Stradalli Cycle Tips For Riding Your Bike At Night Safely

The clocks fall back and we get an extra hour of sleep but we also get night time much earlier than we want. Fall and winter bring earlier sunsets and for those who ride their bikes that can make things a little difficult. Riding your bike at night isn’t the same as during the day as it is harder to see you and harder to see obstacles that may be in your way. Here are some helpful tips on how to safely ride your bicycle at night from Stradalli Cycle. 

1.       Lights, lights and more: Get lights on your bicycle. It’s smart, it helps you to see and be seen. You can get them for an affordable price and you absolutely want to have more than one. You should have a headlight with multiple settings so you can see as much as be seen. Then you need a rear light that is red and blinks because that is more likely to be seen by a car than anything else. If you can add small lights or reflectors to your spokes that’s even better.

2.       Plan your route: If you are used to riding a specific route you may want to change things up now that it will be dark earlier. Make sure that the route you are taking is well lit, maybe even light in traffic to help reduce risk. If you can take side streets that are well lit over a busy street that’s always a better way to go.

3.       When in doubt stop: If you have the right away don’t assume the car will stop. They may not see you or think you are stopping. Either way it is always better to be cautious rather than risk it. Some of the biggest problems come when the cyclist has the right away and a car makes a turn. It happens so often and what you have to remember is to always assume the car is not going to stop.

4.       Always Alert, Always Aware: When you are riding your bicycle at night there are so many things you need to be aware of. Potholes, debris, cars, other cyclists, people walking and anything else you can think of that may cause you problems when you’re riding.

5.       Dress for success: This isn’t just a slogan for a job interview. If you want to have a safe bike ride at night it would be smart to wear light colored clothes, maybe even reflective clothing. Remember you are going to stand out more than your bike and any lights so the bigger reflective area you can create the better.

Again the best way to ensure you have a safe bike ride at night is to be cautious, make sure you are easy to see and pick the safest route to take whether you are riding home from work or training. Stradalli Cycle encourages all cyclists to be safe on the road during the day as well as at night.