Lessons Learned
From the DCcycles Mailing List

1. Never ride outside your limits. If you feel uncomfortable with what you're doing, you're riding outside of your limits.
2. Always ride your own ride, even in a group setting.
3. Never assume what the person in front of you does is the right decision for you. Always make decisions based on your skills and your riding position.
4. Must remove disc lock before riding!
5. Never, ever, ever trust a car's turn signal…better yet, never, ever, ever trust a car.
6. Always look before putting your foot down in a parking lot or at a gas pump.
7. Keep the helmet shield down on the highway no matter how hot it is. Bugs can hurt.
8. Change your own oil and lube your own chain. It's easy and cheap.
9. If you're on a bike, strangers will talk to you…so leave plenty of extra time.
10. The only thing a turn signal means is that it works.
11. Ride as if you were invisible.
12. Ride with your high beams on during the day.
13. Ride as if you are wearing a huge, visible, day-glo target on your back with a large "Reward" sign on it.
14. Make your motions (e.g., lane changes, turns, merges, passing, etc.) very clear and unambiguous to other vehicle operators.
15. Always turn off your turn signal after a turn.
16. Mini-vans truly suck.
17. Keep the shiny side up.
18. If your shadow is in front of you, assume people can't see you.
19. No matter how long you've been riding…there's always more to learn.
20. When approaching a rider who went down, don't ask if they are ok. They tend to just say yes. Instead, ask them where it hurts, you'll get a more truthful answer out of them.