Messy side street or busy clear street with no bike lane?

My commute is from Rogers Park to Skokie. I consider myself largely lucky because I take Howard west and Dodge (California) north, to Oakton west. It's all a bus route (CTA 97) so it's usually clear. Howard and Dodge both have bike lanes. 

 

But on my way home, I have a decision to make. It's after 6, after dark and Oakton is a high traffic situation with no bike lanes. In the daytime I'm not so nervous about it. I can be seen and I can take the lane and I don't feel threatened. But on my way home, it's dark and colder and any slush might've frozen to ice. 

 

There's a side street, Keeney, parallel to Oakton, most of the way to my work. It's slow and not as clear as Oakton. In fact, I think it's rarely completely clear. And even if I take Keeney, there's still a long ways from where it ends, West of McCormick, to Dodge, where I leave Oakton. 

 

I'm beginning to lose hope for my commute home. Last winter, the dark and the slush was enough to make me quit for the dark hours until DST in March. I have been determined to ride through this winter, but a fall in front of a car on Keeney (the car stopped) has made me begin to wonder if I'm just being hard-headed and compromising my safety. I wear bright colors, have lights and the whole shebang, but I still get nervous about taking the lane. 

 

So, I guess I have a couple of questions:

 

1) When in the dark and faced with the dilemma of a messy, slow street, and a clear, bike-lane-less busy street, what do you do?

 

2) How well do studded tires work? Is is worth the investment? 

 

Any advice would be appreciated. I could just jump on that bus, but I hate buses. I could ride to the Yellow Line with relative ease, but I'd rather not. Save my Bike Winter! 

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Permalink Reply by Michael A on December 30, 2010 at 10:17am

I use a small mini newt with the battery on my helmet and a planet bike rear light on the back. I find it people notice the movement of the light when I look from side to side. It also is helpful when coming to an intersection where the cars have a stop sign, I can look right at the driver, with a few hundred lumens blasting at em, they usually see me. I keep this set up on a dedicated helmet for early mornings or night rides. 

The only draw back is on any kind of group rides the light has to be covered when looking at co-riders

Cameron Puetz said:


I’ve always had a rear light on my helmet, but recently added a front light. I’m surprised how much difference it’s made, especially with getting the attention of drivers to my side who are moving over without looking.


S said:
A light on your helmet would probably also help a bit.  It lets you see what you're looking at and you can get the attention of cars by looking at them.
Permalink Reply by Allen Wrench on December 30, 2010 at 5:22pm
I think helmet lights are kind of aggressive and might blind oncoming drivers. That would make it hard for them to safely avoid hitting you or someone else. A bright light on the bike, focused to be visible but not directly at oncoming traffic, seems more congenial and likely more safe in the long run.
Permalink Reply by Jeffrey Parfitt on January 5, 2011 at 4:38pm

Last year I took a spill on black ice and decided this winter I'd get studded tires - Nokian Hakkapeliitta W106's.  They are living up to the hype - I can go over ice easily without slipping. I like that I can ride in traffic and not worry about needing to cut over to avoid a large ice patch.  They are slow, a bit more so than standard knobbies I'd say.  They go well through snow, slush and ice, but can slide in extreme conditions, like any tires.  Their traction on dry pavement is just fine.  They are adequate but not great on steel grate drawbridges.  I feel they've added a lot in the way of safety to my winter riding - I'm resigned to the fact that winter biking will by and large be slower.  I say get them if you can, but it's easier to find them in the fall.

Permalink Reply by Minh on January 6, 2011 at 7:43am
Agreed. There has been countless times where I've been blinded by the helmet lights of oncoming cyclists on the lake front path. I've seen many cyclists with 2-4 "front" lights and just one weak rear light. I'd think the rear light is the most important unless you love "salmoning" (going against traffic).

Allen Wrench said:
I think helmet lights are kind of aggressive and might blind oncoming drivers. That would make it hard for them to safely avoid hitting you or someone else. A bright light on the bike, focused to be visible but not directly at oncoming traffic, seems more congenial and likely more safe in the long run.

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