midnight commutes

asterope said:

am i being silly getting all nervous, and if so, whats the best way to
get myself lit up like a big xmas tree, and any other savvy safety
points to avoid encounters of the semi-trailer kind?

Definitely not being silly and I have the same thoughts about night
riding. After dark I would put considerably more effort into planning
the route. Ideally I'd want a balance between enough traffic to not be
at risk of isolation, but not too much heavy traffic to put me at
danger. An ideal example for me would be a major road with service
roads, so I'd ride on the service roads.

Also, night is probably the only time I would ride on the footpath.
Usually car reversing out are a problem with this, but at night you
should be able to pick up their lights.

And finally, it depends on the safety of the areas you have to go
through. In the late 80's I used to work shiftwork in Melb CBD and
thought nothing of going for a stroll at 3am through the city on my own.
I can't imgaine I'd be doing that these days.

DaveB

In aus.bicycle on Wed, 25 Oct 2006 09:01:10 +1000

asterope said:

am i being silly getting all nervous, and if so, whats the best way to
get myself lit up like a big xmas tree, and any other savvy safety
points to avoid encounters of the semi-trailer kind?

When dealing with trucks, have rear lights that are visible from truck
driver height. So have a light onthe back of your helmet and make sure
it is pointing up and back when you are in riding position.

Have heaps of reflective tape onthe bike, and wear reflective anklets
so that the movement is eye catching.

A very bright light to the rear so that it can be seen a long way away
is probably a good idea. In other words, not just little flashers.

Zebee

asterope said:

yesterday was my big plan to start my commute to work and back (18kms
each way, at 4pm and 12am respectively) but ended up getting a severe
case of the heebie-jeebies at around 3pm...
back before my lazy days of the scooter, when i didnt have several 8am
lectures, i would commute home at midnight or later with no worries or
nasty feelings in my stomach... but then again, that was only 6kms to
get home. the distance has now tripled and placed itself through some
very truck-heavy traffic zones.

id like to stop using the scooter to get out there so much... its
wearing it out quicker, i feel much healthier when i use my bike to
commute, and it doesnt take me all that much longer to get to work on a
bike... but the thought of trucks and a few kms of poorly lit deserted
roads at midnight just dont stir confidence if you know what i mean.

am i being silly getting all nervous, and if so, whats the best way to
get myself lit up like a big xmas tree, and any other savvy safety
points to avoid encounters of the semi-trailer kind?

Thanks muchly in advance
Asterope (chickensh*t)

A few points.

Nightime is exactly the same as daytime except the sun is not up.

You can never have too many lights, to see and be seen.

Scary monsters don't exist except on TV and in your head.

Always carry a small torch of some kind for repairs, a little bit of
light is better than no light at all.

Other additions welcome.

Friday

asterope said:

Doesn't want to ride at midnight...

I think I'd feel the same way. I have this feeling that I'd be at
greater risk along a quiet stretch of road in the dark if there was only
one vehicle compared with dozens. I always assume that at that time of
night a driver is more likely to be a little sleepy and perhaps not
paying all that much attention. I would guess that the only solution is
to extremely well lit AND to alert drivers to the fact that you are
moving. There are often well lit signs/roadwork areas/obstacles on
roads which drivers expect to be motionless. I always fear that
cyclists at night that are picked up by drivers are assumed to be
motionless objects which may result in bingles because allowance has not
been made for forward motion. I reckon that the best way to indicate
you are a moving object is to light up the wheels. At least from side
on you can be seen and you certainly appear to be in motion. Not sure
what to do for vision from behind though. Perhaps some reflective tape
on your tyre side-walls just above the road/contact surface??

Another alternative is sticking to well-lit roads, even if this makes
for a longer trip.
--
Bean

Remove "yourfinger" before replying

asterope said:

yesterday was my big plan to start my commute to work and back (18kms each way, at 4pm and 12am respectively) but ended up getting a severe case of the heebie-jeebies at around 3pm...
back before my lazy days of the scooter, when i didnt have several 8am lectures, i would commute home at midnight or later with no worries or nasty feelings in my stomach... but then again, that was only 6kms to get home. the distance has now tripled and placed itself through some very truck-heavy traffic zones.

id like to stop using the scooter to get out there so much... its wearing it out quicker, i feel much healthier when i use my bike to commute, and it doesnt take me all that much longer to get to work on a bike... but the thought of trucks and a few kms of poorly lit deserted roads at midnight just dont stir confidence if you know what i mean.

am i being silly getting all nervous, and if so, whats the best way to get myself lit up like a big xmas tree, and any other savvy safety points to avoid encounters of the semi-trailer kind?

Thanks muchly in advance
Asterope (chickensh*t)

I wouldn't go so far as to say don't do it, but I totally understand your trepidation and I would be thinking twice about doing it. There's heaps of idiots and tired people on the roads at that time, and like you say lots of trucks on lytton rd. With lights I'd go with a minimum of 2 rear lights, a big f off light on the front for the dark bits and a blinky on your helmet for people coming from sidestreets. Maybe some 3M reflective tape on the bike or a vest. Beyond that all you can do with trucks is make sure you can be seen and hold your line.

