OT - A seriously Useful Object

To cut a long story short. Nathan *had* to cycle to school today, and *had* to
remain late after school, which necessitated a journey of cycling home along
several miles of unlit country lane in the pitch black - with a serious amount
of fog, as it turned out.

The plan of action was that I'd cycle to school to meet him at the time he was
coming out, so we'd cycle home together, working on the theory that two
cyclists lit up like Christmas trees and with more reflective kit than the
mirror on Hubble, *might* be a bit safer than him cycling home alone in such
conditions.

So he set off this morning, duly kitted out with
reflectives/fluorescents/lights. No problem. This afternoon the fog set in, so
I made sure all of my lights were in good working order, amassed the LEDs for
self & offspring to wear and I tried something out for the first time (I don't
do much night-time cycling, let alone night-time in the dark cycling). I hunted
out one of those headband-mounted LED torches that I'd purchased aeons ago at
Lidl thinking "I'll have a use for that one day" and today was the day. I
affixed the thing to my spare helmet, making sure it was secure by use of cable
ties.

I set off into the gathering gloom. Two "normal" front lights, 1 x flashing
front LED, 1 x LED helmet-mounted headtorch, two seriously bright rear lights
and acres of reflectives on self & bike. The Mothership has landed ;-)

The headtorch turned out to be a Seriously Useful Object. I recommend it.
Oncoming traffic noticeably slowed, dipped lights and went past me remarkably
slowly with a wide berth. I think there was a bit of the WTF reaction to the
amount & range of lighting & reflectives.

Same on the journey back too. Nathan & his mates had a reaction of "What is
*that*?" Followed by "Kewl!" when they realised what it was and what it was for
and how visible it was and had a good prod & poke of it to check it out.

I was very pleasantly surprised by how bright the headtorch turned out to be -
it literally did cast a beam into the dark & fog so was a useful secondary
light source for me, as well as helping me be highly visible.

Cheers, helen s
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On 09 Dec 2003 18:31:30 GMT, omcom
(dirtylitterboxofferingstospammers) wrote:

To cut a long story short. Nathan *had* to cycle to school today, and *had* to
remain late after school, which necessitated a journey of cycling home along
several miles of unlit country lane in the pitch black - with a serious amount
of fog, as it turned out.

The plan of action was that I'd cycle to school to meet him at the time he was
coming out, so we'd cycle home together, working on the theory that two
cyclists lit up like Christmas trees and with more reflective kit than the
mirror on Hubble, *might* be a bit safer than him cycling home alone in such
conditions.

So he set off this morning, duly kitted out with
reflectives/fluorescents/lights. No problem. This afternoon the fog set in, so
I made sure all of my lights were in good working order, amassed the LEDs for
self & offspring to wear and I tried something out for the first time (I don't
do much night-time cycling, let alone night-time in the dark cycling). I hunted
out one of those headband-mounted LED torches that I'd purchased aeons ago at
Lidl thinking "I'll have a use for that one day" and today was the day. I
affixed the thing to my spare helmet, making sure it was secure by use of cable
ties.

I set off into the gathering gloom. Two "normal" front lights, 1 x flashing
front LED, 1 x LED helmet-mounted headtorch, two seriously bright rear lights
and acres of reflectives on self & bike. The Mothership has landed ;-)

The headtorch turned out to be a Seriously Useful Object. I recommend it.
Oncoming traffic noticeably slowed, dipped lights and went past me remarkably
slowly with a wide berth. I think there was a bit of the WTF reaction to the
amount & range of lighting & reflectives.

Same on the journey back too. Nathan & his mates had a reaction of "What is
*that*?" Followed by "Kewl!" when they realised what it was and what it was for
and how visible it was and had a good prod & poke of it to check it out.

I was very pleasantly surprised by how bright the headtorch turned out to be -
it literally did cast a beam into the dark & fog so was a useful secondary
light source for me, as well as helping me be highly visible.

Cheers, helen s
--This is an invalid email address to avoid spam--
to get correct one remove dependency on fame & fortune
h*$el*$$e**nd***$o$ts***i*$*$m**m$$o*n**s@$*$a$$o **l.c**$*$om$$

Glad to hear ir was efficient. Where did you find it? MLB

Glad to hear ir was efficient. Where did you find it? MLB

There's a chain of shops over here called Lidl. It's a German owned company.
Every week they do "specials" and a couple of times a year there's a cycle
accessories special. The stuff is good quality basics at sensible prices. Got
it there ages ago, on a "That'll come in useful one day" purchase ;-)

Cheers, helen s

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I'm so glad everything turned out well in the end.
Best wishes,
--
Polonca & Soncek

"dirtylitterboxofferingstospammers" wrote in
message ...
To cut a long story short. Nathan *had* to cycle to school today, and
*had* to
remain late after school, which necessitated a journey of cycling home
along
several miles of unlit country lane in the pitch black - with a serious
amount
of fog, as it turned out.
snip

I'm so glad everything turned out well in the end.

