Commuting Question

In article said:

I am presently debating whether or not to commute to work. [...]

LIghting and reflectors seem to be well covered: more = better, fair enough.

The "only" thing i'd be concerned with is the vehicular density and driver
characteristics/temperment, incl. drunk drivers and traffic speed.

Personally, strictly imo, i detest giant pickups blasting past me with a 50+
mph overtake. Too much pucker factor. You mention a state highway, so one
other thing i'd be potentially concerned with is semi-truck traffic; in
particular, i'd be the littlest bit concerned for potential of semis to not
be able to give you wide berth due to other traffic on the road. I'd also
want to actually go out and look at the road surface _you'll_ be riding on.

Where i live, in the far west suburbs of Chicago, riding on the highways at
night (Rt 38, 64, 59 etc) would be a ticket to an early grave. Of course, i
am a big risk-averse wuss, and have available one block from my house (by
design) a MUP, the Fox River Trail. 98.5% (sic) of my ride is trail+private
road, 1.5% is on public street, so my opinion is biased.
<http://tinyurl.com/8meqf>

The only time i've ever been hit was near sunset on a sort-of high speed
secondary road (low traffic, but no speed enforcement) by (presumably) some
drunk who (presumably) keyed on my headlight, and ran into me thinking i was
a car much further away and to the right than i was.

I work a rotating shift, with a lot of off-hour riding, and there's a lot to
be said for it. I'd try to asses the mean risk/trip, recognizing that if it
seems like there's a 1/1000 chance of getting hit, you're going to get hit
about every 2~4 years. But really, the only solution is to light up and
give it a try and see how comfortable you are.

good luck and let us know how it works out.

..max

<[email hidden]> wrote ...

Quoted message said:

I am presently debating whether or not to commute to work. I am on third
shift, so the ride before would happen around 10:00 P.M. It's only 5-6

miles

Quoted message said:

to work in what most people would describe as a rural area. I have very

good

Quoted message said:

lighting, and would really like to ride rather than drive my car. From

past

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experience though, I am apprehensive to do this. No real bike lanes, and
about 2 miles of the ride would be on a state highway. Not to mention the
possibility of the occasional drunk or inattentive driver. The ride home,

of

Quoted message said:

course, would be around 7:00 A.M. ,and I would feel OK about that.
I would be interested to hear any advice or experiences, pro or con, or
things I can do to make my ride safer.
Thanks, Ned

Depending on where you live or which direction your road home takes you, may
find yourself riding into or directly away from the rising/setting sun at
certain times of year. This to me is more dangerous than riding in total
darkness, since glare from the sun could mask your lights and/or reflectors.
I really can't think of a solution to this problem, except to be aware of
the fact that motorists may not be able to see you with the sun in their
eyes and choose your route or time of travel accordingly.

I work extremely varied hours and do a lot of after dark commuting. To me,
the most dangerous time to be on the road is when everyone else is on their
way home from work. People seem [censored], impatient, tired, and everything
else that contributes to bad driving.

In the semi-rural area that I live in, it's pretty hard for a drunk to drive
more than a mile without getting pulled over by the local sheriff's
department, so I stopped worrying about drunks a while ago.

Does the state highway that you would ride on have a decent paved shoulder?
Is there a rumble strip between the shoulder and the travel lane?

For lights, I've settled on a decent quality hub generator (Shimano 3N-71)
with a good quality halogen headlight (Busch & Muller Lumotec with
standlight), and white reflective tape on the front of my helmet, along with
reflector tape on my rims. I've got one LED light (Cateye TL-1000) on steady
mode attached to the bike rack, and at least two red blinking LED lights on
my helmet, seat stay, saddlebag or wherever else I can get them to fit.
Local bus drivers and law enforcement people tell me that I'm extremely
visible at night, which is good to know.
--
mark
--
mark

"Gooserider" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
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Quoted message said:

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

Quoted message said:

Re: Front light no LEDs, the LEDs are getting pretty well up there in
efficiency and last forever on a charge. A Halogen or HID light would

need

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a recharge every day, so consider the tradeoffs. Safety is the first
concern, but it could be a bummer if you forgot to charge the HID

battery.

