Let There Be Light

One of the basic corner stones of bicycle safety is the ability to be seen.

  So naturally it should be part of the 4 core CAN-BIKE concepts, that being VISIBILITY.

At this point let me remind you of the other three

     Manoeuvrability, Predictability, and Communication.

OR   See, Be Seen, Be Heard, Be Predictable

  One of the first things most people do when they enter their residence is turn on a light - so we can see. We get into our vehicles and the day time running lights automatically come on, so others can see us while the vehicle is moving.

Cycling should be no different. Lighting, proper lighting, effective lighting, should be one of your first considerations when going for a ride.

In British Columbia lights are required for cyclists operating 1/2 hour before sunset and 1/2 hour after sunrise.

About 2% of traffic fatalities are bicyclists. Some of the characteristics of these fatalities are as follows:

                94% of bicyclists killed in traffic crashes were 16 years of age or older; 

                34% of fatally injured bicyclists were struck by a vehicle in darkness; 

                19% of bicyclists killed in traffic crashes were struck by a heavy truck.

Given that a third of fatalities occur at night, enforcement campaigns should also detect bicyclists riding at night without a light on.

**1

 Information tid bit One - if you check the BC Motor Vehicle Act it actually reads - 1/2 hour after sunset and 1/2 hour before sunrise.

 I suspect this is a typo that no one has caught previously.

I am a firm believer that if a cyclist is out and moving, then they should be lit up as much as possible.

Last week I was in downtown Vancouver after dark and the majority of the cyclist moving in the separated bike lanes had lights, and had them on.

Contrast that with today just after sunset along the Haney bypass a lone female cyclist is riding along the side of the road, with traffic, but with no lights at all.  She had stopped at an intersection, and was waiting to cross.  You couldn’t see her in the semi dark, until the last second.  I noticed in my mirror that she found a hole in traffic and rode across, and continued riding.

When you consider most cycling incidents occur at intersections, in the later afternoon, and when the cyclist has no lights…..  She is a recipe for disaster, or much worse.

Bike lights used to be a generator based unit that attached to the front fork and the generator unit sat against the front wheel and gave some light as long as the bike was moving.  When you stopped moving then the light went out. We then went to a battery type system.  That battery was the size of the water bottle and heavy. The battery’s weight was almost the weight of today’s bikes, and took hours to recharge for a short duration of light. Better, but not great, at least you had lights when you stopped moving. The light seemed to last for the first half of the trip then ran out of charge for the ride home, and took all the next day to recharge.

Technology has brought smaller, brighter, lighter, and more powerful lights and lighting systems.

Information Tidbit Two:

                  Lumen's is the term used to measure the candle power of some lights.

                  The higher the lumen's number the more powerful the light and the more light is                                                               generated.

 Bike lights come in all varieties of size, lumen's and attachment points. So a light that has a rating at 200 lumen's is a bright light.  The light I have mounted on my helmet is 250 lumen's. It lights my way allowing me to see what is ahead, illuminates the road in front of me, and allows others around me to see me and react accordingly.  Moreover other road users can see it from a distance.

I have the white light on the front of my helmet, along with a white light attached to the front handle bars on my bike, and a red light to the rear of my bike and on my helmet.

BC requires cyclists to have a red light to the rear that can be seen at a distance of 150 meters.  

Lumen's is one measurement, know lets add another – wattage.  A number of the current rear lights are measured in wattage.  I have a one watt rear light, AAA battery powered. The red rear light on my helmet is the rechargeable type.

The newest light I just purchased has two .5 watt lights to it, still one watt, just distributed a little differently.  My current one watt cherry bomb rear light shows up in downtown Vancouver, through the light pollution that comes with a busy downtown core. That is quite something when you consider the lights along Dunsmuir Street.  I have been able to follow the same light as mine on a bike up to three blocks away.  That same light was see able at a kilometre on the highway out here in Maple Ridge at night.

When you combine good, visible lights, affixed properly to your bike, you or both, then you are being a much safer and polite rider. When you add a high visibility safety vest, you are see-able from a longer distance and in more than one direction. 360 degree visibility is an achievable goal !!

