Cycling: Obnoxiously Bright Lights

[video: they don't look cool, but they appear to be obnoxious enough to get you noticed by cars]

I recently resumed bicycling after a very, very long hiatus. It turns out that I have a habit of riding kind of late, to the point that I'm often returning to HQ as it's getting kind of dark. Enter the need for illumination. The good folks at REI steered me toward lights made by Planet Bike, and thus I bought the "Blinky Super Flash" tail light and the "Blaze" headlight. As you can see in the above video, these things light up the bike like a little emergency vehicle.

The Planet Bike "Blinky Super Flash" tail light has 1/2 watt LEDs and claims to be visible for up to a mile. It also claims to be weather proof and to operate in flashing mode for up to 100hrs (on AAA batteries). This light slides easily on and off of a seat post mount, so it can be stored in your bag when you don't need it, yet is quickly available when the sun begins to set. This tail light retails for about $30.

The Planet Bike "Blaze" 1 watt LED headlight is pretty bright, to the point that I can see it reflecting off of street signs a few blocks ahead. In "super flash" mode, it is annoyingly hard to miss. Moreover, it quickly mounts on your handlebars, thus making it easy to keep this thing out of sight until it's needed. I wouldn't ride around creek trails with this light as my only source of illumination, but it seems to work pretty well for alerting cars to your presence. According to the manufacturer, the "super flash" mode should run for about 20 hrs (on two AAA batteries). The light retails for about $45.