A challenge: Remember to ride on the left!

Now how am I going to remember to ride on the left?

Most of my touring to date has been in countries that drive on the right side of the road. My very first tour - a supported tour of the South Island of New Zealand - was the only time I've cycled on the left. That was a very long time ago (late December 1988 through early January 1989), but I still remember the experience. There were two things I had to get used to - riding on the left, and looking back over my right shoulder to check for traffic behind me. Of course that was after I had to have the tour operator fix the brakes on my rental bike. They had the right brake lever going to the front wheel, and the left lever going to the back wheel. I almost managed to pitch myself over the handlebars the first day when (by instinct) I grabbed the right brake lever first. I asked our guides if the brakes were wired backward because they ride and drive on the left, and I got a strange look from them. Apparently they didn't realize that there was a convention to how the brakes are set up - but they did fix them for me!

Riding on the left came pretty naturally if I was with other cyclists (who remembered to ride on the left) or if there was traffic on the road - both served to remind me of where I belonged! But if I started out on my own on an empty road, I tended to go back to my familiar spot - on the right side of the road. Hmmm... I wonder if I need to tape a reminder to my map case. No, I'll just remember - think left, left, left, left....

The other thing I remember was how awkward I felt looking back over my right shoulder. I don't ride with a rear-view mirror because I've found they tend to make me nauseous. Yes, a bit weird, but I have a tendency to get motion sickness, and for some reason the mirror just seems to feed into that. So, like riding on the left, I'll have to get over the awkwardness of looking back to the right. I suppose I can practice that here, but the riding on the left is going to have to wait!