Tag Archives: Safety

NiteRider Lumina 700 Light

NiteRider Lumina 700 light

I friend of mine goes on night rides often and this is the light he has. I got to check out the earlier model when he made the upgrade to the 700. Just a couple times and I could see the value in having a high output light.

Charges by mini USB, same as my phone, and can be set to only put out approx 40 lumens to have a run time of 18hrs. Or 1.5hrs at highest setting and 2 other levels in between plus a rapid flashing mode. Good clamp, good quick release, the on/off is a press button rather than a slide switch.

Over all a very good light. Not heavy, some US parts or assembly.. I can’t remember b/c i pitched the box. Pretty sure this will be added to the touring kit, and not as a replacement to my headlamp. I figure I will be on tour when the days are short and I may need to get someplace. Plus safety and shit.

Bought this on a deal.

niterider.com

Update: Stolen Jan. 2013 and it was worth it to buy another one.

October 5th, 2011

October 5th, 2011

Woke up at 8
Stayed in tent til 9
A light rain as I took the tent down but not long.
Weny back to breakfast spot Liam and I walked to yesterday.
Not a hard choice, I could see it from my camp spot.
French toast, eggs and large OJ. Same as yesterday.
As I sat there Tyler came in to say hi. Must have seen my bike outside. He gave me chocolate, just like the last time I saw him. Said Franky was in the coffee booth and wished me good travels.
Was going to jet but figured it wouldn’t hurt to get a coffee. Franky was there and said she would be in NYC this weekend. The occupy wall street thing was on her list of to-dos. And she asked about places to eat.

I was on the road by 11am. 7 South.
Cool and cloudy but dry and looking like there might be sun in the afternoon. The wind was on my back.
Not riding fast but not trying real hard. The roads were mostly flat. Some rolling small hills.

I had not really rode since the 22nd of Sept if I don’t count the race.

I’d spent more time in Burlington than anywhere. I had a good time. Made friends.

I don’t know how to put it to words but as I rode away I felt very down. Not for leaving. But for riding. I didn’t want to be riding a bike. I didn’t want to be so far from Brooklyn. But even if I was closer, or even there, I’d have felt no better. Pretty easy day for riding and the last thing I wanted was to ride.
What I wanted was to be at a party with refreshments. I want to be done. I don’t want to take photos. I don’t want to eat. Or stop for water. I want to be done. Soon. But I know I’m no better off. I have not changed.
Doesn’t matter. After about 50 miles I felt better.
Did about 97 miles
I’m almost exactly 200 from NYC. Of course this is measured by shortest route.
At about the half way point home from here right now there is a friend from Machias, Julia. She invited me to stay on my way home. I emailed her and learned she is leaving tomorrow for the weekend and won’t be back till Tuesday.
I would need to ride 100 miles to get there anyway.
But if I get a early/on time start tomorrow. And if the wind and roads are anything like today, 100 should not be too bad.

B-line.
Ball line.
Like a ball rolling down a hill. Shortest, straightest.

Tented up close to the road. An abandoned business. On a slab of concrete behind a tree. But under the overhang and next to the building.

Cooked soup. And almost burnt my tent down with this new stove fuel. It was acting up then a big fire ball popped out. After that I moved it outside the tent then it decided to behave normal.

20111006-4698

Adventure Medical Kits Ultra/Watertight 0.5

I bought this because, why not. It’s light and if I use it just once, for myself or for someone else, it’ll be money well spent. I added a few extra water proof bandages and small tube of triple antibiotic ointment. And a slip of paper with my emergency contact. I’ll keep this in a small outside pocket of my rear pannier, I’d like to find a little basic “first aid” patch to sew onto that pocket.

“Assembled in USA of imported and domestic components”

 

Bike Light Set

 

Shit is expensive. $25 each. I bought these when NYC cops were out to ticket bikers for everything.

Bought at local bike shop.

Cateye is made in China.

The rear blinky is a Planet Bike, who are based in Madison, WI but the light is made in Taiwan

 

Bike Peddler Take A Look Eyeglass Mirror

Bike Peddler Take A Look Cycling Eyeglass Mirror.

I used to use a Cateye BM-300G Racing Mirror (made in Japan) on my other touring bikes but when switching from STI to bar-end shifting I lose that option. I want to have a mirror when I think I need one, so this is coming along. We’ll see how long it lasts. One thing I liked about the Cateye was if I got a bug or dirt in my eye I would have a mirror right there and it worked for shaving my face too. That’s why I’m going to bring it minus the bar end plug part, it’ll be my vanity mirror compared to this tiny little thing.

One thing I like about this mirror is in the old photos of my dad riding his road bike, like from before I was born or only old enough to be carried in a trailer behind his bike, he had one of these.

Cost: $15

Made in USA

 

Cateye BM-300G Racing Mirror

Cateye BM-300G Racing Mirror
Cateye BM-300G Racing Mirror

Cateye BM-300G Racing Mirror

This was my mirror for a while. When I set up for my first tour i was really still just a kid but i listened to older advice of having a mirror on my bike. Maybe a little dorkish but it was for my own use. I skipped the advice of mounting an orange safety flag.

I still carry the mirror, minus the bar end mounting bit, for shaving.

Made in Japan

Outdated Hand Signals

I think that riding through many new towns and cities a cyclist is bound to not have a good understanding of drivers attitudes. Signaling helps. The reason I’m thinking of this subject is because I was riding in Brooklyn and some guy rode by me and did what’s in this image showing “right turn”. My thought was – no driver is going to understand what that means. These signals were made for drivers way back before cars had turn signals. And all these signals use the left arm because a driver could not safely stick their right arm out the window. To use this Right Turn signal while riding a bicycle is silly.

As a bike rider we can use either arm to make a turn signal.

Left turn = left arm extended
Right turn = right arm extended

Keep it simple.

 

NYC Tour Brass Bell

I guess in some cities, like NYC, it is a ticketable offense to ride without a bell on your bike. I mean safety’s great and all but I ring the bell for other reasons.

I think of bells on bikes like horns on autos. They communicate thoughts, they express ideas, they say something.

I have some other bell on my work bike but for my touring bike I went the brass bell route. I think what I like about the other bell is that I can ring it with a trigger and the back and forth is a ring with each movement. So it has a lot of control over the sound. 1 ring, 2 rings, 1 ring then 3 real fast, whatever.

I guess I bought this brass bell because it’s got some old style to it. And it’s louder. It comes in 50mm or 55mm versions, I think I have the 55mm. But this thing has a hammer strike so the tempo control is limited but it gets easier with practice.

I mounted it sideways to the quill section of my stem and the hammer lever sticks up above the flat part of the stem. It takes a pull/release motion to ring.

I bought this at a local bike shop.

Cost: $12

Made in Japan