@ascentale @xtaran Forrest Baum, joining #BikeNite from Lynnwood, (north of Seattle, WA and the kind of place you can ride by pet goats!)

A1. Good q - I like riding at night! It's usually quiet and less busy, but I know it can be a safety concern.

@ascentale @forpeterssake #BikeNite A8 chain cleaning: about once a quarter or whenever i’ve picked up a lot of grime & notice.

@ascentale @daihard #BikeNite A7 tubeless tools: A pump. Normally, the stans sealant will plug the hole, you just need to get back to riding pressure. I had a tire that wouldn’t seal a slow leak, & know i can stuff a tube into a tubeless tire upon need, so i carried that + tire irons til i got it fixed (didn’t need it)

@ascentale #BikeNite A5: whatcha wearing? Depends. Grocery store trip, whatever i have on. Commuting had been weather appropriate bike gear, so i could sweat & change into biz clothing. Rec ride tends to be padded shorts, but that could be under cargo shorts or whatever. I have a collection of fun jerseys so i do wear them

@ascentale A4 #BikeNite - Hmm. I try not to be a gatekeeper, and maintain anyone on a bike is a cyclist, so i’m still using the term. I’ve tried to shift from ‘the car hit me’ to ‘a person drove a car into me’ in order to give the driver more agency than the hunk of steel, but now we have these self driving cars, which give the option ‘the AI programmers allowed the car to hit me’. (And yes, a person has driven their car into me)

@ascentale #BikeNite A1 - riding at night: In the Before Times, i commuted by bike 11 months of the year, at least 3 of those included before dawn/after sunset rides. Years before that, i lived in the midwest & mtn biked by headlight to extend the riding season (it got dark before it got snowy)

It's "hit *by* car" that jumps out at me the most, I always have to point out that the victim was hit *with* a car, *by* traffic Engineer, elected+appointed officials, maybe driver, etc.

@ascentale @glightly
A4 #BikeNite

@ascentale @TicklishHoneyBee I’m a medium-tall, very curvy woman, and bibs really are the best thing (except no one can seem to make leg bands that account for track sprinter thighs, even when the rest of a size XL is plenty big enough). For people shaped like me, I recommend Velocio, Podiumwear & Rapha. Runner up is Black Bibs, which is inexpensive as they go. #BikeNite

@ascentale @TicklishHoneyBee and of course gloves when it's colder and/or raining. I like the breathable gloves with a popout wind mitt and add a layer of neoprene foam in the mitt plus a layer of silk liner gloves under them. These are not waterproof, but they're thermally fine in the cold rain unless you have to put them back on before they dry out. Also highly recommend bar mitts on the bike if it's really cold and wet, besides a rain cape/poncho mostly covering your gloves. #BikeNite A5

@ascentale @xtaran A6: Horizontal! I’m of the school of thought that a huge tilt in saddle, in either direction, usually means something else is terribly wrong with the fit. #BikeNite

@ascentale @glightly A4: I tend to avoid “cyclist” when talking to non-bike people. I also try to make sure I include the person, not just the vehicle object — so, “driver” instead of “car” or “person on bike” or “bike rider” instead of “bike” or “cyclist”. For example, “that driver just hit that person on a bike!” #BikeNite

I wear a weather-appropriate hat or cycling cap and casual clothes: layers of cotton and/or wool t-shirts, wool/bamboo magic cycling-specific hoodie, or a light seersucker shirt in the summer, cycling-specific rain jacket and/or rain cape to keep my shorts dry (sometimes wool pants or quick-dry shorts, and stretchy undershorts instead of boxers for longer rides), closed-toed strappy sandals or shoes (rubber short boots if it's very wet) with wool socks.

@ascentale @TicklishHoneyBee #BikeNite A5

@ascentale @ai6yr A3: Max for a commute (for me) is about an hour. Absolute max (for me) for groceries & doctors & such regular errands is maybe half an hour. BUT I have purposefully positioned myself about a mile or less from my most frequent errands. Which is facilitated by living in New England, where things were often laid out centuries before cars. #BikeNite

@ascentale @enobacon A2B: not yet, but I’m sure I will at some point. #BikeNite

@ascentale @fbaum A1: I looove helping people find the right bike for them, which is a huge step for people getting going on riding. One of my biggest successes was a tiny old Cannondale for my coworker/neighbor. Another was a flossy vintage mtb with a nice retro-modern build for a now-ex boyfriend to ride in Boston. #BikeNite

@ascentale @xtaran A1: College town New England. Yes, I ride at night, it’s fine. Here I mostly ride on the bike path or in we’ll lit downtown at night. I used to live in NYC & rode at night because one rides & sometimes it’s night. #BikeNite

@ascentale @forpeterssake A8: Um. Almost never and I feel bad about it. My partner gets fed up & cleans it for me once in a while. #BikeNite

@ascentale @TicklishHoneyBee A5: I sweat A LOT so I wear some kind of bike or athletic clothes most of the time, unless it’s a short errand ride or something very slow & social. I commute in bibs & a tank top in the summer; bibs with various long layers over & long sleeve layers & a down vest in the winter. Yes, even when it’s 0°F I almost always opt for down best instead of a sleeved jacket. #BikeNite

@daihard @dx @ascentale I don’t think this is fringe at all! More a practical approach to be safe. #BikeNite

@ascentale @TicklishHoneyBee #bikenite #biketooter A5: I almost always have a mesh chamois with shorts over, gloves, riding cap, helmet. If I'm running a small trip to store under 2 miles whatever shirt I'm wearing. Mostly I ride longer training or recreational rides, then I'll wear a high vis wicking shirt with UPF arm and leg sleeves. Rain gear as required. Generally not oce it hits freezing I'm off the bike until spring.