I don't ride with a headlight so that people can tell I'm not a car; I ride with a headlight because oncoming traffic can more easily see me. They can also more easily see a car with its lights on. No mystery about this: when you're driving down the road wondering whether it's safe to pass the slowpoke in front of you, you too can more easily see oncoming traffic which has its lights on--bike, car, truck or horsecart.
And for what it's worth, I got waved through the roadblocks just like you did, Tobi. No one mistook me for a local. Why would I care? Even if I did care, I'd rather be more visible, not less. And local riders do all sorts of stuff I don't do, like ride on bald tires without functional lights at night with fried steering bearings and leaky fuel lines.
Still genuinely curious. Seems an odd goal--to be invisible. I'm not one of these people who thinks everyone will notice me and never cut me off in traffic or pull out in front of me--I ride defensively, and have never come off my bikes on the road or in traffic. But given easy choices, I'd sure rather be seen than not.
Mark
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