Day time and especially at night, using your lights when you ride should be a natural part of your safety preparation.

In comparison to the possible consequences lights don't cost much, and have a safety return of many fold.

Lights for your bike, front and rear don’t cost much.  Triple A batteries can be a recurring cost if that type of light is used, but I have only had to change the batteries in my rear light once in two years, so the return in investment is pretty good. Even once a year, the cost per mile ridden, is  very very low. 

Most of the newer lights have a USB slot and come with the cord, so plugging in your light(s) into your lap top or any device with a USB port will keep your lights charged. This brings the cost down to a very reasonable level.

I feel affordability is a given, trying to say you can’t afford the light… you simply can’t afford not to. About $ 10.00 each, one front and one back.

You’ll likely spend more than that in 24 hours for coffee from your favourite coffee barista.

Please use your lights any time you ride.

                          Riders that ride using the motto:

                                   SEE, BE SEEN, BE HEARD, and BE PREDICTABLE

have a much higher likelihood to survive to ride another day. 

Safety is also about letting others know you are there so both sides can make the proper decisions with the correct information.

Using lights is a cornerstone to safe riding.

Thanks for Stopping By,

       Safe Ride Home

Chuck

**1 – Information obtained from the BCAA website in an article on traffic safety, 2013.

Bike shorts to Balaclavas

 

 

Welcome to November. In most parts of North America fall is well under way.

I guess it depends on your location as to how serious Mother Nature rolls out fall.
Here on the West coast, fall is when the leaves turn colour and drop onto the road/riding surface... And the rains rollin’ off the Pacific Ocean. For that matter that also describes most of the West coast winter, other than the few days in mid-January when we get about five centimetres of wet snow that brings the area to a grinding halt.

The rest of CANADA, that is, from Hope BC East and North gets snow and more snow and cold and wind. Did I mention snow?

Hypothermia becomes a very real concern, along with frost bite to extremities, or anything exposed to the elements.

Cycling is going out and having a great ride, being comfortable in the elements, and doing it safely. Be it clear and cool, or clear and cold.

I realize that temperature is just a number, but it’s a number that has a very direct bearing on what we do, where we do it, how long we do it. What we do while we are there, and if we even go out for what we had planned.

Layering has been the by words for winter activities since we all were little and we were bundled in snow suits to go outside. Mom wasn’t wrong, even though we felt we knew better.

Cold and wind can be the unseen enemy, which if you aren’t prepared and able to see the signs, can cause more problems.

Winter cycling can be great but without taking the outside environment and conditions, at the beginning, during and afterward into account, you could be putting your life in danger.

Please beware when riding during the colder months. Taking that extra time to make sure you are prepared will assist in somewhat controlling the conditions and make the difference between a cold miserable ride and a comfortable great ride.
It can be as simple as mind over matter, if you don’t mind the conditions and can handle them, then it doesn’t really matter.

I have attached excellent information from the Environment CANADA web site.

They have detailed the how’s and whys and why not’s far better than I could.
They are experts in the field of cold. Please take a look at their web site for more information.

I am of the opinion that functional and warm is better than looking good.  Safety comes in many aspects, knowing what to wear, how to layer, in what order, and being seen are what is going to allow you to make it through and survive.

 

From the Environment CANADA web site,   www.weatheroffice.gc.ca

 

What is Wind Chill?

Anyone who has ever waited at a bus stop, ridden a bike in the winter or taken a walk on a blustery winter day knows that you feel colder when the wind blows. This cooling sensation that is caused by the combined effect of temperature and wind, is what is known as wind chill.

On a calm day, our bodies insulate us somewhat from the outside temperature by warming up a thin layer of air close to our skin, known as the boundary layer. When the wind blows, it takes this protective layer away, exposing our skin to the outside air. It takes energy for our bodies to warm up a new layer and, if each layer keeps getting blown away, our skin temperature will drop and we will feel colder.

