Riding blind
 

I was on the commute home last night, with my nifty cateye strobe hung on the areo bars. I was just starting out from work, when I hit a bump and the light fell off in the dark, busting apart. I found three of the batteries, but the cover was gone, and 20 miles to ride without the advantage of having a way of on coming traffic see me, not to mention it was a bit of a chore to see the trail. Yeah there was a big moon out last night, but it was quickly hidden by clouds moving in. It was a blast none the less. Not that I want to repeat the event.

I went for a ride on Wednesday night after work, we had clouds over our moon, too. I didn't find it obscured the vision one bit. In fact, when I got out of the city and the streetlights, I considered turning my head lights off altogether and just letting the moon light the way for me (I've done it before). Of course, riding on bikepaths tends to obscure one's vision at the best of times. I'm on record as saying that I'll be ready for riding on bikepaths when I can ride through gridlock blindfolded.

This is the reason why I carry a backup light. Just a 2xAAA cateye single LED that's really only good for others seeing me, and to see in pitch black conditions (which usually never happens, unless your in a tunnel, cave, or some other place you probably would be better off walking).

I also keep a small amolunt of tape and a 3 LED flashlight around, so even if my backup gets hosed I can just tape the flashlight to my bars...even though my flashlight is mainly to read maps and do bike work...it's a cheapo, so teh LEDs are just bright enough to light things up without glare...perfect for looking at metal objects :)