The weather being clear today, and I, having had no chance to go out earlier in the day, decided I would transfer my commuter lights to my road bike, and go out tonight.

I did a quick 25 km spin, and it was one of the best rides I have had since last summer.

Honestly, I think cars gave me a little extra room when they passed, the streets were largely empty, and the whole experience was just about 100 times less nerve-racking than when I do some of the same roads on a Saturday.

Barring rain (which would affect visibility), is night road riding always like this?

I will certainly be doing it again instead of the turbo trainer. 🙂

Very much depends on the road/traffic but I love night road rides. You are definitely a lot more visible (assuming lights/reflectives) than in daylight, the roads tend to be quieter (or just pick quiet ones) and there’s the occasional little oasis of civilization.

^^^^ what he said

With a couple of (non anti-social lights) and a Police spec chevron helmet wrap from Respro I get a lot less aggro at night than during the day

Did it make road riding interesting? 😆

I do favour larger tyres at night (28mm or so) as it’s harder to make out potholes etc.

Hi Saxonrider.I mostly ride at night. I find it less busy, therefore more enjoyable and I’d say that I’m more visible to other road users due to my clothing and lights etc. If you fancy meeting up for a spin along the coast from yours do get in touch. I’m now based near Llantwit Major. Hope that you’re well. G

I’ve found cars always give loads more space and time when riding at night.

Going down country lanes its not unusual for them to pull over and wait for me to pass when i’m riding towards them. Sometimes the amount of time and space they give borders on the ridiculous. Hardly ever experience that during the daytime on the same roads.

You should try the streets at 3am. I’ve never purposely went out at that time but I always love cycling home late at night with the streets, mostly, to yourself. It’s great.

Dunwich Dynamo, one of my fave organised rides.

Guys, you have to try a wee event that I organised last year – http://www.ridetothesun.co.uk, Carlisle to Cramond beach, overnight, weekend nearest the summer solstice. A northern / Scottish homage to the Dunwich Dynamo. 250 folk last year, 600 signed up this year. Free to enter and the chip shop in Moffat stays open late to serve everyone mid-ride grub.
We got phenomenal feedback, folk loved that it was something different, a wee social adventure. https://m.facebook.com/Ride-to-the-Sun-Scotland-772698899433611/

Im not a massive fan of riding my race bike in the dark but do take out my cx/winter bike a fair bit. Can be very nice on the lanes. Cant see the pots and gravel so need to be more careful. Used to do a chaingang which was always entertaining.

snotroutes – I do favour larger tyres at night (28mm or so) as it’s harder to make out potholes etc.

Cool, doing ride to the sun this year, I’ll bear that in mind.

And I tend to ride roads I know as I find I memorise the really bad potholes.

But yes, it’s fantastic.

The only time I like ridng at night on the road is mid summer nights, a clear moon and in the hills of the South Downs.

Cold dark wet nights in the middle of winter and it can be pretty dismal. Clear crisp dry nights on quiet roads that I know well and it can be great.

Going down country lanes its not unusual for them to pull over and wait for me to pass when i’m riding towards them.

Have you checked the angle of your lights ? I have to stop these days, and it’s not out of politeness. We need German legislation on cut-off angles…

I’ve got done B&M Ixus Premium German spec lights, much better for oncoming traffic. Can outrun the beam on descents when you get above 25mph, but if you take it steady to help spot potholes and gravel, night time road rides can be great. If it’s not icy….

You are more visible at night on the road, paradoxically, and drivers are in less of a rush. Counter intuitive but worth trying.

flap_jack – Member

Going down country lanes its not unusual for them to pull over and wait for me to pass when i’m riding towards them.

And that’s a bad thing?

Have you checked the angle of your lights ? I have to stop these days, and it’s not out of politeness. We need German legislation on cut-off angles…

No we don’t, we need legislation to control car manufacturers fitting stupidly bright xenon headlights which dazzle everyone.

Agreed on the xenons.

But it’s dangerous when I have to stop on a road that’s wide enough for two lorries – I’ve had cars overtake me and nearly wipe out the oncoming cyclist !

Spanking down a dull bit of tarmac cannot compare (imho) to spanking down an off-road trail in the dark in the forest. I think you should seriously consider your membership of this forum Op, espicailly given your other comment about having ‘fallen in love with the road’
*pulls a grimace face*

(I am course joking for entertainment, not trolling, everyone is entitled to enjoy whatever they please but come on, ‘fallen in love with the road’!)

I guess I am in the minority then. Road riding in the dark is the very last option for me.
Never experienced cars giving me more room, and seem to hit every pot hole without fail.

Night riding is def a mtb-thing.

flap_jack – Member

Agreed on the xenons.

But it’s dangerous when I have to stop on a road that’s wide enough for two lorries – I’ve had cars overtake me and nearly wipe out the oncoming cyclist !

