mstateglfr 

tips to stay visible-

- dont wear colors that blend into the surrounding.
- wear colors that dont blend into the surrounding.

djb

That made me smile.
And pretty much sums this whole thing up doesn't it?

Tourist in MSN

This discussion reminded me of being nervous one day on the Pacific Coast in Northern California. Narrow winding road, no shoulder, brush encroaching into the road, enough trees that you were in and out of shadows, the drivers behind you would also be alternating from shadow to in bright glaring sun in their eyes. The car drivers could be within a couple hundred feet of you before they came around a bend and saw you. That is when you really want to be visible.

Tourist in MSN

Another example of intermittent shade, the riders in the photo are not as visible when in shade as they would have been in bright sun.



Got it.

Lovegasoline

A friend I've known for 25 years is a character who's lived his entire adult life homeless as matter of choice. He's acquired a degree of wisdom specific to his chosen mode of living. When accessing gear that he's stashed he prefers to do so with stealth to avoid detection. He told me when at all possible he avoids doing so during daylight for obvious reasons and he avoids nighttime due to the need for flashlights which draw attention. Once when I was trying to store some stuff he suggested I do so in the interval just after the the sun went down but before total darkness. He said it can take 15 minutes or more for human eyesight to adjust to lowered light levels, eyesight which is further compromised by being bombarded with the onset of artificial lighting such as streetlights and car headlights. Humans are not optimally engineered for night vision but eyesight does become acclimatized to a dark nightime environment. [Recall the visual field when fireflies emerge along with how space and distance in the visual field transform].

He told me Twilight and dusk are when human visibility is deeply challenged, forms become indistinct, eyes are still adjusting to lowered lighting levels but minds are still operating on a daylight paradigm, and he can move around with a lower risk of detection.

I've found this to be true in my own experience.
As the sun sets, the world begins to darken, and headlights start coming on eyesight is challenged by both the diminishing light and the appearance of bright headlights. I observe these challenges in my own vision. I'm especially cautious when riding during this time, I'm on full alert, and employ an extra layer of defensive riding.

My friend of course was spot on ... if I have to be stealth in stashing or retrieving gear I'll do it at dusk.

DanBell

As someone who uses a super bright rear light, I agree with all of this. You definitely need to use the different settings on the lights you have for different conditions you find yourself in. The brightest setting is for daytime riding when I feel I need it. Lower settings are for night riding, using the blinking or steady settings as I see fit. There is definitely such a thing as too much light. Electric bikes are very popular where I live and all of them have the batteries powering the lights as well. Some of the headlights specifically are incredibly bright. I don't usually ride much on the sidewalk with these types of riders, but when I do I often find myself stopping to let them pass. Makes me really think about how I use my taillight as well as the angle it is set on my bike.

djb

I like how some of you have brought up the point of us sometimes being in shady spots and how a car driver with sunglasses on has a much higher chance of not seeing you if you are in a corner, in a shady section.

touches on how we have to think when we ride
we have to be smart, and use common sense, and be aware, and situationally aware at all times.

good job folks

bikenh

Another tip most riding won't like. It isn't so much about making your visible as it is about making yourself know your surroundings. The only way to know your surroundings is to be paying full attention to what is going on around you. This means listening to what is going on around you instead of listen to audiobooks or music on a phone. Keep the earphones at home as well as all the audio files. Pay attention to your surroundings, whether on a rail trail, where a deer or other wildlife could hop out in front of you, or on the road where a car could pull out in front of you or come up and hit you from behind.

Decided what is most important at the time in question. Is it listening to audiobook/music, if so listen to the music and put your full attention to it. If it is riding the bike then ride the bike and pay full attention to it. When you try to do too many things at once your going to miss something...it might be the best part of the book, or it might be the car that is about to hit you.

Jim from Boston

Another self-satisfied attempt to turn this thread into a popcorn one. I frequently post as a decades-long lifestyle cyclist about my mindset to maintain attention, to include the opinions of other frequent posters;and Does @bikenh think we disregard our own safety that much?

bikenh

You gotta love the people who go out and do nothing but ride bike trails because they think they are far safer than riding the open road. They go out and have the 'smart' phone playing all the music or audiobooks they could ever hope to get through while on their bike trip. They are listening their hearts away while riding along on their nice safe bike path. The only trouble I see is many, at least here in the east, of these bike paths are in areas which are deeply locked in wooded areas where animals roam freely. The cyclist thinks he is nice and safe and can just get lost in the music when he is about to hit the wildlife which could end up him in the hospital instead.

The bike trails are no safer than the roads. I ride the roads all the time and I have had very little in the way of trouble in the 125,000 miles of biking since the start of the decade. The worst accident I've had was my own fault, required some stitches. I hit the car not the other way around. The driver didn't even know I was on the verge of having the collision. If I would have been riding the bike and not trying to do other things I would not have had the accident.

Making yourself visible is one part of being safe but there are other parts as well which people quite often tend to overlook. Visiblity comes in many forms. As with everything, anything is a double edged sword. Not only do you need to make yourself visible to the traffic, but you also need to make the traffic visible to you, aka you need to pay attention to traffic/wildlife and not to the music.

BobbyG

Since I was quoted by @jim_From_Boston regarding "hearing" your surroundings in a thread about visibility, I'll go ahead and mention my 20+ years use of the AirZound air horn, since being heard is also important.

If you're gonna ride in traffic, you need to be seen and heard as well.

I seem to use the horn most at intersections; like when cross street drivers begin rolling forward before looking up from their phones, and residential cross-streets where drivers tend to slow & roll until their brains register another vehicle, even when there is a stop sign. It also works great to help alert vehicles backing out of driveways.

I use my bell for pedestrians, and the horn for cars.

