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Lunchtime, so thought I'd start a largely pointless thread to discuss how ace night riding is. Despite it only being a few months ago since my last regular night rides, I'd forgotten how much fun it is to swoop through the trees with only that little patch of light in front of you. I've even been taking my "good bike" out instead of the blooming-hard-work singlespeed. Maybe that's why I'm enjoying it so much 😆
(that said, there's some sunshine out there right now that keeps winking at me)
agree. Love night riding in the countryside, really clears your head after a day in the office.
first night out for a while last night. i was expecting a bit of slop but we were flying. warm too.
45 km/h singletrack in the dark. bliss.
here here.
I'm loving the transition of dusk riding. Head out in bright light, home in the dark.
Great stuff 🙂
At least it is whilst it's still warmish!
nightrides on mild clear dry nights are pretty damn special.
Not a big fan of dusk going from day to night speeds normally catches me out 🙄
The other thing I love is knowing I don't have to rush back home for anything. The kids are in bed, no more plans for the evening, ride as long as I like
One of the great things about night riding on rural roads is that you can absolutely spank it down hills because you can see when cars are coming the opposite way because of their headlights.
I got absolutely filthy last night so that I could barely see through my specs, caned every climb chasing people down, and crashed off twice.
Brilliant.
I've probably ridden more at night this summer than during the day.
Looking forward to the bugs dieing off as a helmet mount torch is a bug magnet.
I'm loving it too, as a group we've switched to road, Looking to get 28-30 miles in tonight with a pub stop. Good times 🙂
The other thing I love is knowing I don't have to rush back home for anything. The kids are in bed, no more plans for the evening, ride as long as I like
But what if they wake up?
I worry mine'll get spooked at the prospect of waking in an empty house......He is only three, bless the little pansy...
DrP
I went out on Tuesday and really didn't enjoy it, couldn't get used to the lack of vision and the weired noises.
Ummed and ahhd about going out last night. Thought I'd give it a go, just for the excercise and it clicked, big style. I had a great time, screaming around berms, hitting jumps faster than I had all summer. A couple of Strava (spit) segments were within a couple of seconds of my PBs set last summer.
Love good dark night rides. Sometimes wish I had someone to ride with though, if only for protection against vampires.
Did Nan Bield Wednesday night and it was superb fun even if some of it was in a cloud.
But what if they wake up?
<assumes DrP is joking but doesn't know him/her well enough to be sure> 😕
It'll be a few more years before I can [i]actually[/i] leave the kiddy-winkies on their ownsome. Mum stays in whilst I'm out ragging.
Prefer riding my local trials in the dark. My Strava times are quicker, because there's generally no-one out at night, and if there is, they can see you coming, or you can see them coming.
Just a shame the weather tends to get worse with it.
We were out last night in and around the local woods, got a clear view of a badger as it ran off, a few rabbits and then a couple of guys with greyhounds ..... maybe there will be less rabbits next time !
Even warm enough to sit outside the pub for a pint before a gentle ride home.
I do struggle with dusk, when my less-than-great eyesight combines with the low light in the trees to visually flatten every lump and bump down the trail. It's thrillingly nerve-wracking 😀
It was in jest 😉
DrP
*phew*
😀
yes, it's pretty spesh out there at night right now. Warm, dusty trails and pretty clear skies.
We did a couple of hours on Wednesday night - group of seven, absolutely great.
It also really spices up familiar trails. I don't know what hit my pedal on one descent, it resulted in one of those 'groin nearly down on the top tube just behind the stem, bike waggling wildy' moments. Thankfully I just had the strength to get my weight back again before the front wheel hit anything!
Whatever it was, I didn't see it on the way back up, either!
There's another nice sliver of singletrack on that route, where the slightly over-grown grass hides big-ish rocks just off the edge of the trail. You can just see them in the light, but not with lights - made it much more of a challenge.
I'm hoping to be out again on Saturday and Tuesday - can't wait!
+1 first night of the year last night. Reminded me just how much fun it is. And a few beers afterwards.
Was out on my first this year last Tuesday.
Great seeing all the wildlife - bats flying along with you in your light beams, foxes.
I even came across another mtb'er and we had in impromptu flat out race down a good lengthy piece of singletrack. That was awesome!
Just ordered some solarstorms too so next ride should be able to actually see where I am going rather than just having my lame trustfire torch
Best time of year for night rides in my opinion; still dry(ish), warm enough for shorts and jersey, just before the leaf-cover, wind, wet and slop arrives (and some lovely frosty rides too I hope) 😀