Originally Posted by
009jim
I grew up way out in the country and have never been afraid of the dark. I learned fairly young that if you give your eyes time to adjust you can see fairly well in the dark. Some call this "getting your night vision". We used to have night exercises when I was in the senior scouts. Criminals that skulk around at night use night vision. Anyway, my point is that I personally believe bike lighting is essential to be seen, but not essential for seeing where you are going. My bike light doesn't put much light on the ground at all, but it does help a little when I go through a little patch of forest on winter days when its dark early.
night vision does help. you can use it to walk just fine and maybe even bike at very low speeds, but, when you get much above walking speed, you really need to see what road hazards may be waiting to ambush you early.
another thing is even rural rides often have a street light here and there and these are enough to screw your night vision.
i could see riding unlit roads on a clear evening with a full moon high in the sky, but any other conditions and good lighting is essential, imo.