Occasionally I ride to work in the morning, which at this time of year is about 30 min. before sunrise. It's light enough that some drivers don't feel the need for headlights, even on the always-use-your-lights 'safety corridor' section of highway where I have to ride. Kind of makes reflectors useless, so I got myself a wheel light. It's fun with its changing colors. It's not terribly bright, but it's only for 'hey look at me!' purposes.

Case in point; riding in on Monday morning, everything's greyish (and gorgeous; I love riding around the bay), and suddenly a cement truck flies by me, no headlights; I may have peed a little. I had checked my mirror, but still didn't see him. Jerk. The moral of the story is, don't depend on reflectors. Wear garish clothing and LIGHTS ON EVERYTHING.

My best advice for riding in the dark. DON'T!!!!! It's dangerous enough riding in daylight. Drivers don't see cyclists in daylight. How do you think it's going to be in the dark.

Or just stick to mtn biking in the dark which is freaking awesome

This is absolutely terrible advice. You can be far more visible at night with reflective clothing, lights, etc. The daylight is where you tend to disappear into the crowd and streets and are actually less visible.

People drive at night, with lights. So by your logic, you shouldn't drive at night either as it is far too dangerous because other motorists won't see you.

I honestly think the guy was trolling, but I agree with you. I actually feel more visible at night with my ridiculously bright bike.

I honestly wasn't sure, but took the chance and went with it. Personally love night riding more than during the day.

Cool, let us know how it goes.

I went with the Monkey Lights (the 8-bit version) because I decided to join a Halloween group ride. Costume is optional but Halloween themed lights are mandatory, as well as headlight and tail-light, which i already have. The Monkey Lights have a skull pattern as one of the pattern choices.

My commuter bike, L'avenir Urban, yesterday night below the stars:

Night Cycling by Dirk Desmet, on Flickr

Reflecting jacket is handy in the dark, a good frontlight shining very far too !

Enjoy the night! And the stars!

Worst idea ever around here. Pedestrians walk with no lights. Even families bike in the dark without lights or even reflectors. The roads are much safer after dark in the Amherst/Northampton area. Never underestimate the stupidity of tree-huggers.

By avoiding riding at night, you cheat yourself of opportunities to ride at night with friends, clubs, etc. Rode with friends to a nice spot in the park to view the "harvest moon" eclipse - that was a nice time. The ride home was pretty nice too - at 11 pm on a Sunday night, hardly anyone was driving on the roads, even in this major metropolitan area.

Also, a lot of bike commuters continue commuting to work by bike even after daylight savings time ends, which means that when you get off work, no more afternoon sun - you're now riding at night. It's either that or put up with crowded subway trains, or even worse, driving in evening rush hour traffic, which to me is far scarier than riding a bike during rush hour.

I've done some experimenting with different lights just to see what's needed as a "Be Seen" front light. It takes surprisingly little light to be a "Be Seen" light. A flashing light seems to catch the attention of others better than a steady on light does. Be awrae that even a very bright bicycle front or rear light can get lost in the bright car lights especially at intersections. I like to have two lights on the rear of my bike. One is steady on and the other is flashing (not strobe). That's for insurance should one light malfunction. On one of my bikes I have a Magicshine knockoff light that I put an amber lense cover over it. That light only flashes as there's a fault somewhere in the light itself and the flashing is all it'll do. I also have a red light on that bike in order to be legal. I figure that a flashing amber light is an international warning to avoid whatever's near that amber light.

At night especially in inclement weather a bicyclist has to be even more alert for distracted drivers. At intersections I think what can that idiot driver do if they don't see me and then prepare accordingly.

Cheers

Now that the days are getting shorter, I am more and more tempted to ride in the dark. But I try to avoid it as much as possible. Last night on a late evening ride I ran over a stick I couldn't really see at a decent sprint... kinda scary!

That's a nice pic. What was your setup?

This is where a helmet-mounted light will help.

Definitely. We didn't expect it to get dark so quickly. All we had were our little LED lights.

There is the time of day. Its either early in the morning or after sunset. The early morning hours are better because, if sufficiently early, there are fewer cars on the road. After sunset, there are still lots of cars out there. Just look at the highways at night; those cars eventually get off into the streets.

Early morning rides like 5 to 6 am starting is demanding. Its before work hours. This makes scheduling more critical. But I think about all those 24 hour Fitness centers that seem to pop up all over these days. People seem to adjust to accommodate a life style.

- 2500 iso, 20-30 seconds exposure, EV +3, 10mm (crop sensor so actually 15mm)
- light tripod
- bike

I like to use two red rear flashers and a a white flasher on the right side of the head tube aimed a little right so cars about to pull in front of me from side streets can see me, plus I have a really bright Lezyne headlight for when the road is dark (no streetlights.) As was learned above by the stick-hitter, you cannot compromise safety--if you cannot see the road surface you will eventually hit something you'd rather have missed.

