Commuting at night
 

I am wondering how many people commute off normal hours. I have been working 3PM till 11PM for the past 1.5 years and I have continued to commute by bicycle. I found out many things about commuting at night. Drivers treat me with much more respect, of course there are only about 1 car per mile most nights. Also there is also much less traffic on my way to work since I am off shift.

I have not had a single incident at night with anyone yelling at me to get off the road or anyone trying to scare me off the bicycle. Most people seem to have no problem with a bicycle at night.About the only complaint I have is people that drive with their high beams on. They don't seem to consider that it might bother me. I used to have a rear view mirror but I took it off since no one coming up behind me ever seems to consider switching back to low beams when coming up on me. Some people do but for the most part they don't.

I run 3 blinky rear tail lights and one 900 lumen led headlight. I have plenty of light at night to see and be seen.

Jim

Pretty much the same experience as you. I run big lights (have the capacity for 1500 on the bike and 600 on the helmet)too and a reflective vest and have had no problems.

I work 12-8pm or 2-8pm. I don't enjoy riding at night because I can't quickly see potholes and large sticks before its too late. It can be hard to see too when oncoming drivers have HID lights or High Beams on.

3-11pm here too.

I have a day job, but I keep late hours. I never bike home before 9 pm. That is when the malls close, people go home and the streets are empty. I stick out like a sore thumb as there is little traffic. I have two rear blinkies. I have 900 lumens on the bar and 400 on the helmet. I sometimes ride home much later. I love those rides home (8.5 miles). It's cooler, quiet, peaceful.

It was only after reading the 1st post that I realized that nobody's ever yelled/harassed me during a dark night time commute...

Since I live west of work, I prefer to bike home later rather than when the sun is low in the sky making it hard for drivers to see. Not sure if it's true, but driving at night probably requires more attention from drivers than typical daylight driving?

The ride home at 2330 or sometimes 0330 is nice but the commute in at 1330 can be brutal (as in very warm). I try and slow down a bit so I don't cook my CPU (brain). I tend to get a bad headache real fast if I push it too much in the heat.

Scott

6a-2p here. I start my 21 mile trip at 3:30am. I've had a few negative run-ins that early, but not nearly as many as in the afternoon.

For those of you who think your "900" lumen lights are enough, I have one warning. I used to think the same thing, but I found out we are wrong. Having one strong light isn't enough. You need several forms of active and passive systems in place, and you can NEVER become complacent.

I still have folks coming in from the side streets look directly at me and still not see me.

I work a "normal" shift but my morning commute is in the dark for at least 6 months of the year since I leave home about 6 am. I agree that cycling in the dark is safer in many respects, assuming you have a good light system and bright/reflective clothes. Like you, I run 3 taillights and 2 headlights altho I cut back some during the summer months. I'm also a big proponent of neon yellow jerseys, jackets and vests - that stuff works!

Used to work 3rd shift and never had a problem. Now I leave the house around 4:30am and the roads are just as quiet.

I kick off my 7 miles each way commute @ 0430. It's nice and quiet and there aren't too many cars. No one's been rude, too early I guess and the most activity I run into is road work.

The only thing I hate about that time of the day is having to use the crosswalk light at intersections because there are no cars to turn the lights for me.

I use an old NR HID headlight up front, a Coast Guard life preserver strobe and LED blinkie in the rear plus lots of reflective stuff.

i dont commute, but all my fitness riding is done at night. i run 2 blinkies, and a bright headlight. I recently aquired a reflective vest, and the difference in the leeway Im given when they pass is really noticeable. Im giben a much wider berth now with the vest. I highlr recomend them.

My prior job often required after midnight rides home. My coworkers would never believe that I felt many times safer riding home after midnight than at 8am.

I work different hours, and prefer the ride home after 9:00 to the one at 6:00. Fewer people out, the dog walkers are way off in the dark and it's more peaceful.

One of the reasons you are having no problems is what I have in bold. You are running ample lights. The point is, people see that rear, and they surely see that 900 lum up front. I run basically the same thing, except double up front, and sometimes a 900+ lum on my helmet too.
Also, I gather from reading your post, you obey the traffic laws. No wrong side riding, zipping between cars, running lights.

