quotables

JTHouse <[email hidden]> wrote:
:>I'm thinking about getting one of those road construction reflective vests, and about 5 blinkies.

: Wouldn't it be nice to have a hi-viz Gore-tex jacket with reflective piping for days like this?
: How come all that's available is either an unbreathable pvc-coated jacket, or Gore-tex in some
: color that blends in with the background???

Part of my problem is the backpack. I'm thinking I'll either have to get something to attach to it
or a new backpack.

My first thought was to petition city council to ban autos during inclement weather but somehow I
don't think I'd be successful.

--
'People think I'm insane because I am frowning all the time All day long I think of things
but nothing seems to satisfy' 'Make a joke and I will sigh And you will laugh and I will
cry' -Black Sabbath

JTHouse said:

Quoted message said:

I'm thinking about getting one of those road construction reflective vests, and about 5 blinkies.

Wouldn't it be nice to have a hi-viz Gore-tex jacket with reflective piping for days like this?
How come all that's available is either an unbreathable pvc-coated jacket, or Gore-tex in some
color that blends in with the background???

Check Nashbar's gore-tex jacket, mostly bright yellow, lots of reflective tape and piping. Sometimes
'store-brand' means not very good, but I've been unable to find anything better... comes in long
sizes too which I really appreciate.

Two blinkies is the minimum for me, since if your blinkie stops blinking, then you've got nothing
(besides reflectivity) to make you visible from behind.

Doug Kennedy

"Barry Gaudet" <[email hidden]> wrote in message "]news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

Winter biking: I'm following the rules but the past couple commutes have been in very poor
weather. Blowing snow/icy/poor visibility. Co-workers passing me in their cars have expressed
concern over safety as auto driver's just don't expect to see a bicycle in that kind of weather.

[making

Quoted message said:

it my fault I guess] What can I do to preserve my safety but still bicycle commute? I'm thinking
about getting one of those road construction reflective vests, and about 5 blinkies.

This week I've been using my new headlights ( 5 + 20 Watts) while commuting. In the beginning I
figured I only needed them when off road, but was I wrong. All of a sudden cars stop way down the
road to let me go by before they pull out after me. WOW. This was a first. It is ofcourse because
they can actually see me now. With this in mind I've started to look into stronger backlights
thinking that will be a good investment in my safety. I have a decent light but there is so much
other lighting around me that I feel it doesn't show good enough on a lit street in poor visibility.

Quoted message said:

Bike lanes: This being the first winter that I've biked when the weather was not unseasonbly mild
I can finally see some justification in the anti-bike lane view. With the snow slush ice and
snowplow jetsam that builds up in the bike lane I've had to abandon it. I still think they are a
good idea in the summer but not when the snow flies.

No I don't stay in the bikelanes either. They are not fit for riding in most of the time. I took a
fall today on one and decided to hack it out with the cars instead. Not a bad fall. Going slow and
careful but wiped out anyway in the uneven half frozen half thawed snow.

--
Replace the dots to reply

Perre

Quoted message said:

I'm thinking about getting one of those road construction reflective vests, and about 5 blinkies.

Wouldn't it be nice to have a hi-viz Gore-tex jacket with reflective piping for days like this? How
come all that's available is either an unbreathable pvc-coated jacket, or Gore-tex in some color
that blends in with the background???

Barry Gaudet said:

'Oh Lord! Won't you buy me A Mercedez Benz? My friends all drive Porsches I must make
amends' -the Janis Joplin rendition

I feel like I must make amends for off-topic posting so here are some bicycle related thoughts:

Diet: an aquaintance is convinced I am protein deficient for the amount of cycling/exercise I do.
I will never be a vegetarian. [nothing tastes better than a good steak] but I have cut down on
red meat specificaly and tend more towards chicken dishes in general. What is a good daily
protein intake for an active person? It's winter so my biking is mostly just my 12 km round trip
commute plus ~10 km trips about town to do errands on my off days. To take up the slack I usually
swim, on average, 45 minutes/day. [actualy it's 2 45 minute sets every other day]

Winter biking: I'm following the rules but the past couple commutes have been in very poor
weather. Blowing snow/icy/poor visibility. Co-workers passing me in their cars have expressed
concern over safety as auto driver's just don't expect to see a bicycle in that kind of weather.
[making it my fault I guess] What can I do to preserve my safety but still bicycle commute? I'm
thinking about getting one of those road construction reflective vests, and about 5 blinkies.

