cale

Seriously good opportunity!

cale

Close calls. I've had my share of them. I guess minimizing them is the goal. But speed can be totally addictive.

on the path

Cygolite seems to be a better value, don't have to replace batteries. Back to your regular programming..

on the path

A lot of addictions don't end well.

cale

True that

a1penguin

Do you really think a bright, blinking light would have made a difference? It's not clear why he pulled in front of you. I wonder if it's just a matter of driver not realizing just how fast you were going and misjudging. How many drivers would think a cyclist would go 50 mph?!

djb

as a long time cyclist and motorcyclist, this is basically how I look at it and so thanks for the reminder to stick to the rule. I figure we have all slipped up a few times and as you say, all it takes is a situation like this.

touch wood touch wood.

Dunbar

Maybe not at 40-50mph but a bright front flashing light makes a huge difference at lower speeds in my experience. At intersections you can see oncoming (left turning) drivers pausing as they pick up a bright flashing light. It's a great tool to reduce left crosses and getting cutoff by cars turning in front of you from a cross street. You have to remember drivers are looking for big cars, not small bicycles.

HigherGround

I'm glad you're alright!

Campag4life

An informed response. Ultimately I quit riding motorcycles which I truly love. The OP mentioned riding like others are trying to kill you. This is a tenant taught in motorcycle class but worded a bit different. Ride like you are invisible is the motorcycle mantra. There is also the nuance of being dead right. Those that don't understand this distinction, will many times crash on motorcycles and road bikes. Being right and riding to the letter of the law isn't enough. We on lightweight and unprotected machines must compensate for driver errors or we become a victim. In this case the OP was reminded he didn't compensate for the stupidity or irresponsible driving of the idiot that pulled out in front of him.
So what happens is...a road bike or motorcyclist who rides with abandon even in accordance with the law, will many times get injured or worse because of it. You have to anticipate and compensate or odds go way up that an injury will occur.

A last note on motorcycle riding. Do cars take out motorcycles every day or each hour of each day? Yes. But the skill of motorcycles and road bike cyclists is lacking as well. 50% of all motorcycle crashes are where the motorcyclist loses control and rides off the road. Then there is leaning a motorcycle hard in a corner and not knowing if there is sand or gravel in the corner. Or riding the speed limit up hill not knowing if somebody is stopped at the top of the hill. Or even riding through a busy intersection the speed limit. Motorcycle riders that ride even the speed limit thru intersections are likely to be picked off at some point because inattentive drivers can't gage the speed of a smaller machine like a motorcycle and if you don't give an idiot driver enough time to process your speed, he will turn in front of you and you will pay a very large price.
OP..so happy you made it and I presume you will not violate your code of riding moving forward.
Safe riding to each of us...we sure take our chances out on the road without question....some much more than others.

wrldtraveller

hmm. I am glad nothing bad happened to you and you still live to ride another day. I've ridden down the hills at breakneck speed several times and know how addictive it can get. I usually hog the entire lane and often the cars behind me don't really complain because Im pretty much at or above the speed limit. Normally people in cars tend to develop tunnel vision. Tunnel vision meaning a person will look in a distance with their eyes fixated at an object such as a car or something, and will never notice anything else other than that said object. A bicycle/motorcycle tend to be very small and people don't notice them until its too late or until they suddenly shift into a different position in front of their eyes. It takes a normal person on average 4 seconds to react. As a trained UPS driver, I was often reminded every spring to keep an eye out for both cyclists and motorcyclist, and the UPS truck has massive blind spots and the driver have to compensate for that. Like a person mentioned, assume that no one saw you and ride accordingly. and if safe to do so, enjoy the breakneck speed. I do when I feel its safe to do so. Stay safe and enjoy riding!

W

gios

Good rule. MSF course taught me that in 79.

on the path

I believe this to be correct. I've not used a strobe but am now considering getting one. I've been using my rear blinker in full daylight and I do notice a little more room and maybe a little less attitude when being passed by motorists..

series1811

This. I have seen it numerous times. There is also a mindset with many motorists that they must pass a bicycle at all costs because they are in a car and cars are faster. Couple of quick for instances:

I was riding on a 25 mph stretch of road at around 25 mph. A guy in a truck apparently became frustrated with me and passed me on a corner. As we came around the corner, a sheriff's deputy pulled him over (I assume for speeding as he had to be going 35+ as quickly as he went by me).

On another occasion I was descending a canyon at about 45 mph. As an exit ramp approached, a motorcyclist tried to pass me on the left to try to take the exit. He ended going over the solid white lines to make the pass and narrowly avoided a guard rail separating the exit and the main roadway. I was pretty angry at that one because he narrowly avoided me as well. Had he just backed off a hair, he could have safely taken the exit and it would have taken him the same amount of time.

That said, I ride pretty defensively, but even then the idiocy of some drivers comes out of no where. Given the lack of predictability, it is best to assume the worst. Although a cyclist may be in the right and have the right of way, the laws of physics are nearly always against a cyclist. Better to swallow your pride sometimes so you can ride another day.

