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#1
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Do you guys commute in the winter?
I live in Florida, so winter weather isn't a problem, but it gets dark at 6
PM or earlier during the winter. I work a 9 to 5 so it's dark when I get home. I have a 20 mile commute, and I'm wondering if anyone is brave enough to commute 20 miles in the pitch black. Am I being a wuss or am I being sensible by not riding in the dark? I have a dual beam Vistalite and a bunch of blinkies but I'm not sure that's enough. |
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#2
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Do you guys commute in the winter?
"Slider2699" wrote in message m... I live in Florida, so winter weather isn't a problem, but it gets dark at 6 PM or earlier during the winter. I work a 9 to 5 so it's dark when I get home. I have a 20 mile commute, and I'm wondering if anyone is brave enough to commute 20 miles in the pitch black. Am I being a wuss or am I being sensible by not riding in the dark? I have a dual beam Vistalite and a bunch of blinkies but I'm not sure that's enough. Up here in Seattle, I get to see both sunrise and sunset during my commute this time of year but it will be full dark both ways by the Solstice. I don't think it's that bad but it depends on what kind of roads you have to ride on. Very little of my ride is on major roads. I don't do it every day, but about half the time I ride to work. I wish it would rain now because it would raise the temperature in the morning by 10 or 15 degrees... |
#3
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Do you guys commute in the winter?
"Slider2699" wrote in message m... I live in Florida, so winter weather isn't a problem, but it gets dark at 6 PM or earlier during the winter. I work a 9 to 5 so it's dark when I get home. I have a 20 mile commute, and I'm wondering if anyone is brave enough to commute 20 miles in the pitch black. Am I being a wuss or am I being sensible by not riding in the dark? I have a dual beam Vistalite and a bunch of blinkies but I'm not sure that's enough. Lots of people commute in the dark routinely. Many of them actually feel safer, because their lighting and reflectors make them visible to other traffic to a degree not really achievable in daylight. I'm one of them. My 13-mile route takes me from downtown through industrial areas to the suburbs, on secondary, arterial, or residential roads, so there is street lighting (although sometimes rather ineffective) most of the way. I use bright (15- or 24-watt) headlights, multiple blinkies, lots of reflective tape, and a large reflective triangle. I might feel less confident on unlit rural roads during commuting hours; it's been too long since I've ridden in such circumstances to say how I'd feel now. I never had a problem with it when I was younger. RichC |
#4
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Do you guys commute in the winter?
Slider2699 wrote:
I live in Florida, so winter weather isn't a problem, but it gets dark at 6 PM or earlier during the winter. I work a 9 to 5 so it's dark when I get home. I have a 20 mile commute, and I'm wondering if anyone is brave enough to commute 20 miles in the pitch black. Am I being a wuss or am I being sensible by not riding in the dark? I have a dual beam Vistalite and a bunch of blinkies but I'm not sure that's enough. I recently put a bunch of reflective tape on my bike - the 3m scotchlite stuff is amazing. Works much better in most traffic situations than LED blinkies (which I also use, front and rear). Makes me feel a bunch safer. |
#5
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Do you guys commute in the winter?
I do. 55 watt light. I go faster at night than in the day actually,
cause its nice and cool. On Fri, 07 Nov 2003 03:54:14 GMT, "Slider2699" wrote: I live in Florida, so winter weather isn't a problem, but it gets dark at 6 PM or earlier during the winter. I work a 9 to 5 so it's dark when I get home. I have a 20 mile commute, and I'm wondering if anyone is brave enough to commute 20 miles in the pitch black. Am I being a wuss or am I being sensible by not riding in the dark? I have a dual beam Vistalite and a bunch of blinkies but I'm not sure that's enough. |
#6
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Do you guys commute in the winter?
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#7
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Do you guys commute in the winter?
