Tips to stay visible while riding?
#51
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Hi-vis yellow does fade after a while. I have a vest that is quite a pale yellow now, after about 8 years of cycling in the sun.
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#52
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Yep UV takes it's toll on dyes and fabrics. I think some of the yellow green stuff has gotten a lot better in that regard and I have been pretty happy with how long it has held up, but replace it as needed.
#53
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#54
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I love this forum if only because it exposes me to situations that not only dont come up for me, but I dont even consider.
I cant imagine needing to stash or retrieve 'gear'.
#55
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No.
I can listen to music and ride safely on roads, paths, MUPS, trails, and whatever other surface you want to list.
My ear buds help reduce/eliminate wind noise and I can actually hear better in some situations as a result.
In the end- its just a matter of being aware of where you are. I accept that music can play a part in a person zoning out, but it is hardly the reason why people zone out.
The last time I know I ticked off a driver was a couple months ago on a wide open gravel road. I didnt have headphones in and the wind caused me to not hear the car approaching.
Confirmation bias is a phun phenomenon.
I can listen to music and ride safely on roads, paths, MUPS, trails, and whatever other surface you want to list.
My ear buds help reduce/eliminate wind noise and I can actually hear better in some situations as a result.
In the end- its just a matter of being aware of where you are. I accept that music can play a part in a person zoning out, but it is hardly the reason why people zone out.
The last time I know I ticked off a driver was a couple months ago on a wide open gravel road. I didnt have headphones in and the wind caused me to not hear the car approaching.
Confirmation bias is a phun phenomenon.
#56
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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.
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.
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.
My biggest fear is being impaled by a deer while riding gravel or singletrack in the woods. Admitting this has caused some people to chuckle, but its seriously what I fear most when riding. Deer are damn skittery and you dont know which direction they will scatter.
But even I, someone who actually views being hit by a deer as their biggest cycling fear, find your comments to be absurd.
Of course a dedicated bike path/trail is safer than riding on roads.
The odds of being hit by wildlife are so incredibly small, I would be surprised if someone could even put an honest number to it. It has to be .00001% of the time.
The range of injury on a bike path is significantly smaller than the range of injury on roads.
Bike path range of injury is anything from falling over and nothing bad happening, to getting scraped up, to colliding with another cyclist.
Road range of injury is anything from falling over and nothing bad happening, to getting scraped up, to falling and being hit by a car, to colliding with a car.
40mi of city and county road riding is more dangerous than 40mi of city and county trail riding. The odds of injury for both are incredibly small, but there is a reason why so many kids are on trails and not roads- safer location to ride.
#57
Senior Member
Super curious to know what sort of things you are stashing around your property/town/city during dusk.
I love this forum if only because it exposes me to situations that not only dont come up for me, but I dont even consider.
I cant imagine needing to stash or retrieve 'gear'.
I love this forum if only because it exposes me to situations that not only dont come up for me, but I dont even consider.
I cant imagine needing to stash or retrieve 'gear'.
When would a tourist stash gear? Want to go for a hike to see a waterfall or bag a peak? Don't like the looks of the parking area? Sounds like a good time/place to hide the bike and gear. I have done that, not often, but I have.
#58
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Bright blinkie front and rear by day. Solid front light, solid rear and a blinkie rear by night
#59
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I can, but for touring I can't imagine when doing it at dusk can be an option. For a homeless guy yes.
When would a tourist stash gear? Want to go for a hike to see a waterfall or bag a peak? Don't like the looks of the parking area? Sounds like a good time/place to hide the bike and gear. I have done that, not often, but I have.
When would a tourist stash gear? Want to go for a hike to see a waterfall or bag a peak? Don't like the looks of the parking area? Sounds like a good time/place to hide the bike and gear. I have done that, not often, but I have.
Cheers
#60
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#61
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It's been said, but no matter how high viz your gear is, you completely disappear in shade on a sunny day. You don't reflect enough light to register on a eye that's stopped way down. Lights, lights, lights. Daytime, I run a 250 lumen front blinky and a 300 lumen rear light with various blink/steady levels and patterns. Night time I run a steady 400 lumen in front and the same rear light. Drivers have complemented me on my daytime lighting. Your night time lighting, front and rear, should be easily visible a mile away. Of course I also wear bright clothing, but I sure don't count on it to warn drivers.
Re bike path safety: Bike accidents on MUPS are more frequent than on the road, but the injuries are usually less severe. I happen to absolutely hate bike paths, I've had so many close calls on them. There are apparently no rules for users, or at least none that are regularly followed. People seem to think they are in their driveway. I have a friend with a serious head injury from an ear-budded runner executing a U-turn immediately in front of him. On the road, everyone knows the rules and follows them, including me. In my state, it's illegal to use ear-buds on a bike. Good idea. No one should use them in any sort of traffic situation. No, they can't hear a frigging thing and have demonstrated that to me about a zillion times. They maybe think they can hear, but no, they can't. Period. Could also be a distraction issue like using a cell phone while driving. Ears not functional anyway. I have never come up on an ear-budded person who responded to my calls and shouts. Never. You don't know what you don't know.
