Audax rides

Depends whether you hate other riders with flashing lights or not.

I don't know where I stand on the blinky light thing.

'Don't be a dick if you have a 75 lumen rear light' would have been sufficient.

I followed someone on LAL a few years back who'd not figured out how to dim the brightness on their Exposure Blaze (non-blinky mode), I can still see the beam on my retina

What's that mean? Someone is going to ban blinkies?

I use blinkies to stop cars running into me. If other riders don't like it, get off my wheel.

It's like people complaining about some TV program - change the channel!

I followed

Is the key here.

He was the only other rider for miles, I was lonely

Yes it's like the mudguards rule - something about cafe owners not letting you in covered in mud or somesuch. Oh well, what's wrong with sitting on the cold ground eating crisps

I almost never use mudguards but put them on for Wessex series. Probs a good move given the surfaces but I can't even remember if bits were wet or not. When I've been covered in grime I'll just clean myself up and not dwell inside a place.

Lights are for my safety. It's easy enough to pass an annoying light or drop back so I'm not going to reduce my safety just for the convenience of someone sitting on my wheel. These days it's usually my missus on my wheel and she has the bright blinky. Someone gave her grief about it on ALPI so I suggested politely he caught us so why doesn't he fuck off around us if it's so annoying.

Crazy bright front lights are different matter, because you tend to meet them suddenly and the glare is blinding, so I would always try to dip them unlike half the cunts in cars I meet at night...

On something like PBP, where you're often in bunches and working together, I'd deffo switch off the blinking. I think that's mandatory anyway isn't it?

this is excellent discourse! I'd get behind this.

I voted against it and just re-read the instructions for my Exposure Tracer.

Voted against it even though I mostly run a solid dyno rear light.

Voted for it. Does a blinky light actually make you more visible to vehicles? Doesn't it just make it harder for a vehicle to judge how far away you are? Genuine question, not trying to shit-stir.

Yes it does. It also lets others know "this is almost certainly a bicycle" rather than some random red light on a generator or windmill or something. Optimally you'd run steady and flashing.

Blinky lights are irritating as fuck, I thought this already was a rule tbh

Isn't that the argument made for pedal reflectors, biomechanical movement or something. Not that I'm about to fit those

Moving lights/ reflectors increase visibility. Flashing lights do not but do reduce distance perception and arguably increase target fixation.

Does the ban include using flashing lights during daytime?

I've got reflective tape on crank arms. It was a rule for some events but I've seen it from a distance and it looks odd, but visible.

There's some study data here. I'm remaining blinkered on the issue (see what I did there?)

https://bicycles.stackexchange.com/questions/2294/safety-data-which-is-safer-head-tail-lights-which-blink-or-emit-a-steady-beam

This article was linked out from the Lost Dot race manuals
https://www.theguardian.com/environment/bike-blog/2013/jan/10/cycling-high-visibility-safe-fluorescent

That said, I found it interesting that the studies seemed to show motorbike lights are most obvious to drivers when they stand out from
the crowd, for example if they're a different shade or set up as a
combination of sources.

That ties in with the longstanding cycle light orthodoxy of flashing
LEDs. I take this one step further by using two lights at the front
and the rear, with differing flash patterns and, where possible,
different shapes - hence my new, somewhat early-days-of-rave auxiliary
back light.

Cheers. I've often ridden up to a red light on the side of the road, thinking it was a cyclist but turned out to be a light on a farm gate or in the US I remember the wind turbine lights in Kansas looking like bikes when all the other detail is removed in the darkness. I've now got two of the Blaze lights, one for the missus and one for me as well as the dynamo light (depending on which bike I'm on). Unless it's illegal and even then I'll probably ignore it, we'll be using blinkies and the Blaze are good during the day too.

Might be discussed in some of the links above but doesn't a flashing light also increase the perceived brightness of the light?

Yeah, that's mentioned in the link I posted.

I’ll be less lazy and read things next time.

Who here has done Brevet Cymru? Timing works quite well for me and happy to travel if the route is good which I'm guessing it is?

I've done it maybe 5 or 6 times, it is a classic and a great route. First 150km to Llandovery via Hay on Wye is fairly benign. The 150km loop from Llandovery through Tregaron and New Quay then back to Llandovery is tough but it's the 40km from Tregaron to New Quay which tends to destroy the legs (especially on fixed). Last 100km back to Chepstow has a couple of climbs but nothing too steep. You can usually grab a bit of sleep if needed at Llangattock about 50km from the finish.
Top tip - don't overdo the food at the Mariners chippy at New Quay, there's quite a climb that starts immediately as you leave the control

Ok great, that's good to know, thanks.