Bike lanes: This being the first winter that I've biked when the weather was not unseasonbly mild
I can finally see some justification in the anti-bike lane view. With the snow slush ice and
snowplow jetsam that builds up in the bike lane I've had to abandon it. I still think they are a
good idea in the summer but not when the snow flies.

--
'People think I'm insane because I am frowning all the time All day long I think of things
but nothing seems to satisfy' 'Make a joke and I will sigh And you will laugh and I will
cry' -Black Sabbath

Hey Barry, I was given a CSA approved vest like construction and highways workers use, plus a pair
of highly visible 4 inch wide cuff straps (same reflection as the vest) and advised to use them in
conjunction with blinkies on the back and a headlight out front. The reasoning was I would be in a
good position to sue if anyone ran into me. Last year someone on this group said drivers
appreciate it if you are lit up like a Las Vegas casino. I believe it. Take care of yourself! Best
regards, Bernie

In article said:

JTHouse <[email hidden]> wrote:
:>I'm thinking about getting one of those road construction reflective vests, and about 5 blinkies.

: Wouldn't it be nice to have a hi-viz Gore-tex jacket with reflective piping for days like this?
: How come all that's available is either an unbreathable pvc-coated jacket, or Gore-tex in some
: color that blends in with the background???

Part of my problem is the backpack. I'm thinking I'll either have to get something to attach to
it or a new backpack.

How about putting the vest on the backpack?

I had one of those road worker vests too, but it was used (found lying in the street), and pretty
ratty looking when I got it. I discovered the reflective stripe on it is all one piece when I tore
it off the frayed & tar-bespotted mesh. Maybe I'll wrap the strip around my milk crate.

MEC has nice reflective vests for cheap, but they're long-tailed. So's my windshell -- the back of
which sometimes catches on the back of my saddle, causing the saddle nose to try to poke me in an
embarrassing manner when I go to get off my bike.

Optionally, Flashback flashback.caflashback.caOpen ↗ might have some appealing reflective stuff you could
stick onto your pack.

cheers, Tom

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remove NO_SPAM. from address to reply

Per Elmsäter said:

"Barry Gaudet" <[email hidden]> wrote in message "]news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

Winter biking: I'm following the rules but the past couple commutes have been in very poor
weather. Blowing snow/icy/poor visibility. Co-workers passing me in their cars have expressed
concern over safety as auto driver's just don't expect to see a bicycle in that kind of weather.

[making

Quoted message said:

it my fault I guess] What can I do to preserve my safety but still bicycle commute? I'm thinking
about getting one of those road construction reflective vests, and about 5 blinkies.

This week I've been using my new headlights ( 5 + 20 Watts) while commuting. In the beginning I
figured I only needed them when off road, but was I wrong. All of a sudden cars stop way down the
road to let me go by before they pull out after me. WOW. This was a first. It is ofcourse because
they can actually see me now. With this in mind I've started to look into stronger backlights
thinking that will be a good investment in my safety. I have a decent light but there is so much
other lighting around me that I feel it doesn't show good enough on a lit street in poor
visibility.

Quoted message said:

Bike lanes: This being the first winter that I've biked when the weather was not unseasonbly
mild I can finally see some justification in the anti-bike lane view. With the snow slush ice
and snowplow jetsam that builds up in the bike lane I've had to abandon it. I still think they
are a good idea in the summer but not when the snow flies.

No I don't stay in the bikelanes either. They are not fit for riding in most of the time. I took a
fall today on one and decided to hack it out with the cars instead. Not a bad fall. Going slow and
careful but wiped out anyway in the uneven half frozen half thawed snow.

Why be fanatical about riding a bike in bad weather? Why risk your health, live and safety?

There are plenty of alternatives, public transportation being one.

Sparhawk

One possible retrofit, I'm guessing that the new ultra bright LED's might operate on similar
voltage( current is similar) to the old ones we see on rear lights, and my impression is they're
much brighter, so with a little work with a soldering iron you might greatly increase your
visibility at a low price. THese LED's available cheaply from Radio Shack or from
www.allelectronics.com and who knows where else. Haven't tried it yet.

