Night riding...

You may have noticed by now that it is a bit on the dark side by the time you get home in the evening, and not much more time will pass before it is that way when you walk out the office door. Though it has not always been the case, I have fallen into the category of part-time bike commuter, the part-time part coinciding with daylight savings time. Needless to say I am likely done with it until the Spring. However, I detest the rollers, will never belong to a gym or spinning studio, yet need to ride during the week. Don't fret, with proper preparation there is no need to pack it in during the dark months. There are two things to consider; lighting, for visibility, and clothing, for comfort, health, and visibility.
Perhaps the most obvious requirement for riding at night is a good lighting system, both a headlight and rear light. In the 15 or more years that I have been riding in the dark, I have really only used one brand of headlight -NiteRider. The first was a relatively early system, which used I think, 5 D-sized batteries held in a water-bottle shaped container. It was bulky and heavy, and not very efficient. One day while riding into work I hit an especially bumpy railroad crossing, the battery pack bounce out of the the waterbottle cage (where it was held), snapping the cord, and that was the end of that. Next came a more compact version with a smaller, though more powerful headlamp powered by a smaller, rechargable battery pack. This worked well for a number of years, but even rechargable batteries give up the ghost eventually. My current headlight is the NiteRider MiNewt with rechargable lithium-ion battery pack. The MiNewt is the most compact headlight I have used. It attaches easily, is light weight and provides adequate light for the area in which I ride. It is not the most powerful, is not the longest lasting, but also is not the most expensive either. I have been using it for at least four years now. The specs say it has a 3 hour run time at a constant output. This pretty much corresponds to what I have been getting from it; I will generally recharge the battery after every third night out, although I can sometimes stretch it to four. There are two reasons to use a lighting system - first so that you can see, not a huge deal for me, as the streets I ride on have plenty of street lights. The second, and more important, reason is so that you can be seen by other road users, and in this the MiNewt seems to perform as needed - I am yet to have a close call by someone turning into my path. The MiNewt is a basic headlight and only has one power setting. Sometimes if I know I will be out longer, or believe the battery may be near the end of a cycle I will carry the NiteRider UltraFazer in my pocket as an emergency back-up. Though not nearly as bright, it mounts quickly and serves its purpose.

Tail lights come in many varieties and even colors; I prefer the standard red. I do think it is important to find one with a flash option (I think most come with it). The NiteRider model which I currently use has 3 different flash patterns, as well as static. I recommend using a flash pattern since a static red can tend to blur into and get lost amongst the multitude of auto tail lights, especially on busy streets. The flashing is easier to discern. I have used a number of Cateye models over the years as well, and they have all been about the same - the main difference being the way they mount. I prefer the kind of bracket that mounts to your seatpost with a bolt and nut; the other common kind tightens much like a hose clamp, the protruding end of which rubs against my leg no matter where I mount it. It is a personal preference, but something to think about none-the-less.

So, that is my little spiel on lighting. It turned out to be longer than I expected, so I will do a follow-up post on appropriate clothing for nighttime riding during these dark months in Southern California in the near future.