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Had a pretty catastrophic late afternoon ride yesterday trying to follow VCGH's 40k Haslemere Hard route. Set off too late (but thought I could bail out), steady rain, crap conditions, slippy Ralph's and pretty incompetent map reading led to need to bail out between Liphook and Marley Heights. I had lost a lot of time due to getting lost several times (the route is not meant to go via Rake!!!). Classic dilemma as it was approaching 18:00 and I had no lights 😳 Get on a road and get back to car as fast as possible and hope the othe cars can see me ok, call for a lift (no answer) or try to find quick XC way home. As its wasn't that dark I decided on the road option and was fine until one stretch of country lane. Cars coming towards me and car behind misjudged me and room needed to overtake. Cue load screeching of tires right behind me and a quick decision to ride up the bank of the road to avoid being mashed.
We were probably all to blame. E European lady in the car was shook up and so was I. Lesson learned for me....get some lights even if you arenot expecting to need them. I had checked "lighting up time" but mis-judged the weather and my poor map reading. After the near miss I still had 5 miles to ride but luckily there was a pavement to keep me out of trouble for most of it..
Friday 13th...could have been a really bad day. Stay safe out there and be visible!!! I made lots of errors and could have ended up another grizzly stat.
May I suggest buying a lottery ticket?
I think most people have been in that situation where they are out later than planned. Happened to me in the Peaks, so not only did we have to navigate through the Peak in the dark, which was fun as we didn't know the area. Once we found a road, we had to ride on it in the dark. Very dicey. Doesn't help I dress like a ninja as well [img] 
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As a result, I know have one of these left on the bars:
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...and one of these chucked in the saddlebag...or left on the bike/helmet in Winter.
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Not super powerful, but better than nowt.
Nasty. For the weight, a rear light lives in my camelback, that way at least cars from behind can see you, and you can see the ones coming towards you.
It's this time of year that is nastiest. I was commuting home on country roads this week, and the combination of fully leaved trees overhead plus lower light levels meant it was dark enough to need my rear light at half five, despite it being a clear day and lighting up time officially past seven.
Keep safe out there people 🙂
I didn't get back home until 7:30 on Thursday, was rather surprised how dark it had got! Lights needed for commuting now!
Glad you're ok fella. You daft sod! 😉 i've made the same mistake getting back from a solo run near Keswick. on unlit roads after getting a bit lost. now I always carry a set of 'get me home' lights in the camelback. Just a dinky set of Knog LED's. about the same size as a 2 quid coin.
So to quote the mental machine gun helicopter bloke in Full Metal Jacket: [b]GET SOME!!![/b]
Yes, I an going to buy a small back light to keep in my camelback. That's one lesson heeded. It was actually pretty dark from the start. My sunglasses had yellow/orange lenses in and I still couldn't see in the first set of trees and that was 15:40ish!!
I was crapping it most of the way on the road but for the most part visibility was ok. The final bit was from Haslemere up to Hindhead for those who know the area. Pretty busy uphill section. Fortunately there is a track just to side of the road and a pavement for most of that section!
Jamie - no need to guss what colour I was wearing!! Lots of errors !!! Cheers Binners those knogs look a good option.
Remember, it may seem light to us on bikes but its surprising how much darker everything appears in a car and cyclists even in what appears to be ok light on the bike can be very difficult for a driver to see
To be honest I run a small flasher on the rear any time I am on the road and back it up with a bigger flash and solid light when it is dark.
That and avoiding the ninja black clad look that many favour.
That and avoiding the ninja black clad look that many favour.
...but black is so slimming.
Aye, as others have said. Glad your ok.
Now get some ****ing lights to live on the bike now the nights are drawing in.
Good point lights don't usually feature in the oh so regular trail pack lizts as well as get me home lights I have a small pack up fluro and reflective vest for unexpected road detours in poor light
Slimming? All my riding gear is stealth ninja. Hence always carrying lights. I look like a black pudding
We can be certain that your statistical analysis would have been flawless if the worst had happened. 😉
Had my front light die on a country road ride last winter, that was the scariest 5 miles home I have ever ridden.
Watched a Police car drive past 2 guys on road bikes in the dark, running 2 lights between them. Didn't even stop to have a chat with them. Was nearly 8.30 so too late to have been just caught out.
I keep a rear light on all the bikes, no real weight to them and unless you have a dropper post, don't get in the way of anything. Did get caught out a couple of weeks ago with four or five miles to go on the road. Used the flashlight on my phone as a front. After nearly dropping it a couple of times I lashed it to the bars with my spare tube.