Re bike path safety: Bike accidents on MUPS are more frequent than on the road, but the injuries are usually less severe. I happen to absolutely hate bike paths, I've had so many close calls on them. There are apparently no rules for users, or at least none that are regularly followed. People seem to think they are in their driveway. I have a friend with a serious head injury from an ear-budded runner executing a U-turn immediately in front of him. On the road, everyone knows the rules and follows them, including me. In my state, it's illegal to use ear-buds on a bike. Good idea. No one should use them in any sort of traffic situation. No, they can't hear a frigging thing and have demonstrated that to me about a zillion times. They maybe think they can hear, but no, they can't. Period. Could also be a distraction issue like using a cell phone while driving. Ears not functional anyway. I have never come up on an ear-budded person who responded to my calls and shouts. Never. You don't know what you don't know.
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#62
Senior Member
Just noticed this on natchez trace site.
"Bicyclists will frequently be riding in mixed sun and shade. Use a flashing white light on the back of your bike during the day."
"Bicyclists will frequently be riding in mixed sun and shade. Use a flashing white light on the back of your bike during the day."
#63
Senior Member
Bicyclists are much better than most motorcycle riders in dressing for maximum visibility, but still most bicyclists are just as silly in thinking that they cannot dress like some "dork" , or ride any bicycle which has dorky accessories or components. You need to only focus on MAXIMUM VISIBILITY!
Looking COOL can get you killed. I mention the looking COOL thing because 95% of motorcycle riders feel they MUST LOOK COOL so they wear BLACK because it is the "in" color for looking "cool". BLACK helmets, and very dark flat black, and charcoal, and Chicago Bears' helmet color ARE IN MY OPINION, A BAD (not good) CHOICE FOR A HELMET COLOR, UNLESS YOU ARE RIDING WHERE SNOW IS COVERING THE GROUND. Something really bright like YELLOW, or WHITE, ORANGE or any other highly visible color, or combination of colors, aided by reflective tape on the helmet shell is best for a motorcyclist. Motorcycle folks want to appear to be "BAD" ......BAD TO THE BONE......lookin so cool, but their vanity in dressing "COOL" likely will contribute to a greater probability of them not being seen and ultimately hit or sideswiped.
Bicycles are much like motorcycles except that bicycles are smaller, lighter, and slower. You face many of the same issues on a bicycle. Bicyclists have traditionally been smarter than motorcyclists, at least for the past 35 years with fluorescent colors and other bright funky, visible jerseys and helmets. Sadly there has been a trend, for a long time now, to have flat black bicycle frames and wheels and spokes. This and the idiot mentality of many bicyclists that REFLECTORS = some average Joe that rides a BSO from Wallyworld, Target, or Dicks Sporting Goods. This idiot mentality is reflected by the use of terms like BSO, meaning Bicycle Shaped Object, and other terms that the really stupid folks use to try to separately distinguish themselves from the other folks who are also riding bicycles. This and other terms like "Dork Disks" and their belief that Kickstands are not cool, and that stem shifters and turkey levers are so uncool and distasteful that you shouldn't be seen in a group ride with any of the above, or heaven forbid, a chrome plated steel wheeled, gas-pipe boat anchor bike with a bell and a one piece crank.
Yes, most bicyclists are worse than the motorcycle crowd when it comes to the attitude and the "right" (proper or acceptable) bike.
YELLOW and ORANGE bicycle frame colors are perhaps the most visible, but fashion these days is flat black and dark carbon gray, or charcoal gray, and black wheels, or charcoal wheels, spokes, etc---------------------THIS IS CERTAINLY "Cool" looking but just like the MOTORCYCLE riders that look "cool" in all black attire, --you the bicycle rider on a dark, not visible bicycle are making it much more likely to be HIT, Unless you are wearing NEON bright colors with REFLECTIVE material.
The Color of your attire and the color of your bicycle COULD MATTER A GREAT DEAL if it makes a difference whether someone in a vehicle HITS you.
You may only find out if you chose WRONG upon the ambulance ride or the medical helicopter flight to the Trauma center.
The Vanity and Sillyness of some cyclists that think REFLECTORS on the pedals and reflectors on the Wheels looked horrible and associated them with common bike pedalling chumps who were riding BSO from Wallyworld or some ancient PeeWee Herman style bike that isn't a "real bike" in their minds.
Reflective material is beneficial. I do remember the mounted flags that were somewhat common from 1970 to about 1975. Yes, goofy looking, but they did have some
functional practicality of making the bicycle MORE VISIBLE to vehicles.
