BIKEPGH MESSAGE BOARD ARCHIVE

yes i rode 10 miles on the montour trail had my lights on blinking the whole time i only saw 5 other people all on foot i was the only one on a bike

I walked today, because I needed the exercise. A lot of bikes passed me.

I'm usually a "rear-reflectors-are-all-that-is-necessary" sort of guy, but I saw at least one person in dark grey/black with a black bike and helmet going down Fifth and looking kinda invisible.

This was a guy with fenders and a good cross bike, so probably not a ninja hipster, but how he blended in half a block away was scary.

OF course, any driver who was as attentive as a driver SHOULD be would have seen him in plenty of time. But still.

Good day for rear lights.

I was running around Sunday morning in this same kind of fog, and today, and have noticed that about 1/3 of the automobile drivers are too fking stupid or lazy to put their lights on in the fog, so yes if you are biking, lights on, use all available visibility. Pretend it's night.

Today the difference between the hills and valleys is amazing, on top of the hills it is the most unbelievable crystalline clear sky.

My office is in Mercy Hosptial overlooking the Birmingham and Hot Metal Bridges.

When I arrived about 50 minutes ago, you couled not see the Brimingham and everything was grey , then the top of the Birmingham became visible under a blue sky, but you still couldn't see the river. Now you can see the fog bank on the other side of the Hot Metal Bridge.

Gorgeous.

If I had a camera set to take a pic every 2 minutes the sequence would have been incredible.

Yep. View from the 25th floor of the Regional Enterprise Tower downtown is finally clearing. I can see the South Side Slopes, but it looks like the Mon River Valley east of the Birmingham bridge continues to trap heavy fog.

In the fog I have found I really like a constant on red light as well as a flasher (o two). The fog really carries the flash but can make it hard for the driver to find the cyclist. The addition of a constant on light helps tremendously. (based on me tailing someone on my bike from a car and seeing many cyclists around town when not on bike)

Random side note: There is great value in driving past your own lights to see how you will be seen.

+1 on the constant red and flashing combo. I have had mrs. marvelous follow me in the car in different weather and light situations to tell me what works best. And that combo and reflective clothing or reflective tape on the bike seems to work the best.