Last nights road ride - A bit of biker rage and some nice ad

Thelittlesthobo

Quite an experienced rider when it comes to night riding. 99.9% of it is MTB but have started to road ride at night so enjoying it so far.

Last night i got ready to go out. Full length bibs, Base layer, Jacket, Buff, winter gloves (It was about 2dg). The thing i hadnt used for ages were my Northwave Celcius MTB boots. I didnt want to spend another £100 plus on a pair of road specific boots so i have put new SPD cleats on them and changed my road pedals to spd's instead of sl's. Good god what a difference to my ride. Warm toasty toes are an amazing difference to your ride. The shoes are also a blessing in that the SPD is much easier to engage and dissengage in an emergency. In the winter i think this is a big plus. Finally they are also much easier to walk in than SL's. With a proper sole and recessed cleat you can nearly walk normally :-)

Anyhow, moving onto the road rage. I had completed one of my laps ok. I was riding country lanes which were unlit. I had a front and rear light in use and everything was fine. Did i mention i was dressed in black gear riding a black bike? Half way round my second lap a car came past really close and wound his window down. I didnt hear what he said but presumed it was abuse so just replied "Yeah Yeah, whatever". Hmm, the car put his brakes on and stopped 50yds up the road. Here we go i thought. Country lane and we are gonna have an argument. I rode up to his window and quite aggressively shouted in "Whats your problem?"

His response "Your back light isnt working"

He then just drove off

How bad do you think i felt after that. The battery in my back light had packed up and i was basically a moving target dressed in black on a black bike.

Funnily enough i posted about it on facebook later on. Can you believe one of my mates had read about one of his other mates having a bit of an incident when he was trying to help a cyclist who had no rear light. I asked him to apologise for me. Hell Carlisle is a small place.

amaferanga

That's why you should always run at least 2 rear lights (especially if you use Smart lights which IME do like to switch themselves off from time to time).

pdstsp

Its a bit of an indictment of how we feel on the road when we assume that someone is abusing us in such a situation - sad really.

I guess the lesson to learn (apart from the obvious) is to use two lights and/or take spare batteries out. It also may be worthwhile rethinking clothing for night rides - make sure there is something reflective involved. I am paranoid about being hit in the dark and now have two leds on the seat stays plus two fibre flares attached to my jacket on night rides - plus I wear an altura night vision jacket - I don't want anyone to have an excuse to hit me from behind.

Agree with th point about warm feet - I suffer from my toes going numb when its cold and that ruins many a ride - just invested in a pair of battery operated heated innersoles - just before the warmest November weekend for three thousand years

Anyway - stay safe.

Thelittlesthobo

It was a smart rear light!!

I called into a pals on the way home and replaced the batteries. All ok after that.

The black colthes i was wearing did have the reflective striping tbh but i cant imagine it made much difference

2 rear lights sounds a good suggestion. TBH i didnt really worry about rear lights on the mtb but i was suddenly very concious of it out on the road.

Heated insoles. Are you kidding??

cougie

yep always 2 rear lights. And reflectives are good too - just in case.

When I was young we'd go training at night - about 4 of us. We'd be lucky to finish with a front and a rear light between us - those were in the days of really puny lights and the massive batteries !

CiB

Yup. Two lights on the back, three across the front, reflective strips round the ankles & waist + whatever shininess is on the jacket trimmings. As they say on Commuting, the more like a chavvy Christmas tree the better.

Those Pound Shops used to do reflective ankle bands with flashing / solid LEDs built in - haven't seen them this year yet. Acc to a work colleague who passed me down some unlit country lane last Winter they're superb in terms of attracting attention, and at a quid a pair they're effectively disposable. The one downside is the time it takes to get ready to go out in Winter, what with layers, overshoes, reflective stuff etc.

cougie

I passed a bloke in the Lakes over half term. He was riding on an unlit dual carriageway after dark. No lights, all dark clothing. The only thing that let me see him in my headlights was the reflective pedals on his supermarket bike.

If he'd been on a proper bike (ie no pedal reflectors) I may not have seen him at all.

