surgeonstone

And I resent the old dude on a bike.
I resemble that remark.

Maelochs

Hmmm .... sounds like a head injury, if she thought you were a talking Golden Retriever. Good thing you got away safely.

Athens80

Humans, deer, dogs, tree branches, etc. They're out there. Ride safe in the conditions. Have enough light to see obstacles in time to avoid or stop. Stay alert and vigilant even on quiet roads.

seypat

I run at night. I wear a Black Diamond Sprinter headlamp with flashing taillamp. I also wear a reflective vest that has front and rear flashing lights. I have had motorists stop and thank me for being so visible at night. I can't say the same for the night walkers in the neighborhood. Dark clothes, no reflectors, etc. Even at slow running speeds you are right on them before they are noticed. If there is a light somewhere behind them,you can't pick them out at all. You just see some shadow kind of moving in front breaking up the light. Sometimes you can pick up the animal's eyes if they are walking a dog. Sometimes they will have a flashlight. That still doesn't help much without reflective clothing.

seypat

Don't get me started on how motorists drive faster through my neighborhood at night than in the day. My house sits on a bend on the street I live on. It is a feeder street for the neighborhood. During Christmas season, I put lights on the mailbox. It is amazing how much that slows the drivers down. Because of the bend, it looks like the lights are in the middle of the street. I've thought about mounting a light there permanently.

berner

I am continually surprised, even at my age, how clueless people can be even when the consequences might be death.

Rollfast

Nobody expects to die from stuff, or they'd just roll into a fetal position and cry a lot or go out and do a lot of nonsense to encourage it.


Wait, they already do...

B. Carfree

Other than the beauty of seeing sunrise 75 miles into a ride, the main reason I ride mostly at night is because it is safer. I live in a small city (pop 160k) that has a ten mile ring of very low density suburbs with a few "normal" suburbs at the edge of that ring. The result is that the first 15 miles from my city to the good stuff is also the most hazardous part of my rides. The fewer cars I encounter there, the less chance I have of being hit. If I were to ride at other times of day, I would likely be passed by over 200 motorists on a typical ride, all of them inside that ring. When I head out at 3:00 AM, I am generally passed by less than ten motorists.

I also head out at 2:00-3:00 AM when I tour. I am definitely given a lot more room by the trucks that pass me at 3:00 AM than I get at 3:00 PM. Having worked as a truck driver, I am certain that I am the talk of the truck chatter radio scene, so everyone knows where I am and no one wants to be the one to hit the UFO-like novelty on the road.

TimothyH

This is my answer to anyone who does not think it is safe to ride at night.



When combined with a helmet lamp and light traffic I'm safer than during the day.

I stand out literally a mile away and can see obstacles better than during the day when there are so many distractions.

I also wonder how someone could not see a pedestrian with an 800 lumen light, especially a high end light like a Dinotte.

RPK79

If you had been salmoning you would have missed this lady.

TakingMyTime

Good thing you weren't a car. She'd be dead.

Seriously, I do not understand why people insist wearing all dark clothes and not taking the extra precaution knowing they are most likely not being seen. I can't tell you how many times I've nearly missed someone dressed like that while driving.

It reminds me about teaching my grand kids about riding a bike. Pretend you're invisible and know that none of the cars see you. It's not until you start to drive a car do you actually realize this.

seypat

My son goes to a high school outside of our district. I have to take him to a bus stop/shuttle every morning in the dark. On this morning's ride we encountered about 5 joggers/walkers and a black/white cat crossing the roads to the bus stop. One of the joggers had a headlamp/tail light combo. One had a flashlight. One had a weak blinky on his arm and a phone. That was it. No reflective clothing or strips at all. It was pathetic. I picked up the cat's eyes with my headlights better than any of the joggers/walkers. Sometimes I just want to stop and yell, "Fool, get something on that I can see!"

The worst part of it all is that I am making a bigger effort to see these people because I am a cyclist/runner. I know they are out there so I am looking for them really hard. The average Joe driver is not looking as hard.

Jarrett2

Same here. When we night ride as a group, we essentially look like a moving construction zone or UFO. Freaks people smooth out. They always see us and slow down.

On rural night rides, we've had people just pull over to the side of the road and stop as we approach because they can't figure out what we are. I always assume they are thinking, "oh no, not the anal probes!"

surgeonstone

Lol, it,s a very cool thing. I t is one time though that I less likely to ride in the rain,what with all the reflections.

Maelochs

Is that the name of your cycling club? (or maybe, is it going to be now that it has come up?)

Certainly puts "Hell's Angels" to shame.

Jarrett2

lol

Miele Man

I really dislike the stealth bicyclists. A year or so ago I hit one whilst riding my bicycle. The dude had a black bike, dark rims and spokes, dark clothing, no lights and no refelctors. To make matters worse he was riding on the sidewalk in an area with very poor lighting nad a lot of overhanging trees. Whn under the tres this guy was totally invisible. I'm riding along and I don't see the dude on the sidewalk and then he suddenly turns 90 degrees to cross the road and does that without looking. I hit him braodside. It was just like he appeared out of a time warp or worm hole. I told him he was totaly invisible and that he'd have been in really dire straits had it been an electric motorbike ort electric car that'd hit him. Fortunately there was no damage done to my front wheel or bicycle. I also contacted the police via my cell phone and told them aboutthe collision and that the guy was riding without lights or reflectors and was riding on the sidewalk before turning 90 degrees to cross the road and did so without looking. I wonder if those video cameras are any good at night?

Cheers