any defects, fractures, or issues. These simple steps can prevent an inconvenience or an   
3. Wear Reflective Materials: While installing reflectors on your bike can help, it’s also important to wear bright and/or reflective clothing. Increasing your visibility will reduce the risk of a bike accident.
4. Keep your hands on the bike: Think twice before riding hands-free, particularly when you’re sharing the road with other vehicles.
5. Know your signals and use them: Make sure you are familiar with the hand signals and use them if you need to communicate with nearby drivers or your fellow riders.
6. Stay focused on cycling: Distracted cycling can be very risky and dangerous. It might be a fantastic experience to cycling through Crete, but you’d rather make a stop for sight-seeing.
7. Ride as if you’re in a car: Keep yourself safe by riding predictably and mimicking the behaviors of larger vehicles whenever appropriate.
8. Ride with the flow of traffic: Always ride your bike with the flow of traffic. In other words, travel in the same direction as other vehicles on the road.
9. Stay off of the sidewalks: Sidewalks belong to pedestrians. You’re more likely to crash into a pedestrian or lose control when the sidewalks are
10. Use Dedicated bike lanes: Whenever you see a bike lane, make sure you use it.

*References: https://www.peoplepoweredmovement.org/10-ways-to-stay-safe-while-cycling/