Are lights making me an easier target to hit?

For Christmas I received a great new headlight for the daily commuter. It's a Bell brand oval shaped 5 led light that gets mounted to the handlebars. With it in the package is a 3 led red tail light meant to be attached to the seat post. This was just in time, as my former led headlight finally lit its last dark morning on the day I last needed it for 2011. I like the light that issues from it. I also like the blinking feature. I almost always use the blinking function with the belief it will be easier to attract drivers' and pedestrians' attention, thus preventing collisions.

What I didn't like was the plastic housing. It looked like it would not last long holding up against freezing cold temperatures in January and February and the near daily jolting it would take from our small town streets. Also, it didn't look water proof at all; no o-ring, no gasket, no cover. So, with the goal of improving the durability of the headlight and improving the water resistance of it, too, I dug through the detritus in the workshop and came up with a used bicycle tube and a jar of rubber cement.

I reminisce on the afternoons when high school classes were dismissed for the day and I'd spend the time, among other tasks, patching motorists' flat punctured passenger car tires. It was simple enough. Once the tire had been dismounted from the wheel, it was forcibly spread open, then the inner surface of the tire around the puncture would be buffed, or roughed up with a pneumatic device. Once that was accomplished, we applied a thin coat of rubber cement to the area and when it dried, an adhesive backed patch was placed over the puncture hole. That's it.

With this in my mind, I used my wife's scissors to cut lengths of rubber from the tube. I tried to make them as uniform as possible, but I can assure you they hardly were. I applied a thin coat of rubber cement to the seam where the top and bottom hemispheres of the plastic light housing met. I also applied a thin coat to the rubber tube strip as well. Then, when both had dried to tacky, I laid it over the seam on the rubber cement.

It doesn't look factory, that's for sure. But, since I continued placing the rubber of the tube over the places I felt would be compromised by rain, I feel pretty confident I've made it pretty water proof.

I didn't like the loose feel of the mounting hardware, either. So, since I had about three feet or more of the tube leftover, I cinched the light down with it. I wrapped it around it and the handlebars several times and tied it off as tightly as possible.

I think this will increase its shock absorption and just provide it with a little more mass to keep it stable on the handlebars. I just thought the plastic a little too brittle for my taste.If nothing else, maybe it won't be stolen as easily if the would-be thief must cut away the tube, or untie it.

I received a great little flexible green light that comes in the shape of a spoke reflector, too. Like most l.e.d. lights, it has a blinking and a steady function. I installed it on my front wheel, and I've got to say I like the green. It looks nice, and seems to be noticeable. I hope it is.

I must look like quite a sight with a blinking white headlight, a blinking red tail light, and a blinking, green light that rotates with the wheel. The idea is to avoid collisions, but I wonder if all the blinking lights attracts the eyes of drivers which results in their inadvertent steering toward me, instead of the opposite effect I desire.I wonder if there's any evidence out there.?

Lastly I was given a single led blinking red light which I mounted to the only flat spot on my helmet, which happens to be on the tip top. It reminds me of the old sheriff's vehicles with the single "cherry" on top. I haven't yet used it; haven't yet switched the power on and rode my bike with it blinking. I worry that it will just be too much.

Of course, some would say too much is never enough when it comes to lighting a bicycle and rider. That may be true, but then I have to suffer through the ridicule of being "that guy", who got even nerdier, just when people thought he couldn't.

Whatever the spectacle does to my self-confidence and esteem, I'm sure I must make quite a sight coming down the road. What I need is another cyclist to wear my reflective clothes and operate my bike with its  blinking lights while I operate a vehicle, just to see what I must look like. Then, I might judge with more accuracy.

The second day shakedown

There is an overused cliche' attributed to the Chinese or Confucius that says the longest journey begins with a single step. As of yesterday, this blog represents my first step toward some unknown destination. The good news is I've taken that step. The bad news is my destination is unclear.

On the previous post, I mentioned full disclosure about being a teacher. The reason I felt I needed to inform readers of my occupation relates to my goal of riding my bicycle to work everyday for the year. When I say that, I feel a little tinge of guilt about it, because realistically I don't commute to the high school all summer, for an entire week in Spring, an entire week in late December/ early January, and about every holiday that honors an important dead person. So, obviously, for me to achieve a goal of riding my bicycle to work everyday for a year is significantly less of an accomplishment than someone who truly works year round.

Nonetheless, I still feel it will be an accomplishment. Allow me to disclose further. Last school year I did manage to ride my bike every school day except for three. These three days were in early January, the first week back to school after our Christmas/ New year's break. Thick ice coated the roads. I could have gone on and rode. I've pedaled on ice before. However, I began to think about my pride and how it may interfere with my ability to make a good decision. Was I being stubborn and taking a risk which could affect my family? Already I take a risk almost daily by taking the bike instead of my pickup truck. Now, let me say cycling is not dangerous, but everytime there's a bike/vehicle collision the bike loses. EVERYTIME! Add to that the increased risk of a fall on the ice, and I opted to drive my pickup those three days until the road crews were able to make the roads navigable for me. I consoled myself by saying I was demonstrating good decision making for my students.

So, technically, even with all the scheduled days on the calendar when school was not in session, I was unable to ride my bike to school everyday for one full year. But, that doesn't take away from the minor hardships I endured getting to and from school all the other days. It still would have been much easier for me to simply drive instead of biking.

I'm almost out of available time to write this morning, but before I go I wish to relate to the readers all my support and encouragement if they are thinking of undertaking a similar endeavor. Ride your bike to work if it makes sense. If you live over five miles from your workplace, it might not be the best idea. However, you likely are made of sterner stuff than I am and can absolutely do it. I gleaned that five mile figure from the many websites I comb through about bicycles and commuting and running errands, so it's not mine. But, it seems like a good rule of thumb. The biggest factors involved in commuting by bicycle year round, for me, were time and weather preparedness.

Tune in tomorrow, or the next day, for the next entry in The Midwest Bicycle Commuter. Hey, I don't get paid for this, and if I want to skip a day I will! Keep those wheels spinning and enjoy another full day of your life. From Kansas, I'm out.