Dark shape in the middle distance, faintly illuminated by sodium streetlight. Its large, moving slowly and faintly meandering from left to right. I get closer. The car headlights creep up the rear and start to hit something recognisable. At last. Something. Brain rapidly decodes visual cues. Big, dark, chunky. A bear? No. This is Cardiff, not Calgary. I’m closer now. Large dark jacket. Big Russian style tank hat. Two wheels, no lights and wait for it…….a set of cans that could happily grace any mixing desk from Berlin to Tokyo. Dark and unidentifiable to other road users, isolated and deaf to traffic. Bravo. This must be some new urban adventure sport. Or maybe just idiocy.
It’s not always the dogs that are ninja you know. This was one of those rare occasions when I was driving my car in lieu of using my bike. And for all my staunch defence of cyclists rights, here’s one doing the rest of us no favours at all, whilst putting himself and others in harms way (no lights, dark clothes, camouflage hat and MASSIVE HEADPHONES. sheesh). Be safe, be seen and all that.
No need to go all neon on us (unless that’s your thing). Sensible lights and reflective bits will suffice. Cycle art courtesy via Kitesurf bike rambling.
Categories: Cycle art, cycle safety, Cycling
CycleStuff 
Pretty good name to describe such cyclists. I see such “adventurists” all the time (and have even posted about my own experience with one while driving). I don’t get it. And you’re right — they do us no favors at all! Good post!
Thanks. In London, for a brief period of time, and organisation named ‘Bike minded’ (worth looking up) handed out free bike lights to cyclists without them. As an educational scheme, I thought it was excellent though not without irony; it was run in Kensington and Chelsea, probably the richest borough in the UK!
There’s a guy that I see on my morning (driving) commute that is very similar. The drive takes place before dawn, on a narrow, twisting and poorly-lit road. And to make matters worse, there’s been construction lately so the road is even more precarious than usual. I’m now in tune with his schedule so I know to look for him, but it’s so foolish when it’s so simple to just add a couple of lights!
Daft as a brush when its so easy to resolve. Cyclists like that are a PR nightmare. I hope it doesn’t end in tears!
Great post 🙂
I see ‘them’ all the time in my area … either whizzing across the road in front of me (I like cycle ninja a lot), or pinging their bell at me as I am walking on the pavement … sheeh indeed!