NOV 6, 2009 – 12:00AM

The awful story of Rachel Leek has forced me to spend quite a bit of time lately reconsidering my approach to riding my bike at night.

Leek was killed while riding around 2:15 a.m. Oct. 16 in the 1000 block of Tennessee.

In no way am I passing judgment about fault, but I noted the police report said it appeared her bicycle did not have a rear or front reflector and that each pedal had one reflector present but that each pedal also was missing a reflector and that it was impossible to determine which direction the reflectors were facing when the accident occurred.

First, the law, according to the Kansas Department of Transportation:

  • (a) Every bicycle when in use at nighttime shall be equipped with a lamp on the front which shall emit a white light visible from a distance of at least five hundred (500) feet to the front and with a red reflector on the rear of a type approved by the secretary of transportation which shall be visible from all distances from one hundred (100) feet to six hundred (600) feet to the rear when directly in front of lawful lower beams of head lamps on a motor vehicle. A lamp emitting a red light visible from a distance of five hundred (500) feet to the rear may be used in addition to the red reflector.
  • (b) Every bicycle shall be equipped with a brake which will enable the operator to make the braked wheels skid on dry, level, clean pavement.
  • (c) No person shall sell a pedal for use on a bicycle, unless such pedal is equipped with a reflector of a type approved by the secretary of transportation which is visible from the front and rear of the bicycle to which it is attached during darkness from a distance of two hundred (200) feet, and no person shall sell a new bicycle, unless it is equipped with pedals meeting the requirements of this subsection.

Note the wording of (c). It doesn’t mandate reflectors on pedals IN USE. It specifies the sale of pedals, though there are dozens of pedals for sale without reflectors and dozens of new bikes for sale without reflectored pedals — or any pedals at all.

Anyway, that’s the law.

Personally, I wouldn’t feel safe just meeting the legal requirements.

I have the brightest head- and taillights I can afford, and I left the reflectors on my spokes, too, though many bikes are sold without them and many “serious cyclists” take them off posthaste.

I don’t have reflectors on my pedals, but my bike shoes have reflective heels that, in my opinion, are more visible than reflectors on the pedals would be.

Much of my cycling outerwear has reflective bits, too.

I don’t exactly look like a Christmas tree, but I can see and be seen quite well, I think.

I think.

Is it enough? Hard to tell.

I’m not going to go all O Tannenbaum, because I think you can do too much. I’ve been blinded by cyclists with poorly adjusted — and, truth be told, probably too-bright — headlights, and I think creating too much of a spectacle of yourself can be counterproductive. In my mind, I envision a drunk driver seeing a lit-up cyclist, doing the drunk squint, peering over the wheel trying to make sense of the illuminated rider ahead, veering and … well, you get the idea.

I used to roll on tires with reflective sidewalls, but — and I’m no rubber snob — they were awful tires, and, much like reflectors on the spokes, they only illuminate when the bike is dead in an oncoming car’s headlights. In other words, they only illuminate when it’s too late to do the cyclist any good.

That said, a few years ago, I bought a roll of industrial-strength reflective tape I had meant to put on strategic spots on my bike. I never got around to it, but I dug it out the other day and plan to apply it before the week’s over.

I’m saving up for a new headlight, too, and I have my eyes on a better and brighter taillight.

I figure I can’t do anything about everybody else on the road, but I sure can do something about me.