Pedal clearance is another good reason not to hug the curb. I have one stretch of road where the curb height would be just right to pole-vault you if your pedal caught it.
You have been warned.
Slow Moving Vehicle Triangle for Biker Visibility
About 50% of my riding is at night. I never count on just one rear-facing light, particularly LED lights, because they are highly directional. I have a NiteRider taillight (the brightest taillight made as far as I know) on the rear rack.
Behind it is a highly-reflective Slow Moving Vehicle triangle. On my Camelbak are two blinking LEDs, one is most visible when I’m down in the drops, the other is higher, where it can be seen when I’m in a more vertical position.
In addition to the active lighting, I’m a big fan of reflector tape. I have strips of it on my cranks, frame and rims. In addition, my Shimano sandals have a large reflective dot on the back that is highly visible.
The manufacturer has some reflective material on my helmet, but I’ve added some tape to it, also.I find that motorists give me more room and respect at night because I don’t blend in with the visual noise present during the day.
Florida DOT: Them Is Good Folks
I have been pleasantly surprised to see how responsive Florida’s Department of Transportation was when I pointed out two drawbridges that had “Walk Bike Across Span” signs on them when they weren’t justified.
When I explained that the signs sent the wrong message to motorists, they took one of them down. The other was changed to a slippery when wet sign, which is appropriate.
I got an almost immediate e-mail response to my message and results within several weeks. (The delay was for them to investigate if there was any real reason for the signage. After several email exchanges, they agreed that there was no need for a warning on a concrete deck bridge with wide shoulders. On the other, I agreed that the steel deck was dangerous to ride when it was wet, so they put up the slippery when wet sign.)
I went to the Florida DOT web site last week looking for traffic studies so I could see if there were any good roads to ride. Within 15 minutes, I got a message saying that the stats were available on CD at no cost and that they would be in the mail that afternoon. They thought it was a cool use for the work they had done.
It’s refreshing to find folks who are willing — actually eager — to listen and help.
Stop Lights that Never Trip: Just Run Them?
There are about three stop lights on my regular route that don’t routinely detect my bike. One of them is on a fairly busy street, so I’ll usually make a right turn on red, go about 100 feet to a median cutout, cross over and make a right turn to continue on my original path.
One night there was a cop sitting in the cutout writing a report. I stopped to complain about the light and ask if he’d report it, but I’ve never seen a change. It’s not enough of an irritant for me to pursue it with the traffic department yet.
The other two intersections are either busy enough that there’s usually a car around to trip the light or there’s usually no traffic. I’ll stop for that one, wait about 30 seconds for it to cycle or not cycle and then go through the intersection.
There are some folks who would make the argument that, if I know that it’ll never trip, that I should just blow through it, but I’m one of those folks who are anal about traffic laws whether I’m on two wheels or four. (The difference is that I would probably do a right turn on red in my car if the light didn’t trip.)
Night Cycling, Blinking Lights, Harold and Maude
I have a Niterider taillight mounted to the rack that I run in flashing mode any time I’m on the road. As soon as it starts getting darker, I have a Vistalight on my Camelbak that I usually run in solid mode. I also have a clip-on blinking button-type light on the back of my helmet (They are available for $2.95 at Home Depot. I buy them by the handful and pass them out to bike riders I meet on the road at night.)
My riding shoes have a reflective strip on the heels; I wear a bright yellow jersey; I’ve added some reflective tape to the front and rear of my helmet. I also attach a small piece of reflector tape to the strap on my gloves. That way the car behind me has a better chance to see my signal at night.
The front of the bike has a NiteRider Digital Pro-12. At night I use whatever brightness is appropriate for the ambient light. During the day, I put it in into strobe mode whenever I’m in a high-traffic area with lots of cars making turns in front of me.
Despite all of the recent controversy, I like wheel reflectors. Unless you hold an absolutely straight line, at some point the car behind you is going to see the reflection. And there’s no mistaking that you’re looking at a bicycle when you see them.
Since most of my riding is at night, I like to count on the “Harold Factor” to help keep me alive. That’s when Maude pokes Harold in the ribs and says, “Harold, what’s that crazy thing in the road up ahead?”
When that happens, mission accomplished.