Almost every bicyclist knows someone that REFUSES to mount a light on their bicycle, even though that person routinely rides both after sunset and before sunrise.
You know that person---------------------------------I'm not gonna put a light anywhere on my bike, not gonna do it because I don't wanna look stupid-------------------
---------------------.....Well guess what, being really stupid will get you killed, while just looking stupid and dressing stupid, at the worst may just get you laughed at.
Many bicyclists already know that. Most motorcycle riders today are pushing their luck with such an emphasis on always looking "cool" in all black.
A long long time ago, when I had a motorcycle, I recall hearing somebody say run your light and remember to wear white at night, but motorcycles didn't have turn signals, they were just mandating them, and you signalled turns with your left arm in the same manner that bicyclists do it.
Think about maximizing the visibility and getting maximum reflective-ness, such as the reflective sidewall ring that Michelin has on the Protek bicycle tire. Other manufacturers have this on some of their tires too. IT MATTERS WHEN IT MATTERS, just like a helmet........YOU ONLY NEED IT WHEN YOU NEED IT, but
being seen and reflecting so vehicles see you from a substantial distance IS SOMETHING THAT COULD REALLY MATTER.
You don't want to find out if you really needed to be more visible!
If you routinely ride in highly trafficked, congested and major intersections where automobiles travel above 30mph, YOU WANT TO MAXIMIZE VISIBILITY AT ALL TIMES!
I don't think that the mindset of " I see a bicycle and I want it painted black, no color other than I want it painted black.........I see a yellow helmet but I wanted painted black...........
No argument that black is a stylish color that can look nice, but you need to worry about being seen from a distance by AUTOMOBILES, and not worry about it as if you are some celebrity with an image to maintain so you can appear on Entertainment Tonight and all the Jimmy late night programs nine times per year..
Looking COOL can get you killed. I mention the looking COOL thing because 95% of motorcycle riders feel they MUST LOOK COOL so they wear BLACK because it is the "in" color for looking "cool". BLACK helmets, and very dark flat black, and charcoal, and Chicago Bears' helmet color ARE IN MY OPINION, A BAD (not good) CHOICE FOR A HELMET COLOR, UNLESS YOU ARE RIDING WHERE SNOW IS COVERING THE GROUND. Something really bright like YELLOW, or WHITE, ORANGE or any other highly visible color, or combination of colors, aided by reflective tape on the helmet shell is best for a motorcyclist. Motorcycle folks want to appear to be "BAD" ......BAD TO THE BONE......lookin so cool, but their vanity in dressing "COOL" likely will contribute to a greater probability of them not being seen and ultimately hit or sideswiped.
Bicycles are much like motorcycles except that bicycles are smaller, lighter, and slower. You face many of the same issues on a bicycle. Bicyclists have traditionally been smarter than motorcyclists, at least for the past 35 years with fluorescent colors and other bright funky, visible jerseys and helmets. Sadly there has been a trend, for a long time now, to have flat black bicycle frames and wheels and spokes. This and the idiot mentality of many bicyclists that REFLECTORS = some average Joe that rides a BSO from Wallyworld, Target, or Dicks Sporting Goods. This idiot mentality is reflected by the use of terms like BSO, meaning Bicycle Shaped Object, and other terms that the really stupid folks use to try to separately distinguish themselves from the other folks who are also riding bicycles. This and other terms like "Dork Disks" and their belief that Kickstands are not cool, and that stem shifters and turkey levers are so uncool and distasteful that you shouldn't be seen in a group ride with any of the above, or heaven forbid, a chrome plated steel wheeled, gas-pipe boat anchor bike with a bell and a one piece crank.
Yes, most bicyclists are worse than the motorcycle crowd when it comes to the attitude and the "right" (proper or acceptable) bike.
YELLOW and ORANGE bicycle frame colors are perhaps the most visible, but fashion these days is flat black and dark carbon gray, or charcoal gray, and black wheels, or charcoal wheels, spokes, etc---------------------THIS IS CERTAINLY "Cool" looking but just like the MOTORCYCLE riders that look "cool" in all black attire, --you the bicycle rider on a dark, not visible bicycle are making it much more likely to be HIT, Unless you are wearing NEON bright colors with REFLECTIVE material.
The Color of your attire and the color of your bicycle COULD MATTER A GREAT DEAL if it makes a difference whether someone in a vehicle HITS you.
You may only find out if you chose WRONG upon the ambulance ride or the medical helicopter flight to the Trauma center.
The Vanity and Sillyness of some cyclists that think REFLECTORS on the pedals and reflectors on the Wheels looked horrible and associated them with common bike pedalling chumps who were riding BSO from Wallyworld or some ancient PeeWee Herman style bike that isn't a "real bike" in their minds.
