Down here in North Carolina, we don’t get much snow. Hell, this year we haven’t even gotten much rain. Gone are my college days of putting snow tires on the bike for the winter. For the most part, I keep the same tires, much of the same gear on the bike, and just throw on a few extra layers of clothing as we head into the cooler months.
But darkness here is the same as it is anywhere. As the days get shorter, I will be riding to and from work in the dark, so lighting up my ride is the biggest change I make in preparation for winter.
In years past, I have used a helmet-mounted headlight (a 15W spotlight to help me see where I’m going), a flashing white LED mounted on the handlebars (something to help drivers see me), and a red blinkie light clipped to the back of my helmet. Even though I’ve not had an accident (nor even a close call) at night, I am always thinking of ways to improve my visibility — by that I mean the ability of drivers to see me.
Last winter, I strapped a day glow orange construction vest to the back my bike. While ugly, it catches drivers’ attention both day and night, since it has reflective yellow stripes across it. But after seeing the Down Low Glow at a Cruiser Tuesday ride and thinking more about how doing something unique often calls the right sort of attention to you, I have been thinking about adding their neon to my pick-up truck. But the cost… $100 for one neon stick and battery; $130 for two? C’mon.
So, I went to the local Advance Auto parts yesterday and for $30 bought 5ft of neon wire, 4 bright blue LEDs, and a 6V battery. I took it all home, soldered the wires together, added a switch, and voila… a glowing snap deck.
I ran out of liquid nails about halfway around the snap deck, so I’ve got electrical tape temporarily holding it in place. But I will clean that up soon. I’ll test ride it and let y’all know the reaction.