IMHO, bike lanes will be dangerous until all cars have sliding or gull wing doors or until all
passengers and drivers are issued workable brains and eyes. And in my experience people relax so
much due to a feeling of safety on bike paths that the paths are at least as dangerous when crowded
as streets are. Also, I've noticed poor maintenance of bike path pavement and outrageous hazards
that would never be tolerated on a real roadway. But none of this is statistically valid.

I lost track of who wrote: snip

Quoted message said:

This week I've been using my new headlights ( 5 + 20 Watts) while commuting. In the beginning I
figured I only needed them when off road, but was I wrong. All of a sudden cars stop way down the
road to let me go by before they pull out after me. WOW. This was a first. It is ofcourse because
they can actually see me now. With this in mind I've started to look into stronger backlights
thinking that will be a good investment in my safety. I have a decent light but there is so much
other lighting around me that I feel it doesn't show good enough on a lit street in poor
visibility.

Quoted message said:

Bike lanes: This being the first winter that I've biked when the weather was not unseasonbly
mild I can finally see some justification in the anti-bike lane view. With the snow slush ice
and snowplow jetsam that builds up in the bike lane I've had to abandon it. I still think they
are a good idea in the summer but not when the snow flies.

snip

--
Lincoln Ross NOTE ADDRESS CHANGE: [email hidden]

JTHouse said:

Quoted message said:

I'm thinking about getting one of those road construction reflective vests, and about 5 blinkies.

Wouldn't it be nice to have a hi-viz Gore-tex jacket with reflective piping for days like this?
How come all that's available is either an unbreathable pvc-coated jacket, or Gore-tex in some
color that blends in with the background???

so wear the vest. it aint stylin' but... <vbg> Best regards, Bernie

Sparhawk said:

Why be fanatical about riding a bike in bad weather? Why risk your health, live and safety?

There are plenty of alternatives, public transportation being one.

Winter cycling is slower than in summer, so is public transit. It's not a 'risk' any more than
usual, nor it is something only for fanatics.

In the past seven years of winter biking, I've fallen once on a road (black ice), been doored zero
times, had zero cases of frostbite, etc. What's the problem?

(I've fallen a few times off road, notably on the Don Valley Trail, which is not plowed in the
winter. No big deal, that was sport, not commuting.)

Sparhawk said:

Per Elmsäter said:

"Barry Gaudet" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
"]news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

Winter biking: I'm following the rules but the past couple commutes have been in very poor
weather. Blowing snow/icy/poor visibility. Co-workers passing me in their cars have expressed
concern over safety as auto driver's just don't expect to see a bicycle in that kind of
weather.

[making

Quoted message said:

it my fault I guess] What can I do to preserve my safety but still bicycle commute? I'm
thinking about getting one of those road construction reflective vests, and about 5 blinkies.

This week I've been using my new headlights ( 5 + 20 Watts) while commuting. In the beginning I
figured I only needed them when off road, but was I wrong. All of a sudden cars stop way down the
road to let me go by before they pull out after me. WOW. This was a first. It is ofcourse because
they can actually see me now. With this in mind I've started to look into stronger backlights
thinking that will be a good investment in my safety. I have a decent light but there is so much
other lighting around me that I feel it doesn't show good enough on a lit street in poor
visibility.

Quoted message said:

Bike lanes: This being the first winter that I've biked when the weather was not unseasonbly
mild I can finally see some justification in the anti-bike lane view. With the snow slush ice
and snowplow jetsam that builds up in the bike lane I've had to abandon it. I still think they
are a good idea in the summer but not when the snow flies.

No I don't stay in the bikelanes either. They are not fit for riding in most of the time. I took
a fall today on one and decided to hack it out with the cars instead. Not a bad fall. Going slow
and careful but wiped out anyway in the uneven half frozen half thawed snow.

Why be fanatical about riding a bike in bad weather? Why risk your health, live and safety?

There are plenty of alternatives, public transportation being one.

Sparhawk

Do you ENJOY limiting yourself to riding public transit? Life is never perfectly safe anyway. Being
self propelled is gratifying in any season. Cheers! Bernie

Wed said:

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

I'm thinking about getting one of those road construction reflective vests, and about 5
blinkies.

