SIX thousand and FIVE hundred lumens !!!!!!!!!!

On Tuesday, October 9, 2018 at 7:53:45 AM UTC-7, Joerg wrote:
On 2018-10-08 16:55, jbeattie wrote:
On Monday, October 8, 2018 at 4:16:43 PM UTC-7, Joerg wrote:
On 2018-10-08 16:05, John B. Slocomb wrote:
On Mon, 08 Oct 2018 11:06:53 -0700, Joerg
wrote:

On 2018-10-07 17:08, John B. Slocomb wrote:
On Sun, 7 Oct 2018 15:02:19 -0400, Frank Krygowski
wrote:

On 10/6/2018 2:49 PM, Joerg wrote:

[...]


2. It causes oncoming motorists to see the cyclist much
earlier and, for example, if a big semi comes they can
pull a bit to the right so the semi can give the cyclist
wide berth.

I do NOT believe any practical light allows a motorist to
see a cyclist _much_ earlier. In almost every case, I've
seen on-road cyclists before I noticed that they had a
light. And in no case did I see the light early enough to
make any practical difference. You're fixating on a
superstitious talisman, imagining benefits that don't exist
in real life.


I think I've mentioned seeing the bloke on a bike wearing
bright orange knee socks nearly a kilometer away :-) I
remember the orange socks but can't remember whether he had a
light on his bike or not :-)


I wonder what the reaction would be if said bloke participated
in a business meeting wearing bright orange knee socks.

The subject was bicycle visibility, not business meetings....


To me a bicycle is not just a piece of sports equipment but
foremost a transport vehicle.

Wow, that's poignant.


Well, that is how I've always seen bicycles. Over my lifetime about half
the cycling miles were not sports or fun-related. With good lighting I
can make myself very visible to traffic without being dressed like a
macaw parrot. Therefore, I can enjoy almost the same convenience as with
a car. I arrive, I lock the bike, grab whatever I have to carry from the
rack or panniers and I walk in. This is also one of the reasons why my
bikes were immediately equipped with racks and panniers when I got them.
No sweaty back from a backpack in summer.

Besides, most of this "functional clothing" is incompatible with my
body. Gives me rashes or a profuse sweat, neither of which being very
sightly at a client.


... I've been commuting to school or work for 50
years and changing my clothes for the last 40. Even when I was a
substitute teacher, I would ride to school with a backpack and change
when I got there. There is always some place to change.


Sure there is. However, as an engineer who does not work there as an
employee I find it a bit out of place to ask for a room to change. Also,
sometimes you walk in and end up right in the business. "Oh, let me
quickly introduce to Dr.So-and-so here" and then I don't want to stand
there in orange knee socks.

Heck, I even make sure I have enough water for the trip back on the bike
so I don't have to ask if I can refill in their cantina.


... I certainly
wouldn't go to a client meeting in rain drenched or sweat drenched
shirt -- or in shorts. Do you go to client meetings in t-shirts and
shorts?


Depends on which one and what the task at hand is. Like on the two
recent trips. One was with a dress shirt, a fairly new pair of
non-stoned-washed black jeans and nice black jogging shoes. This was to
test one of my designs together with their engineers, a situation where
there could also be witnesses from their customer. Another trip required
me to just pick up some stuff for testing in my lab. There I rode with
T-shirt, shorts and sandals, but all clean and no loud colors.


... but having said that I might comment that it is not difficult
to change socks, even sitting on the roadside curb.


And change all the other things sitting on a curb in a business
park? I rather flick a little switch and have instant visibility.
Upon arrival I flick it again, visibility turns off. Simple.

Do you have a side light? I'd worry about that. Pull though an
intersection and "whack." Where was your side light! You really
should have a bright side light.


The rear light does shine to the sides. Also, my parents taught me as a
kid not to blindly pull into intersections just because I have the right
of way. That has saved the bacon numerous times where people completely
missed a red light and blew through at high speed.

Spew from your rear light is not going to cut it. You NEED a dedicated sidelight. Someone I know who knows someone got killed in an intersection because he/she didn't have a side light. Everybody around here has one, at least anyone who is anyone. They are so popular that they are sold out on Amazon. You are probably the only one without a sidelight.

You also NEED the Garmin radar system. https://buy.garmin.com/en-US/US/p/518151 People get hit ALL THE TIME from the rear, and you would be a fool not to have radar -- oh yah, its "my granddaddy didn't wear seat belts," so you think it is safe enough because you haven't used radar so far. Well, think again. I use my radar, and I have avoided dozens of rear end collisions. I just know it.

And many drivers are distracted, so you NEED to have a loud horn on your bike. https://www.ebay.com/itm/183139721567 Even cars have horns! You would be crazy not to have a super-loud electronic horn on your bike. If I didn't have my horn, I would have gotten hit five or six times just riding to work this morning. I just know it.

Only fools ride without hi-viz . . . and a safety seat (those pointed noses can emasculate you!). More on my website www.beterrified.com (visit the store).

-- Jay Beattie.