Commuting - Safety Question

Hola. I am new to this forum and new to cycling!
So, to the question...I am commuting 9 miles to work now. I work odd hours, so some of my commutes are shortly before or after midnight. I have the option of a very, very dark, isolated, but well-kept bike path or city streets which are well-lit but potentially full of drunk drivers or what have you. I am female and 22 years old, living in a college town, so there is a lot of hype about not riding by yourself at night. What do you guys think? Have you ever come across drunken weirdos? Or is it mostly just drunken, inattentive drivers?

Hey-

I think riding a bike through campus is pretty safe, if you have a light and are confident on the bike. People aren't going to bother you if you are moving at a decent speed. Also, I think well lit streets are usually the safest route, but definitely learn to be aware of the renegade drivers.

In some instances if you can or have to, get on the sidewalk when taking the streets. I'd opt for the streets. Bike paths, especially when not lit and late at night can be potential danger areas.

Like gonesh9 said, ride with a light and be aware. You should be cool otherwise.

Riding at night will always be safer under lights. Definitely avoid bike paths at late night. Also get some reflective tape for your ankles and wrists. This will allow drivers to see you from the side as well as from behind.

CHEERS.

Mark

I have to agree with the consensus so far. Ride the streets and pay attention. Isolated bike paths are dangerous at night.

I think bike paths are dangerous at the best of times (as are sidewalks/footpaths for the same reasons), but this issue is of particular relevance at night, given the generally second class lighting these things have, and the generally second class areas that councils tend to build them in.

Get yourself a bright rear light.

Make sure you get bright front and rear lights. Put reflective tape on
everything you can. You will be much safer on the road than on the bike
path.

It just takes a little bit of time to build your confidence on the road
during the day let alone at night. Just take your time and take a few short
rides at night before you jump into the commute. Also riding the route several
times during the day will help to make you more familiar and more comfortable
riding it at night.

Good luck and have a safe commute.

Steve

I am female and 22 years old, living in a college town, so there is a lot of hype about not riding by yourself at night. What do you guys think? Have you ever come across drunken weirdos? Or is it mostly just drunken, inattentive drivers?
You ask a good question, Veganese.

Females always have a greater risk of attack at night. While drunk drivers at night are something to be concerned about, I'd be more concerned about secluded places like paths.

Don't be worried, but it's a good idea to be know what dangers to avoid.

Since you are new to cycling, I'd suggest looking at these websites and reading some materials by John Forester and John S. Allen. Try these for starters:

www.johnforester.com

www.bikexprt.com

Have fun!

:)

I occasionally have to work late and find myself on city streets late in the evening. Even with the potential for meeting drunk drivers, I feel much safer late than say, 8am when distracted moms are dropping off kids and disgruntled commuters are late for work. There will be many fewer cars so you can be aware much more easily.

I'd also get a headlamp for your helmet. It really isn't for lighting your way but for pointing at the cars as an attention getter. I use one of the 3 LED strap ons, it's plenty bright enough to get a driver's attention when they're left turning in front of you etc. And lot and lots of reflective tape. I also ride on the sidewalk (I know that's heresy! :D ) on short stretches where there isn't any shoulder or bike lane instead of taking the chance a city bus will nail me. :eek:

My vote is get the pepper spray and use the trails, as long as you aren't using them at a predictable time every night. Predictability courts the attention of those with bad intentions. And, go fast so that anyone who gets a spur of the moment idea to try to stop you knows that he'll get hit pretty hard right off the bat.

Thanks everybody that helps a lot.

It's quite easy to find trails with nice bushes up to the side of the trail, so trails that are nice in daytime are a bit more dangerous (from a traffic POV) at night, and much less safe than the good old street.

But generally speaking, stay aware of your surroundings when you unlock your bike. That's probably the period where a person is more at risk, alas.

I would stay away from the bike trail after dark. I have the option traveling the last 2 miles of my commute to work on a bike trail. This is at 6AM & pitch black with no lights except your own. Some near collisions with oncoming, unlit riders, walkers & deer plus a couple sightings of a cougar in the area were enough to put me back on the road in a bike lane. Don "meals on wheels" in Olympia,WA
Don

You might want to ask around to see just how safe your area is. In areas with a lot of homeless people or drunks wandering around the paths, I'd rather take the streets. You can be packing a 9mm and it won't do anything if you get knocked off at 20mph by a bat.

I'd do what everyone says and get a bright rear and front blinker for the road. Also consider getting a mirror.

With one, you can feel a lot more confident in taking the middle of the lane where you can ride on the cleanest stretch of the street since you can see cars coming at you from a mile away, especially at night, without always having to constantly turn your head.

Plus, I can see drunks swerving around erratically or tailing me better if I had a mirror.

Welcome Vega, I lived in Santa Barbara for 10 years back in the early70's and still go there to see my in-laws.

Anyway, as others have pointed out already, I would use the city streets at night. Santa Barbara is the most bike conscious communty your going to find and because of that the drivers expect to see bicycles and watch out for them more there than anywhere else I have rode. The bike paths, as you stated, are dark and transients (which Santa Barbara has a lot of) lotter around some of those areas late at night either just wondering around drunk or sleeping in nearby bushes too keep away from the cops.

Obviously you need to stay alert when traveling on any city street, and you need to make your self visable as much as possible which means reflective clothing, reflective leg bands etc, a very bright tail light such as the Cateye TL-LD600 for only $20, and a decent headlight such as the Cygo Metro 13watt dual beam unit that runs off of 6 D bats for up to 5 hours on one beam for only $49. Of course if money is no object to you then opt for one of those $250+ HID headlights; but the Cygo is very bright and has a longer run time than chargeable kind (you could always buy chargeable bats) for a whole lot less money.

Santa Barbara is a very nice area to ride bikes all year round. Streets sometimes can become slick when fog moistens the pavement. That will be your only real problem-the fog-due to reduced visiblity.

One more thing you might consider, is getting a set of Specialize Armidillo turbo tires so your flat situation will be severly reduced. Riding at night you can't always see trash on the streets, with the Armidillos you can ride on without too much worry. You don't want to be fixing a flat on a dark damp night.