Riding in low winter sun conditions

awavey

either it reflects the paucity of stunningly sunny winter days that are frost free, or I just pure lucked out on todays ride as Ive never quite experienced sunny conditions this bad before, normally sun is a good thing, but what do people do normally to cope when the sun is so intensely bright but sitting only about 45 degrees off the horizon, so that unless you ride with it directly behind you its at some point dazzling you or creating such a contrast between shadows and sunlit bits you are quite figuratively riding into the unknown everytime theres a shadow, because you cant see any potholes or obstacles you need to avoid in the shadow bits which might only last a few seconds at a time, although the worst part was the strobing effect it was causing through the leafless hedges/trees.

now I do wear sunglasses,albeit just a cheap pair, though I felt Id have needed lenses about the strength of a welders mask today to be of use, and I did have cycling cap on, though it was only really of use if i was heading towards the sun, and I had to have it tilted so far forward I could only see about a few metres up the road unless I cricked my neck way further back than normal, but anything other than head on to the sun and it wasnt helping much anyway, and added to all that you had that dread feeling that you just hoped the people in the cars following you were coping better in the conditions than you were, so Ive had more comfortable rides before thats for sure.

ben-----

> you had that dread feeling that you just hoped the people in the cars following you were coping better in the conditions than you were

That's by far the main concern I reckon. There was a cyclist killed just a few days ago, hit and run, near where I live. I suspect it was because of the sun. The road was heading roughly south, downhill, and it was very sunny that day, around lunchtime.

stueys

Agreed, I'm less worried about what I can see and far more worried about what the cars behind me can see. I try to avoid riding outside at low sun times and if I'm out, then I adjust my route as far as I can to avoid heading directly into the sun.

slowmart

it's the shortest day soon so the sun will start rising in the sky. Add wet roads as you cycle into the low sun makes you extremely hard to see from drivers approaching from the rear.

I cycle on quiet roads and basically ensure I know what's behind when I'm cycling into low sun.

Roll on the summer.

briantrumpet

I actually altered my route on my way home a few days ago for precisely this reason - the light/shadows were bad enough for me, so didn't want to find out how bad they were for a driver behind me. Two years ago I found out:

keef66

Yikes! That looks nasty!

Only time I've been hit by a vehicle it was because I was riding into the setting sun and the van driver claimed not to have spotted me. His door mirror just clipped my bars sending me sideways onto a wide, soft verge so there was no damage to me or the bike. Could have been a lot worse.

Few weeks ago I stopped in the car to offer help to a cyclist who'd just been wiped out by a car. Driver said she'd not seen him due to the low sun. Luckily (?) she was a nurse so was insisting on him having an ambulance. It was pretty predictable; she'd been heading West at sunset.....

Yesterday afternoon was particularly bad; I found myself driving due West at the point the sun was just above the horizon. I was crawling along; even with the sun hidden by the sun visor, visibility was pretty badly reduced, and I wanted to be sure I wasn't going to hit anything.

Bobbinogs

Yeah, the irony is that I obsess about lights on sunny winter days. Always something very bright and blinky to try and separate me out from the light storm. Doesn't always work though, a couple of years ago I had a very escape by diving into a hedge when it was perfectly obvious that a car coming towards me hadn't seen me (narrow road, sun flaps completely down, driver head invisible, strong sun behind me, etc) and kept going. I don't think it was the usual chicken run as the driver looked genuinely surprised to see me (bike and all) diving over his front quarter into the hedge...must have figured it was a new smart phone sourced kamikaze hedge bombing trend.

pblakeney

Slow down (and hope drivers do the same) and quality lenses, if any.
Lights, lights, lights.

briantrumpet

keef66 wrote:

Yikes! That looks nasty!

Fortunately there were no serious injuries (which is down to modern car design and their ability to absorb impacts), and I got a ride in an ambulance... though I'd have got to the hospital sooner if I'd cycled.

svetty

Club mate was hit by a car in this circumstance a few days ago. Fractured arm and pelvis......

peat

Not good.

It's the same when driving at night, passing oncoming cars. You plunge into a black hole beyond their lights at 60mph without a moment's hesitation. There could anything in the road.

Dangerous business.

mugensi

I basically stay off the main roads and stick to very quiet back roads and lanes on my MTB (of which there are many around me) where the only traffic I may encounter is the odd tractor and very very odd car. This morning was a perfect example of it, the sun was ridiculously bright and very low in the sky, I altered my route to take me off road through forestry (along fire roads) where I was shaded by the trees.

laurentian

Mate of mine was in the fire service for years attending many RTAs. He told me that there are way more accidents attributable to low sun (winter and summer) than there are for ice, snow, fog etc.

fenix

If the sun is low and you're riding into it - consider a different route if you can. A friend of mine was killed on a quiet Sunday morning when the moron in the car thought it'd be fine to drive at speed and not be able to see.

In conditions like that - there's no light that would help you. You'll never outdo the sun.

Be careful and aware out there.

ben-----

ben----- wrote:

There was a cyclist killed just a few days ago, hit and run, near where I live. I suspect it was because of the sun. The road was heading roughly south, downhill, and it was very sunny that day, around lunchtime.

