Sunstrike!

[The Spin Doctor]

It's a term we don't use in the UK but perhaps we should, because it's a more effective way of saying "the sun got in my eyes and I was momentarily dazzled". Sunstrike is a term I heard a number of times on my travels to New Zealand last month.

The clue to watch out for sunstrike is fairly simple - is the sun low to the horizon? Then ask a second question - are you heading in the general direction of the sun?

If the answer to both those questions is yes, then there's a good chance that at some point on the journey, the sun will be in our eyes.

READ MORE HERE: https://ko-fi.com/post/March-24-Sunstrike-G2G15EVWD

[slowsider]

If the answer to both those questions is yes, then there's a good chance that at some point on the journey, the sun will be in our eyes.

If it's YES to the first, and NO to the second, then there is a good chance it will be in the eyes of oncoming drivers.

[MrLongbeard]

[Hairybiker84]

Friend of mine did that when we were dispatch riding - coming out of London on the M4, wet motorway, spray and sun in his face. Thankfully not at that speed though - he missed the initial brake lights and just couldn't stop in time. Unhurt and not hit by anything behind him.

[MrLongbeard]

A few strips of leccy tape along the top of the visor helps

[Bigyin]

A few strips of leccy tape along the top of the visor helps

It does help and my other option is the peaked helmet as well



Not a complete solution though and although the tape and peak helps the rider my biggest concern is the other drivers getting blinded as they wait to pull out of / turn into a junction as you are approaching with the sun behind the rider

[MrLongbeard]

Every little helps
My commute is east of a morning and then west of an afternoon, so it worked / works for me.

[The Spin Doctor]

That video is still scary!

It seems to be implemented in quite a few crashes in NZ, possibly because of the clear skies.

[Trinity765]

I mention low sun in my ride briefings at this time of year, mainly "Anticipate it and back off before it happens". I also buy a new visor for Autumn and I always carry visor cleaner - the sun is low but there is still a lot of foliage on the trees creating lots of shaded areas. I like motorcycle gloves with a wiper built in, some are better than others, but there's nothing worse than smearing a little bit of dirty road spray across your vision and making it a lot worse.

I was following a guy a couple of weeks ago who crashed on a left hand bend in gravel. His reason was "he couldn't see the road surface".

Our club did a big ride out to The Iron Bull Roadhouse, Basingstoke on Sunday......... One of our ride leaders decided to crash in front of me on the way out on a very gravelly bend. From my perspective it went cloud of dust, a few break lights, squiggled myself, oh look! Green bike under a van bumper, shaken rider already standing up. Rider ok, bike ok - crash bungs did their job, exchange of details and out of there in 10 minutes. The van driver coming in the other direction, whose bumper the bike slid under said "It's a good job that I wasn't eating the Greggs sausage roll I'd just bought and I was concentrating".

Edit: I like the Shoei GT Air with the flip up sun visor.

[Hairybiker84]

I've got a Schuberth and can just lower the tinted internal visor a little bit to get some shade.

[1913]

Another consideration is large windows, particularly on tower blocks. The sun behind you is not a safe tenet.

[Dodgy69]

Tbh, I don't ride in the evenings much, mainly because it's my chillout time of day, but also the low sun. Not just harder for me but car driver's will suffer aswel. It's bad enough with good visibility but with low sun in their eyes, God help us.

[dern]

Feel sorry for the guy but it an inevitable outcome at some point if you continue moving forward when you can't see. It's no different from riding in to a bank of fog or heavy rain and pretty basic stuff.

[iansoady]

All good points especially thinking about what others can / can't see. The worst time is early morning / late afternoon when the roads are wet and it's almost impossible to see because of the dazzle.

[The Spin Doctor]

Another consideration is large windows, particularly on tower blocks. The sun behind you is not a safe tenet.

It must happen... but compared to riding directly into the setting sun or directly out of it, I can't help but think that it's relatively rare that the sun will be low enough on the horizon AND there will be a tower block with an uninterrupted line of sight to that setting sun AND the rider will be at just the right angle to be blinded by the reflection.

I can't honestly say it's ever happened to me!

[1913]

Another consideration is large windows, particularly on tower blocks. The sun behind you is not a safe tenet.

It must happen... but compared to riding directly into the setting sun or directly out of it, I can't help but think that it's relatively rare that the sun will be low enough on the horizon AND there will be a tower block with an uninterrupted line of sight to that setting sun AND the rider will be at just the right angle to be blinded by the reflection.

I can't honestly say it's ever happened to me!

https://www.google.co.uk/maps/@52.47249 ... 384!8i8192

Sixth floor in the summer around 7:45 am sends a death laser into your face.