Wind also makes you feel colder by evaporating any moisture on your skin, a process that draws more heat away from the body. Studies show that when skin is wet, it loses heat much faster than when it is dry

How does Wind Chill affect you?

Living in a cold country can be hazardous to your health. Each year in Canada, more than 80 people die from over-exposure to the cold, and many more suffer injuries resulting from hypothermia and frostbite. Wind chill can play a major role in such health hazards because it speeds up the rate at which your body loses heat.

How much heat you lose depends not only on the cooling effects of the cold and the wind chill, but on other factors. Good quality clothing with high insulating properties traps air, creating a thicker boundary layer around the body which keeps in the heat. Wet clothing and footwear lose their insulating properties, resulting in body-heat loss nearly equal to that of exposed skin. Your body type also determines how quickly you lose heat; people with a tall, slim build become cold much faster than those that are shorter and heavier.

We can also gain heat by increasing our metabolism or soaking up the sun. Physical activity, such as walking or skiing, increases our metabolism – which generates more body heat. Age and physical condition also play a part. Elderly people and children have less muscle mass and as a result, generate less body heat. Sunshine, even on a cold winter day, can also make a difference. Bright sunshine can make you feel as much as 10 degrees warmer.

Over time, our bodies can also adapt to the cold. People who live in a cold climate are often able to withstand cold better than those from warmer climates.

 

Beating the chill

The best way to avoid the hazards of wind chill is to check the weather forecast before going outside, and to be prepared by dressing warmly. As a guideline, keep in mind that the risk of frostbite increases rapidly when wind chill values go below -27.

 

A simple way to avoid wind chill is to get out of the wind. Environment Canada's wind chill forecasts are based on the wind you would experience on open ground; taking shelter from the wind can therefore reduce or even eliminate the wind chill factor.

A recent survey indicated that 82 per cent of Canadians use wind chill information to decide how to dress before going outside in the winter. Many groups and organizations also use the wind chill index to regulate their outdoor activities.

Schools use wind chill information to decide whether it is safe for children to go outdoors at recess; hockey clubs cancel outdoor practices when the wind chill is too cold; people who work outside for a living, such as construction workers and ski-lift operators, are required to take indoor breaks to warm up when the wind chill is very cold.

Seven steps to cold weather safety

1. Listen to the weather forecast
2. Plan ahead
3. Dress warmly
4. Seek shelter
5. Stay dry
6. Keep active
7. Be aware

1.) Listen to the weather forecast

• Check the Environment Canada weather forecast before going out in the winter.
• Listen for a wind chill warning. Wind chill warnings, based on local climate, are issued when significant wind chills are expected to occur.

Environment Canada’s weather forecasts are available through radio and TV broadcasts, Environment Canada’s Weatheradio network, and online at www.weatheroffice.gc.ca.

2.) Plan ahead

• Develop a cold weather safety plan in advance to ensure that safety concerns are addressed when it’s very cold, or when the wind chill is significant. For example, schools could hold recess indoors, outside workers could schedule warm-up breaks, and those involved in winter recreation could reduce the amount of time they spend outdoors.

3.) Dress warmly

• Dress in layers, with a wind resistant outer layer.
• When it is cold, wear a hat (a large portion of body heat is lost from the head), mittens or insulated gloves. You should also have something to keep your face warm, such as a scarf, neck tube or facemask.
• Wear warm and waterproof footwear. When it is very cold, or when the wind chill is significant, cover as much exposed skin as possible. Your body’s extremities, such as the ears, nose, fingers and toes lose heat the fastest.

4.) Seek shelter

• When the wind chill is significant, get out of the wind and limit the time you spend outside.

5.) Stay dry

• Wet clothing chills the body rapidly.
• Remove outer layers of clothing or open your coat if you are sweating.

6.) Keep active

• Walking or running will help warm you by generating body heat.

7.) Be aware

• Watch for signs of frostnip, frostbite and hypothermia.
• Some people are more susceptible to the cold, particularly children, the elderly and those with circulation problems.
• The use of alcohol, tobacco and certain medications will increase your susceptibility to cold.

