Monday was a great commute. I took the road racing bike with just enough supplies to keep me well lit for the night time ride home. I forgot how much faster a 17 lb carbon bike is than the 22 lb fender equipped steel commuter that I had been riding lately. The morning air was warm enough and the traffic was rather light as I zipped along my usual route to Waltham. When the work whistle blew at the end of my day I was initially tense about the ride home. It was 6pm and completely dark. With no other choice, I geared up, put on my highly visible
white vest and
rear blinking lights as well as my
handlebar mounted light. My ride combines some unlit and lit side roads, some unlit busy roads, and some well lit city centers so I was switching between high beam and low beam on the NiteRider. The temp seemed a bit cooler than the morning ride but perhaps it was the lack of sun.
As I zipped through the darkest sections I was reassured by the high beam on the NiteRider. For a $150 light, it performs as well as I could expect. It is also exceptionally convenient because I rotate it from bike to bike on an almost daily basis. The 15 mile ride home in the dark was fast and enjoyable. For some reason the roads seemed a little quieter than usual which added to the enjoyment.
3 comments:
Rotate it to the cross bike for tomorrow night's Superprestige!
i've found that the light is particulary effective when used on strobe mode. it tends to have two effects:
- seizure from oncoming drivers
- spontaneous rave sessions by sidewalk users
highly recommended. it's worth paying a bit more at a place like rei or backcountry.com to have the no-hassle return policy though. fyi, the minewt comes in a few varieties and i am using the x2 which i think is the brightest of the single lamp versions but it doesn't include a helmet mount or extension cord for the battery. both of which are unnecessary for my needs though.
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