Steady lights are too easy to ignore--motorists discount steady lights off the roadway (else they'd stop for every house with a light at the end of the driveway.) The brain tends to prioritize movement when deciding what signals to send on to the consciousness--a flashing light registers better, and two (almost certainly slightly out of sync) sends an even louder signal.

As for the guy who suggests not riding at night, that's another option. However, for commuters, not always an option for all. I have ridden thousands of miles at night and never had a problem because I use sufficient lighting and sufficient awareness.

As for the guy who has been blinded by an oncoming strobe light--good point. Aiming the light a little downward would be courteous and just as effective--that is where I aim my headlight (which at max power is probably blindingly bright.) Also, it is the road I am about to traverse which want to illuminate--not the space half a mile ahead of me. The real problem is being blinded by oncoming car headlights, and the technique is to look down and away, towards the edge of the road.

I don't see a need for a super-bright front-facing front flash anyway--the greatest danger comes from behind simply because you can't see it until it is upon you. Cars coming head-on are on the other side of the road, and cars coming out of side-streets are ahead of me, so I can see them---and my flasher is aimed at them.

In addition to all the fine lighting suggestions.......

I ride at night here and there as that is the time I have available. The first thing one must do is acknowledge the risk. It doesn't matter WHY the risk, it is just there. Our job is to lessen the risk to ourselves and everyone else to get to an acceptable level. Cars don't pay attention, people on bikes don't take care of things, late night walkers that you can't see with dogs on leashes across a bike paths and on and on. Except with few exceptions I ride bike path. The most dangerous time is dusk when people are finishing up or getting in some exercise like I am. The risk from other humans lessens (bike path) the later it gets. When I'm riding at 10 pm and later I have only encountered two people in all the times I have done it. The risk from that is not expecting it. My greater risk is not noticing a stick, hole in the path, deer trying to run me over, etc.

Last night I was riding an encountered five or six runners (a pair and three or four individual) heading towards me, against traffic--probably the greatest danger I have faced riding at night because I certainly don't expect pedestrian traffic travelling on the road surface in the wrong direction dead ahead or slightly to my right. Usually runners go with traffic, and sometimes wear taillights.

Never happened before and suddenly half a dozen?

I guess I know now how drivers feel when they overlook an unlit cyclist until nearly upon him.

I guess now I will need to use my big headlight all the time.

Pedestrians, including runners, should go against traffic. They should also wear blinkies or reflective clothing in the dark, but that's a different issue. They were where they were supposed to be.

Try this:


What could go wrong?

I suppose cars coming head-on can be more dangerous , such as in left-crossing accidents. You can see them, but they may not see you, and the relative speed between you and them is greater than if you are travelling in the same direction. Sometimes when they realize your existence they are already right in front of you and could be too late.

But I really dislike bright flashing headlight that some cyclists use. It may be a good idea to use one bright light on solid mode, and another, less bright one on stroble. I do this some times. Usually, I just use one solid light that is bright enough.

I did a little research and you are absolutely right (about ped-direction.) Seems crazy to me--before I rode I walked for several years--I did not then and will not now walk against traffic, regardless of the laws in some states. As with riding, my ears tell me what I need to know about oncoming traffic, and I move as much as I need to almost reflexively.

However, none of that relates to bicycle lighting, except that I have learned I need to use my big light all the time, which I don't like but for the sake of safety (particularly of others) I simply will have to.

BYW, I bought the Lezyne headlight because it is USB-rechargeable and comes with a spare battery--essential for a regular night rider, because the battery can run out at any time. However the on-off switch is a piece of (whatever) which can only be operated with a tool (I use a flat-ended screw.)

For the $100 I paid, I expect a product to work flawlessly. The light still works, but it is far from flawless and I would recommend other cyclists look at other brands.

I also have a Blackburn Flea taillight which I bought because it is USB rechargeable and it is brighter (40 lumens) than most cheap headlights. For some reason, mine shuts itself off after 30 minutes or so. Not sure if anyone else has had this problem.

I agree with everything you say, except the objection to hi-viz green. I used to commute, but now I bike only recreationally and never at dusk or after dark. (Glad to hear you wear reflective and brightly colored clothing.)

In the summer, I wear safety-orange or safety-green t-shirts ($10 for a 3-pack at Walmart). In the fall, I'm wearing a Wolfbike hi-viz green jacket, which I will layer over warmer clothes as it gets colder.

Since I began wearing the bright stuff, I've noticed a big change in how I'm treated on the road. Cars give me a wide berth when passing, and they observe the local law (NJ) regarding stopping for pedestrians or dismounted cyclists using cross-walks. When I'm making a left at a signal that just turned green, opposing traffic waits and waves me through. No problem yet with cars turning in front of me out of side streets or driveways.

I know the danger is always there, and I ride like I'm invisible, never assuming I'm safe. But the riding experience is now quite different.

Fashion? I don't worry about it.