They got the driver:
http://www.eadt.co.uk/news/arrest_made_ ... _1_4807364
No mention of cause/reason though.

Jerry185

ben----- wrote:

ben----- wrote:

There was a cyclist killed just a few days ago, hit and run, near where I live. I suspect it was because of the sun. The road was heading roughly south, downhill, and it was very sunny that day, around lunchtime.

They got the driver:
http://www.eadt.co.uk/news/arrest_made_ ... _1_4807364
No mention of cause/reason though.

There won't be until after the whole court process has finished - sub judice

Bobbinogs

Yes, quite right too. Plenty of time for a shambolic review of the real causes, the undoubted urgency of the car journey (such as to post an xmas card) and the easy steps for avoidance (such as slowing down) before giving the driver an £80 fine and 3 points on the license. British justice at its very best.

Jerry185

And on a related issue, is this normal in the UK? (see the crossing point for cyclists)

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article ... hears.html

fenix

I know of a few bike paths that cross fast roads - I don't know that one in particular - but was he just crossing the road - so you only go onto the road if it's clear ? Did he not see the car coming ? Very sad case.

briantrumpet

Jerry185 wrote:

And on a related issue, is this normal in the UK? (see the crossing point for cyclists)

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article ... hears.html

Not 'normal', but I suspect not unique, as when it comes to pedestrian/cyclist safety, the calculation seems to start with "how little do you think we can get away with". A bit of blue/green paint is well known to stop all fatal collisions.

There's a roundabout on my commute which even the most ardent campaigner I know (and who achieved great things when he was employed to help on such matters) has said will not be solved in his lifetime. The cars win, and even for them it's a bad junction. A boy was killed there a couple of years ago, on a pedestrian crossing on an exit from the roundabout, after previous traffic lights on the roundabout. If you add in low light and wet road, it's not a place to hang about.

rolf_f

Works both ways though. If you are riding into the sun, then folk behind you struggle to see you. But if you have the sun behind you, people pulling out can't see you. I ride East in the morning and West in the evening and tend to feel happier that cars waiting to pull out see me fully illuminated. Of course, some routes you worry about what is behind you and some what is about to pull out on you. Best bet (since moving is presumably impractical!) is to alter your ride times on sunny days - usually it is a pretty narrow time window when things are really nasty.

briantrumpet

I'm learning not to be nice and kind if I'm on a mainer road, slowing down to let cars out, as I'm putting myself in unnecessary peril. A shunt in a car is bad enough, but the crumple zone on a bike is not much use... especially in poor visibility, such as low sun, reducing opportunities for SMIDSYs is priority no.1.

shipley

I tried to go for a ride this morning but with initial fog, and then the low sun I felt distinctly vulnerable and turned for home.

Hate this bloody weather.....

cycleclinic

I have been cyclkng in all conditions for years nd i have never had issues with low sun. Car driver can p***ks sun or no sun. It seems to make little difference. If your drivjng and you are blinded by sun and you dont slow down well when there is no sun the same driver will do something stupid anyway. If a dtiver does not think ahead they will cause an incident regardless of the conditions.

dandrew

I've started to wear a cycling cap under my helmet, the peak helps to keep the sun out of my eyes. Hope that drivers use their windscreen sun visors!

awavey

well Ive been riding most weekends for best part of 5 years and regularly cyclo commuting for nearly 15 now and had never encountered the sun like that or with such a stark light vs shade contrast before.

Whilst theres probably a 2week period in Autumn & Spring where my commute, which is stuck East to West, coincides with a setting sun and inevitable rain showers which makes the road look like glass, but its not that bright, and a simple cap works fine, though its usually when I combine it with using my lights and as I work flexi hours, Ive often just left the commutes later, so yes timeshift is always an alternative.

but last week was just crazy how bright the sun seemed, and nothing I was doing or trying was making it any better to cope, I do normally stick to quieter routes, though annoyingly I took a wrong turn at one point (literally couldnt see the sign I was supposed to be following) and ended up on a road I wouldnt have chosen at all, but you get to a point where carrying on is the least worst option to just turning back.

I think my worst fear was hitting a pothole in the shaded parts unsighted, and coming off, and then being hit by the vehicle following on who wouldnt have a clue Id be there lying in the road, so every time I hit a shaded bit or the hedges started with the strobing effect, I was almost bracing for an inevitable crash, which was a horrible feeling, and actually very tiring and stressful way to ride.

thumperman

At the bottom of our lane the road goes west to east. We have to pick our son up from the school bus at 4pm and for about 2 weeks recently you couldn't see anything at all looking west, the sun was shining directly down the road at the same level. A local farmer often parks his van by a gate about 100yds up the road. He did this on one sunny afternoon and a car went straight into it without seeing it at all. Obviously on a bike you'd have had no chance.
I don't know if it's worse here in the south west of Ireland (we have nothing west of us until you hit America) but it was very bad a couple of weeks ago. I was very careful planning routes and timings on the bike so I never rode into the sun. I even had to ride in the mornings :x . The roads are very quiet here but it only takes one vehicle to kill you. If "you" can hardly see while riding then it's probably not a good idea to be going that way. Anyone with a slightly dirty windscreen will see far less than you can.