You can buy 3M reflective tape off Ebay cheaply - go nuts with that if you ride after dark.

racingcondor

I always have 2 cheap disc blinkies on the rear as well as a decent light (currently an Exposure Flare). Like you I learned the bad way after getting home to find out I'd been invisible from 5 minutes after I started.

Always wear white (well, OK, nearly white now they've been washed) arm warmers so that people can see me indicating. I can't understand why people buy black jackets (even if they have reflectives)...

Peddle Up!

cougie wrote:

I passed a bloke in the Lakes over half term. He was riding on an unlit dual carriageway after dark. No lights, all dark clothing. The only thing that let me see him in my headlights was the reflective pedals on his supermarket bike.

Loads of candidates around our way too. :roll:

Thelittlesthobo

Thanks for the suggestions guys. I was in a sports shop the other day which sold red lights you could put on like an armband. Think i might invest in a couple.

Mettan

I've got 2 rear facing 2-led blinkies on the back of my lid in addition to a sandwich-bag-wrapped Smart 1/2 watt rear - the transparent bag has stopped all water ingres etc - just wrap it tightly for vanity. In the day-time I also use the Smart and the helmet lights - that's in addition to the 502b front on medium just to deter people pulling out infront - now using rechargeables all over (except 2032's), and just whip the lot out at the end of a ride and bung them on charge.

Topaxci

Suffered from this last year and I was running two rear lights. I knew one was running low on battery but the other one died leaving just a pathetic pale glow and a feeble reliance on my bike being white.

Now I have several reflective patches, yellow tyres, four rear lights (two flashing, one constant and one running up and down like Knight Rider), white helmet light, three front lights on the bar (one flash, two constant) and two addtional flashers on the frame pointing sideways just for the hell of it.

I think someone already mentioned chavvy christmas tree and most of my mates think it's a bit OTT - but better that than being smeared all over the road in the dark.

Bobbinogs

I actually got around to digging out a nice shiny rear reflector (as an emergency backup) and stuck it on my winter bike the other week. Thought it was a bit ironic because when the bike was new, the first thing I did was take off the f/r reflectors and then the wheel spokey ones and toss them all into a box with a sniffy air of disdain. Now thinking that maybe even the spokey things might be good too but just cannot face sticking them onto RS80s (haven't found anything in the rules but I am sure there should be something). I will swap to the 105/CXP22 wheels by the time I get out for my first recovery ride so I may revisit my decision then...but perhaps not in case any sees me, oh hang on though...!

cougie

Makes perfect sense for the winter bike to be festoooooned with lights and reflectives. Even daytime rides can be dull.
I've taken to using my LED on the rear all the time now.

And if you are riding in fog like the bloke I saw once - dont wear a grey rain jacket without any lights on. I lost track of him on a roundabout and he was only 20 feet in front of me. Madness.

sloppyschleckonds

cougie wrote:

I've taken to using my LED on the rear all the time now.

^
This

+ have at least rear 2 lights

scazzer

This time of the yr my commutes to n from work are in the dark

I have 2 front lights,1 flashing n 1 still and have recently fixed 1 to my helmet as i had 2 close near misses in 1 day :shock: where cars pulled out on roundabouts so now i can aim helmet torch IN THEIR FACE at junctions to get their attention........
Have 1 rear fixed to seat post(still) and 2 flashing on back pack....

Also,i carry front/rear back-ups,they are small and good for any light failure..

BigLee1

I`m also a big fan of reflectives, it`s always there even if you run out of batteries. The most obvious is anything on your feet or legs with it moving up and down

Jcrossland

I come across a lot of people who generally are going A - B very slowly with dark clothes, no lights etc not good for motorists.

I even come across a guy most nights who must be riding back from the pub, all over the place and reeks of alcohol, all of the above plus alcohol on a dual carriageway...asking for trouble much.

BruceG

racingcondor wrote:

I always have 2 cheap disc blinkies on the rear as well as a decent light (currently an Exposure Flare). Like you I learned the bad way after getting home to find out I'd been invisible from 5 minutes after I started.

)...

If you knew that you had been invisible for 5 mins after you started, why did you carry on riding? why not just turn around go back home, replace batteries then set off again!