Cold injuries

Exposure to the cold can be hazardous or even life-threatening. Your body's extremities, such as the ears, nose, fingers and toes, lose heat the fastest. Exposed skin may freeze, causing frostnip or frostbite. In extreme conditions or after prolonged exposure to the cold, the body core can also lose heat, resulting in hypothermia.

Hypothermia

• Being cold over a prolonged period of time can cause a drop in body temperature (below the normal 37^°C).
• Shivering, confusion and loss of muscular control (e.g., difficulty walking) can occur.
• It can progress to a life-threatening condition where shivering stops or the person loses consciousness. Cardiac arrest may occur.

What to do:

·  Get medical attention immediately.

·  Lay the person down and avoid rough handling, particularly if the person is unconscious.

·  Get the person indoors.

·  Gently remove wet clothing.

·  Warm the person gradually and slowly, using available sources of heat.

Frostnip

• A mild form of frostbite, where only the skin freezes.
• Skin appears yellowish or white, but feels soft to the touch.
• Painful tingling or burning sensation.

What to do:

·  Do not rub or massage the area.

·  Warm the area gradually – use body heat (a warm hand) or warm water. Avoid direct heat which can burn the skin.

·  Once the affected area is warm, do not re-expose it to the cold.

Frostbite

• A more severe condition, where both the skin and the underlying tissue (fat, muscle, bone) are frozen.
• Skin appears white and waxy and is hard to the touch.
• No sensation – the area is numb.

What to do:

·  Frostbite can be serious, and can result in amputation. Get medical help!

·  Do not rub or massage the area.

·  Do not warm the area until you can ensure it will stay warm.

·  Warm the area gradually; use body heat, or warm water (40^°C to 42^°C). Avoid direct heat which can burn the skin.

Try this neat experiment to better understand wind chill

Turn on a fan and stand in front of it. You will feel colder because of the wind cooling your skin, but the temperature in the room has not changed. You cannot make the room any colder, no matter how high you turn up the fan. Just like outside, no matter how strong the wind blows, the temperature of the air outside does not change.

Now dab some water on your skin and stand in front of the fan again. The wet skin should feel much colder. This demonstrates how important it is to stay dry when outdoors in cold and windy conditions.

Where is the coldest wind chill in Canada?

Wind chills below -70 have been recorded in northern communities in Canada. On January 13, 1975 at Kugaaruk, Nunavut, the air temperature was -51^°C and the winds were 56 km/h, producing a bone-chilling wind chill of -78! 

Special thanks to the folks at Environment CANADA for the above information.

Thanks for Stopping By

           Safe Ride Home

 Chuck

 

 

Slow Speed Skills can Save your Life

 

  So far, we have spoken about what to wear, how to ride, where to ride, and what floral treats and treasures to look for.

  In this entry let’s look at another skill set as important, and at times even more important.

      Slow Speed Skills.

Those are the skills that are just as they sound and refer to.

  There is a large group of cyclists that thinks the faster the better.  Frankly I at times can support that theory.  If you are in the greater Vancouver area, out in Coquitlam area you might be aware of a hill called Mariner Hill.  It’s about a 6/7 % down grade for about a kilometer and a bit.  The speed limit on the road – for cars – is 50 KPH.

  If you have ridden a road bike down a big hill, the temptation is to get up into the biggest gear and just go for it.  It is a rush going down a hill as close to 70/75 KPH !! and yes I know that is against the law… but darn it is fun !!
A buddy of mine is a traffic officer and threatened to write me a speeding ticket for exceeding the speed limit, on my bike.  Well, at the time, being a commuter with an attitude, I let Richard know when I would be there, so he could set up to write the ticket. I told him, if he writes it, I’ll happily accept it, pay it, and then frame it.  He never did show up at the same time as me.
I survived this part of my riding life in spite of myself.
The reason for that story is to show that going fast is really quite easy and an act that over takes cyclists all too easily.
  Now you have to think about the fact that there are others on the same road as you, at the same time as you, and they are likely travelling at near the same speed as you, likely over the posted limit, like you.
Rider and bike – about 250 pounds, car and driver – about 2250 pounds.  Do the math, who will win if those two come together. Then think about the speeds and the lack of surface around the rider if and when they hit the ground.  This year in British Columbia there have been about 12-15 cyclists killed in traffic for assorted reasons.  That is a number that is far too high.  One is a number that is too high a price to pay.

