Another Tail Light in My "See Me!" Arsenal

Cygolite Hotshot 100 Tail Light

Seat stay mounted Hotshot 100

I'm a recreational cyclist who lives in a city that isn't exactly bicycle-friendly (no matter what the tourism bureau says). Consequently, I make it my policy to never go out on the streets without a tail light that I hope will catch the eye of that distracted driver behind me, even in broad daylight. The USB bike light I'd been using kept getting harder and harder to charge because of a funky USB socket, so I plunked down about twenty-four smackers to buy a new one. I chose a Cygolite Hotshot 100.

Indy Upgrades Illinois Street Bike Lane

Downtown Indy's new Illinois Street bike lane

I hadn't biked into downtown Indianapolis for a while, so when I turned the corner from Michigan onto northbound Illinois, I was astounded to see that the bike lane stripe at the right-hand side of the road had been scraped off, even though the "Bike Lane" signs were still up. It took a block or two before I noticed the bright green lane on the far side. Yep, Indy has (finally) moved into the '90s when it comes to bike lanes.

Your Bike Mechanic's Best Buddy

Park Tool AWS-1 Allen Head Tri Wrench

Park Tool AWS-1

There are some tools cyclists take along on a ride and some they do not. Smart cyclists carry a multitool (the bicycling equivalent of a Swiss Army knife) with standard hex wrench sizes and screwdriver blades, and maybe a chain tool – or maybe not. Multitools, even though they have saved more than person’s bacon on the road, are actually lousy tools for working. They’re designed to be compact and lightweight, not ergonomic and convenient. When it comes time for putting the bike on the shop stand for routine maintenance or repairs, that’s when you break out the tools that are meant for the shop: tools like the Park Tool AWS-1 Y-shaped hex wrench.