Cycling into the sun

Commuting, Day rides, Audax, Incidents, etc.
landsurfer
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Re: Cycling into the sun

Post by landsurfer »

stewartpratt wrote:
landsurfer wrote:Personally I just go for a ride , the sun position is never an issue.


You've never been driven into. Lucky you.

Doesn't mean the sun position isn't an issue.


I have actually, twice, both on dull miserable days ....
Cycling isn't dangerous, lets stop planning to die every time we go for a ride.
50 years of road cycling and still going strong , apart from the odd collision, fractured skull and broken fingers.
OH! and the currently bruised and cut hip (bl**dy ice ) ....
:D
And don't get me started on the sciatica as a result of the fractured spine, (twice..)

live life ... lol
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661-Pete
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Re: Cycling into the sun

Post by 661-Pete »

landsurfer wrote:WEAR SUNGLASSES IF IT'S BRIGHT.

May help some, but please please don't assume that you can stare straight at the sun if you are wearing sunglasses. They afford insufficient protection from this and the result could be blindness. Proper solar filters, such as astronomers attach to their telescope objectives for solar viewing and imaging, are incredibly dense: you can see nothing through one except when looking at the sun.
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landsurfer
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Re: Cycling into the sun

Post by landsurfer »

661-Pete wrote:
landsurfer wrote:WEAR SUNGLASSES IF IT'S BRIGHT.

May help some, but please please don't assume that you can stare straight at the sun if you are wearing sunglasses. They afford insufficient protection from this and the result could be blindness. Proper solar filters, such as astronomers attach to their telescope objectives for solar viewing and imaging, are incredibly dense: you can see nothing through one except when looking at the sun.


If anyone on this forum is that stupid surely they would not be bright (sic) enough to actually cycle ... just a thought.
“Quiet, calm deliberation disentangles every knot.”
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Flinders
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Re: Cycling into the sun

Post by Flinders »

It's wise to check that your sunglasses will cut out UV. If they don't, the tinting will cause your iris to open wider and let more UV in, which will can seriously damage your eye. It's worse than not having sunglasses on at all in that respect.
I used a cheap pair for a year (just for cycling, luckily) when I didn't know this, and kept getting sore eyes. When I found out about this and got a better pair, the problem went away. I was lucky I found out in time for the damage not to be severe.
TonyR
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Re: Cycling into the sun

Post by TonyR »

Mark1978 wrote:Agreed, there have been far too many cases where a driver has used 'low sun' as a defence and it's been accepted!


They have a point. After all who would expect the sun to be at that position in the sky at that time of the day? :wink:
AlaninWales
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Re: Cycling into the sun

Post by AlaninWales »

Probably not a definitive list of who would not expect it :( https://beyondthekerb.wordpress.com/2014/01/31/at-the-going-down-of-the-sun/

Apparently the 'watchdogs' for the CPS don't think that being able to see what is in front of you is a requirement for normal driving either http://thecyclingsilk.blogspot.co.uk/2015/02/criminal-prosecutions-arising-from-road.html
landsurfer
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Re: Cycling into the sun

Post by landsurfer »

X Loop sunglasses from Ebay. Top kit. UV 400 filters. £10 a pair. I also wear Bolle sunglasses, totaly cool. In a cycle shop £70+. In a safety clothing shop . . £8. You have been warned. Clear version also available for Squash players.
“Quiet, calm deliberation disentangles every knot.”
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Flinders
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Re: Cycling into the sun

Post by Flinders »

In a cycle shop £70+. In a safety clothing shop . . £8.


Are you sure they're the same specification? If so that's pretty outrageous.
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Guy951
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Re: Cycling into the sun

Post by Guy951 »

Flinders wrote:
In a cycle shop £70+. In a safety clothing shop . . £8.


Are you sure they're the same specification? If so that's pretty outrageous.