"Slider2699" wrote:
I live in Florida, so winter weather isn't a problem, but it gets dark at 6 PM or earlier during the winter. I work a 9 to 5 so it's dark when I get home. I have a 20 mile commute, and I'm wondering if anyone is brave enough to commute 20 miles in the pitch black. Am I being a wuss or am I being sensible by not riding in the dark? I have a dual beam Vistalite and a bunch of blinkies but I'm not sure that's enough. Something to consider is that you probably show up better at night than during the day. I commuted in Florida for years, much of it in the dark and enjoyed most of the night riding. A good light and blinkies on the back make all the difference. Mark Hickey Habanero Cycles http://www.habcycles.com Home of the $695 ti frame |
#8
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Do you guys commute in the winter?
"Slider2699" wrote in
m: I live in Florida, so winter weather isn't a problem, but it gets dark at 6 PM or earlier during the winter. I work a 9 to 5 so it's dark when I get home. I have a 20 mile commute, and I'm wondering if anyone is brave enough to commute 20 miles in the pitch black. Am I being a wuss or am I being sensible by not riding in the dark? I have a dual beam Vistalite and a bunch of blinkies but I'm not sure that's enough. I live in Wisconsin. I try to commute all year long - my commute is about 14 miles, each way. But, I found that I don't like riding when there's snow on the roads. Just no fun having your front tire twist and turn in the automobile tire tracks, feeling like you're gonna slip and fall at any given time, right under a bus, semi or car! So, in winter, I only ride when I'm 'relatively' sure there will be no snow on the roads. I know, I'm a wimp! The snow stops me, but the cold or dark doesn't usually stop me. I am usually riding at 4:30am, and going home at 4:00pm, so it's dark both ways. Not a big deal. I have the VistaLite 15 system (one 5-watt aimed at oncoming traffic and one 10-watt aimed at the road) on the front, red blinkie on the bike rack, and red blinkie on the back of my hellmet (sic). And, I bought a bunch of the 3M Scotchlite reflective tape, and put it on my bike frame, my battery, my tire pump, and even my flag stick (yes, I have a US Flag waving behind my bike - best accessory I ever put on the bike!). I feel pretty safe, riding at night, but think I could use better lights to see with, on the front of my bike. Some of my commute is in the suburbs, where I might go stretches of up to a mile with no street lighting, and it would be nice to have a brighter light on the road, to see the upcoming glass, or whatever. I have been told, by one motorist (who is also a bicyclist, BTW), that, even though she thinks I have ample light, it's really hard to judge my distance and speed, as I come toward her at night. She actually passed me, going the opposite way, turned around, caught up to me, stopped me, and chatted with me! Good thing to hear. I think I'm going to add a couple white/amber blinkies to the front of my bike, too, just to be safer. On another occasion, a guy pulled up next to me at a stop light, rolled down his window, and said, "Thank you for having so much light on your bike." That was really cool! He basically told me that he could see me from 1/2 mile away, and it's nice when you can see a bicyclist so well, because many people have nothing at all on their bikes, and wear black, so a driver won't see them until it's too late. So, apparently, the combination of blinkies and reflective tape is good enough from behind! I'm still considering buying a reflective vest, with the SMV triangle on it. Can never be too safe! Well, that's my situation. YMMV. -- Smile!! __O _-\ ,_ Eric Babula (_) / (_) Milwaukee, Wisconsin, USA |
#9
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Do you guys commute in the winter?
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#10
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Do you guys commute in the winter?
I live in Florida, so winter weather isn't a problem, but it gets dark at 6 PM or earlier during the winter. I work a 9 to 5 so it's dark when I get home. I have a 20 mile commute, and I'm wondering if anyone is brave enough to commute 20 miles in the pitch black. Am I being a wuss or am I being sensible by not riding in the dark? I have a dual beam Vistalite and a bunch of blinkies but I'm not sure that's enough. Well, her in Norway where I'm living it's also getting dark now. This morning I did 35 miles most of which was in pitch darkness. Using a dual beam NightSun XC I've no problems with the darkness and traffic. It's still no snow on the roads so have not put on the studdied tires yet but wil as soon as the conditions are there. Temperatur this morning at 5:30 AM was 32F which is not bad at this time of year. Hjalmar |
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