"Obnoxiously" Bright

In figuring out what to wear in our cycling, we have gone to bike shops and looked around on the web. But we have also been looking at what other cyclists are wearing (you know, the ones running in packs with various colored, tight-fitting jerseys and shorts with ads all over them).

From what we could learn on the web (and we all know that everything on the web is true... ;-), and from what we have observed as we have ridden and driven around, multi-colored or multi-patterned jerseys, no matter how brightly colored or patterned, often fade into the surrounding background, especially on city streets.

We came to the conclusion that a single, bright color (almost obnoxious color), might stand out better. And we decided to go with that approach. The color in the photo below actually matches pretty closely the new warning sign colors that the city is putting up for pedestrian cross walks and the like (and in addition, one of the fire departments here in the valley has their vehicles painted this color -- though granted, they are big, have lots of flashing lights, and very loud sirens).

And as for those bike shorts... Hey, I'm almost lying down, so I want comfortable as opposed to aerodynamic. Hence the comfortable cargo pants. I still use reflective strips that I slap onto my pants legs (or around my ankles for when the pants change to cargo shorts during the summer).

Over Twelve Miles and Climbing

As practice for the Tour de Tucson, we headed over to Scottsdale and did a 12 and half mile ride along the Indian Bend Wash green belt. Twelve miles might not seem altogether that long, but for us (who have only been cycling again for the last two month), it was a good workout.

What’s nice about this area is that it has a wide, two-way, non-motorized path that runs the length of the green belt (north-south) with under- or overpasses for the major streets.

It was a bit warm today (mid 80s), but will seem like winter when we get to our summer temperatures of 110 or 115 (with 80s and 90s as the lows).

I think I will be looking into a helmet cam. It was a bit harrowing to be steering with one hand and holding a camera in the other.

Eye-to-Eye With Bumpers

Being eye-to-eye with the bumpers of most cars and trucks can be a bit disconcerting. As such I wanted to be noticed as much as possible. To that end, I have put some additional flags and color on the flag whip on the back of the trike as well as a number of lights.

Apparently color glow pink (fluorescent pink) does not occur in nature (or at least is rare), so the human eye picks up on it as something "unnatural" and draws the viewer's attention to it. So I have put some flapping glow pink ribbons on the whip just below the orange Catrike flag and also put some windings of glow pink duct tape on as well.

I thought it good to be seen from the front (for on-coming traffic). I found a headlight/tail light pair, the Ascent Jet Set, that is small, light-weight, yet extremely bright. The headlight holds five very bright white LEDs and can be set to be on steady or on in a strobing affect (which is very noticeable). I wanted to have two of these lights in the front, one strobing, one on steady. The Catrike has a rod and half T at the end of the pedal boom. This was fine for holding one light, but I wanted two lights and a computer there (it was convenient and easy-to-see to have the computer right in front of me – you can see that in the photo). I invested in an add on T-bar that slips into the end of the boom rod. You can check these out at http://www.hostelshoppe.com/ (the full location, which may change, was http://www.hostelshoppe.com/cgi-bin/readitem.pl?Accessory=983907300). I also had to get a shim to use this on my Catrike. This allowed me to place two of the Ascent Jet Set headlights and a computer on the front boom without interfering with my pedaling.

I outfitted the back of the trike with three tail lights. The center light (which is just the tail light from a Planet Bike 1200 light set) I keep on steady, and the two outside lights (the tail light portion of the Ascent highlight/tail light pairs) flash. Granted, during the day, these may not be that noticeable, but at dawn, dusk, or night, they really stand out. And as far as the front lights... My son told me, after riding toward him at night, that I looked like a very bright, flashing, glowing orb of light at around knee level coming down the street -- odd, but very noticeable.