midnight commutes

I used to ride from the city to Springfield Lakes and I never had any more problems at night than during the day.

Get yourself some good lights and just ride. It's not scary.

asterope said:

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

Last Saturdays ride would have to be a record for creatures seen in one
day for me.

Saw (in order) a large racehorse goanna, which I stopped for before it
ran off, some emus, some kangaroos, a two metre snake, various rabbits
and kangaroos and lastly a rat-like thing that ran across the road,
probably the last example of it's species in the world, (or maybe it was
just a big black rat.)

Not bad for a 45k MTB ride.

Friday

gplama said:

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

Note that white LEDs are actually blue LEDs with yellow phosphor. So you buy a white bike light, open it up and replace the LEDs. The only problem is that many modern lights are surface mount, making things a little tricky with a soldering iron.

I was going to suggest to the Vic bicycle police that they do this, but then I discovered they already had blue flashing LED lights.

I also reccomend you try it.
I have been commuting by bike for ten years now and the nature of my work
means I start and finish at all hours of the day and night. I find the peak
hours more stressful to ride in than the wee hours.

I have a good headlight which I can see with, not just be seen, a rear
reflector and a very bright red LED on the bike, and another on my helmet,
which is the highest part of me and the first bit to be seen by someone
following over a hill. I wear a fluro orange work shirt which has masses of
reflective tape. My new front tyre also has a white reflective line around
it. I carry a small LED torch for roadside punctures, and of course a spare
tube and pump. I seem to get more punctures at night, maybe because glass on
the road is not as obvious.

As others have said Friday and Saturday nights can be interesting. When
carload of charged up teens out cruising come up behind you are not sure
what to expect. Have had objects thrown at me occasionly.
Nothing has happened that made me want to stop though and it can be
very satisfying riding along at night when you have the whole road to
yourself.
And you don't get hit by magpies in the dark.

Peter Miller
Newcastle

Duracell Bunny said:

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)

Years ago in Adelaide (where else?) I rode past a public loo at night
and some freak yelled out, "Hey, don't I know you?". Verbal kick in the
nuts for that sickie.

Donga

"asterope" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
news:asterope.2g7g4b@no-

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?

Cygolites, front and rear 🙂

TimC said:

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

Quoted message said:

gplama said:

Friday Wrote:

> 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.

Bunyips We have Bunyips. For crying out loud Tim.

Dave

Duracell Bunny said:

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 🙂

Far out, I've never heard of anything like that happening. I wouldn't take off. I'd stop and confront the little fsckers. You'd be surprised just how little the balls of most grown Aussie men are, let alone their juvenile offspring. No big deal.

Lotte

LotteBum said:

Duracell Bunny said:

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 🙂

Far out, I've never heard of anything like that happening. I wouldn't
take off. I'd stop and confront the little fsckers. You'd be
surprised just how little the balls of most grown Aussie men are, let
alone their juvenile offspring. No big deal.

Lotte

Heh I'm not one for making these sick idiots worse - I avoid confrontation
whenever I can, being essentially chicken 🙂

I reckon if I can outpace them, I'm ahead on more than one count then

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)

Duracell Bunny said:

Heh I'm not one for making these sick idiots worse - I avoid
confrontation whenever I can, being essentially chicken 🙂

Are you sure they intended violence?
Could be the usual bored teenager interested in something different, but
you have to be relaxed about the attention.

Quoted message said:

I reckon if I can outpace them, I'm ahead on more than one count then

I don't stop first few times until it is clear that they are peaciful
and it always safer not to let them in front (their bike handling can be
attrocious).

A loud "gidday/loverly night/going fishing/etc" or even "hi fred"[1] as
you ride past can start to break the ice. If someone wants to converse,
they'll chase. If they are local, they might say hi at the supermarket,
etc in daylight.

OTOH, most of my meetings were a decade or more past and the most common
drug was maryjane and if that was the story, then they would be fairly
relaxed.

[1] Works well because if they are up to something, if they think you
know someone in their groups, they'll pause. Those teachers pop up in
all sorts of places you know {:-). Choose name appropriate for suburb.

Terryc said:

Duracell Bunny said:

Heh I'm not one for making these sick idiots worse - I avoid
confrontation whenever I can, being essentially chicken 🙂

Are you sure they intended violence?
Could be the usual bored teenager interested in something different, but
you have to be relaxed about the attention.

Quoted message said:

I reckon if I can outpace them, I'm ahead on more than one count then

I don't stop first few times until it is clear that they are peaciful
and it always safer not to let them in front (their bike handling can be
attrocious).

A loud "gidday/loverly night/going fishing/etc" or even "hi fred"[1] as
you ride past can start to break the ice. If someone wants to converse,
they'll chase. If they are local, they might say hi at the supermarket,
etc in daylight.

