Well, not exactly no headlight. After charging my NiteRider battery last night, I hooked it up and turned the headlight on to be greeted with a momentary blink and nothing after that. I grabbed my multimeter to do some diagnostics. Battery: charged. Headlight module: not responding. I took it apart and sure enough, the bulb is burned out. It lasted about 3.5 months. That doesn't seem right.
Anyhow, I used the Blackburn Quadrant in Half-Blink mode this morning, and it worked fine for being seen, and for the first 15 minutes of my ride, I have ample street lighting anyways. Chris joined the convoy and we were seriously high-tailing it (for my usual liking) all the way downtown. I played wheelsucker for the uphills. Drafting rocks... for the drafter!
Needless to say I got downtown pretty early.
I'm taking the L bus home tonight, and I won't be at the Monday night ride. Instead, I'm going to the Gaunt memorial bike ride on Wednesday. If you haven't read about it online yet, check out the following links. This is a really sad story, and it differs greatly from most of the other bike fatalities we've had in KC this year. These were affluent, knowledgeable, law-abiding riders with all the proper safety equipment, riding on the right side of the right lane of a 4-lane road. Safety conditions don't get any better than that, and they still got mowed down by a so-called "inattentive" motor vehicle operator -- I refuse to call the individual a "driver" because "driving" implies that the person is lucid at the vehicle's controls. Inattentiveness is not an option when operating a motor vehicle. Yet again, I doubt charges will be pressed or citations will be issued. This city doesn't take cycling fatalities seriously.
Kansas City Star: Another bicycle tragedy...
Kansas City Star: Bicycling girl, grandfather both die
Topix compilation of related stories (Dynamic content, may contain un-related news in a few days)
Random Tunage:
Santiago Nino - Mirage
Sean Callery - The longest day (24 theme song) (Armin van Buuren mix)
Monday, August 13, 2007
Haulin' ass with no headlight
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4 comments:
There is something about riding in to work now that the sun is coming up later and having some darkness to ride in when its warm out, makes it that much more pleasant. I always seem to associate riding with headlights and blinkies with cold weather riding.
One thing to be grateful for with this heat is that Bike to Work Week isn't this week!!!
Call the city attorney's office and *demand* they file charges. Find the correct jurisdiction and post the phone numbers, man.
Judges give sentences to "set an example" in many cases. This would be a good one, if a judge can ever get it in front of the bench.
Inattentive people and bikes. Last year at the Yarmauth Clam Festival, the yearly crit they have saw an elderly fellow mow down the lead pack after a course marshall did not properly secure the street for their safe passage. What I cannot believe is no one died.
KC is not the only area to not give cyclists their due. The problem seems nationwide. It is a jungle out there.
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