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

Bill Baka

I have the DiNotte LED light, and the run time is really pretty good. If I
keep in on low mode, I can get three hours run time. That's enough. :-)

Funny, I have a well lit bike and do tranport at night much of the time. I
find that the night driving on public hiways to be actually safer than in
the daytime. It appears that the daylight drivers (just a few) seem to
resent the fact that they have to share the road with a bike. No matter how
well one stays within the laws there is always some idiot that doesn't
believe you should be there. But at night, they seem to be afraid of the
dark. (g)

*** Posted via a free Usenet account from http://www.teranews.com ***

Claire Petersky said:

I'll just chime in and say I love riding around 10:00.

Agreed; 10 p.m. is nearly the best time to ride. It's cool, traffic is
light and with proper lighting you can be very visible.

I have a couple of 5 LED Cateye Opticube headlights which are among
the brightest of LED headlights available. It's adequate for city
riding, but for dark rural lanes it's not enough unless you keep your
speed down.

I also have a yellow xenon strobe. I've passed and been passed by CHP,
Santa Clara sheriff, and local police but I've yet to receive a ticket
for the strobe. I also don' t have a complete complement of
state-required relectors. YMMV.

landotter said:

Man, used to treasure my 3am bike rides after work in Chicago,
especially when I had the energy to huff it down to the lake shore path
and enjoy the sparkle of the skyline along with the calm of the night.

That's a great ride at that hour. I would never have guessed how many
raccoons are living in Lincoln Park.

--
Paul Turner

Fritz M said:

Claire Petersky said:

I'll just chime in and say I love riding around 10:00.

Agreed; 10 p.m. is nearly the best time to ride. It's cool, traffic is
light and with proper lighting you can be very visible.

I have a couple of 5 LED Cateye Opticube headlights which are among
the brightest of LED headlights available. It's adequate for city
riding, but for dark rural lanes it's not enough unless you keep your
speed down.

I have the same lights and love them little LEDs, all 5. Speed down below
what, maybe 12 MPH, which is all I go at night anyway since it is just a
pleasure ride at that time. The Cateye gives me enough light to avoid
potholes, but not much down the road.

Quoted message said:

I also have a yellow xenon strobe. I've passed and been passed by CHP,
Santa Clara sheriff, and local police but I've yet to receive a ticket
for the strobe. I also don' t have a complete complement of
state-required relectors. YMMV.

You get away with a yellow strobe in Santa Clara?????
City or county??
City is nasty cops.
Experience since 1963.
Bad cops.
County is good cops.
Watch your rear in Santa Clara the City.
Bill Baka

Previously said:

I am on third
shift, so the ride before would happen around 10:00 P.M. From

past

Quoted message said:

experience though, I am apprehensive to do this. No real bike

lanes, and

Quoted message said:

about 2 miles of the ride would be on a state highway.

In addition to everyone else's qood comments re lights etc:
Are you certain there is not an alternate route that would avoid
(or shorten) the Z mile highway stretch? Even if it made the trip
a little longer? Try consultinq a good map to be certain.
Regards,
Todd
--
Remove NO SPAM to reply via email
Posted via a Palm OS PDA (Handspring Visor Edge)

Ned said:

I am presently debating whether or not to commute to work. I am on third
shift, so the ride before would happen around 10:00 P.M. It's only 5-6 miles
to work in what most people would describe as a rural area. I have very good
lighting, and would really like to ride rather than drive my car. From past
experience though, I am apprehensive to do this. No real bike lanes, and
about 2 miles of the ride would be on a state highway. Not to mention the
possibility of the occasional drunk or inattentive driver. The ride home, of
course, would be around 7:00 A.M. ,and I would feel OK about that.
I would be interested to hear any advice or experiences, pro or con, or
things I can do to make my ride safer.

Inquiring minds want to know! How is your fledgling commute going??

