First night commute
 

I just got home from my first night commute. Thankfully there was a clear sky and a really bright moon tonight. I was amazed at how relatively easy it was. My light definitely could have been a little brighter though. About half of the cars that were coming towards me dimmed their high-beams, which was nice, but the other half need to learn a thing or two about manners towards bikers. One thing that amazed me, was that most of the cars that passed me from behind seemed to be more nervous of me than I was of them. They all gave me a wide berth, and never passed when there was an oncoming car at the same time.

One slightly nerve-wracking thing that happened though was a deer jumping across the road in front of me! :eek:I have seen many of them in my car, but on a bike, it seems like a completely different creature!! Scared me silly!!!

I think I was a little tense during my ride, because when I got home, I was a little more tired than usual, but other than that, I think I am game for night-time riding now!

Congrats! Night riding is yet another special part of the adventure! Up here in the north country, I'll be riding in the dark both morning and night before long. Check out he TOTAL GEEKNESS thread for GREAT! lighting ideas!
http://www.bikeforums.net/showthread.php?t=42629

Keep it up!

Bob

EDIT: I just noticed your in Vermont! So I guess you'll be in the same boat as I am in! :D

A lot of people keep their high-beams on 24/7 and don't dim them for cars, either. The trend towards ever more ultra-bright headlights on cars is annoying, and dangerous IMO. (and then there are trucks, which seem to only have high beams and higher beams) But yeah, I don't think most consider cycles or pedestrians WRT the high-beam issue.

Bob, I will definitely check out the lighting ideas. My little LED Trek light was not only not bright enough to see well, it also fell off when I hit a pothole that ironically enough, I didn't see because of the shadows. I think I am going to get a second light, or a different one that is much brighter. Maybe I can get one that I can beam at cars when they don't turn down their high beams! :D

Kat

I have this light. Long run time, very bright. A bit spendy but it's been well worth it to me.

My question: are some lights too bright for the road? E.g., NiteRider Flamethrower. I would guess not since you can direct it at the road and not into the eyes of coming drivers, joggers, etc. caloso, tell me about that cygolight, specifically how does it do on the road? Which mode(s) do you typically operate it in?

It does really well. It has two lights: the low power has a wider beam and the high power a more focused beam. You can run either or both at the same time. For commuting around town, I usually go in low power. But if there's a lot of traffic or I'm in an area without street lights, I'll go to full power. I think you get a little more respect from drivers when they're both on.

Caloso, I will definitely have to check that out. Having the option to have a higher power light would be great while still having the option to dim it down.

Check out www.bicyclelights.com. I have the dual light rig as well as a helmet mounted one.

If somebody doesn't dim the high beams, I'll usually flash em with the helmet light and they get the message.