CycleBanter.com - View Single Post

Zoot Katz · December 24th 05, 08:27 AM posted to uk.rec.cycling,rec.bicycles.misc

On 23 Dec 2005 08:02:24 -0800, wrote:

So you cool young dudes and dudettes - put lights on your bike, and
carry a tiny LED light when you walk (if you ever do actually walk).
Use reflective stuff, too. It doesn't take much, but it takes
_something_ bright to be seen.

Remember, we old fogies are not only unfashionable and confused, we're
half blind!

uhh, judging by the vernacular aesthetics, across differing youth
populations today, one could reasonably conclude that the fashionably
cool dudes and doodettes are at least half bind too.

I causally, at 2am, stopped a couple of perforated and studded punks
on the street and asked them if they thought my belt was cool.

He liked the belt. She liked the buckle. Then they looked closer at
six of the others I had and realised they were recycled bicycle parts.
That got them both excited and I respectfully listened to what they
had to say. (hmmm)

They're not so blind they can't spot kool zut when they see it.

My night vision has diminished somewhat. No cloudy halos though unless
it's through a water droplet lens. Even then I'm most often able to
spot the silhouette of a stealth rider against the background street
lighting. The riders with red blinkies, front and rear, are worse than
a stealth rider, IMO.

Know that stealth riding plainly and simply requires a different
technique than you or I choose to practice. We're lit. They see us so
stealth riders will stay out of _our_ way. No need for knotted
knickers.

It makes cycling safer for us because we can always point to some
stats and show that some certain percentage of unlit cyclists
experience car/bike collisions at night.
--
zk