Wouldn't it be nice to have a hi-viz Gore-tex jacket with reflective piping for days like this?
How come all that's available is either an unbreathable pvc-coated jacket, or Gore-tex in some
color that blends in with the background???

so wear the vest. it aint stylin' but... <vbg> Best regards, Bernie

Apparantly a vest _can_ be a fashion statement. teamestrogen.comproducts.aspOpen ↗
--
zk

"Doug Kennedy" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
"]news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

Check Nashbar's gore-tex jacket, mostly bright yellow, lots of reflective tape and piping.
Sometimes 'store-brand' means not very good, but I've been unable to find anything better... comes
in long sizes too which I really appreciate.

There's nothing wrong with "store brand." It all comes from the same third-world factories anyway.
I've found the quality of clothes from Performance, REI, etc. to be as good as anyone else's.

Quoted message said:

Two blinkies is the minimum for me, since if your blinkie stops blinking,

then

Quoted message said:

you've got nothing (besides reflectivity) to make you visible from behind.

Keep in mind that LED blinkies are highly directional -- it matters a lot how they're mounted. Those
ones that clip to clothing or backpacks are usually very dim when viewed from a driver's angle.
Strobe-type blinkies are far better for this kind of thing.

Matt O.

in article [email hidden], Barry Gaudet at [email hidden] wrote on
1/16/03 10:39 AM:

Quoted message said:

Part of my problem is the backpack. I'm thinking I'll either have to get something to attach to it
or a new backpack.

I picked up a triangular reflective "slow-moving-vehicle-caution" "thingie" at one of my my LBSs. It
has a web-strap meant to wrap around your waist; the triangle was meant to cover your butt. It is a
healthy 10 inches across.

I found a way to wrap it securely around my backpack so it is held in place properly.

I also recently picked up a RealLITE (reallite.comdetails.htmOpen ↗). 4 x 6 inches and 18
LEDs. It gets a lot of comment in the LBSs!
--
Alan Jeddeloh "ajeddelo at easystreet dot com" The person who said "The only things certain in life
are death and taxes" didn't do the laundry in a family with children!

Tom Keats <tkeats@no_spam.vcn.bc.ca> wrote:
: In article <[email hidden]>,
[...]
:> Part of my problem is the backpack. I'm thinking I'll either have to get something to attach to
:> it or a new backpack.

: How about putting the vest on the backpack?

I thought of that but then I'm looking at buying two vests if I want to be... well... reflective
from front and back. I popped over to Mark's Work Wearhouse [they specialize in what you'd expect]
and they had orange and yellow nylon mesh vests pretty much made to order for $28 Cdn including tax
[~$18 US]. That seems a little pricey for what you get. But then I can be quite stingy. [...]
: Optionally, Flashback flashback.caflashback.caOpen ↗ might have some appealing reflective stuff you could
: stick onto your pack.

That looks like a possibility.

I'll have to think about it - do little more comparison shopping.

--
'People think I'm insane because I am frowning all the time All day long I think of things
but nothing seems to satisfy' 'Make a joke and I will sigh And you will laugh and I will
cry' -Black Sabbath

"Alan Jeddeloh" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
"]news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

I also recently picked up a RealLITE

(reallite.comdetails.htmOpen ↗).

Quoted message said:

4 x 6 inches and 18 LEDs. It gets a lot of comment in the LBSs!

Nice looking taillight. Can it be used as a nonblinking light also? Here in Sweden the law says that
the light may not blink.

--
Replace the dots to reply

Perre

in article [email hidden], Per Elmsäter at [email hidden] wrote
on 1/17/03 10:49 AM:

Quoted message said:

"Alan Jeddeloh" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
"]news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

I also recently picked up a RealLITE

(reallite.comdetails.htmOpen ↗).

Quoted message said:

4 x 6 inches and 18 LEDs. It gets a lot of comment in the LBSs!

Nice looking taillight. Can it be used as a nonblinking light also? Here in Sweden the law says
that the light may not blink.

Yes. It has three modes: Off, Blink at about 1 Hz, and Steady On. I'm not certain what the batter
life in Steady On state would be (or even Blink mode, for that matter). It takes four "AA"
batteries.
--
Alan Jeddeloh "ajeddelo at easystreet dot com" That which does not kill me sometimes just makes me
wish I was dead.