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Riding at night: a strategy for survival?
Nothing new about it: The little furry mammals developed that strategy
to survive among the dinosaurs (which is why we are here)... Anyway, now my next door neighbor wants to ride at midnight... And he ain't one of those crazy bums on a Huffy. He even bought a vest with blinking lights (DUI drivers and SUV drivers chatting on the cell phone should be able to see him). And his bike cost him 2 grands (important in this hierarchal jungle where you are what you drive), so I guess he better find a use for it. The other day he told me he didn't have the nerve anymore to ride in traffic (he ain't no chicken, he's a veteran), which leads to this daring survival strategy. Actually, I do the same with my canoe, where the motorboats put me at the bottom of the food chain in the day time. Well, our dinosaurs (SUVs and motorboats) make us get smarter and get nocturnal. And I can only hope Darwin was right: "It is not the strongest of the species that survive, nor the most intelligent, but the one most responsive to change." NOTE: I told my neighbor to knock on my door. Just in case I'm sleepless... WELCOME TO THE JUNGLE http://webspawner.com/users/donquijote |
#2
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Riding at night: a strategy for survival?
Well, our dinosaurs (SUVs and motorboats) make us get smarter and get
nocturnal. Take heart: mammals emerged into the sunlight after a worldwide catastrophe. That catastrophe is occurring right now: slow in man-years but an eyeblink in geologic time. In any case, pay close attention to nighttime lighting. Both distance viewing and depth perception are greatly reduced with cheaper headlamp/bikelights. $2-300 for a quality high-wattage bikelight system I don't think would be out of line if you are serious about night-riding, especially on a fast roadbike. rms |
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Riding at night: a strategy for survival?
rms wrote:
Well, our dinosaurs (SUVs and motorboats) make us get smarter and get nocturnal. Take heart: mammals emerged into the sunlight after a worldwide catastrophe. That catastrophe is occurring right now: slow in man-years but an eyeblink in geologic time. In any case, pay close attention to nighttime lighting. Both distance viewing and depth perception are greatly reduced with cheaper headlamp/bikelights. $2-300 for a quality high-wattage bikelight system I don't think would be out of line if you are serious about night-riding, especially on a fast roadbike. I wouldn't base the quality on the price. You can spend $200-300 and end up with low-power lights that aren't suitable for a lot of types of night riding, and you can spend $60-100 and get something that works very well. The short version is a Cree 3W emitter flashlight and a high power LED tail light that has some side pointing LEDs as well as rear pointing ones. Just to nitpick, it's old-school to talk about "wattage." |
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Riding at night: a strategy for survival?
ComandanteBanana wrote:
Nothing new about it: The little furry mammals developed that strategy to survive among the dinosaurs (which is why we are here)... Riding at Night is a most excellent pastime. I'm doing a 400km Audax this very weekend that, judging by last years timing, will mean I'm riding from dusk (Saturday) to dawn (Sunday). When it's moony, and it's very late - I may ride a few short stretches without lights (in the country). I have good lights - good enough to allow me to ride downhill at daytime speeds with full confidence. Of course, I may be asleep by then... Chris |
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Riding at night: a strategy for survival?
On May 1, 3:45 pm, Jon Bendtsen wrote:
ComandanteBanana wrote: Nothing new about it: The little furry mammals developed that strategy to survive among the dinosaurs (which is why we are here)... Anyway, now my next door neighbor wants to ride at midnight... And he ain't one of those crazy bums on a Huffy. He even bought a vest with blinking lights (DUI drivers and SUV drivers chatting on the cell He could get a dynamo hub and some lights. The best dynamo hub should be SON from Schmidt, but it's rather expensive. The front and rear light could be from Busch + Muller, but schmidt has a real nice LED light comming real soon now(tm). See: http://www.peterwhitecycles.com/schmidt.asp http://www.bumm.de/index-e.html http://www.nabendynamo.de/english/index.html JonB All those lights are nice so you can see, but to be seen all you need is that blinking vest. I guess. |
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Riding at night: a strategy for survival?
ComandanteBanana schrieb:
All those lights are nice so you can see, but to be seen all you need is that blinking vest. I guess. Fortunately, that blinking bull**** is illegal, at least here. |
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Riding at night: a strategy for survival?
On May 1, 5:25*pm, Jens Müller wrote:
ComandanteBanana schrieb: All those lights are nice so you can see, but to be seen all you need is that blinking vest. I guess. Fortunately, that blinking bull**** is illegal, at least here. Where's that, Germany? What is required there? |
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Riding at night: a strategy for survival?
ComandanteBanana schrieb:
On May 1, 5:25 pm, Jens Müller wrote: ComandanteBanana schrieb: All those lights are nice so you can see, but to be seen all you need is that blinking vest. I guess. Fortunately, that blinking bull**** is illegal, at least here. Where's that, Germany? What is required there? A normal, permanently shining light (red on the back, white on the front). |
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Riding at night: a strategy for survival?
ComandanteBanana schrieb:
Anyway, now my next door neighbor wants to ride at midnight... And he ain't one of those crazy bums on a Huffy. He even bought a vest with blinking lights Args. Please don't use this blinking bull****s. It just distracts other drivers and makes them focus on the blinking. |
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Riding at night: a strategy for survival?
On May 1, 5:24*pm, Jens Müller wrote:
ComandanteBanana schrieb: Anyway, now my next door neighbor wants to ride at midnight... And he ain't one of those crazy bums on a Huffy. He even bought a vest with blinking lights Args. Please don't use this blinking bull****s. It just distracts other drivers and makes them focus on the blinking. So how is it the blinking rear lights are OK? I don't think any solid light will be strong enough to be seen by drivers who simply aren't looking for bikes at that time... if they are paying any attention at all. I was told the same thing about having blinking lights on the canoe, which I fixed. |
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