Riding at night

A musicians' guild meeting prompted another night bike ride. I left my guitar at home tonight. Carrying one on a bike at night is kind of a drag. I only did it a couple of times in Salt Lake City, clipping the soft case to the pannier rack in the back. This leaves you with a big saddlebag and a pointy end on top you have to take into consideration when moving around trees. Mostly it makes you look like an ass, like you're almost homeless or maybe have a DUI.

On the face of it, riding a bike at night is inherently dangerous. But there are also safety advantages. Cars' headlights give you cues. It can be less crowded.

It can also be more pleasant, especially in the summer. It's almost 10 p.m. now and the temps have only started to fall below 90'F. The breeze is refreshing, the pulse of city nightlife exciting.

When I go night biking, I feel in control. I know where everyone is, as far as moving vehicles. However, I tend to stick to the sidewalks more than usual. Also, I'm lit up like a Xmas tree. I believe in having two sets of lights in case the one fails due to batteries or something. This goes for front and back. Also lots of reflective tape on my cycle, packs, sometimes even my clothes.

Night biking. I'm for it. But don't be out too late---there have been some bad attacks on cyclists after dark. Be careful. Be aware. I feel a bit safer when mounted high on a bicycle than as a mere pedestrian. But I stick to neighborhoods that feel safe to me anyway. There are risks, but they can be managed for a rewarding night ride.

Experiment in visibility

I was going to do a cool, cycle spoke knitting thing with this reflective thread I got, but I lost patience. I thought I'd do a kind of play on the spiderweb potential of the spokey wheel instead. Hopefully it looks cool and not stupid. Anyway it does have some reflective potential; I'm not sure how visible it is in real world conditions when it is spinning furiously like a trophy wife on an exercise bike.

Night ride across the Caucasus

OK, my adventure tonight was not as exciting as the Loreena McKennitt song. . . but it was dark.

Riding a bike at night is a damn fool thing to do, but it can be an awful lot of fun. I had a songwriters meeting to go to, so I decided to bundle that with a trip to a nearby library. It was so close that I am ashamed to state the mileage for fear of ridicule by hardcore bike commuters. However, it did require strapping on helmet, gloves, and trouser strap, then locking the bike up at the end, so it was like a real trip.

It also involved a bridge. It was twilight as I departed but on the return trip the water below was very dark and spooky. I only dared peek momentarily at the inky darkness due to my rate of travel.

There were streelights on the bridge itself as well as all over the rest of my route into the city. I had four lights going too, three of them strobes. I think I was very visible, but more importantly, I was EXTREMELY DEFERENT to motor vehicles. If an intersection was involved, and I wasn't 100% sure I was safe, I stopped to get my bearings, doing it in a way not to confuse any turning cars as to my intentions.

It was short, but I had a chance to pedal hard, and the night air was exhilirating. Biking tends to focus your senses, esp. at night. Long story short: felt good.