Recently I purchased a CycleAware mirror that attaches to my sunglasses. It attaches via three prongs to the left arm of the glasses. There is a small mirror attached which is an oblong oval that is taller that it is wide. The mirror is attached to the arm via a ball in socket joint that gives it the ability to adjusted into the proper position. It is very light weight but I suggest putting it on your sunglasses and putting your sunglasses on before putting on your helmet, as the straps can make it difficult to put your glasses on afterwards.
At this point I want to pause for a second and gush about how beautiful it is looking out the train window right now. Even with it being overcast and color being washed out it is simply stunning riding by rail over lagoons and next to the oceans and past the famous torrey pine trees. Stunning, but back to business.
My first reaction to wearing it was disappointment. I had trouble getting it to where I could see behind me at all. This is made even more difficult by the fact that your body position is different on a bicycle than when standing. Once I accomplished that, I found it difficult to make out what was actually behind me. The mirror, it seemed, was too small to see behind me clearly and yet big enough that it created a small blind spot in my vision.
Being stubborn, as I am, I decided to give it a few days before writing it off as a lost cause. The more I used it the more I found it easier to use. The time spent trying to focus on the image in the mirror lessened and I got pretty good at putting it into position. The key to using the mirror, it turned out, is understanding that you can't expect to be able to see behind you without moving your head. Once I got used to turning my head ever so slightly to see behind me, I found that the mirror made me more confident on the road. The real confirmation of the usefulness of the mirror was when I went on a ride without it. I found myself constantly checking a non-existant mirror for what was coming up behind me, a sure sign that the mirror had made itself useful.
All in all, I would absolutely suggest this mirror, or even any mirror at all as great accessory for your bicycle commute.
-Matt
6/9/08
Rear View Mirror
Edit: Finally got around to finding a link to the mirror I use. I couldn't find it on the REI site so I gave up. Lame, I know.
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