It was 42 degrees as I was getting ready to ride to work this morning. I never had gotten around to putting a backup tail light on my Stratus XP, just using the Superflash on the back of my helmet. Like many plastic snap-together bike tail lights, it turns out that the Superflash is prone to falling apart once you have it apart for any reason then snap it back together. I replaced the batteries in it last week, and didn’t put a spot of glue on it when I reassembled it like I should have.

Somewhere on the long ride Saturday, it must have fallen apart. I discovered this as I was ready to leave for work this morning. I looked around my garage for another tail light that could be quickly clipped onto the bike, but there was nothing to be found that would be a fast enough install to help me this morning.

Faced with the choice of riding without a tail light or just driving to work, I did the unthinkable, getting on my bike and heading for work. I didn’t even make it out of Crowley before a police car passed me on Crowley Road, pulled over on the shoulder, stopped, and turned his lights on. By the time I pulled up to a stop behind him, he was standing behind the vehicle. He said, “Do you realize you don’t have a light on the back at all?” I replied that it had broken, and I would fix it when I got home this afternoon. He said, “Well, I see you here every day, and you always have great lights, and I just wanted to make sure you knew that your tail lights weren’t working today.”

I thanked him, and we both went on our way. It was a slow trip back home against the wind this afternoon.