Of course, you still have to anticipate for the possibility that you are not seen or heard by another vehicle, but putting out an advanced warning of your presence visibly and audibly makes for safer riding.

Tourist in MSN

​​​
Considering how often another cyclist has their ears clogged up with electronics, thus did not hear my bell that I rang as I approached from behind, yeah there are a lot of cycists that disregard safety.

I have almost had collisions with quite a few of them as they choose to be oblivious to the other trail users and suddenly change direction.

Roughly two out of three cyclists that pass me call out "on your left" or some other verbal warning, but they are roadies, I am in the minority by using a bell instead.

GadgetGirlIL

When I'm hiking or biking on the multi-use trails, I ALWAYS thank the cyclists who take the time to either say "on your left" or ring a bell (same goes for invitational bike rides where it is likely that I will be overtaken). It drives me absolutely crazy to have someone zoom by me at close range unannounced. I never wear any earbuds while outside. I can usually hear a bike coming up behind on the crushed limestone trails but not on the paved paths or roads. Although I will say that I can hear a fat tire bike coming up on any surface!

I've been giving serious thought to a bell, or perhaps an airhorn, especially with the pedestrians that are completely oblivious no matter how loudly nor how many times I call out to warn them that I'm passing.

Situational awareness isn't just for cyclists.

staehpj1

I have also been surprised by how many folks, some cyclists and some not, are oblivious to their surroundings. This is often true whether they have their ear plugged up with electronics or not. They just zone out and don't pay attention to their surroundings.

I have done a lot of trail running where you could see and hear people 1/4 mile away if you were paying attention and yet despite the fact that I'd intentionally make extra noise as I approached from behind they would jump out of their skin. I could understand it when I was on my bike because I rolled up more quietly, but running I approached more slowly and with more noise. Most of the time there were dry leaves and a loud crunch crunch crunch. I'd try speaking to them at different distances and saying good morning or hello, but never managed to figure out how to not scare the hell out of them.

If people ride like that they'd never hear cars approaching from behind. Tire noise is my primary warning about approaching traffic. Tuning it out would be a huge problem.

On the other hand, on an open lightly travelled rural highway I find that loose fitting ear buds don't limit my hearing or my attention much if I listen to spoken word content or quiet music. I rarely wear them when riding, but on the few occasions when I have, I still heard approaching cars and trucks just fine. I find that it varies pretty widely with the style and fit of the earbuds as well as the choice of content you listen to. So I choose all of those carefully. Crossing the empty roads of rural Kansas or west Texas I have on occasion put on an audiobook or some quiet music using earbuds that I have found do not block my hearing much. I still paid attention to my surroundings and heard any approaching traffic though.

Apologies for taking this further off topic...

berner

This is a good point. I've often thought bike lights should be more like lights on boats where they are visible from dead ahead to well aft of the beam. Alternately, amber side lights would do the job also.

djb

alas staeph, there are folks out there like that. We can all make a boo boo now and again, but certainly on Montreal roads and bike paths, you always have to be careful that someone isnt in their own little bubble when you are coming to pass.

rm -rf

A bright blinky is very good in this situation, with alternating shade and sun from the trees. I think that drivers may notice me when I'm still far up the road.

My Cygolite Hotshot 150 can catch a driver's attention even in mid day sun. I have it set to "single flash" and slowed the flash rate down to either 1-per-second or 2-per-second. These brief, extremely bright blips don't use much battery power. I'm guessing that I could get 25 hours or more from a charge. It's usb rechargeable, so a touring rider would need to recharge every few days.

On very curvy roads with short sight lines (usually climbing) I ride in the left tire track, listening for cars, and using my mirror. When a car approaches, I move to the right tire track when the car is in view. I want the driver to see me a little sooner this way.

rm -rf

I don't think this is as critical.
Headlights and taillights both have quite a bit of spill light to the sides.

Side reflectors

Last night, a ninja rider with no lights crossed a side road a half block ahead. Their wheel reflectors were very noticeable, with the distinctive circular motion. I think I would have seen him approaching the crossing if he had a headlight.

Reflective tape spots on rims are even useful at much less than a 90 degree angle, helpful even with overtaking traffic.

The truck trailer red and silver reflective strips are very bright, and less expensive than the ones from a bike store. Try an auto parts store. Even a half inch by 1 inch patch is bright.

Flip Flop Rider

So, how is Mick Dodge doing?

Tourist in MSN

I was riding down a gravel trail, approached three other riders riding side by side taking up the whole trail width. After I rang my bell about five or six times, I heard one of them say to his friends - I keep hearing an ice cream truck. Yeah, they heard my bell but did not recognize it for what it was.

Newer hybrids and electric cars can be nearly silent when the engine is off. I used to know several civil engineers that worked on highway construction projects, they hated hybrids because they were so silent as they approached construction zones.

Papa Tom

I am sure others have said this, but DAY LIGHTS on the front and rear are fantastic attention-grabbers.

indyfabz

I hear flags and streamers made from worn out undies are as well.

djb

I have a triangular piece of bright red felt tied to my bright yellow rack pack that flaps around. Figured it moves around and helps get me noticed, red on yellow.
Picked it up from a ditch in Chiapas, Mexico and I imagine it fell off a parade float from the back of a passing truck.
Also have a ratty Mexican flag picked up at the side of the road, so those are my "movement catching eye" things.

Awl

Haven't seen much low-visibility days but in those cases I run my taillamps and front vis lights at high mode, kind of like visibility lights in cars from northern Europe, or foglamps. At night, low mode on the lights. My bike also has one of the Slow-Moving Vehicle triangles, and I wear brighter colours. Anything else I feel would be too distracting and maybe cause target-attraction, but that's just me.

FlippinFlags

I'm curious how much yellow fades in the sun from all the riding? Don't you feel you need to replace them?