4 Tips for Cycling at Night
Have you ever wondered how beautiful the starry sky looks while driving a bike through the lonely road?
Science shows that morning or evening is the best time for biking or cycling. Yet many of the riders prefer the night time. Dark hours of twilight are the times when accidents happen more frequently. Up to 60% of people are already victims of it. Therefore comes the usage of commuting.
4 Tips for Cycling at Night
Bike comms are perfectly safe and understandable in the dark. Bikes don’t have hands or voices like us. Getting the right type of bike lights can help you for commuting by bike at night.
Know your lights
So before you start, any ideas on what are bike lights or how they work? Don’t worry; I got you all covered.
There are only two types of lighting used on bikes. Active lights and Passive lights, just like active and passive voices. The work is also how it sounds.
Active lights are the minimum required ones you use as a must. In simple words, you see the white lights that you see in front of your bike or the red highlight on the back of your bike? These are your active lights.
They are battery run-sources, and by law, you have to keep them on after dawn. Passive lights are the lights to spot. Yes, you read it right. They are reflective lighting so that one can understand your bike from far.
Anyone can spot you easily if you are done getting the right type of bike light. It also provides a backup plan for your regular lights.
Set the lights properly
Can you make a bulb “light up” without placing it on the socket?
That’s exactly how it works with bike lights. Even the best of sources can fail if not function correctly. So if you fail to set it up well, things may not go so bluebell.
Starting with the headlight on the front. They should be aimed to get the vision of straight-up ahead when you light it up. “Straight up ahead” means directly ahead; if the angle is messed up, then you may lose track of your road as you approach. So make sure it is not up or down.
Then comes the taillights. The red light mainly faces down at the ground. As it faces the ground, the light bounces back from and becomes visible to anyone behind. If it is directed totally on the back, then an imaginary line parallel along with the road may be visible, which is not useful.
In the case of two or more headlights, try to angle them slightly away from each other to get the best experience. As a result, a much wider area will be on vision.
Proper utilization
The more power, the better. After all the setup of lights, the time has come to learn about proper usage. So let’s get started.
Headlights, taillights, and other flashing lights are all effective during both daytime and night times. Increases the visibility. A positive difference remains within such time for getting the right type of bike light. Especially when you are heavily caught up with the traffic, these lights speak for you.
Just as you use these lights in the daytime, it increases your vision and gives a clear picture. But the cautious part is you have to set the setting back to normal before going out at night. Because using daytime lights at nighttime can cause disaster.
The nighttime designed lights are used only to signal and communicate. Suppose you are running at a relatively higher speed than usual; just put the headlight on while going or flash it if there are people in front. They will understand.
But be careful; some designed lights are sometimes not allowed by law. So make sure you maintain it properly.
Effects of Reflective Gear
Why do night guards wear reflective clothing? So does a biker when going out for a ride at night.
A very common suggestion for night riders is to wear some bright colored shirts or hi-vis colored clothes. Is the reality totally opposite, right? Who wears bright colored stuff at night? People go out in any outfit that they feel comfortable in. It’s just a suggestion.
Again, I will say these suggestions increase your visibility at night and sync in with reflective gears into your outwear. You may wear t-shirts, jerseys; why not something more reflective?
In the winters, try finding reflective gears that would be easier for you to get in. Most jackets consist of some reflective striping incorporated; they are so reflective under light but look normal in daylight.
Utilizing Reflective Tape
Now that we are done with your reflective clothing let’s come to the point of your bike. What can we do about it?
There are many reflective elements that you can use on your bikes, especially on the sides. The front and rear parts are not that effective, yet they can come in handy.
You will see maximum bikes are already equipped with reflective stuff. They may be removed due to being noisy or being aesthetic. Otherwise, you can always keep it to make your bike look fashionable while benefiting from it. Black reflective tape is the most efficient and effective in such situations.
Conclusion
Would you leave your life at risk just because you were too lazy to learn how to commute by bike at night?
Just because it feels like you can see all your roads during dawn or in inclement weather doesn’t make you safe. The lights are not only showing you the path; it is to be seen by others too.
Just realize it is not for you only. Many lives depend on your signals or indications. So by using or following these rules, you are not only helping yourself. You are helping everyone. So start following our tips and be the hero.