--Karen D.

Bill said:

I think in California a really bright strobe on the rear will buy you a
ticket, even on a bike. The C.H.P. gets really creative about giving
tickets for just about anything they don't like.

There are plenty of things that they could give tickets for that they
never do. I've been using one for years with no problem, but then again
I don't generally ride on roads with a big CHP presence.

Gooserider said:

I disagree with your headlight comment. A good LED light, like the DiNotte
or L&M Vega is extremely bright.

Yeah, yeah, I need to start qualifying the issue of LED lighting to take
the DiNotte into account.

Personally, I think that while the DiNotte is great, 100 minutes of 120
lumens for $200 seems a little expensive.

I just wanted to be sure that he didn't go out and buy a low power LED
headlight, or other low-power headlight, which would not be suitable for
his commute.

Dave Larrington said:

Quoted message said:

You'll want a rear xenon strobe (see
"http://www.earthspirits.net/Merchant2/merchant.mvc?Screen=PROD&Store_Code=pbs&Product_Code=commuter-strobe"😉
not just an LED flasher (LED flasher is good back-up, but be sure to
get a high-quality LED flasher that also has side pointing LEDs).

Product 'commuter-strobe"' not found. Useful.

The link works for me.

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

Of
course for the front, you'll want a high-power quartz-halogen or HID
headlamp, no LED headlights.

Horse.

Yes, I should have qualified that statement for the DiNotte 5W LED
headlight, or the Light and Motion Vega. I was referring to the low
power LED lights, or the ones that try to use a bunch of low wattage
LEDS in parallel.

Daryl Hunt said:

Funny, I have a well lit bike and do tranport at night much of the time. I
find that the night driving on public hiways to be actually safer than in
the daytime. It appears that the daylight drivers (just a few) seem to
resent the fact that they have to share the road with a bike. No matter how
well one stays within the laws there is always some idiot that doesn't
believe you should be there. But at night, they seem to be afraid of the
dark. (g)

I agree with this. With a very good set of lights a bicycle is more
visible at night than in the daytime. OTOH, I curse under my breath when
I see, barely, cyclists riding at night with poor or no lights.

Fritz M said:

I have a couple of 5 LED Cateye Opticube headlights which are among
the brightest of LED headlights available.

Not by a long shot are those among the brightest LED headlights available.

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

Quoted message said:

Daryl Hunt said:

Funny, I have a well lit bike and do tranport at night much of the time.
I
find that the night driving on public hiways to be actually safer than in
the daytime. It appears that the daylight drivers (just a few) seem to
resent the fact that they have to share the road with a bike. No matter
how
well one stays within the laws there is always some idiot that doesn't
believe you should be there. But at night, they seem to be afraid of the
dark. (g)

I agree with this. With a very good set of lights a bicycle is more
visible at night than in the daytime. OTOH, I curse under my breath when I
see, barely, cyclists riding at night with poor or no lights.

I was driving home one evening and passed a person riding down a busy two
lane with no headlight, only a blinkie. I wasn't far from home, so when I
got home I grabbed an old Cateye and some batteries, hopped on my bike, and
pedalled to the corner. When the guy got to me I stopped him and gave him
the light. I've thought about buying a few cheap lights on eBay, and
carrying one to hand out to lightless cyclists.

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

Quoted message said:

Gooserider said:

I disagree with your headlight comment. A good LED light, like the
DiNotte or L&M Vega is extremely bright.

Yeah, yeah, I need to start qualifying the issue of LED lighting to take
the DiNotte into account.

Personally, I think that while the DiNotte is great, 100 minutes of 120
lumens for $200 seems a little expensive.

I just wanted to be sure that he didn't go out and buy a low power LED
headlight, or other low-power headlight, which would not be suitable for
his commute.

Well, the cool thing about the DiNotte is that is uses standard 2300mA
rechargeable AAs. I carry a spare set and keep them charged up. Even on low
power, the DiNotte is bright enough to get home, and it will burn for three
hours. The L&M Vega has a built in battery, so not so good in that regard.
The DiNotte is coming down---I've seen it on Nashbar for $150. Good light.