Just looking at all the tyre marks up the edges of freeway ramp concrete walls shows you a lot of drivers are not exactly on the ball.

Sorry mate that's probably not much help is it?
Adam

[font=Arial]I love commuting @ night. I do have the advantage of my commute being mostly inner city though (Melb). Can you change the route in anyway to avoid the truck section? Even if it's longer, it would give you more fun time on the bike.
I ride with 2 rear flashers (bag & bike mounted). Up front is either 2 flashers (Helmet & bar mount) or 10w bar mount & helmet flasher for the more darker trips. And some ankle & bag mounted 3m tape for good measure.
As for [censored] in cars; I think I can be scary enough if need be. I just take out my front false tooth & get the gums flappin'
[/font]
:p

JayWoo said:

[font=Arial]I love commuting @ night. I do have the advantage of my commute being mostly inner city though (Melb). Can you change the route in anyway to avoid the truck section? Even if it's longer, it would give you more fun time on the bike.
I ride with 2 rear flashers (bag & bike mounted). Up front is either 2 flashers (Helmet & bar mount) or 10w bar mount & helmet flasher for the more darker trips. And some ankle & bag mounted 3m tape for good measure.
As for [censored] in cars; I think I can be scary enough if need be. I just take out my front false tooth & get the gums flappin'
[/font]
:p

Thanks for all the replies, i think i should go get more * and brighter* lights before attempting this commute.

As for changing the route.. no such luck... there are only two ways out of the complex i work in and both of them are heavy industrial areas, once i get out of the industrial areas its back onto well-ish lit city roads so its not too much of a worry.

my main fear is that some semi is going to come screaming up the hill in the left lane on lytton rd, get to the cresent, see theres a cyclist in front of them and not have enough time to slam on the brakes... ive had this happen to me once on the scooter, but going 60kmh is much easier to avoid getting hit by a semi with its brakes screeching.
as for footpath riding... there are no footpaths around there, and a 100m section of 'token' bike path that goes around a set of lights (thanks BCC, for the gesture and thinking about how cyclists "hate" stopping at red lights, but perhaps you could actually CONTINUE the bike path alongside the road, instead of shooting us straight onto gravel?)

Im going to have to think this through more... i wish that the few people that lived in the general vicinity of my neighbourhood werent so lazy and would actually consider commuting with me (but then thats a whole 40 minutes wasted that they could be playing world of warcraft, man!!)

Friday said:

Scary monsters don't exist except on TV and in your head.

....and on vinyl and cd and mp3

1980!! I'm old
Steven

asterope said:

yesterday was my big plan to start my commute to work and back (18kms
each way, at 4pm and 12am respectively) but ended up getting a severe
case of the heebie-jeebies at around 3pm...
back before my lazy days of the scooter, when i didnt have several 8am
lectures, i would commute home at midnight or later with no worries or
nasty feelings in my stomach... but then again, that was only 6kms to
get home. the distance has now tripled and placed itself through some
very truck-heavy traffic zones.

id like to stop using the scooter to get out there so much... its
wearing it out quicker, i feel much healthier when i use my bike to
commute, and it doesnt take me all that much longer to get to work on a
bike... but the thought of trucks and a few kms of poorly lit deserted
roads at midnight just dont stir confidence if you know what i mean.

am i being silly getting all nervous, and if so, whats the best way to
get myself lit up like a big xmas tree, and any other savvy safety
points to avoid encounters of the semi-trailer kind?

Thanks muchly in advance
Asterope (chickensh*t)

Hi Eileen,

Apart from the lots of comments about good lighting, what has actually scared me
recently more than any motor vehicle was the teenage gangs you see after dark.
I've been chased on more than one occasion by kids on bikes with obvious evil
intent. So far I've been lucky that I've been much fitter than them, despite in
both recent cases me being on the heavy, well-laden hybrid I was easily able to
out-pace them. As soon as I made it onto a major, well lit road they gave up in
each case. But really scary for me, I can assure you. One of the incidents
happened in a relatively posh area too. Not far from where Monsterman lives, in
fact.

So, take that into account when planning your route too 🙂

Karen

--
Karen Gallagher

"Reverse the polarity and invert the particle flux!"
"You mean put the batteries in the other way?"
"...yes."
-Star Trek (any of them)

asterope said:

yesterday was my big plan to start my commute to work and back (18kms
each way, at 4pm and 12am respectively) but ended up getting a severe
case of the heebie-jeebies at around 3pm..

3pm - 4pm is brood mares at the wheel peak time, so unless you have a
total off road path, you want to minimise schools fronts.

Midnight is great, especially with back roads.

Quoted message said:

but the thought of trucks and a few kms of poorly lit deserted
roads at midnight just dont stir confidence if you know what i mean.

Trucks are not your problem. you need relatively bright lighting, which
is why I built a basic system with 50W light for when I did a short
section of main road with lots of neon advertising along it.

Otherwise, lots of reflectors, and vest.

at midnight, you just need to check out closing time for the local
inebriates.

Quoted message said:

am i being silly getting all nervous, and if so, whats the best way to
get myself lit up like a big xmas tree, and any other savvy safety
points to avoid encounters of the semi-trailer kind?