OTOH, most of my meetings were a decade or more past and the most common
drug was maryjane and if that was the story, then they would be fairly
relaxed.

[1] Works well because if they are up to something, if they think you
know someone in their groups, they'll pause. Those teachers pop up in
all sorts of places you know {:-). Choose name appropriate for suburb.

The last lot were lurking behind a row of trees. I was fortunate that before I
approached a car overtook me & lit them up briefly. After I passed, they gave
chase without any provocation on my part at all - I'd put money on their intent
being less than beneficial to me. They pursued me some 1.5 kms, so I don't think
I was being paranoid.

--
Karen

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

Duracell Bunny said:

The last lot were lurking behind a row of trees. I was fortunate that before I approached a car overtook me & lit them up briefly. After I passed, they gave chase without any provocation on my part at all - I'd put money on their intent being less than beneficial to me. They pursued me some 1.5 kms, so I don't think I was being paranoid.

Maybe their parents can't afford to let them race... and they just wanted to race you!

LH

In aus.bicycle on Thu, 26 Oct 2006 14:52:02 +1000

Terryc said:

Duracell Bunny said:

Heh I'm not one for making these sick idiots worse - I avoid
confrontation whenever I can, being essentially chicken 🙂

Are you sure they intended violence?
Could be the usual bored teenager interested in something different, but
you have to be relaxed about the attention.

On the bent I expect it. I get a lot of comments from the various
peanut galleries, peds at stoplights, and so on.

So if I saw a bunch of bods on bikes after me I'd presume they either
wanted to talk about it, or were [censored] at how slow I am 🙂

Zebee

I used to cycle home from St Lucia to Eight Mile Plains (do you even
know where that is?) most evenings, even if I worked late. The
difference was, if it was already dark, I'd take Vulture St and Latrobe
St onto Logan Rd, whereas if it was daylight I'd skip that traffic and
take the bikeway until Stones Corner. It wasn't the darkness that
bothered me (my lights weren't great but I could safely travel around
20km/h) but rather the fact that on the SE Fwy bikeway you're fenced in
on both sides and there's virtually no one around... except maybe one
of those dodgy mugger types... and no excape routes.

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'm with you.

I've had fewer incidents at night, though I've tended to
stick to better lit areas (where I can see, as I have
flashers, not headlights). Plus no one seems to be
deliberately trying to kill me.

Tam

asterope said:

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.

<snip>

Great idea, but not sure it's legal...

Tam

well, I did my first midnight commute from work last night... actually, it wasnt as bad as i thought it would be.

there were hardly any cars on the road, and the ones that were gave me ample room. surpsrisingly no knobs/bogans on the road last night, which was pleasant, and i managed to get myself home in 35 minutes...
the most exciting thing that happened was being chased down by the silly dog on the corner of waterworks/jubilee... actually, that was kinda scary, he got pretty close to my front wheel. Im going to go have a word to the owners as i have been and have seen many people being chased by that dog in the evening when walking home from the shops etc.

quite a pleasant time to be out on the roads really 😄

A shot from water pistol filled with lemon juice and water might be
worth trying on that dog.

asterope said:

well, I did my first midnight commute from work last night... actually,
it wasnt as bad as i thought it would be.

there were hardly any cars on the road, and the ones that were gave me
ample room. surpsrisingly no knobs/bogans on the road last night, which
was pleasant, and i managed to get myself home in 35 minutes...
the most exciting thing that happened was being chased down by the
silly dog on the corner of waterworks/jubilee... actually, that was
kinda scary, he got pretty close to my front wheel. Im going to go have
a word to the owners as i have been and have seen many people being
chased by that dog in the evening when walking home from the shops
etc.

quite a pleasant time to be out on the roads really 😄

--
asterope

asterope said:

well, I did my first midnight commute from work last night... actually, it wasnt as bad as i thought it would be.

there were hardly any cars on the road, and the ones that were gave me ample room. surpsrisingly no knobs/bogans on the road last night, which was pleasant, and i managed to get myself home in 35 minutes...
the most exciting thing that happened was being chased down by the silly dog on the corner of waterworks/jubilee... actually, that was kinda scary, he got pretty close to my front wheel. Im going to go have a word to the owners as i have been and have seen many people being chased by that dog in the evening when walking home from the shops etc.

quite a pleasant time to be out on the roads really 😄

Yeah, I've found that riding at night is great. One of the main components of visibility is contrast; there's plenty contrast provided by a flashing red light and a steady one, not to mention all the reflective stuff on the panniers. I reckon I'm more visible at night, not less.

MWP said:

A shot from water pistol filled with lemon juice and water might be
worth trying on that dog.

That might be nicer than cloudy ammonia, which would make sure of the
job (tried, tested and guaranteed).

Donga