Bike Advocate 2 Lighting

Bike Advocate 2

While the days are still short and we try to squeeze in our early season training, I thought it would be appropriate to discuss visibility at night. Although we compete in what I like to call the most exciting and difficult aerobic sport in the world, it is unfortunate that we do not have the luxury of dedicated, lighted facilities built with our taxpayer's dollars as do other "mainstream" sports. Unless you are lucky enough to live near one of our few Velodromes, you are riding in the streets that are our venues for training. Although they are also built by our taxes, we do not have exclusive use of the streets and must share them with motorists.

CVC 21201(d) Every bicycle operated upon any highway during darkness shall be equipped (1) with a lamp emitting a white light which, while the bicycle is in motion, illuminates the highway in front of the bicyclist and is visible from a distance of 300 feet in front and from the sides of the bicycle;

(2) with a red reflector on the rear which shall be visible from a distance of 500 feet to the rear when directly in front of lawful upper beams of headlamps on a motor vehicle;…..

This law does not even have an illumination requirement that is very strict. Your headlight need only be visible to others from 300 feet. It does not necessarily need to light the roadway for you to see! Most of our streets have adequate lighting and a small $15.00 removable light will make you in compliance with the law as well as allow others to see you. A number of quite bright, cheap, and small LED taillights are also available. Yeah, I know what you're thinking, "A light on my bike?" "What will the others think?" If you are riding to your group ride early in the morning it's quite possible it will be bright enough by the time you arrive and if you are embarrassed, you can quietly slip the light off and pocket it. Remember visibility is always the issue here. When you are on your bike in the streets at night, you can never have too many lights! Although I have never gone to a training ride like this, I have commuted with three taillights and two headlights in the past. A helmet light and handlebar light as well as a seat post, leg light, and flashing light on the back of my left hand for turn signaling. While that may seem over kill, I was certainly visible. Citation avoidance was great, but I also did not see the point of increasing the chances of leaving my children without a father. There is nothing "uncool" or "unprofessional" looking about using a light on your road bike at night. You are hard enough to see in the daylight so it is smart to light up a bit at night. This Winter I have already been seeing more racing cyclists show up at early morning or late afternoon/evening training rides with taillights and headlights. This is a good thing. I think most of us are getting this message already.

This page was last updated 02/17/07