being seen (nklr)

[Toby Lampson]

Fellow Riders, Just thought I'd share a couple recent dicoveries. First is the 'Road Construction Safety Barricade and Supply' store. I discovered this place while in search of reflective adhesive tape. Indeed this place is Le Creme! Its almost as psychedelic as the 60's. Bright oranges, yellows, and white everywhere! On top of that they had a reflector tape section that was like a candy store. Orange, green, blue, yellow, black and white stripe, red and black stripe, yellow and black stripe.......I had a ball..........and spent like $40 bucks!......whew. The best deal I got was a back-brace belt with four inch wide flourescent orange suspenders. Its like ones you see on some guys working road construction. I have noticed, in the 8 weeks that I've had the thing.....that people I'm approaching actually notice me sooner.....yeah, it 'GETS ATTENTION'. After thinking about this for awhile I sorta realised, 'hey, I look like a road crewman- but I'm moving'. I think this is one of the things going on in cagers heads........Well, whatever makes em' think! I speculate, as more cyclists use road crew like garb, it may actually benefit road workers and MC riders alike.......indeed, people take an extra second to try and figure out- 'hey, is that guy moving? or not.' Last but not least. I noticed Rob Crocker, whose ridden with us a couple times, put white reflective safety tape all over his bike. At first I thought this was unnecessary. But, in subsequent thinking, I recall him stating that thing about how motorcycles are not seen from head-on. He put reflective tape on the hand-guards of his bike....and on other surfaces facing forward. So, now I've gone to my reflective tape cash and begun, again, making my bike more visible......at night. I put some blue tape facing rearward....... the tape is so bright it looks like a blue light, like the CHP bikes have....... hey, maybe that's why when some vehicles go flyin past me they suddenly slow down!?!?!.....or slow to never pass me at all!?!?! So far I think I'm legal. Someone told me it was illegal to have red reflector tape facing forward.....I dunno. My goal, when finished, will be to have an eye catching reflective array, but one that hopefully won't piss off the law, on one of those rarer occasions.....if I'm speeding. Toby(Cal Posse)