Reflectorization

That's a funny word.  I don't know why I find it so amusing.  Included with recent Craigslist bike purchase of an 80's Japanese Zebrakenko road bike was the original manual.  Yes, Zebrakenko is another funny word, but back to the manual.  Paging through it, I found the page devoted to "Reflectorization" - the whole page.

 

While initially it struck me as odd that reflectors could demand so much documentation, it made me think of how important they really are.  I started out in mountain bike racing where reflectors were not only unnecessary, but illegal due to safety concerns.  As my biking has migrated to the streets, those useless bits have become much more important to me.  Sunset is coming earlier and earlier.  Recently there have been a number of local car\bike accidents, some of them fatal, some where reflectors would have made the difference. Aside from the typical reflectors on the bike, modern bike accessories let you get your reflectorization on to your heart's content.  From head to toe, shoes, socks, bags, jackets, stickers here and stickers there, retro-reflective materials have found their way onto anything. When struck by headlights, lighting up like a UFO from Area 51 is a good thing.  We'd like motorists to question "what's that?" rather than have them wonder "what was that?" after we collide unseen.