Riding at Night

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

Quoted message said:

I have a nice 10W halogen light on the front of my bike, but on the
back all I have is the reflector on my under-the-seat bag. Would you
recomend I ride INTO traffic, so they can see my headlight, with
traffic, where all they can see is my rear reflector?

Always ride with traffic, never against it. The chances of getting hit from
behind are very slim, even in the dark, so that should not be your primary
concern.

Why not get an inexpensive blinkie? The Trek Disco light doesn't cost that
much, and then you wouldn't be tempted into the illegal and dangerous
practice of riding against traffic.

--
Warm Regards,

Claire Petersky
http://www.bicyclemeditations.org/
Personal page: http://www.geocities.com/cpetersky/
See the books I've set free at:
http://bookcrossing.com/referral/Cpetersky

"Tim Nunes" wrote...

Quoted message said:

I have a nice 10W halogen light on the front of my bike, but on the
back all I have is the reflector on my under-the-seat bag. Would you
recomend I ride INTO traffic, so they can see my headlight, with
traffic, where all they can see is my rear reflector?

You're joking, right? Or is this a troll?

Get a decent taillight and ride with the flow of traffic, like the law says.
--
mark

In article <[email hidden]>,

Tim Nunes said:

I have a nice 10W halogen light on the front of my bike, but on the
back all I have is the reflector on my under-the-seat bag. Would you
recomend I ride INTO traffic, so they can see my headlight, with
traffic, where all they can see is my rear reflector?

I strongly recommend riding /with/ the rest of the traffic,
and getting a proper rear light (or two). You can supplement
the rear lights with additional reflective stuff -- windshell
or jacket with reflective piping, reflective vest, Slow Moving
Vehicle triangular sign, etc.

And here's an idea to make your hand signals more visible --
there are velcro, reflective trouser cuff bands available.
Just wrap one around each wrist. I've tried using those
peel-off reflective tape "spots" on my gloves, but sometimes
they want to fall off.

cheers,
Tom

--
-- Nothing is safe from me.
Above address is just a spam midden.
I'm really at: tkeats [curlicue] vcn [point] bc [point] ca

Well I'm ashamed to say that I am actually at work right now and I have
to ride my bike home tonight.

I didn't plan well enough for the ride home. I don't even have a hat
or gloves.

Or dinner.

I will ride with traffic and just be very very carefull.

Thank you all for your advice.

"Tim Nunes" ...
I am actually at work right now and I have

Quoted message said:

to ride my bike home tonight.

I didn't plan well enough for the ride home. I don't even have a hat
or gloves.

Or dinner.

I will ride with traffic and just be very very carefull.

Thank you all for your advice.

If you're worried about the traffic, catch a ride home with a friend, get a
decent taillight, and ride the bike home tomorrow night. If you have to ride
home tonight, try to stay on lightly travelled streets, and be aware that
cars coming up behind you might not see you.

When you get a taillight, get one that attaches somewhere on the bike
itself, not on your clothing or a bag on the bike. It's much easier to make
sure that motorists can see your light if it's on the bike where it can't
flop around and end up aiming at the sky or the ground.

Reflective tape is a good way to give yourself added visibility if you
already have lights. NAPA stores (that's right, the auto parts places) sell
bags of the stuff that truckers put on their trailers, buy a bag and get a
pair of scissors and cut it up to put on your bike. I've got red tape
wrapped barber pole style around my rack, and I've got silver tape on my
rims between the spokes and on my crank arms.

HTH,
--
mark

"Tim Nunes" wrote: Well I'm ashamed to say that I am actually at work
right now and I have to ride my bike home tonight. (clip)
^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
A 10 w headlight indicates a substantial dedication to night riding. How in
the world did you arrive at that point while totally ignoring the need for a
tail light?

"Leo Lichtman" wrote

Quoted message said:

A 10 w headlight indicates a substantial dedication to night riding. How
in the world did you arrive at that point while totally ignoring the need
for a tail light?

Mountain biking at night would require a decent headlight but taillights
would be superfluous.
--
mark

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

Quoted message said:

"Tim Nunes" wrote: Well I'm ashamed to say that I am actually at work
right now and I have to ride my bike home tonight. (clip)
^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
A 10 w headlight indicates a substantial dedication to night riding. How
in the world did you arrive at that point while totally ignoring the need
for a tail light?

I'm guessing Christmas gift. A 10 W light on the front, a blinkie on the
back, a few strategic reflectors / reflective tape and Tim will be in
business.

While we're on the subject of night advice, though: Forester has it right
when he suggests that it's important to know your route. Using familiar
routes you feel comfortable with is much more important at night. Even with
a 10 W light you can easily miss small potholes and other road hazards.

I go to Wally World once per year to get my fix of uber cheap gold
chains for my couple a' singlespeeds (I pity the fool!).

Lo and behold, they have seatpost mounted blinkies for under $2.

If you're in the money, grab a dozen, put one on your own bike, and
carry a couple in your bag to give to lightless cyclists.

Mark (below with post #7) is correct, the 10W was a Christmas gift.
I made it home safely, thank you for all your posts. I did ride with
traffic, on well lit streets, and on streets with large shoulders. It
was a little bit out of the way, but I am alive, and got that much more
excercise.

-Tim

correction,

Mike, post #8

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

Quoted message said:

In article <[email hidden]>,

Quoted message said:

And here's an idea to make your hand signals more visible --
there are velcro, reflective trouser cuff bands available.
Just wrap one around each wrist.

I do this too. I also put a slightly longer one around the top of my calf,
too, just below the knee, for one more spot on the body to reflect a
headlight.

--
Warm Regards,

Claire Petersky
http://www.bicyclemeditations.org/
Personal page: http://www.geocities.com/cpetersky/
See the books I've set free at:
http://bookcrossing.com/referral/Cpetersky

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

Quoted message said:

I have a nice 10W halogen light on the front of my bike, but on the
back all I have is the reflector on my under-the-seat bag. Would you
recomend I ride INTO traffic, so they can see my headlight, with
traffic, where all they can see is my rear reflector?

Your headlight is fine, but you need rear facing lighting and lots of
reflection. I wear an LED reflective vest. It reflects and has blinking
LEDs, so it's pretty visible. That plus a blinkie and my "please don't kill
me yellow" windbreaker. I have Tireflys on the valve stems of my grocery
getter. They are pretty cool. I don't know how visible they are to oncoming
traffic, but they increase the circle of light around me. Riding at night is
great.

Leo Lichtman said:

"Tim Nunes" wrote: Well I'm ashamed to say that I am actually at work
right now and I have to ride my bike home tonight. (clip)
^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
A 10 w headlight indicates a substantial dedication to night riding. How in
the world did you arrive at that point while totally ignoring the need for a
tail light?

Very strange, but whatever.

The Trek Disco Inferno, the Blackburn Mars 3.0, or the CatEye TL-LD1000
are all good rear lights to go with that 10W headlight.

http://texomacyclingcenter.com/site/itemdetails.cfm?ID=2173
http://www.campmor.com/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/ProductDisplay?partNumber=54722
http://www.nashbar.com/profile.cfm?category=&subcategory=&brand=0307&sku=12860&storetype=&estoreid=&pagename=