Incoming!

It’s the most wonderful time of the year. It's the time of year when I can ask Santa for bike stuff!  Despite my annual spot on the naughty list, he usually delivers the goods.  Normally, I ask for a few of my favorite tires, semi-obnoxious bar tape, and new shift cables to freshen up my bikes for the spring. After a long year of miles, all four of my bikes need some attention.  

In years past, I was able to rack up 4 to 7 hours a week, or about 5,000 miles per year on a bike.  Now as the parent of a 13 month old, I’ve been lucky to get on a bike for an hour per week. Needless to say, my bike collection’s maintenance intervals have been extended…a lot.  Just as life priorities shifted, so has my wish list to Santa.

Instead of asking Santa for help to keep my bikes on the road, I’ve asked for something to help me get home in one piece.  In a world where cars are equipped with seemingly every sort of radar, lidar, night vision, and arguably dangerous semi-autonomous cruise control, I figure it’s time to equip my bike with the same technology.  

So I told Santa I need a Garmin Varia radar…yes, freaking radar…for my bike.  

For years, I’ve seen old school, high mileage riders rocking rearview mirrors the size of a nickel on their helmets.  They’re usually homemade affairs, precariously epoxied within their line of sight with a piece of wire.  I’ve always wondered how well they worked, but cycling is as much about vanity as it is going fast.  So despite my share of close passes and loud honks, I never considered one because they look atrocious and I’ve seen super glue melt plastics and foams. What would it do to my helmet?  Instead I’ve been using a tail light fastidiously and been pretty happy. Or maybe just lucky? Is this what survivors bias feels like? It's pathetic that's even a thought in my mind.  

Anyways, what does a Varia Radar do?  It tracks up to 8 cars coming up behind you. It has an effective distance of up to 450 feet and displays multiple cars relative distance to you, each other, and their closing speed on your bike’s computer.  Cars passing you at a high rate of speed trigger an audible alarm and visual warning.  Passing cars are treated to a flashing tail light that changes it’s pattern as they get closer. This pattern change hopefully catches the driver’s attention.  With rave reviews seemingly across the board and it’s small size, I figure it’s time to take the plunge.

 If any of this tech surprises you, it shouldn’t.  These days moderately priced bikes come packed with cutting edge technology like dual piston disc brakes and electronically actuated shifting.  Heck, most new bikes don’t even have inner tubes anymore.  So if cars have been equipped with similar sensors for decades, why not miniaturize them for bikes? Everything else has.

In a world where cyclists are victim blamed for anything that happens to them, I’m always trying to eliminate reasons for it to happen to me.  

Another technology you’ll find in cars that made it's way onto bikes recently is dash cams.  A front and rear camera setup for a bike isn’t terribly expensive, and some even automatically save footage if an impact is detected.  Some cameras even record 360 degrees at once.  

Did the cyclist you pass a bit too close get your plate number on camera?  Did they catch you on radar?  The answer is more and more likely to be yes, so please, share the road accordingly. If not I'll have some grievances to air during your Festivus Dinner.