Thanks. It was actually quite enjoyable in a strange sort of way. Nathan and I
were chatting as we cycled along, him behind me. Both of us were lit up like
Christmas trees and wearing lots of reflectives, so we were very visible. How
visible was brought home to me by seeing the number of vehicles that slowed
down to go past/around us - more so than in daylight when cycling. So in a way,
it was *safer* than normal cycling - odd as that sounds.

Cheers, helen s

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"dirtylitterboxofferingstospammers" wrote
snip

I set off into the gathering gloom. Two "normal" front lights, 1 x
flashing
front LED, 1 x LED helmet-mounted headtorch, two seriously bright rear
lights
and acres of reflectives on self & bike. The Mothership has landed ;-)

LOL! Oh, how I wish I could have been there and seen Helen as Christmas
tree! And then the Mothership and its pod returning home! )

--
Marina

LOL! Oh, how I wish I could have been there and seen Helen as Christmas
tree! And then the Mothership and its pod returning home! )

I am seriously considering some proper battery-operated fairy lights for the
bike... then if it's a nice dry day, I be truly festive as I cycle ;-)

Cheers, helen s

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On 09 Dec 2003 18:31:30 GMT, omcom
(dirtylitterboxofferingstospammers) wrote:
So he set off this morning, duly kitted out with
reflectives/fluorescents/lights. No problem. This afternoon the fog set
in, so
I made sure all of my lights were in good working order, amassed the LEDs
for
self & offspring to wear and I tried something out for the first time (I
don't
do much night-time cycling, let alone night-time in the dark cycling). I
hunted
out one of those headband-mounted LED torches that I'd purchased aeons ago
at
Lidl thinking "I'll have a use for that one day" and today was the day. I
affixed the thing to my spare helmet, making sure it was secure by use of
cable
ties.

I set off into the gathering gloom. Two "normal" front lights, 1 x flashing
front LED, 1 x LED helmet-mounted headtorch, two seriously bright rear
lights
and acres of reflectives on self & bike. The Mothership has landed ;-)


Will you PLEASE come educate the "cyclists" in Edinburgh
that one little flashing LED on the rear of their bike, with
dark jeans, dark jacket, no reflectors, does NOT make
them visible on the streets at this time of year? (sunset
is presently around 3.30pm)


--
Jette
"Work for Peace and remain Fiercely Loving" - Jim Byrnes

http://www.jette.pwp.blueyonder.co.uk/

Will you PLEASE come educate the "cyclists" in Edinburgh
that one little flashing LED on the rear of their bike, with
dark jeans, dark jacket, no reflectors, does NOT make
them visible on the streets at this time of year? (sunset
is presently around 3.30pm)

Ack - I know plenty of stealth cyclists about here too. Also stealth motorists
:-(

Had freezing fog down here today - really heavy gray gloom everywhere and very
reduced visibility. I was in metal cage mode today and the number of motorists
going about with either no lights or just side lights was *frightening*.

Cheers, helen s

--This is an invalid email address to avoid spam--
to get correct one remove dependency on fame & fortune
h*$el*$$e**nd***$o$ts***i*$*$m**m$$o*n**s@$*$a$$o* *l.c**$*$om$$

"dirtylitterboxofferingstospammers" wrote in
message ...
Will you PLEASE come educate the "cyclists" in Edinburgh
that one little flashing LED on the rear of their bike, with
dark jeans, dark jacket, no reflectors, does NOT make
them visible on the streets at this time of year? (sunset
is presently around 3.30pm)

Ack - I know plenty of stealth cyclists about here too. Also stealth
motorists
:-(

Had freezing fog down here today - really heavy gray gloom everywhere and
very
reduced visibility. I was in metal cage mode today and the number of
motorists
going about with either no lights or just side lights was *frightening*.


Idiots.


--
Jette
"Work for Peace and remain Fiercely Loving" - Jim Byrnes

http://www.jette.pwp.blueyonder.co.uk/