This brings me to my point.

               Can you as a cyclist move about in confined spaces with confidence and control?

 I refer to confined spaces as spaces such as on the road? in a bike lane?  and along that same lane coming up to corners? 

Information tid-bit one: Bike lanes normally do not continue through intersections, unless they are specifically marked as doing so.

  When was the last time you as a rider went into or through a parking lot and didn’t have to react and react quickly to a driver seeing a parking spot and not you?, or along a bike path and have a dog run out in front of you, or another cyclist decide they want to turn and not signal?, or a jogger groovin’ to their tunes, with ear buds firmly implanted and run across your path? And we all know that drivers respect riders using bike lanes … ya right.  Did we mention weather conditions at times are less than ideal?

   It doesn’t really matter which type of bike you ride, being able to go slow with confidence and control is a skill that I believe is a required skill, and a skill if not practiced is a diminish-able skill.
The CAN-BIKE program has a list of basic slow speed skills, which once mastered, can be viewed as the corner stone of the program.

CAN-BIKE has the following slow speed skills as part of their program:

* Straight Line Riding          * Hand Signals          * Shoulder Checks             * Slalom  

 * Figure 8                             * Rock Dodge            * Threthshold Braking      *  Quick Turn / T Turn

We talk about and practice using gears and brakes and actually moving the gears through the full range of their gears. We also speak about unclipping from pedals, and what is their power leg and why you need to know that. Along with which hand controls which brake.

These are an excellent grouping of slow speed skills and there are those classes that these are the sum of their riding ability.  No two classes and groups of riders are the same, or have the same skill level.  Each and every class there are different skill levels. Not everyone sees things as the Instructor does.

As an Instructor you have to be prepared for this skill spectrum.
Then there are those classes that you breeze through the above noted skills with very little problems.  You are looking for more, as the students are looking for more because they can do more.
I have added a number of slow speed skills to challenge those that can do it.
 These are not CAN-BIKE. I refer to them as Survival skills.
 I make it clear there are two different sets here, that way the insurance company can be satisfied and the integrity of the CAN-BIKE program is intact.

   *  Parking Stall  (8’6”)  *  Riding the planks (2”X 4” 8 feet long and 2”X 6” 8 feet long) 

   * Dismounts and * Cross Over Dismounts   * Curb hopping - both straight on and side on

   *  Bike carry  * Bump and Go

There are more that I will also speak about for the more advanced skill levels, up to the infamous “M” Drill. I will talk about the “M” Drill in a future blog entry.

Over the next few months I will talk about these slow speed skills and how I teach them. I am not implying my way is the most correct, but rather this is what has worked for me for over 80 classes that I have taught. What the secrets are along with why and where these slow speed skills work.

I am using some foreshadowing here by telling all what is coming.  Sort of like a movie trailer, drop a few hints and make you want to continue to read and follow my entries …… looking for some inside secrets.

Bottom line… you need to practice these skills because you don’t when that moment will come that you have to do it, without thinking about it, and doing it right.  The above skills don’t require fancy expensive articles to make them work.  Most parking lots will have curbs, parking stalls, painted lines, parking partitions, rocks and pot holes. 

 Find a place where you can take the time and practice.  You won’t regret the time and effort.

It’s like a term about reading a good book - It’ll be time well wasted.

 

Thanks for stopping by,

    Safe Ride Home

Chuck

 

Leaves, Shadows, Winds and Wet Roads

Just a quick note about the Logo below.  Part of why I started this blog was to get the word out about cycling safety in a down to earth way that can be easily understood by those of us “down in the mud”, that ride the streets and path ways. I ride, I teach and I believe in safety.

