EDitorial ± 29-Oct-2001

Dark Means Danger

Bloomin' dark, cycling home this evening. At the end of my marathon daily bike ride (left work 6.10pm, in the house as the Simpsons credits rolled at 6.20pm) there's a right-hand turn into my road. Across the traffic. Of one of the main arterial routes into town. Stuck like Charles Kennedy in the middle of the road, you need faith in the power of your halogen lights, both front and rear.
Dark means danger
So get yourself seen!

That was the message from a public information film when I was a kid. Not to be confused with the one about mixing crossplys with radials, nor the one warning of the dangers of smoking in armchairs. Nor Charlie says, come to that.

Cat's Eye

Back in my early teens, my small-wheeled 3-speed bike was equipped with the very latest thing in 1970s technology, the dynamo. I'd guess that such an item is near impossible to find these days, like blotting paper and candy cigarettes (with realistic red tip). While the idea was sound - use the rotation of the wheels as a source of power - your illumination disappeared the moment you stopped at a junction. Where'd he go?

Riding home after 5-a-side football a couple of weeks back, I realised that I'd forgotten my removable front light. Luckily the rear light is permanently in place, and I reckoned that one to be the more important of the two. I hope that the drivers of the oncoming traffic saw it that way too.

If You Take Away With You Nothing Else

  1. always carry spare batteries plus a screwdriver, like I don't
  2. put your lights in a safe place over the summer
  3. be safe, be seen!

Be seeing you!

Ed