What they do not teach you (Surviving your first six months)

I got my licence on a five day intensive course one summer. The weather was beautiful, the leather jacket was hot, the roads were sticky and I ended up with a sparkling new licence, having never ridden in the wet. I tried to persuade them to hose down the road outside their shop so we could at least try braking on a wet road, but with no luck. Being England it wasn't long before I had plenty of experience of wet riding but it reminded me of something my Dad told me to calm my nerves before my car test. “You don't need to convince the examiner that you are the best driver on the road, only that you are good enough not to have to advertise that you are a bad driver.” You can remove the L plates!

So you're good enough for that, and you've learned all sorts of tricks to keep you safe (keep up the habit of looking over your shoulder before you do anything – saved me countless times!) but there are lots of new things to learn with everyday riding that simply isn't covered by the training, or at least it wasn't in my day.

I believe there are advanced training courses, some run by the police, that tackle filtering through traffic, but it certainly wasn't mentioned when I did my training, and I can see why. It's more dangerous than not doing it. Simple as that... In the real world however, of all my friends who have bikes, 100 percent of them do it. I do it as well, and have come a cropper once, but I'll come to that in a minute...

So what could we have been taught about filtering?

First of all, speed. Not your speed, but the speed at which something unexpected can happen. It's faster than you think, trust me! If you've decided to ride down the outside of a stationary line of traffic you'll hopefully be a good few feet away from the cars. If someone impulsively does a U-turn because they're fed up with being stuck, the front of their car can cover those few feet in less than a second. If you're whizzing along at 20 mph and that car is one of the four immediately in front of you, you will hit it. No question. If they are one of the three closest, you you'll probably hit it at 20 mph. The braking distances in the highway code seem a little generous... The reaction times aren't.

OK. Lecture over... Filtering has an degree of risk, but if you want to do it, how do you reduce that risk?

Break yourself in gently. I wouldn't start on the way home from passing your test! Get a few months bike experience and watch for things that might catch you out. Bike savvy is different to car savvy so give yourself a chance to let it sink in.

Obviously, don't filter at 20 mph. When I'm filtering I'm constantly overtaken by other bikers. That's fine. I'll look after my own legs and leave them to worry about theirs.

Be aware that most car drivers will have turned their steering wheel a little before they pull forward in a U-turn, so watch those front wheels.

Opposite traffic. I usually feel comfortable going a little faster when there is a steady stream of traffic on the other side of the road. If there is no opportunity for anyone to do a U-turn, no-one will. Watch out for gaps in the opposite traffic though as they may present the chance someone has been waiting for, and they may take it quick without looking.

Gaps. If someone has not pulled up close to the car in front it may simply be because it's not worth them pulling forward just 12 feet. It may however be because they are letting someone out from a side street. The driver pulling out thinks all the traffic going your way is stationary and they will be looking the other way. Besides, their bonnet will already be in your path before they get a clear view of you.

Pedestrians. Exactly the same as drivers pulling out across the road, pedestrians crossing between stationary cars will never, ever, ever look your way. As far as they are concerned, one half of the road is stationary so they are looking the other way, watching for a gap in the opposite traffic.

Filtering past slow moving traffic has it's own peculiar risks as well.

High vehicles. You may not be able to see the cyclist that is going to make white van man pull half way over the white line while you are overtaking him, forcing you further out than you want to be, or have room for.

Slow vehicles. Anyone driving suspiciously slowly may well be looking for their turning or a parking space. Their delight at finding it may lead them to forget to check their mirror before pulling across the road. Also you should be careful not to overtake anyone at any sort of junction. OK, that one's a bit more obvious!

So, how did I stuff up that time?

I was filtering down the outside of stationary traffic with nothing coming the other way. A driver (and experienced biker it turned out) checked his mirror, didn't see me and did a U-turn. I couldn't believe how fast it happened. Thankfully, I was going at my usual snail's pace and managed to bring the bike almost to a halt before we hit. The damage to the car was a small dent and a broken off wing mirror. My fairing had a large hole where the car's mirror was now and I simply got off the bike as it went over. No part of me touched the car and I ended up stood next to my sorry looking bike feeling very lucky. Had I been going just a couple of mph faster I imagine I would have spent at least the rest of the day at the hospital and would probably still be waiting for an insurance claim to replace the bike. As it was it cost me £15.98 for a Halford's fibreglass kit and a can of paint!

If anyone has any more tips to offer please click the “comment” button and share!

Ride safe.

Bikurius