They probably are the real thing. A couple of years ago one of my friends worked for Oakley and she got me a pair of Ducati sunglasses for "cost and the price of a beer." I gave her £20. At that time,in the shops, they were £119.95. There really is that much of a mark-up on such things.
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landsurfer
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Re: Cycling into the sun

Post by landsurfer »

The profit margins on cycling clothing and accessories is on average 5 x cost. Because people cannot understand the difference between cost and value. I wear a superb set of bib tights from Decathlon. £19.99. Yet in the magazines they do comparisons of £150 + products. . . If you will pay £2000+ for a bicycle you are fair game.
Sunglasses are are even worse the profits are massive, but as long as people will pay £100 for trainers that cost £0.40 to make (seriously) you deserve all you get.
Go to your local safety clothing company, get superb glasses, base layers, even walking trousers for a fraction of the cost
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gplhl
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Cycling into the sun

Post by gplhl »

I Wear a cycling cap under my helmet.

1. Stops glare as you lower your head when sunny.

2. Stops rain hitting your eyes if raining.

Gary
http://www.longbikeride.co.uk
pwa
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Re: Cycling into the sun

Post by pwa »

When the roads is wet after recent rain and the sun comes out low in the winter sky you can find glare from the road to be a problem. I suggested some time back that my habit of switching on a nice bright rear LED light might make us visible to motorists also struggling with the glare. I was told I was mistake. Well, last week my wife was riding ahead of me after recent rain, there was a piece of road that had blinding glare and her rear LED shone through and made her more visible to people behind. The red light stood out from the field of glare around it. So I've done the test and it works.
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Audax67
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Re: Cycling into the sun

Post by Audax67 »

gplhl wrote:I Wear a cycling cap under my helmet.

1. Stops glare as you lower your head when sunny.

2. Stops rain hitting your eyes if raining.

Gary
http://www.longbikeride.co.uk


Used to do this, only with a baseball cap. Then last August on a 1100k Audax we only got 3 hours' rest out of 72, and keeping my head racked back to see out under the peak gave me Shermer's Neck - couldn't hold my head up for the last 24 hours. Fair description of Hell.

I found that the peak of a cycling cap wasn't enough of a rain-shield, so now I have a helmet with built-in visor. In oncoming traffic I just frown and let my eyebrows deal with the headlights. As for riding into the sun... sun? What sun?
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[XAP]Bob
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Re: Cycling into the sun

Post by [XAP]Bob »

pwa wrote:When the roads is wet after recent rain and the sun comes out low in the winter sky you can find glare from the road to be a problem. I suggested some time back that my habit of switching on a nice bright rear LED light might make us visible to motorists also struggling with the glare. I was told I was mistake. Well, last week my wife was riding ahead of me after recent rain, there was a piece of road that had blinding glare and her rear LED shone through and made her more visible to people behind. The red light stood out from the field of glare around it. So I've done the test and it works.

Fairly specific conditions.

There is no rear light that can hope to compete with direct "low" sun.

Particularly if you have polarising glasses on then the reflections should be drastically cut (depending on the quality of the filter) giving the light a much better chance.

Not suggesting that it didn't work, but it's not a given that it will...
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Vorpal
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Re: Cycling into the sun

Post by Vorpal »

There are many hazards cycling. Low sun is only one of them, and frankly, I think it is far from the worst. There are a couple of well-publicised cases in which a driver *claimed* that he or she was blinded by a low sun, but we know that that alone won't make someone drive into a cyclist.

There are longer periods of low sun in the winter in Norway, due to it being further north, so it is impossible for me to avoid some times of the year, unless it is by just taking the car.

When I get glare off a wet road and / or low sun, I don't generally do anything special, though if I am nearing the crest of hill, or something that is likely to make the hazard worse, suddenly, I will check behind me for cars, and I may adjust my road position, according to the situation. That probably means taking the lane I figure if someone's ability to see is limited, they'll still do their best to look immedaitely in front of the car, and may be a little less likely to see a cyclist in secondary than primary position.
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