yepper, pretty much the way it is man. A lighting system is definitely a big budget item. There are alternatives in the mean time. have you looked at : http://www.candlepowerforums.com in their Transportation Lighting/bicycle forum?? A lot of ideas for flashlights that are less of an investment $$ wise that may hold you over until the time comes you can pony up for a big $$ system... (fwiw I have 4 200 lumen flashlights I use on the trike - works until I can get a serious set up)