For all those who would rather not be blinded by the light

[salsabike]

Post from a local rider/blogger (http://cliftongk1.livejournal.com/117938.html)



Sure sign it's Fall

* Oct. 1st, 2009 at 10:54 AM

Distance cycling
It's not the crisp night air (there ya go Dr. C; another one to tally up.)
It's not the misting rain.
It's the dozens of people who decided to "upgrade" their lighting systems from the AA-battery powered barely-a-nightlight they previously had, to more lumens than a monster truck with a rack of KC Daylighters. I'm sure everyone's seen at least one of these clowns. Sure, more lighting makes you more noticeable when you're on the street; but do us all a favour.
- Aim your 1200 lumen quad-head ultra-widebeam symmetrical lensed retina blaster at the ground where it might do you some freakin' good!
- Turn some of them off when you're on the MUP.

Seriously, lighting of that caliber should need a licensure test before purchase. Just one question would be fine:
True/False: If a 1W LED lamp can throw 60 lux at 10m and be enough light for a rider doing a 35mph midnight descent on an unfamiliar road, you obviously need a 900 lumen system rated for 24hr MTB racing for your 3 mile commute on the Sammamish River Trail.
Answering "True" allows the rider nothing more than a pack of waterproof camping matches to light their way.

* Location:cubicle
* Mood:Still seeing spots

[PscyclePath]

They don't call them "bike ninjas" for nothin'...

If a good number of these folks had heard of lights or reflectors, I wouldn't have to spend so many lumens to see and avoid them out there. Runners are probably the worst... No reflective stuff, a firm belief that flat black is a fasnionable color for exercise after sundown, and running against the flow of traffic. That's why my Stella is usually running in "ninja detection mode" on those unlighted sections of trails and back streets.

[OakLeaf]

Wait, are you saying you'd like it if runners were supposed to keep their backs to traffic?!

(on blind hills and in blind corners I do that, since it's easy for a runner to [1] hear approaching cars and bicycles, [2] turn her head to see them and [3] cross the road - we talked about it a bit in the running subforum - but as a general rule it's pretty unsafe...)

But on the other stuff, I'm totally with ya, and it's not just runners, it's all pedestrians. Probably people who are walking for transportation, much more so than runners, actually. Myself, I'm a total dork about hi-viz wear no matter what my sport. I'll probably need a hi-viz wetsuit if I ever start to do tris.



ETA: I said that as a joke, but the more I think about it... why the heck are wetsuits black, when watersports are the most dangerous of all sports just because an injury or temporary problem that would be totally minor on land, can turn into drowning so quickly? Why should swimwear make it so difficult for rescuers to find a person?

[Eden]

On roads without sidewalks (in Washington at least) you are legally required to walk against the flow of traffic.

On MUPs on the other hand everyone runners and walkers included should keep to the right.

Also - in the dark, hi-viz is pretty useless.... only lights/reflectors will get you seen. I've come up on runners who probably thought they were being responsible - wearing lots of white or yellow. They are still invisible until the last minute.

[channlluv]

...

ETA: I said that as a joke, but the more I think about it... why the heck are wetsuits black, when watersports are the most dangerous of all sports just because an injury or temporary problem that would be totally minor on land, can turn into drowning so quickly? Why should swimwear make it so difficult for rescuers to find a person?

Not to mention the whole shark bait thing. You can't look much more like a seal than when you're in a full body wetsuit.

Our local favorite ride around the lake is closing the gates at 6:30pm now, and the sun is setting earlier and earlier, which means DH is riding in the dusk/dark after work. After the time change, it will be dark at 4:30 in the afternoon. He's designed and is building an LED light for his bike, and even though I always ride in the morning, I want to get lights for my bike, too. A friend bought me a headlamp for my bike for my birthday, but DH sort of rolled his eyes a bit at it and said, "If you want to get seen, maybe, but that's not bright enough to let YOU see much of anything, or anyone."

He rides amongst the ninjas, too.

Roxy

[PscyclePath]

On roads without sidewalks (in Washington at least) you are legally required to walk against the flow of traffic.

On MUPs on the other hand everyone runners and walkers included should keep to the right.

Arkansas law is the same... if you're running or walking on a public roadway, you should be on the "wrong" side of the road, facing oncoming traffic. On the MUPs, signs are posted at all access points directing everyone to walk right, run right, and ride right.

Ninja season is closing in fast, though...

[Grog]

I do try to turn my light a bit down, but I do need to see far ahead of me. I right in total darkness through a park. I'm not too worried about ninjas (although I did see a guy running out of a trail at 6:30 this morning), but coyotes could be on the road. Or I could run over something and lose control. No thanks.

In other areas however where there's lots of city light, I turn down the intensity.

[Eden]

I do try to turn my light a bit down, but I do need to see far ahead of me. I right in total darkness through a park. I'm not too worried about ninjas (although I did see a guy running out of a trail at 6:30 this morning), but coyotes could be on the road. Or I could run over something and lose control. No thanks.

In other areas however where there's lots of city light, I turn down the intensity.

As long as it is shielded and/or pointed down a bit you can leave it as bright as you like.... seriously it only blinds people coming at you if its right shining in their eyes. I point my bright light down and leave a flashing one pointed straight out.