The Logo is that of my company – Tri M Sports & Consulting Ltd, I have the trade name CANBIKEBC, and that is the official logo.

It’s all about the message and the branding is just as important to give credibility to what I want to say.
My Logo will be now be on the postings from here on out. 

I can be reached at      chuck@canbikebc.ca

  This past week-end here on the West Coast the first Environment CANADA Storm/Weather Warnings were issued.  Heavy rain, up to 60 mm and winds up to 90 KPH.  Just another lovely fall day!?!?  This is why they sometimes refer to us as the Wet Coast.

I have the Environment Canada weather page book marked on my computer, and in particular the satellite photos.  It is much easier to watch the storm tracks with that.
  Another aspect to safe cycling is also planning where you are going to ride and how you are going to get there.  Knowing the weather along your route and at your destination is a first step to being safe when and where you ride.
  I have started with this for a reason.  We here on the West coast have just come to the end of a great summer.  The leaves, as happens in the Fall, are turning colour and dropping. The municipal governments across the lower mainland have worked very hard at planting trees along each and every street.  With trees come leaves and with Fall comes leaves dropping. Those leaves now become a mush on the streets.  The expected heavy winds will accelerate that process.
  As the leaves drop they will stick to the wet roads, and that can make the roads much more slippery than they were.  The leaves start to rot, as leaves are want to do, they mix with the moisture and oils and smag on the roads and you have a slippery mess that is worse than loose gravel and more akin to ice.
  As the leaves are falling from the trees, they cause the sun to come through it different patterns, if at all.  This is where the shadows along the roads come into the equation.  Depending on the lighting conditions some spots are lighter than others, some are darker than others.  The distance can be just inches to feet, and each tree/over hang is different.  Now let’s complicate this, as can quickly happen in real life.
  Those same shaded spots that are here today, were different yesterday and will be different again tomorrow.
When you add the rain, wind and general lousy driving and riding conditions, this can be a recipe for problems.
It becomes very hard for drivers to see cyclists coming out of the shadows, unless the cyclists are using their lights.

  I have mentioned in this column on more than one occasion that I firmly believe in cyclists using lights at any time of the day or night.  I have also mentioned that I believe in very bright coloured riding vests. 

  You can get cycling rain jackets that are in very bright colours, such as bright green/and yellow.  You can always add reflective ties around the bottom of your legs, something that has the ability to move about.  That just might give a driver that doesn’t see you the cyclist, but he might catch the glint of something moving, that being the reflective strap.

The eye sees much more than we realise, so this just might be the piece the driver sees and reacts to, and gives a safe distance around the cyclist.

With the onslaught of the fall weather comes the shorter days and longer nights. The leaves wind and combine to clean out the tress over the next couple of months. Once you know to be cognisant of this added feature/hazard, then you will become a safer better cyclist.

  Bike paths and bike lanes are not immune to this. I fact they are likely to suffer this same fate with more leaf build-up as the paths and bike lanes are generally much closer to the trees and dropping leaves.  The problem on the bike paths and bike lanes there isn’t the volume of traffic to assist Mother Nature to break down the leaves, leaving them on the riding surface much longer than they would be on the roads.

Again here is where the four core CAN-BIKE values of

              Manoeuvrability, Visibility, Predictability and Communication

Also known as   See, Be Seen,  Be Heard,  Be Predictable

 I believe words to ride by, and will someday could likely save your life when cycling

Safety is everyone’s responsibility when you are out riding.  Be it on the roads or paths or lanes.

Lights really should be used at anytime of the day and night, when riding.
Wearing a very bright coloured reflective vest can only enhance your chances of having an uneventful ride and getting back safe.
Helmets really should be a standard piece of your cycling apparel.  If you are Avon guard and want to attach your light to your helmet, then go ahead and make the bold safety statement !!

Watching where you ride and the road surface will allow you a much better chance to stay up on your bike and not checking out the rotting leaves at a much closer view than you had planned.

 

Thanks for stopping by

   Safe Ride Home

             Chuck