Night riding

[malaholic]

I am a newbie who just recently started riding at night also....the lack of peripheral vision is a little odd, but I'm finding that I really enjoy it. You'll want to wear shades with clear or yellow lenses so that you'll still have eye protection - especially because bugs will be attracted to your bike lights. Bright and/or reflective clothing is definitely helpful, especially on your legs where the motion will call attention to the reflectors, but realize the cars are going to be fairly close to you already by the time they see your reflective clothing or bike reflectors. Bike lights are the most important factor both for seeing and being seen.

Regarding front lights, there are a lot of choices out there for a lot of different price points; your choice will be dependent on how much you want to spend, and what you need for where & how long you'll be riding. For me, 10 miles of my commute are on a moderate-traffic road with no shoulder whatsoever, so I ended up getting an HID light (Planet Bike Alias HID) and I don't regret it even though it was pricey, because I know my beam can be seen on the road from a long way out from all directions (I'll possibly be mistaken for a motorcycle or a car with one headlight out - but I'll be seen nonetheless ) I have a Planet Bike Superflash blinky as my rear light.

I also carry with me a small, inexpensive LED headlamp (Petzl Tikka) as a backup. It will serve as an emergency light in the event that either my battery or bulb fails, and it will give me hands-free lighting in the event that I need to change a flat.

Good luck with the night riding, let us know how it goes!