After 10 days and a bunch of vehicle troubles I finally made it to La Ventana Baja. I setup my camp in a sweet arroyo with easy beach access as well as a short walk to great tacos, wireless internet and ice cold beer!

I’m soooooo sick of driving that I parked my truck and don’t plan on running it except to pick up folks at the airport in Cabo. When I need to haul supplies I load up the Pugsley with some panniers and roll into town.

It’s funny I don’t think people really “get” the Pugsley when they see a photo of it or even see one brand new at a bike shop. It just looks weird, but roll down a sandy beach on a Pugsley in front of a couple hundred campers that have tried and failed to ride their mtn bikes on the same beach and the light bulbs go on! Then load it up with 4 panniers and haul enough food, beer and ice for a week along the beach and you could sell ‘em like crazy – especially to windsurfers and kiteboarders who won’t freak out about a $2K piece of gear.

I live downtown and drive my truck, ride my bike, walk and ride a skateboard all around the centre of Calgary.  There are not that many Multi-Use Paths [MUPs] so I do most of my human powered transportation on the same roads I drive.   This time of year is really challenging because it’s dark when people are getting up and going to work and when we get deeper into winter it will be dark at both ends of the work day.  Because I cycle, walk and skate I’m really aware of being a safe driver and making sure I look out for people who are on the roads that aren’t in cars.  Even though I’m extra aware of people riding or walking I have a often have a hard time seeing a lot of them.  Just about everyday I’m driving I’ll come across a dark pedestrian or cyclist that just appears a few feet from my truck.  I can only imagine what it’s like for drivers who don’t ride or walk much.

If you are riding your bike with no lights and no reflectors you are crazy - seriously! Particularly in the core of the city there is a lot going on and drivers are not going to have the luxury of staring at one spot for 60 seconds to make out if it’s a bike or just a shadow from a street light.   You can go from being a happy healthy rider to a wheelchair in about as long as it takes to read this sentence.

I can see that some folks are trying and have put a red blinky on their bikes.  That’s better than nothing, but in a lot of cases their flashing light is barely visible.  If the safety light on the back of your bike can go on a key chain it’s not bright enough.  You are competing with really bright car taillights and all the lights from businesses and signs around you.  If your rear flasher is of a decent size and brightness you need to be aware that when the batteries in a LED taillight start to die the light doesn’t stop working…it just keeps getting dimmer.  I’ve also had LED taillights just turn off randomly even though the batteries were full - probably due to a bump or something.

The other problem I’ve encountered is riders dressed in black with no lights on the front of their bikes.  They may have a super bright taillight, but I can’t see it if they are coming towards me and I’m turning left or if they are coming up from behind me and I’m checking my rear view mirror before I turn right.

My advice is to have two independent ways to be visible at the front and back of your bike.  That could be:

• two bright red blinkies at the back and two bright white lights at the front
• one bright red blinky at the back and one bright white light at the front plus a reflective vest or reflective ankle bands.

I’m amazed how well reflective ankle bands show up in car headlights from the back or front.  Often times I’ll see the distinctive pumping motion of a rider’s ankle bands long before I see their weak red blinky.  Since ankle bands don’t depend on batteries they can’t run out or turn off without you knowing.  They are also cheap and easy to carry with you.  I leave at least one attached to the bars of my bikes 24/7 so I always have something if I’m out after dark.

If you want to be super visible I’d recommend the following:

• bright red LED blinky on seatpost
• flashing bright white LED light on bars
• solid white LED on front of helmet - doesn’t have to be crazy bright
• solid red LED on rear of helmet
• ankle reflectors on both legs
• reflective vest

Yes you will look dorky, but all the cars on the road with you will know where you are and will factor you into their driving decisions.

Since I use my bikes for transportation a lot I leave a front and rear light on my bikes at all times as well as one or two ankle reflectors just so when I change my plans and I’m out late or riding home early I can do it safely.  If I’m going to be commuting at rush hour I’ll add a reflective vest and another light front and rear because I know the roads are more dangerous.