What’s with bicyclists riding at night without any light or reflectors? I nearly hit one a couple nights ago. Granted, I don’t have the best night vision, but if I cream a rider who is wearing black and has no reflectors or lamp, do I get ticketed? Why don’t bikers want to be seen? – Julie
Hopefully, we can shed some light on the situation because the same thing keeps happening to Mrs. Action Line.
Just the other week at Eighth Street and East Third Avenue, a rider in dark clothes and no lights blew through the stop sign just as Mrs. Action Line was turning left.
Mrs. Action Line gasped and hit the brakes, and the biker got all uppity.
There’s really no explanation for nocturnal ninja nincompoops. When it comes to bike vs. car, the car always wins.
Anyway, state law mandates every bike operated between dusk and dawn must have a front lamp “emitting a white light visible from a distance of at least 500 feet to the front.”
In addition, red reflectors “which shall be visible for 600 feet to the rear” are required, as are side reflectors or side lamps.
As for who gets the ticket in an accident, that’s for the courts to decide. But it doesn’t have to be a judicial matter if riders would use their gray matter.
Our friend John Glover, general manager of Mountain Bike Specialists downtown, has a fine selection of small, lightweight LED lamps or blinking-red rear lights. “Even the best rider can get caught after dark,” he said.
The basic one will set you back around 15 bucks, which is $165,876 less than a trip to ER and subsequent physical therapy.
It’s a sad thing when wheelbarrows in the Snowdown parade have more lights on them than bikes do on any given night.
I wasn’t crazy about the roundabout bike sculpture at first. But now, I delight in seeing them wearing o’ the green on St. Patrick’s Day, Pilgrim hats at Thanksgiving and so on. I love the fluidity and creativity of those who dress the sculpture. However, I think the city doesn’t appreciate the guerilla artists’ efforts nearly as much. No decoration lasts more than a few days. Why does the city discourage this revolving folk art? Why not celebrate the seasons with a little creativity by keeping the decorations in place for at least four or five days? Installation art doesn’t need to be quite so temporary! – Sandy
Action Line was unsuccessful in finding out who has issues with clandestine clothing, But it doesn’t matter. There’s always a municipal malcontent, so the skulking sculptural skalawags will have to get tricky.
So here’s a suggestion to keep the city off-guard: Add some additional but obscure commemorative occasions to the major holidays. For example:
March 14 is National Potato Chip Day. Bags of locally made Chip Peddler snacks would make a handsome handlebar decoration.
April 17 is National Haiku Poetry Day:
Roundabout riders
Clad in seasonal trappings
pose a ‘Prose Challenge’
May 24 is International Tiara Day. Those iron bikers would look smashing with rhinestone ones.
June 23 is Pink Flamingo Day. Nothing else needs to be said.
Aug. 2 is International Beer Day. There are five bikes in the roundabout. There are five Durango breweries. How convenient!
Sept. 18 is National Attention Deficit Disorder Awareness Day so the sculptures could be … just a sec, what were we talking about? Sculptures? On September something-or-other? A special day?
But Dec. 5 might just have the most intriguing possibilities. It’s International Ninja Day. So the bike sculptures could be clad in black to become less visible – just like the local riders around here who wear dark clothes and refuse to have lamps or reflectors.
Email questions to actionline@durangoherald.com or mail them to Action Line, The Durango Herald, 1275 Main Ave., Durango, CO 81301. You can request anonymity if you knew that today is National Carrot Cake Day.
