Mark;It was my intention to be way over the top just for a mild kick and a giggle. But the technology is out there for those geeky enough to try it. Personally, I don't mind it being dark on the SW Path and I have enough lights to go by. The key is not technology but letting the eyes adapt to darkness, which takes about 20 to 30 minutes. So I was half kidding about the sunglasses at night. (I used to work in photo darkrooms way before the digital age and it's amazing what a little light can reveal after a while.) Another trick is to ride with one eye closed to keep for night vision. That's not as hard or disorienting as it seems. And just look to the side when a bright light passes. I know, easier said than done. I agree that the lesser expensive and less intrusive addition the city could add (not that they should) would be reflecting material not only for path edges but to sense the silhouettes of upcoming obstructions - peds, dogs and peds, night ninjas, tree branches and etc. (Or have Gary Fisher ride 100 yards ahead of you. If you saw his outfit with a camera flash, you'd understand. ;-)) Darryl --- On Sat, 10/17/09, Mark Evans <[email protected]> wrote:
From: Mark Evans <[email protected]> Subject: [Bikies] Super silliness and way too technical on the SW Path To: [email protected] Date: Saturday, October 17, 2009, 8:51 AM Way too many things to quote and it gets way too difficult to read with the long string of quoted text, so I'll just add..... I think throwing wacky technological fixes (dimmer buttons on the handlebars, etc.) is a bit over the top. We got enough gadgetry to tack on a sublimely simple machine (I refer to the bicycle) without adding another device that will take up precious real estate on the handle bars and eventually break anyway. A good headlight seems pretty effective. Seems to me that headlamps have served bikers for over a hundred years - and it was a heckuva lot darker then. Perhaps the best civic solution for the path is one that, in a small way, is already in place there. At erratic intervals, there are stiff plasticky things (36" posts?) with mile markers and a bit of reflective tape. I think they might be for snow removal. Perhaps the city could add a few dozen more of these relatively inexpensive and low tech posts with reflective tape on either side. With even a low beam headlight (I used to have some really crappy ones) these reflectors just POP... especially if the headlamp is on blink. In the dark they were very comforting - knowing where the edge was. I'm not moving too fast when it's that dark. don't want to miss anything. Mark _______________________________________________ Bikies mailing list [email protected] http://lists.danenet.org/listinfo.cgi/bikies-danenet.org
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