Lighting Up

 We have all seen one of those photos that make the rounds every so often, the one showing a bike's handlebars made to look like the antlers of a reindeer, with every gizmo possible (and their attachments) stacked one upon another in stair-step fashion - multiple mirrors, multiple lights, phones and computers and gps devices. Granted, I am never going to reach that level of ingenuity, but you've gotta start somewhere. 

Used to be that I could be satisfied with a single light, front and rear, with the night ride lasting as long as the charge on the battery; when the little warning light would start to pulse I'd know it was time to head for home. Problem was I might grow lax with my recharging schedule and that flashing might start a mile into the ride - mmm-hmm, damnit anyway!

This, of course, naturally led to the idea of carrying a spare. But where? Pockets? Sure it works, but... You know, between camera, phone, keys, id, maybe something for a little extra winter warmth, those pockets might be full; certainly with more than I typically like to shove into them.

So... there is this little space still on the seatpost, and the stem isn't being fully utilized...

Is this how it starts?

The little Cygolite Dash (which I have used for the past several winters) has, mostly, been relegated to second string, back up. The Specialized Flux 900, which I picked up at the end of last winter has been working out well in its first season as the starter. It is a solidly built light which seems able to take a beating. The metal housing hit the pavement one night when It popped out of the clamp - my fault for not securing it properly - but it kept lighting up my ride; it recharges quickly and lasts adequately long (well, maybe not on the brightest setting); my evening rides are typically about an hour and a quarter and, as long as I use a low setting each night, I will recharge it once, at the start of the week. A low setting (there are two, spot and wide, each 300 lumens) is all I need to feel comfortable for riding the road, but the high setting, which seems to last a single full ride before it needs to be recharged, is a thing of beauty; the beam pattern is super, lighting up everything, front and side. I don't care for the location of he charge warning light - on the side, and thus is not so easy to see - but that is a deficiency I can live with.