night riders
Date: Fri, 2 Mar 2012 00:43:40 +0000
Please don't try to tell me that bicycling at 02:00 is too dangerous, especially if you've never done it yourself. It's dark when I leave work at 19:00; it's not any darker at 02:00. There's a lot less motor traffic on the road, which I'd say makes it a lot safer for me.
If you claim that cycling at night is more dangerous than in the daytime, I reply that it's a lot harder to not notice something with my bright and abundant flashers at night. People see what they expect to see. That applies particularly to drivers, and many of them don't expect to see bicycles. The recumbent is unusual enough to catch people's attention better than the average bike in the daytime.
Traffic-wise, I feel safer at night. Pavement-wise, it's harder to see surface defects and debris after dark. Although riding the same route, the pavement doesn't change much day to day.
And if you don't want me cycling home at 02:00, are you offering to come pick me up?
Biking home from Bethesda (MD) to Mclean (VA) at 02:00 used to be a regular occurrence too. A good chunk of that was on a secluded trail, and I'd feel less secure about that. (Lots of advantages for an attacker - except the really low likelihood of anyone to prey upon. (And I was never carrying much money.))
[This entry was originally posted as http://syntonic-comma.dreamwidth.org/500683.html on Dreamwidth (where there are
comments).]
Please don't try to tell me that bicycling at 02:00 is too dangerous, especially if you've never done it yourself. It's dark when I leave work at 19:00; it's not any darker at 02:00. There's a lot less motor traffic on the road, which I'd say makes it a lot safer for me.
If you claim that cycling at night is more dangerous than in the daytime, I reply that it's a lot harder to not notice something with my bright and abundant flashers at night. People see what they expect to see. That applies particularly to drivers, and many of them don't expect to see bicycles. The recumbent is unusual enough to catch people's attention better than the average bike in the daytime.
Traffic-wise, I feel safer at night. Pavement-wise, it's harder to see surface defects and debris after dark. Although riding the same route, the pavement doesn't change much day to day.
And if you don't want me cycling home at 02:00, are you offering to come pick me up?
Biking home from Bethesda (MD) to Mclean (VA) at 02:00 used to be a regular occurrence too. A good chunk of that was on a secluded trail, and I'd feel less secure about that. (Lots of advantages for an attacker - except the really low likelihood of anyone to prey upon. (And I was never carrying much money.))
[This entry was originally posted as http://syntonic-comma.dreamwidth.org/500683.html on Dreamwidth (where there are
comments).]