Holiday assortment
Hurricane Ernesto visted this weekend. It kept me off the street and trails for a day or two. Unfortunately, I spent the time on the interweb or napping, rather that getting these client PCs out of the apartment.
Photo shoot
Damn! The photographer from the Associated Press really showed up on Friday. AP credentials and everything. It was a beautiful sunny day which made me glad because I got to wear my sunglasses in the shots and I’d spent a couple of hours on Thursday giving the bike a bath, spending a little extra time on the shiny bits. We’ve had rain often enough lately that it hasn’t made a lot of sense clean anything but the chain.
He filled an entire memory card in his Nikon in five setups. Everything from me sitting at my desk, to carrying the bike down the fire escape, a couple of standups (or what I called the “man posing with bicycle” shots) and riding by in the street and on the sidewalk. Those sidewalk shots were the “artsy-fartsy” ones. Slow shutter speeds made a blur of legs beneath a streak of bike and rider, even though I was going less than 10 mph.
Really nice guy too. And, as it turns out, he’s looking for a web designer. We talked the whole time. He told me about some of his interesting photo shoots, and he asked me more questions about bicycle commuting than the columnist did.
Changing weather
The big thing on everyone’s mind right now, including that of the AP columnist and photographer, seems to be “What do you do in the winter?” My standard answer? “Ask me again in March.”
Right now, all I can do is plan and prepare based on reading the experiences of others. Equipment-wise, I’m as set as I can be with this bike, with the exception of snow tires.
In other stuff, my winter wardrobe may actually be too warm. I’ve discoverd this already. The past week got cool and when I dressed the way I always have for these temperatures, I was sweating buckets by time I got to work. I may have to get some lighter winter wear.
I expect that I’ll crash a time or two in the snow. It seems to be part and parcel of the experience. Considering that it’s common engough for drivers, I’m not going to worry about it. When I go down, I’ll dust myself off, straighten anything bent on the bike, and get back on.
Even the worst-case scenario isn’t that bad. I could ride the bus. I’ve done that for six winters already. So i’t no big deal.
Lookit those headlights!
Okay, the double-entendre works only in the plural. I guess, though, if you count my old headlight, I have two. So far I’m pleased with my new NiteRider TrailRat headlight.
Apparently it’s peak headlight-buying season. Towner’s had sold through their stock of RoadRats and were waiting for the next order to come in. I bought their last TrailRat.
The difference between the two is the battery. The RoadRat uses a sealed lead-acid battery that weighs two pounds. The TrailRat’s nickel metal-hydride battery has the same electrical capacity, but weighs only one pound.
It was also $35 or $40 more, tipping the scales at $120, but I’d just collected on a past-due payment I didn’t expect to receive, so I went for it. Plus I wanted a proper headlight on the bike for the photo shoot.
I’m glad I got the TrailRat instead. I noticed that extra pound on the front end on the very first time I lifted the bike. Two extra pounds would have made it unmanageble on the fire escape.
After charging it all day, when I turned it on for the first time after the meeting Friday night, everyone’s head snapped back and someone said, “Holy shit! Now that’s a headlight!”
Even I was impressed.
The Spinster Church Lady Sunday Scrabble resumed this weekend. It was dark by the time I left for home and the first six miles were without streetlights. I rode with my NiteRider on and my old CatEye headlight in blinkie mode. I was pleased with its performance. I could see debris in the road, and there was plenty of it from the storm, but more importantly, drivers noticed me.
The big problem I’ve had is that drivers couldn’t judge my distance and closing speed with the old headlight. They’d pull right out in front of me and then be shocked I was so close. All the way home last night, every driver pulling out of a driveway, parking lot or side street waited for me to pass.
I’d initially been concerned about the beam pattern, since the halogen reflector bulb is nearly identical to those in my kitchen tracklights. I was afraid it would be too wide, scattering light all over the place and potentially blinding drivers. What I hadn’t noticed in the store is that there’s a lens in front. That focuses the light into a nice tight beam that I’m guessing is five to seven feet wide at maybe 50 to 70 feet ahead. That’s perfect for the streets and speeds I ride.
Back in the city, waiting at stoplights I found the center of the beam was almost as bright as those of the cars next to me. Yeah, 50-watt car headlights spread more light wider and further down the road, but the “hotspot” a couple of carlengths ahead from my 10-watt light is nearly indistinguishable.
Where it was the most fun was on a two-mile stretch of the Canalway path. There, away from both streetlights and cars, I was the only light around. What pleased me the most is how it lit up the bunnies along the side of the path. I saw them long before they turned and ran.
So I think that now only will I be safer with this new light, I’m going to enjoy riding after dark too.
Which begs the question, if you’re selling a headlight, and it seems reasonable its primary use would be at night, why would you bill the battery charger as being an “overnight” charger?
