Uniform
The other day I was riding to work when I happened to notice the other people riding bicycles around me.
This was more of a coincidence than typical of what I see everyday. But I wondered- does not wearing a fluorescent uniform make a person stand out more?
Wear what you like. I like to be seen. So blinky lights front and rear 24/7. When I am driving my car, those are the bikes I see first, blinky lights and bright clothes. Greys, browns blacks just blend in with the road and such. YRMV
the motor vehicles we share the road with are required to have certain safety features: lights, brakes, seat belts, etc. bicycles should do the same, and a bit more, given that we’re smaller, off to the side, and harder to see even when drivers are paying attention. we need better products for bikes than the standard clip-on lights and hard-to-see blinky red lights.
and when it comes to the uniform – if you’re going to wear rain gear, etc, you might as well wear something that adds to your visibility, even if it’s a few stripes of reflective material like my black Showers Pass rain gear. (and i love my wool jacket, but it’s really uncomfortable on my bike.)
I like to be visible!
There are two types of cyclists in the world. The military one and the urban.
A uniform has nothing to do with safety. Its all about the desire for a uniform. It suddenly transforms you into a “responsible cyclist”, superior to others.
A clearly fascist mindset.
Oh, btw the helmet itself is a whole uniform. The symbol of the superior species of “responsible cyclist”.
And yet, your assertion that cyclists wishing to wear certain clothing being in a fascist mindset, is actually a fascist mindset in and of itself. I wear cycling-specific clothing because that’s what works best for me on long rides, including my 31 mile round trip commute. Anyone who thinks I should not wear such clothing and instead wear normal clothing, can frankly go pound sand. Normal clothes are fine for short rides. For long rides or where the climate tends to be more humid, not so much.
I prefer to think of it as team colors. =)