Cyclists want to face out when sharing the street with motorized autos. The brighter you’re, the extra doubtless it’s {that a} passing automobile will see you and transfer out of your approach. However simply since you are using a bicycle doesn’t essentially imply it’s important to gown in neon colours and plaster reflective tape over each inch of your physique. There’s a strategy to stand out to automobiles whereas in your bicycle and nonetheless mix in with the remainder of the world as quickly as you step off your bike on the finish of the day.
My technique for standing out and nonetheless mixing in is as follows:
Driving with panniers, my bicycle and baggage make up roughly half of the seen a part of my automobile (me and my bike). My physique makes up the second seen half.
With this information in hand, I select to journey with vivid pink panniers, which stand out to passing motorists and permit them to see me coming from distant. However as a substitute of masking my physique with vivid colours as properly, I select to put on extra muted tones that mix in higher with the remainder of society once I step off my bike. This permits me stand out on the bike and mix in off the bike.
It’s a easy technique that I’ve discovered to work fairly properly.
For the touring bicycle owner, nevertheless, this technique of standing out at occasions and mixing at others could be taken a lot additional.
Tenting as an illustration. In case you are tenting in a standard campground, having a vivid coloured tent isn’t any massive deal. Nevertheless, if you happen to plan to stealth camp, a vivid coloured tent will do nothing however provide you with away. A inexperienced, brown, or black tent could be a lot better fitted to vacationers who plan to camp within the wild.
Even vivid coloured panniers (or trailers) could be too flashy for some touring cyclists. A brand new set of panniers strolling right into a muted brown city does nothing however draw consideration. In lots of locations on the earth, an individual on a bicycle seems poor (virtually homeless), however in different areas of the world, a vivid pink set of panniers hanging off a thousand greenback touring bicycle is a positive signal that somebody with cash has rolled into city.
Perhaps this concept of standing out at occasions and mixing in at others could be taken even additional? What if there have been bicycle jerseys that had been pink on one facet and black on the opposite – permitting you to decide on at any given second whether or not you wished to put on pink and stand out to passing autos… or put on black and mix in with individuals round you.
What if there have been tents that had been vivid orange on one facet (and will subsequently be used to sign for assist in the occasion of an accident), however got here with a camouflage rain fly that may very well be used to camp within the wild if want be?
And what if there have been panniers than seemed like one million bucks at one second, however may very well be immediately reworked to appear to be nothing greater than trash baggage within the subsequent?
Is that this all an excessive amount of? Does it actually matter whether or not you mix in or stand out? I believe all of it relies upon, however I’d like to listen to what it’s important to say. And when you’re at it, let me know the way else you assume it could be attainable to face out whereas touring by bike, however on the similar time, mix in along with your environment.
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