Gooserider said:

I was driving home one evening and passed a person riding down a busy two
lane with no headlight, only a blinkie. I wasn't far from home, so when I
got home I grabbed an old Cateye and some batteries, hopped on my bike, and
pedalled to the corner. When the guy got to me I stopped him and gave him
the light. I've thought about buying a few cheap lights on eBay, and
carrying one to hand out to lightless cyclists.

Yeah, but the people riding with no lights are probably too clueless to
even change the batteries. If you get cheap dynamos, they will be too
clueless to change the bulbs, or reconnect loose wires.

Gooserider said:

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

Quoted message said:

Gooserider said:

I disagree with your headlight comment. A good LED light, like the
DiNotte or L&M Vega is extremely bright.

Yeah, yeah, I need to start qualifying the issue of LED lighting to take
the DiNotte into account.

Personally, I think that while the DiNotte is great, 100 minutes of 120
lumens for $200 seems a little expensive.

I just wanted to be sure that he didn't go out and buy a low power LED
headlight, or other low-power headlight, which would not be suitable for
his commute.

Well, the cool thing about the DiNotte is that is uses standard 2300mA
rechargeable AAs. I carry a spare set and keep them charged up. Even on low
power, the DiNotte is bright enough to get home, and it will burn for three
hours. The L&M Vega has a built in battery, so not so good in that regard.
The DiNotte is coming down---I've seen it on Nashbar for $150. Good light.

The input power to the DiNotte appear to be around 7.5W for the 5W LED.
If there were an 8W or so dynamo, it would make a great headlamp without
the worry of batteries. You can't get any 120 lumen headlamp that will
run off a dynamo.

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

Quoted message said:

Gooserider said:

I was driving home one evening and passed a person riding down a busy two
lane with no headlight, only a blinkie. I wasn't far from home, so when I
got home I grabbed an old Cateye and some batteries, hopped on my bike,
and pedalled to the corner. When the guy got to me I stopped him and gave
him the light. I've thought about buying a few cheap lights on eBay, and
carrying one to hand out to lightless cyclists.

Yeah, but the people riding with no lights are probably too clueless to
even change the batteries. If you get cheap dynamos, they will be too
clueless to change the bulbs, or reconnect loose wires.

It's good PR. It makes the guys on Huffys and NEXTs think we guys on "nice
bikes" aren't jerks. Plus, when these guys have lights it makes all cyclists
look better to motorists.

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

Quoted message said:

Gooserider said:

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

Quoted message said:

Gooserider wrote:

> I disagree with your headlight comment. A good LED light, like the
> DiNotte or L&M Vega is extremely bright.
Yeah, yeah, I need to start qualifying the issue of LED lighting to take
the DiNotte into account.

Personally, I think that while the DiNotte is great, 100 minutes of 120
lumens for $200 seems a little expensive.

I just wanted to be sure that he didn't go out and buy a low power LED
headlight, or other low-power headlight, which would not be suitable for
his commute.

Well, the cool thing about the DiNotte is that is uses standard 2300mA
rechargeable AAs. I carry a spare set and keep them charged up. Even on
low power, the DiNotte is bright enough to get home, and it will burn
for three hours. The L&M Vega has a built in battery, so not so good in
that regard. The DiNotte is coming down---I've seen it on Nashbar for
$150. Good light.

The input power to the DiNotte appear to be around 7.5W for the 5W LED. If
there were an 8W or so dynamo, it would make a great headlamp without the
worry of batteries. You can't get any 120 lumen headlamp that will run off
a dynamo.

I don't know anything about dynamos, but I like the small footprint of the
DiNotte, and the battery thing isn't a problem at all. I used a Vistalite
Code 15 for years, and that battery(Lightstick) was a pain in the rear.
Limited battery life, unwieldy size. The rechargable AAs are the way battery
lights should be. No proprietary nonsense, just batteries I can buy at Radio
Shack.