This morning's commute and other commuting stories

Logically you're way more likely to be hit by a driver that's not looking, so it doesn't matter what colour you're in. The remaining drivers have seen you and still want to hit you, therefore you should really be trying to hide from them. Conclusion:

Safety Black™ as modeled by the sexiest broken coccyx this side of Tallahassee.

Safety Black™

This is the truth. Be safe, don't be seen.

That is stringent logic with an irresistible conclusion. I mean, I already try to keep everything on my bike black-on-black, so I shouldn't have to change too much to go full ninja!

I think wearing normal clothes commuting a few miles daily on a bicycle is damn cool and the plastic hat dayglo warriors look bloody awful. I don’t think it really has much of an effect on others but I agree it might affect one’s own ‘attitude’ in some general way.

I find I've become far less combative/more zen on the road since I went Dutch. (Technically Dutch-style... it's actually a Swedish bike).

I ride slow, comfortable and in my regular clothes/shoes.

Best decision I ever made.

Yeah that's the thing though, I went from 'a few miles daily' to 'a few more miles daily' to '10+ miles one way' - it's now definitely worth wearing full lycra to me, just for the comfort on the bike. And I need to shower at the end of it anyway, so I might as well sweat in clothing that is designed to deal with sweat.

I'm not going to become one of those people who are yellow from top to bottom though.

Thank god. Been worrying me to distraction.

I was never hit from behind until I had a hi-viz bike...

#maynotbefacts

Absolutely agree with every word of this.

plastic hat dayglo warriors look bloody awful

This thought in particular chimes with my experience of changing riding style...

I’ve been hit a few times, I find no correlation between colour of clothing however safety black makes the most sense to me so I have been fully endorsing it for a year or so now and so far, still alive

If you ride as if you expect everybody to not see you, if they don’t see you it makes no difference.

I wear all black but have lights so bright no one can see anything.

Until your bike lights are metal-cutting lasers, talk to the hand.

I don’t give a fuck how bright people’s lights are, just point the top of the beam about 25m ahead of you, as required.

And get in the sea with the flashing shit.

Safety Black is an awesome phrase. Did @hippy coin it? I recall he’s the first I saw use it some years back.

I did point mine down but it melted the road and slowed me down. I figured blinding other people was preferable.

Seriously this is fucking me right off at the moment.

I don’t give a fuck how bright people’s lights are, just point the top of the beam about 25m ahead of you, as required.

Uh mate, if I point my light 25m ahead of me, you WILL get blinded. Totally blinded. I'm pointing it about 4-5m ahead of me, that's about the right balance for these lights.

I was using it back when I was posting on bicycle newsgroups in Oz (and everything I owned was black). I've never seen anyone else refer to it so maybe. One of my 2004 posts mentions me wearing my safety black. :) Could have stolen it from Chris too, she used to refer to Fitzroy safety black. Damn, I'm not as original as I thought.

Some drivers are simply bike blind!
Returning from Staines early pm.
One car turns right across me inro a stationary line of traffic I was whizzing past.
Mile or so further on, marked cycle path, faded green aggregate on green resin, worn delineating white edge lines.
Slow moving single line of traffic.
Driver wishing to turn left into this stream thanks another driver for allowing a gap, sees me approaching and still starts to pull out until waken from her daydreaming by my shout!
6'2", white cycle helmet, dayglo Polaris cycle jacket. You can't miss me!
But, drivers do.

Have you got a Pilen? Would you recommend that bike in particular? Seriously considering getting one for the commute, although I'm based in Leeds so will probably have to get it posted from the Flying Dutchman shop without being able to try it out first...

Top of your beam. This does depend on the beam shape, a lot of MTB lights are way too bright for road use and not flat-topped.

I’m glad you dip yours.

I read somewhere you’re supposed to tilt to stop the beam top at 25m.

The Aldi light I got recently has a strobe mode. It is a handy one to deploy against the dazzlers.

Fair enough - my beam isn't quite focused enough to be able to determine a clear 'top', so I just angle it down enough that people coming the other way only go half-blind instead of fully blind...

Also you'll be glad to know I don't use the flashing mode at night. I have used it before during the daylight though, where the steady light is completely unnoticeable despite it being a pretty strong light.