On the other people high beams, don't look at them. You catch a glimpse that they have high beams on, the last place you want to look is at them.. :D

Several nights a week I won't finish work before 9:00pm, which puts me on the roads and bike paths sometimes till 10:30pm. Driving during the day is reasonably uneventful unless I hit rush hour - driving after dark can be a problem. Most of the issues are pedestrians and other cyclists wearing no reflective clothing and out with no lights or reflectors. Other complications can be stormy weather (like today) that reduces visibility and can leave the bike paths littered with branches - ocassionally some fair sized ones.

I run about 1,500 lumens up front during the day and about 500 in the back. At night I can bump that front lighting up progressively to about 5,000 lumens. Sounds like a lot, but black pavement and heavy rain eats up light surprisingly well.

My commute in starts at 5am. During late spring through summer, I'll start getting light about halfway to work. The rest of the year, it's dark for the whole 11 miles, most of which is on 45mph+ expressway. Light traffic at that hour, but the cars I do interact with tend to be the ones cutting me off as they exit the expressway. The hairiest part is negotiating the freeway on/off-ramp to the 101. Again, a lot of drivers seem to have issues judging distance and speed in the dark so I wind up getting cut off. I've got a red Spok light in my spokes on my back wheel, a Radbot1000 on the back of my rack; dedicated Bell flasher and Terralux Lightstar 220 for a headlamp. Rear indicators are more than sufficient (can't miss that crazy, Radbot flash pattern paired with a red light going round and round), although I should get a better headlamp. I've been putting it off for sometime since the Terralux is "adequate."

If I could start work an hour later, I'd be much happier with my ride in.

Didn't vote as I'm looking for another job and have no idea what shift I'll end up with. However, I currently work the 1st shift (0800-1630), but will soon be bumping that back to 0600-1430 in an effort to beat the heat. The warehouse lacks a/c, and I'm getting too old to be working in triple digit temps...

And haven't had to ride in the dark for this job yet, but I've got an Ultrafire flashlight rated at 510 lumens that I run on S.O.S. mode during the day. Gotta beef that up a bit, as some joker coming from a side street pulled across my path on the way into work this morning :(.

I like to have a be-seen light on the handlebars and a bright light on my helmet for that reason. I always scan oncoming cars and side streets. Any driver coming on a side street gets a quick high lumen greeting to the face so they know I am there... But I still keep my fingers ready on the brakes and have an exit strategy planned!

Stay safe and enjoy the ride everybody!

That is the same time I ride and for just about the same amount of time to. I run a 200 lum headlight and a 40 lum rear flasher. I havent had any problem with people seeing me. I work 2am - 11am a few days a week so I guess you could say I ride at night 50 percent of the time and in the day the other 50 percent of the time. Your not alone.

I work 3-11 too. I just run knog blinkies. Its not too different from riding in the day; I ride as I would if I were invisible.

Just watch out for the ninjas.

I work in an office with "normal" office hours (8am-5pm), commute usually starts in the 6am hour and finishes in the 7pm hour. But I have commuted at least once in every hour of the day. I too like the quiet of commuting in the middle of the night.

I leave for work at 0430 in the morning and ride home at 1630. The morning ride is pleasant, fun, almost no traffic except city buses, garbage trucks and police cars. I love riding in the ealry morning. the ride home however is kinda like combat. One guy used to yell and scream at me, before 5am to get off the road, get on the side walk etc. He really jsut cracked me up, screaming that early in hte morning and he passed me going the opposite direction. Who has that kinda energy at 5am?

I ride to work at 4:15 AM (doesn't fit the poll) so I ride in the dark on the way in and at mid day on the way home. Much, much safer in the dark.

It's rare that I've ridden in the dark, but the times I did, I had no problem. The routes I take are mostly residential. Two LED headlights (Canadian Tire cheapies, as well as three tail lights (also Canadian Tire cheapies). I also wore a hi-vis vest for added visibility.