Conspicuity

I spent some time this weekend doing some little projects that have been on the "to do" list for way too long,  most of which involved adding visibility to my daily riding gear.

Something that I liked about my Bern helmet was the rear  plastic clip (designed for goggle retention on the ski slopes).  Most days I slipped a Planet Bike Superflash into the clip (sideways) to add an extra 3' of height to my bike light assembly.

In order to mount it on the Yakkay, I needed a loop of some sort.  I originally thought I'd put a shock cord sort of loop, and mount the light vertically instead of horizontally.  But A) I didn't have any shock cord,  B) I didn't want to make big holes in the cover for a shock cord,  and C)  the stripes on the cover are vertical, and I thought maybe the loop might look better vertical when the light isn't on.

I did have some reflective grosgrain ribbon,  and I used it to make a vertical loop that blends in nicely with the stripes on the helmet when the light is off, but holds the light clip reasonably securely (I might close the loop down a smidge if the light starts falling off.

It's surprisingly hard to take a picture of the back of one's head

I also ironed on some reflective tape on my "ugly but warm" gloves across the back of the hand.   The gloves aren't much to look at anyway, and I only wear them riding, so I didn't spend a lot of time following the contours of the seams- just put a big bar across the back.  Not subtle, but hopefully will help when signaling a turn. I will need to remember not just to put my hand out, but to turn it slightly so that the stripe is facing backward.

I have a lemon yellow "water resistant" trenchcoat, which has an inverted pleat all up the back, which I had been thinking would be a convenient place for a strip of silver that adds reflection without really changing the look of the coat.

I may do the same thing to my favorite red wool coat,  but I'm more hesitant to alter it permanently- may add a sew-on strip instead of an iron on one.

I also had some reflective adhesive strip (basically tape),  and I put a stripe of it up one panel of my leather bag.  I didn't get it in between the seams quite as neatly as it could have gone, and the effect of reflective tape on a leather bag is a bit unusual, but I think it will be relatively unobtrusive,  mostly because it's captured between two seams, so seems a bit more like it fits.

Put a tiny bit of extra tape on the Shogun,  hiding the orange VO sticker on the fenders.  I don't plan on riding the Shogun out after dark a lot (at least until I live the dream of touring)  but I think this adds a bit of reflectivity, without being noticeable.

Next, I put larger patches of 2" wide tape both front and back on the new Linus panniers.  There's a bike almost always parked along my route, with silver reflective patches on the panniers that are left on it 24/7,  and I can see them from a block away in my bike headlight.

 So I thought it would be a good addition that's not terribly incongruous with the look of the panniers.  I just cut  four 4" long pieces of tape, rounding the edges slightly to make them look a bit more finished,  and ironed them onto the heavy cotton canvas.

Finally I watched a movie and sewed a little strip of reflective grosgrain ribbon on my black softshell which is a good weight for biking, but which I don't wear much because a) it's all black and b) it's an odd length to wear with skirts.

A very busy weekend of conspicuity projects- I should be very visible these nights!  I had a recent brief conversation recently about the reflective "vests"  made by Vespertine in NYC.  Admittedly they look very fetching on models, when worn over a tank top (or less)  but I'm not sure how they'd look thrown over a coat.  For colder weather clothing, I think that adding reflective material, either sewn on, or iron on, in such a way that it follows the natural seams of the garment is more effective because it's not something extra I have to remember.  If done well it doesn't have to look like a bike specific costume, but instead can be an "inconspicuous" part of an everyday piece of clothing or luggage.

Don't look now

But the days are officially getting longer now (in this hemisphere anyway)!

It's nice to be over the hump and headed towards more and more light in the afternoon/ evening.
Even though it's a long series of gradual changes before it will really make things better, it's nice to know it's coming.

Rainy inspiration

I rode home in a bit of rain  a couple of nights ago,  and I'm happy to say that Minerva's hub brake passed with flying colors!  Even the Koolstops on the back weren't doing much of anything, but the hub brake worked flawlessly, even in a pretty consistent drizzle., and then rode in in a bit more rain than I would have liked to ride in.  I wore my butter yellow trenchcoat, and was perfectly dry.

 I don't love riding in the dark AND the rain,  and so I turned on every light at my disposal:  Superflash on my helmet,  steady generator taillight, backup blinkie on seat post,  "to see" light (IQ Cyo)  and christmas lights on my bike wreath.  Literally lit up like a Christmas tree.

I can't wrap my head around why anyone would ride without lights, and I saw a couple of them .  I wanted to ask them, in a sincere, non snarky way, why?  Did they forget them, or forget to turn them on?  Have them stolen and haven't replaced them yet?  Feel that they're too expensive?  Do they think they're not effective, or not necessary?
It feels like cyclists tend to divide into three camps.  Arms racers, (who tend towards the stereotype of the "bike commuter" in neon gortex)  who have the latest 1400 lumen Magic Shine, often in seizure inducing flash mode)  Ninjas,  who have nothing,  and the middle ground of citizen cyclists, who have a cheap set of blinkies,  probably don't identify as "cyclists"  and who are just getting from A to B on their bike.

I'm much less likely to ride TO work in the rain, because, as happened yesterday, I have to sit in my clothes if I get wet.  In my defense, it wasn't really raining (just spitting a bit) when I left the house, and I was running late, so I didn't have time to take the T.  I just threw on a shell and hopped on my bike, and got damper as I went along. My wool tights and leather boots are fine, but my cotton skirt got soaked below the hem of my jacket.  Should have pulled the trench coat off the rack instead.

I did however have what I think might be a very useful idea.   I've been flirting with raincapes, including the possibility of making my own out of waxed canvas.   However, they have a sail like tendency,  and I just don't ride in the rain enough to make them useful.  Rain pants seem like too much work, and too hot, and I have to change my clothes to wear them  but what if I made a rain skirt?  Something just below the knee,  full cut to slip over whatever skirt I was wearing,  and with a simple elastic waist to hold it in place. It would self-ventilate like a cape would (to some extent).  I'm really excited about the possibilities of this as something that wouldn't require as much pattern making as a cape, but which would protect me better if I do choose to ride in the rain.

Against my better judgement I'm going to post photos on the internet of the prototype- a drawstring garbage bag, from which I removed the end,  using the drawstring as a waistband.

the small brown dog looks on with curiousity
Works pretty well, but doesn't win any style points.  Stay tuned for further, and hopefully more fashionable developments.

And on a final note,  I stopped at the store tonight for this:

Yes, as a matter of fact that IS 7 pounds of butter.

Let the holiday baking begin!

Brief commercial interruption

I'm not a sponsored blog, but I'm a big believer in dynamo lighting, and the reason that most people don't use it the cost/ hassle of finding a pre-built wheel or having a custom wheel built up.

I just saw that Clever Cycles is offering an amazing deal on dynamo wheels- $99 for either 26" or 700c.  (unfortunately it doesn't look like it's the 26" that fits old Raleigh bikes- stupid tire conventions)

Pair that with a $60 Lyt and you'll never need batteries again.  IIRC my generator hub alone was more that $99, several years ago.  While this one is probably not the same line, it's a nice deal, and I thought it was worth passing along.

We now return to our regularly scheduled riding!