April 16, 2005
Light 'em if you got 'em
Greg has very enthusiastically mentioned his hip new bike lights, and after pedalling 'round town with him last night, I picked up a set of the new Cateyes. They are small, but bright. Their claim to fame is that they mount almost anywhere, with elasticized cords that cinch around a bicycle frame, through a helmet vent, on a handlebar, et cetera. And they're magnetically-activated, which is, well, a gimmick. But they sure are convenient.
Being seen is the hardest part of cycling in a city. Car drivers rarely look to the side, where a cyclist is likely to be riding between parked and moving traffic; nor are cyclists especially visible, as most municipalities have no regulation concerning bike illumination.
San Francisco's Department of Parking and Traffic publish a brochure showing how to light up, and have been promoting cycle safety on the side of buses, ironically enough.
A few years ago the SFPD nailed me as I was pedalling up Steiner past Herman. Their cruiser didn't stop at the stop sign controlling westbound traffic on Herman, and nearly collided with me as I travelled north on Steiner. They pulled me over, asked for ID, and started to write a citation for not having (of all things) side reflectors (I was sporting both front and rear LEDs). And just as the officer was getting to the meat of the ticket, a call came over the radio. The officer glared at me as the radio sqwaked, and tossed my ID back at me. "Lucky for you we've got bigger fish to fry!" he said as he jumped back into the car and roared away.
