Night Rider

Night riding is the scariest part of cycle commuting. So how do you make sure you’re visible? Reflective gear, bright lights.

You can get yourself a nice reflective ankle strap – these come in a couple varieties, the slap bracelet type or the velcro type.

I bought a white reflective vest this year, which was easy to layer over my black jacket – unfortunately, all of my winter coats are black. I really wanted a nice reflective coat, but those don’t exist, though some of the ones on this site are pretty nice, and currently on sale. I also bought some reflective tape to add to my fleece jacket but didn’t get around to doing it before it warmed up and the seasons changed.

The most important things to get are a good headlight and tail light. I have this set, but I actually don’t recommend it. The tail light is super-hard to turn on and change from flashing to steady to off, so I would get the blaze headlight and then a tail light that has a button.

These are the new version of those glow in the dark spoke things you would put on your bike when you were a kid. They are very bright and when your wheels go around, they look really cool.

I don’t have many good tips for riding in the dark, because I just find it scary and try to make sure everyone sees me and get home as quickly as possible. I would also say do not run red lights late at night, but sometimes if I’m at an intersection where I feel unsafe waiting in the dark, I will actually make the call and run the light – but make sure the intersection is clear of cars before running the right. Also, make sure that you travel on roads you are familiar with, if at all possible, so that you know where potholes, construction grates, and other hazards are.

Did I miss any reflective items? Do you have any night riding tips?