So you’re saying you stop on a road wide enough for two lorries because an oncoming cyclist has a bright light? I’m presuming you’re in car here? Doesn’t seem quite plausible somehow.

Have you considered not stopping because you are going to miss hitting the cyclist by a country mile?

The Wednesday night hooligan ride has become a regular event in the last three years for me and my cycling buddy, it’s a great bit of balls-out training to compliment the longer easier weekend rides. We have a couple of tours de Clitheroe that are almost exactly 17 miles with around 800 feet of climb so we try to beat one hour, which isn’t bad for a couple of almost 60 year-olds. Cree lights have made this possible and this year my son is joining us as he got one for his birthday. In summer we usually stop for a pint three miles out from home and the last two miles are an absolutely mad sprint, right back to his front door.

Mount the lights on the bars where they cast a shadow so you can see potholes, not on your helmet.

It’s good for the first week, then you can’t wait for the lighter nights.

Pays to have a heavy, solid bike aswell. I’ve had to thumb lifts home a few times, after hitting stuff in the road that I didn’t spot. Or maybe better lights/eyesight might have averted that!

Fannying about on country lanes in the dark is only any fun if the weather is decent aswell. There was several weeks this winter where I just rode pretty much the same loop five nights in a row, all of it on main roads.

I do the Friday Night Ride to the Coast – see http://fridaynightridetothecoast.blogspot.co.uk/p/welcome.html

Adventures of the night riders

Simon Legg

Midnight at Hyde Park Corner. Forty or so cyclists gather under Constitution Arch. There is last-minute banana-munching and talk of weather forecasts. It’s the start of a night ride.

By turns lessons in astronomy and convivial adventures, night rides are cycling with conversation; with a touch of the exotic and a smidge of romance. They are cycling à la mode – creatures of the internet, advertised by email and recorded on YouTube. And this is no ordinary night ride. This is the Cheam and Morden CTC Friday Night Ride to the Coast.

For the how, follow the link below. The why is simplicity itself. If you live in southern England and hanker after quiet roads and good company, then you’ve got to look beyond those clever maps with wiggly green lines denoting roads that are crammed with 4x4s stuffed with ruddy-faced commuters, children being ferried to rugby practice and families on their way to the garden centre. So that hankering will seek not just the place, but the time. And the time is that magic interlude between cars: the seven hours between chucking out and opening up.

Off we go, then, through the spangled pastures of Belgravia, around Sloane Square and off into the soft underbelly of the capital.

A quick comfort stop in the bushes of Clapham Common and then down, through the gateway that is Balham, past drunks in Tooting, and out on to the wastes of Mitcham. At this point the temperature drops. There’s a sudden seriousness. Our little peloton thins, and then gathers every few miles. The first-timers look about them, seeking assurance. The regulars get into their groove.

By 1.30am the streetlights are exhausted. We go over the Downs, our super-duper LEDs scattering wildlife and cars alike, and then descend, all of a rush, into Reigate. On Lonesome Lane’s smooth tarmac, white-lined at the side, the skein of light stretches as the fast riders tear round corners, scattering mist. Into Horley. If we’re lucky we won’t skid on the sick. If we’re very lucky we’ll see young people doing it in a car park. And then a front door opens.

A figure framed by light. Tourist Tony.

Quite why Tourist Tony feeds all-comers at 2.45 in the morning is beyond understanding. Cake, pizza, dhal, tea, coffee and more coffee are all dispensed with a gentle humour that forgives doziness and a disinclination to wash up. Young women, claiming cold toes, are turfed out of his bed. All is done in 45 minutes, and we’re on our way, past the ostrich farm and the Iron Age settlement, down a track that turns into a field, under the motorway and then southwards, coastwards.

This is a guided ride, tenderly organised. Tail-end Charlies keep tabs on the stragglers and sort out mechanicals. Your correspondent shuffles from front to back, counting. We have our share of whippets, but we also have our share of wide-eyed innocents, some of a prosperous build. Celebratory ciggies are lit on hilltops. We have people who have never ridden 60 miles before, people who have never been on a CTC ride and people who have never ridden at night. There’s no timetable, and this is definitely not about the bike. Spokey-dokeys are allowed, if not encouraged. The age range is five to 66. Guardian readers are in the minority.

On the long downhill to Ardingly a new order takes hold. This is the time of the tandems. If you’re smart you’ll latch on to the back, but should you miss the opportunity you’ll see them sail by, lit at all quarters like ocean-going liners.

Dawn at Ditchling. An oil company executive on a bike enters stage left with Thermos flasks of coffee. We look at the Beacon, and, one by one, set off for our date with the unforgiving truth. At the top there’s a whooping and a hollering, or, on a good day, an impromptu rendition of the Ode to Joy. I’m afraid I’ve worn out the “Gentlemen in England now abed …” line, but it’s no less true now than it was three years and 20 odd rides ago.