Rear, I have a flashing and a steady (bright and dull) read lights, plus
reflectors, panniers rear pockets and 12" arm either side, plus 6" sissy
bar.

Side reflectors are twin loops offset in each wheel (orange front, red
back) - it really catches their eye. the panners had reflectors that fit
onto the tightening straps.

Front, bright and dull front lights and reflectors. T reflectors on 12"
bar on front rack.

Wear reflecto vest, helmet with reflecto tape, ride in upright position
at moderate speeds.

you will get to know the sections of badly maintained roads.

you will also get to know the wildlife and what to avoid and what to enjoy.

It is a majical world after midnight on the back roads.

lol, you might even find out who are the shift workers on your route,
who has older kids, where you can catch the latest news, etc, etc, etc

Duracell Bunny said:

Hi Eileen,

Apart from the lots of comments about good lighting, what has actually scared me
recently more than any motor vehicle was the teenage gangs you see after dark.
I've been chased on more than one occasion by kids on bikes with obvious evil
intent. So far I've been lucky that I've been much fitter than them, despite in
both recent cases me being on the heavy, well-laden hybrid I was easily able to
out-pace them. As soon as I made it onto a major, well lit road they gave up in
each case. But really scary for me, I can assure you. One of the incidents
happened in a relatively posh area too. Not far from where Monsterman lives, in
fact.

So, take that into account when planning your route too 🙂

Karen

--
Karen Gallagher

"Reverse the polarity and invert the particle flux!"
"You mean put the batteries in the other way?"
"...yes."
-Star Trek (any of them)

See the monsters aren't just in your head! Plenty on the southside (and on a.b as well)

Adam

Friday said:

Scary monsters don't exist except on TV and in your head.

errmm... what about monsterman!?!?? 😄

I have never been concerned about not being seen on my bike at night. With good quality flashers and a front light, if someone runs you over they were going to do it in the daylight anyhow.

Also I have found people tend to leave more room at night.

In the Lytton road area I have a feeling the truckies might give you more respect because they will figure you are in a similar industry to them and you are riding because you have to......not because you enjoy it. 😄

gplama said:

Friday said:

Scary monsters don't exist except on TV and in your head.

errmm... what about monsterman!?!?? 😄

Well I have to admit when I do my kayak training at night I'm certain
the Swamp Monster is following close behind me.
It's amazing the tricks your mind plays on you when you're out late at
night...in the dark....in the middle of nowhere... alone.........

Paulie-AU said:

I have never been concerned about not being seen on my bike at night.
With good quality flashers and a front light, if someone runs you over
they were going to do it in the daylight anyhow.

Also I have found people tend to leave more room at night.

In the Lytton road area I have a feeling the truckies might give you
more respect because they will figure you are in a similar industry to
them and you are riding because you have to......not because you enjoy
it. 😄

I've brought this up before and it works really well but replacing the
red LEDs in one of your flashing lights with blue ones makes the world
of differnce.

Friday

Friday said:

I've brought this up before and it works really well but replacing the
red LEDs in one of your flashing lights with blue ones makes the world
of differnce.

POST OF THE DAY!!!! hmmm.. Jaycar time!

On 2006-10-25, Friday (aka Bruce)
was almost, but not quite, entirely unlike tea:

Quoted message said:

gplama said:

Friday said:

Scary monsters don't exist except on TV and in your head.

errmm... what about monsterman!?!?? 😄

Well I have to admit when I do my kayak training at night I'm certain
the Swamp Monster is following close behind me.
It's amazing the tricks your mind plays on you when you're out late at
night...in the dark....in the middle of nowhere... alone.........

Imagine how I feel, working at a bloody telescope in the bush!

We have fighting kangaroos, wombats, and other miscellaneous growling
creatures, in the dark 50m below the catwalk you are walking along at
midnight. You walk back to the lodge after a long tiresome night, and
a roo bounds across the path 50cm in front of you.

I always used to hate riding home from the public observatory a km
from the edge of town -- because of the yetis in the bush.

--
TimC
Adding features does not necessarily increase functionality -- it just
makes the manuals thicker. --unknown

TimC said:

Imagine how I feel, working at a bloody telescope in the bush!

<snip>

I always used to hate riding home from the public observatory a km
from the edge of town -- because of the yetis in the bush.

--
TimC
Adding features does not necessarily increase functionality -- it just
makes the manuals thicker. --unknown

I think the blue LED thing is a goer here... some great ideas and tips coming up in this thread.

Always loved riding home in the wee hours of the morning... nobody out but the owls, possums, and roadies training in the best part of the day 😄
I think i just need to get more lit up and get out of that industrial zone mentality... or find myself a day job for the uni holidays :p
i think i might just get lit up and give it a burl next week 😄

Tim, please feel free to send any yetis you may come across that have been left in the bush to me, i'll pay for postage 😄 hehehe

asterope said:

Tim, please feel free to send any yetis you may come across that have been left in the bush to me, i'll pay for postage 😄 hehehe

a Yeti in the hand is worth two Cannondale (frames) in the bush!