We Tried It: A Light-Up Cycling Jacket for Night Rides
ESPNW—Call me a Cinderella cyclist. I’m happy to gear up and ride anywhere, anytime — until the clock strikes a certain witching hour. Then I’m pedaling home hard to beat the sinking sun. Riding at night is an activity I’ve avoided since I picked up road biking a decade ago. I’d sooner hop on an indoor stationary bike to train for triathlons and even longer races, like centuries and gran fondos, than hit the road when the streetlights come on.
Why am I so afraid of the dark? For starters, I don’t trust drivers partly because, as a native New Yorker, I never got my license. I worry that I don’t understand how folks behind the wheel think. These four-wheeled beasts feel foreign to me and my two-wheeled steed. It doesn’t help knowing that more than 800 people lost their lives in a bicycle and motor vehicle collision in 2015, according to the U.S. Department of Transportation. One in five of these fatal crashes happened between 6 p.m. and 8:59 p sertraline pill.m., reports the Pedestrian and Bicycle Information Center.
Bottom line: I love my life, and putting it on the line for an evening ride never seemed worthwhile to me. I know that sounds dramatic, especially to some of my daring friends who think I’m being overly cautious. They’ve long told me how peaceful and fun night riding can be. I don’t doubt it. I know this bustling city, particularly Brooklyn where I live, can feel calmer in the darkness when everyone’s winding down from their workday. And frankly, as an anxious person, a little calm would do me good. In those ways, I realize I’m missing out. This is why I was open to the idea of getting the right safety gear to finally give this a go.