10 Wheels

These are on Strobe



https://www.amazon.com/RioRand-Bicycl...0_SR160%2C160_

djb

I commute in Montreal a lot, and a fair amount at night- when I finally put my handlebar white blinky on my helmet--ie able to aim it at side approaching cars, I noticed a marked increase of awareness of my bike by them.
A real noticeable increase. Cars coming from the right on a side street, or cars coming towards me turning left in front of me, with a slight turn of my head, I could aim my blinky at them and time and time again, the sudden braking and or facial expression would clearly show that they had not noticed me before I turned my blinky towards them.

As I said before, I'm firmly educated in the "we are invisible" point of view, going back to being on a bike as a kid and on motorcycles beginning 35 years ago. The aimable blinkie thing really does make a difference. Yes, I look like a dork with my small blue handlebar blinkie stuck on my helmet visor, but without exaggeration, when commuting at night or at dusk, I dont think I go a week or less with my "turning and aiming" technique startling someone to come to a sudden stop when it was very clear they had no idea I was coming beforehand.

this comes from years of having a white blinky on handlebar, a reflective vest on at night, and folks would still not see me. Again, not a surprise to me as I always consider myself invisible to them, but it would surprise me sometimes with someone seemingly staring right at me and then pulling out.

I should mention that these experiences are are night, and I generally dont run the blinky in the day as the rechargeable battery in it doesnt last that long, but for my 30min - 1 hour commutes it works fine.
I will turn it on if its foggy or whatever. The concerns here in this thread would need a blinkie to be on for hours and hours, so then you get into battery concerns and whatnot. I have turned on my helmet blinkie at times where I might get going fast downhill and where conditions warrant it, sideroads etc, but in the end, we always have to ride within the limits of the specific situation and car conditions.

djb

this is the little thing I use, cheap and does the trick. Not super long lasting though, and cant replace rechargeable battery.

MEC Plasma USB White LED Front Light - Mountain Equipment Co-op. Free Shipping Available

UnfilteredDregs

If I can't see for the length of my CONTROLLED braking distance, I slow down. Life is too short, why make it shorter?

...and anything else that can move is a random unpredictable variable, I slow down for those and evaluate as well.

banerjek

I get this a lot. In town, it's pretty rare for cars to actually be faster.

I normally make it a point to follow with one hand hanging loosely by my side with a more upright posture to make it clear who is slowing whom. What's especially annoying is when motorists gun by only to instantly slow down to some stupid slow speed for minor road imperfections or speed bumps which can easily be navigated one handed on fully inflated race tires.

WNCGoater

Perhaps it's just my imagination but I don' think so. I've had a similar experience with a flashing strobe. When I started using one. (Cygolite Metro 400) I started noticing that cars waiting to pull out would wait a long time, allowing me to pass, even if they had plenty of space. In fact, I start wondering at times what they were waiting on and realized it was ME. Seems the strobe just gets their attention and they tend to sit tight until I pass. Before using one, while I didn't have what I'd call a close call, sometimes it was close enough that I wondered if they even saw me or just didn't care. Anyway I believe the safety factor is enough to make the cost of the light irrelevant. It may save a disaster that I never even know.

Now that I said that watch some idiot pull out in front of me during my next ride!

Cygolite Metro 400 USB Front Bike Light - REI.com

night mission

A great discussion and one worth sharing. While biking and motorcycling have a fair amount in common (regarding invisibility) both communities need to do a better job of helping the "blind" drivers both see and avoid them. I am a firm advocate of wearing high visibility clothing and riding with devices that improve your contrast to the environment. I wear bright colors on my shirts and jackets, ride a red bike and use (when it works! ) a rear blinking LED. Too many bikers and virtually all motorcyclists wear dark colors with minimal use of white, yellow or florescent greens. Beyond that, bad behavior, right away transgressions, and other stupid moves, and I wonder if some have a death wish while moving at 20 mph amongst 60 mph traffic.
At least on a motorcycle, you may be able to power out of a bad situation. Not an option on a road bike. We need to be smarter and think farther ahead of the risks we take. Being slower than the traffic we shared the road with, and lacking eyes in the back of our heads, we are to a great degree at the mercy of auto and truck drivers. Do all you can to help make up for their deficiencies .

a1penguin

I was looking at the Cygolite Dash 350/450 and wondering if this would be bright enough for daylight. Now I don't have to post and ask :-) The Dash uses a rubber band style attachment which I think will be a bit easier. REI usually has a display of lights set up and I can compare.

Days are getting shorter and I noticed there are lots of pretty long shade spots that seem pretty dark to me even during the middle of the day.

I have flashlights (800 lumens on the bars, 400 on the helmet) for night riding, but want something more convenient for daytime lighting.

TrojanHorse

I'd say it makes a difference at all speeds - it definitely gets people's attention and it's hard to tell how far away a blinking light is, so the driver has to process the information a bit more carefully. There's no good reason NOT to ride with one, that's for sure.

Pb_Okole

Just about any new headlight has a flashing mode. I have three different Serfas lights and they all have one.

f4rrest

Drivers see cyclists... same as they see birds. Doesn't always register as "traffic".