Reflective material is beneficial. I do remember the mounted flags that were somewhat common from 1970 to about 1975. Yes, goofy looking, but they did have some
functional practicality of making the bicycle MORE VISIBLE to vehicles.
Almost every bicyclist knows someone that REFUSES to mount a light on their bicycle, even though that person routinely rides both after sunset and before sunrise.
You know that person---------------------------------I'm not gonna put a light anywhere on my bike, not gonna do it because I don't wanna look stupid-------------------
---------------------.....Well guess what, being really stupid will get you killed, while just looking stupid and dressing stupid, at the worst may just get you laughed at.
Many bicyclists already know that. Most motorcycle riders today are pushing their luck with such an emphasis on always looking "cool" in all black.
A long long time ago, when I had a motorcycle, I recall hearing somebody say run your light and remember to wear white at night, but motorcycles didn't have turn signals, they were just mandating them, and you signalled turns with your left arm in the same manner that bicyclists do it.
Think about maximizing the visibility and getting maximum reflective-ness, such as the reflective sidewall ring that Michelin has on the Protek bicycle tire. Other manufacturers have this on some of their tires too. IT MATTERS WHEN IT MATTERS, just like a helmet........YOU ONLY NEED IT WHEN YOU NEED IT, but
being seen and reflecting so vehicles see you from a substantial distance IS SOMETHING THAT COULD REALLY MATTER.
You don't want to find out if you really needed to be more visible!
If you routinely ride in highly trafficked, congested and major intersections where automobiles travel above 30mph, YOU WANT TO MAXIMIZE VISIBILITY AT ALL TIMES!
I don't think that the mindset of " I see a bicycle and I want it painted black, no color other than I want it painted black.........I see a yellow helmet but I wanted painted black...........
No argument that black is a stylish color that can look nice, but you need to worry about being seen from a distance by AUTOMOBILES, and not worry about it as if you are some celebrity with an image to maintain so you can appear on Entertainment Tonight and all the Jimmy late night programs nine times per year..
#64
Senior Member
my biggest wildlife fear? two biggest fears.
1. does that elephant look angry to you?
2. think that troop of monkeys on the road will mind if i scoot through?
#65
#66
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#67
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I have stumbled across some loose 3M Reflective Roadside Flaps that are often set into the roads to reflect Car Headlights. I managed to wiggle some free and punctured some holes in them; I then tied some shoelace through the holes and fashioned a makeshift reflective necklace... I chuck that on and am lit up like a Christmas Tree!
Very makeshift, but when you're out here in the jungles of Mae Hong Son, anything will do!
Very makeshift, but when you're out here in the jungles of Mae Hong Son, anything will do!
#68
Senior Member
front and rear blinky lights and a hi-vis yellow t-shirt, and reflective trouser bands most of the time.
If I have to wear something warmer that isn't hi-vis already, I'll throw this reflective vest from HarborFreight over it.
If I have to wear something warmer that isn't hi-vis already, I'll throw this reflective vest from HarborFreight over it.
#69
Senior Member
Vancouver, BC at midnight:
#70
Tips to stay visible while riding?
While I do wear a high-vis jacket, my favorite backpack is black, so I drape it with a high vis-safety vest. In the summer I wear a safety vest, in addition to the one on the backpack.
.
.
Last edited by Jim from Boston; 12-20-19 at 05:26 AM.
#71
Senior Member
This is the rain jacket that I commuted with for 10 years, and I have been retired for 8 years. The picture was taken in 2014. I have also gone through 3 other rainjackets during that time, but this one still keeps me dry. I wore it this morning riding down to the gym in the rain and darkness. The almost white area is the back of the jacket, and the brighter color is inside the zipper flap.
Last edited by Doug64; 12-20-19 at 03:46 PM.
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#72
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I normally use 3 tail lights. Two on at a time so when one goes out behind my back where I cannot see it, I still have one flashing. When the first one goes out I put on the third one so I (almost) always have two on..
#73
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Freedom
Pete Seeger once said, "that's the wonderful thing about America, we have the right to be wrong". This applies to saddles, lights and ear noise Consequences of our choices are our teachers, but hardly ever are the opinions of others.
Last edited by woodysroad; 12-22-19 at 07:42 PM.
#74
Senior Member
Or as my American med student doctor friends say about places like New Hampshire and their no motorcycle helmet laws (live free or die, license plate logo) they do make dandy organ donors....
#75
Member
I also use the Xinglet made by Amphipod. It's light, fits in a jersey pocket or bag and gives 360 degree reflectivity. It also comes in a few colors. It's very well rated and is very adjustable to fit well. It's supposed to be made for runners, but it's great for bikers. It also comes with built in strobe lights, but I got mine before the strobe model came out so I can't comment on that model.
I always carry it when I think I might be riding at dusk and always wear it in the evening.