Down to Brighton, the sea and breakfast. We’ll see roadies cracking up toward Ditchling, and goths staggering out of clubs. Cafe owners open early on the promise of CTC locustry. Full English breakfasts are wolfed down by the dozen. And then the train home. Contentment spreads itself around like cream on hot pie. We’ll dine out on the tale for months afterwards, but, for now, we’re happy to sort the memories into some kind of order.

http://www.theguardian.com/environment/2008/may/08/ethicalliving.cycling

No we don’t, we need legislation to control car manufacturers fitting stupidly bright xenon headlights which dazzle everyone

A badly adjusted Maxx-D or Chinese wonder light will be vastly more dazzling than even the worst of car HIDs.

Having spent the last 4 months pretty much riding on the road in the dark I’m so glad to be riding in light again. You get used to it and it’s nothing special.

We’ve mentioned it on here before.

I love going out late, after 10pm, cos it’s so quiet. And by midnight the roads are really deserted out in the countryside. Even better if you can get up onto the tops of the hills on a moonlight night. One of the best rides I’ve done was on the North Downs after midnight – magic.

I did accompany the FNRTTC organisers when they did a recce of the route from Manchester to Blackpool a few years ago, since it passed right through my area. However they wouldn’t allow me to join the night ride proper because I didn’t want to join their club.

I’ve had to thumb lifts home a few times, after hitting stuff in the road that I didn’t spot.

Whilst I do enjoy night riding, and do a lot of it, I’ve hit potholes and broken wheels whilst both solo and group riding. Bright lights aimed down at the road are essential, but not foolproof.

The peace when out past 10PM is however rather magical.

Yeah night rides can be fun, but while I’ve lost count of the number of mtb nightrides* I’ve done but I can only remember 2 intentional** road nightrides, so can’t really say I’ve caught the bug. Do fancy one of the mentioned events, I’m pretty bad at getting signed up for events tho.

*altho due to lurgy, weather, etc, etc this year’s report card is looking pretty bad 🙁
**ie excluding riding home from somewhere or finishing a big ride after darkness has fallen

I think you should seriously consider your membership of this forum Op, espicailly given your other comment about having ‘fallen in love with the road’

To be fair, jekkyl, I still ride off-road, so I will defend my continued participation on this forum. 😉

But I have to admit that, while I returned to road riding originally for fitness purposes, I find I am much more able to push myself and feel good about a ride than when I am off-road. It’s probably just me, but I find that when I am on my mountain bike, it is too easy to stop and catch my breath, and so turn my ride into more of a faff in the woods instead of a challenge; and frankly, I like competing against myself.

Besides, if you ask molgrips, he’ll say that my set-up is all wrong for the mountain bike anyway, and that I’m not doing it right. Bloody science-y types. 😛

Most of the roads in South Lakes are wrecked at the minute Davidtaylforth even the A590 has some interesting holes and surfaces!(and they’ve just had to resurface the middle of Dalton as that was shocking!)

one of the perks of shift work. 10 miles of my 16 mile journey is rural B road, so after a late shift (anywhere from 11pm onwards) I have a peaceful night road ride home. It’s also flat and exposed, and whilst that makes for grim headwinds it means long views. I often do the whole stretch with the lights off riding by moonlight (or cloud-reflected glare from the surrounding towns)and can see any oncoming cars from miles off, and it’s long enough for my eyes to really adjust. Clear sky and a full moon, where you can see your shadow, is always impressive.

Cold dark wet nights in the middle of winter and it can be pretty dismal.

The Festive 500 was a challenge this year – all of it dark and very wet as far as mine was concerned.

I used to go and do hill climbs occasionally on a bit of road that was closed to cars in the evenings. Was lovely, albeit sometimes a little cold.

One Friday night after work last June I hopped on the last train from Newcastle to Whitehaven on the west coast. Got off and started riding back at about 11.30. I don’t think I saw a single car before Keswick (though there’s a few miles of old railway line). It was one of the best rides I’ve ever done. Riding towards Penrith as it got light (no spectacular sunrise but still) was magical. It gave me the energy to do the other ~100 miles and ~10000ft of climbing.

head to a country pub>several drinks>ride home = awesome!

Night on the road is a bit iffy round my way, too many neer do wells. Early mornings on the other hand are glorious. In the summer I quite often get up before 5am to get a long ride in, can’t understand why anyone would choose to ride on a Saturday or Sunday lunchtime with all the amateur drivers about.

Here’s a photo I took on New Year’s Day a couple of years ago on a sole ride out

However they wouldn’t allow me to join the night ride proper because I didn’t want to join their club.

Membership of the Fridays costs £2 and you’re required to have third party insurance from the CTC.

Not really come across the FNRTTC thing before, though was aware of the Dunwich Dynamo.

Anyone interested in doing something similar regularly in the north east?

I’m sure I can think of some good routes and the thought of breakfast at sunrise overlooking one of our horrible, dirty* Northumbrian beaches is quite alluring.

*Everything Drac says is true. It’s not worth it southerners, avoid 😀