Last week, TriMet held their annual Be Seen, Be Safe event in Pioneer Square. The idea is to raise awareness about staying visible while walking and biking, introduce folks to hi-vis products, and inspire us to light up our bikes and our bodies.
Here are a few photos…
This guy won one of the awards with these custom, insanely bright LED floodlights powered by a car battery:
BTA staffer Carl Larson put on his safety vest to lead a bike ride through downtown:
And then there’s Jim “K’Tesh” Parsons, a man from Beaverton who has won a bit of fame and made it his hobby to be as hi-vis as possible. On the front of his highly customized GT Mountain Bike Jim tells us he’s installed: a NiteRider MiNewt 600 Cordless, NR TriNewt, NR MiNewt X2, NR MiNewt 200, L&M Stella 600 Dual , and 3x Planet Bike 5 LED Beamers…
Here’s how it looks coming up to you on the road…
And on the rear…
Not satisfied with level of visibility, Jim also brought a trailer and towed a security guard on a Segway behind him (not really, but the photo sort of looks that way doesn’t it?):
It gets dark out there very early these days folks. Let this post be a reminder to stay lit.
Thanks for reading.
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Being seen is very important. Being blinded by incoming bikes is annoying and dangerous. It all depends on where you’re riding your bike. On a two (or more) lane road with traffic, go nuts with the lighting. When you’re on MUPs, please point them down. Or don’t use an industrial sized lamp. Or turn it down. Or switch off four of your five lights.
I totally understand, and I don’t run *ALL* the lights at night. My brightest lights are used in daylight these days (flash), or on their lowest (steady) setting at night, unless I’m in a high traffic area. Other lights are redundancies for longer night rides (flash or steady).
And while we’re giving light etiquette tips, here’s another: white lights go on the front and red ones go on the back. Bonus: it’s the law!
Note: I have a red light clipped to the front of my vest in that picture. That was just to amaze/annoy people with the the PDW Radbot 500’s dazzling “zZz, zZzPOP!” mode. We were offering them as a BTA membership incentive. Once I hit the road, I put the light on the back.
Thanks to everyone who helped organize this event, especially Martina Fahrner of Clever Cycles (who brought some actually-stylish reflective wear) and Marie Dodds of AAA (who reminded everyone that being seen requires attentive drivers who know what to look out for).
Actually the law only requires that you have a white light in front and a reflector in back. Under the premise that that which is not expressly prohibited is legal, you should be able to place red lights wherever you want as long as you meet the other requirements. Here an article by Ray Thomas: http://www.stc-law.com/bikelighting.html
COOL ! I have to have one of those new BOB Segway Power Boost trailer attachments! That is the best idea of implementation. And it is wonderful to see that the debut was her in good ol’ Stumptown. Awesome.
I tell you that I had to fire that guard… he wasn’t pulling his weight 😉
It is all very obnoxious, cute and bourgeois yes, but actually dangerous to oncoming bikers! I have often had to mask my eyes as these imbalances ride by.
Let’s use common sense and not be reactionaries.
Slight correction… I’m riding a Trek these days, the GT went under the wheels of a car last spring.
let me guess, they didn’t see you…
HAHA. Spiffster in top form!
How’d you guess? It happened in broad daylight. 🙁
That’s why I now ride with the NR MiNewt 600 in daylight.
I love that NR…great light. But careful around here, somebody might find it offensive.
Here are my photos from the event:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/thomasngo/sets/72157628099884542
Thanks for that…
Here’s mine…
http://www.flickr.com/photos/ufobike/sets/72157628055661350/
But my camera quit early on, so no real good shots.
Seems like using a car battery to power a bike light is a bit regressive.
If Less is More, just think how much more More would be. 🙂
I like it! Extremes and the publicity they generate get the subject in front of the public.