Lights are in the post, time to get out in the dark for the first time!

If anyone is familiar – my local route from the door is usually from the Cliff/Kersal Wetlands, along the river through Drinkwater Park then a couple of laps of Philips Park blue/red then back again. Not sure I fancy parts of that at night, especially the riverside bits near the housing estates and so on.

Any good suggestions for rides near Manchester? I recently got a car so can travel a bit though ideally my normal rides would be up to 2 hours in total.

Any general night riding tips welcomed as well 🙂

Any general night riding tips welcomed as well 🙂

Don’t let your imagination run away with itself.

Ramsbottom, Holcombe Brook area for a decent start point for night bike riding. Traffic out of Manchester might be the issue though unless you set off after the commuter traffic has subsided.

Maybe seek out the MNPR Monday Night Pub Rides? Though, I’d recommend not starting out with one led by @dazh unless you like extra hills with your extra bogs. @binners or @harrythespider should be able to tell you where they’re going next.

editing to account for previous post: night riding is much more fun in a group. Can’t say I enjoy it as a solo thing.

editing to account for previous post: night riding is much more fun in a group. Can’t say I enjoy it as a solo thing.

+1, especially to start off with (I know loads of people probably night ride solo all the time, but it feels sketchy to me).

Statement of the obvious, perhaps, but I would also suggest not trying new locations/routes for the first time at night 🙂

There’s also group that goes out Wednesday in the Disley area. We’re a bit intermittent* but I think someone is out most weeks.
PM me your number if you want added to the WA group.

OK. I’ll admit it. I’m exceedingly intermittent. The group as a whole is pretty reliable.

Train out into the Peak District, ride back?
You don’t even need to go fully into the Peak District – SE somewhere like Chinley, New Mills, Buxton etc would give decent options for a ride back into town while NE (from Victoria) you could get into Hebden Bridge / Todmorden.

Admittedly, as you get further in you’d be looking at canal towpaths and urban parkland to get you home again which sort of brings you back to the first point about riding certain parts of that at night.

First couple of times, pick somewhere you’re reasonably familiar with and with bail-out / safety options like pubs, other riders with you…

+1 the Disley-ish lot. I must get some lights sorted and join them again myself, I’m even more intermittenter than thegeneralist

Ramsbottom/Holcombe hill area. Leisure lakes do a Wednesday night ride too I think, give them a call 👍🏻

Ramsbottom, Holcombe Brook area for a decent start point for night bike riding. Traffic out of Manchester might be the issue though unless you set off after the commuter traffic has subsided.

+1

GBUK used to do a open Thursday night pub ride but I think that has fizzled out over the last few years

The MNPR would be ideal for you

If you can’t find a group I can take you on an old fart slow ride on a Monday or Tuesday just DM

Meant to say earlier, Hayfield Hub do a Wednesday night ride from the car park in Hayfield, 7.30pm. Private group on Facebook but easy to find.

Nearest train station is New Mills and then a couple of miles down the Sett Valley Trail to get to Hayfield.

My missus used to live in Monton and her regular driveable stamping ground was Rivington Pike. To be honest, the stuff over on the Peak side of things is going to be a ball-ache to get to from Salford, particularly on a weekday night.

I’m more than happy riding on my own at night, I kind of actively prefer it. Mostly it’s just like riding during the day, but in a big pool of self contained light. It’s kind of zen. Despite all the fear-mongering wuss talk, you rarely see anyone else out at night on rural trails bar the odd badger and the occasional mountain biker, though to be fair, I once met a walker, without a headtorch, in the middle of Cut Gate around Christmas time. We were both moderately surprised.

I guess if you’re worried you could always use some sort of beacon app so interested parties know where you are. Otherwise, don’t crash. Make sure you have spares etc to sort any mechanicals. Don’t argue with badgers. It’s hard to see toads at night. Oh, carry some sort of back-up light if you can just in case your main light / lights goes / go pear shaped.

GBUK used to do a open Thursday night pub ride

Been ages since I’ve heard GBUK mentioned! Separate splinter group rides occur at the moment and lots of other groups pass by and frequent the Hare and Hounds all through the week.
Turn up one night and tag on to a group, that’s how i did it back in the day.

I guess if you’re worried

Not a worrier, just you don’t get incidental views (even a full moon and you’ve got to stop and turn off lights to take it in, with my eyesight anyway), and you end up riding easier stuff more slowly. Okay, and there could be axe murderers up there, less fun even if there aren’t. Whereas in a group you go quicker, fall off, get a free light show, have a blast basically. Also, the pub.

(Or you could always turbo…😁)

Primary tip would be make sure you ride it during the day first since its easy to get disorientated.
Besides that just enjoy getting freaked out by the odd noises. Last night ride had a bunch of deer sounding off and despite knowing what it was the lower part of my brain was still going “orc war party”.

Being buzzed by an barn owl was both the scariest and coolest thing I’ve experienced.

A ghostly white spectre popping into existance half a metre above your head is quite an experience when you’re just cutting along minding your own business.

Statement of the obvious, perhaps, but I would also suggest not trying new locations/routes for the first time at night

Yeah, deffo get out and explore by daylight first.

As above, you might want to look at Rivington, Ramsbottom & Calderdale if you’re coming from Salford.

Thanks all 🙂
I will probably join someone somewhere sometime… That’s probably a good idea to get familiar in daytime first! (assuming I can find any for the next few months)

can you drive to Gradbach? plenty to go at there.

Over an hour away from here… looks like a good place but a bit far for an evening ride.

There must be an axe murderers forum somewhere with tips on your first night time axe murdering.

I imagine even axe murderers get scared of owls and shit.

There must be an axe murderers forum somewhere with tips on your first night time axe murdering.

On the dark web, probably 😉

Seriously though there are a couple of spots on that route where in lighter warmer months I’ve had trouble before (varies depending on the age of the kids and what I’m wearing!) and even though granted I’m less likely to meet kids hanging around in the cold and dark, the people that do hang around in the cold and dark are likely to be on the lower end of the scale of “people who I fancy meeting when alone in the middle of nowhere in the cold and dark”

Bats are my nemisis on recent night rides, they keep striking me on the chest & head.😂
Seeing beasts is one of the coolest things about night riding, rats, bats, birds and badgers! Deer too. Badgers are daft sometimes and will turn and run down the track in front of you 😂 so you end up chasing them. Seeing an wild Owl is special and makes the ride, things you can’t communicate to people who sit on the sofa of an evening. 😝

I used to live in Salford and would pop to Rivington or Darwen Moor for my night rides.

There was a group on here doing weekly night rides at Rivington in the past, not sure if they still do.

Oh, carry some sort of back-up light if you can just in case your main light / lights goes / go pear shaped.

Last night, I slid off the bike on a berm, snapping the Exposure light bracket on the bar by kneeing it. Not a problem, I said as I put the light in my pack, my 1000lm helmet light is fine to carry on. Oh, it’s about to run out of charge. No problem, I said reaching for my tiny 100lm get me home light, I’ll just head home. The rubber mount on the little light snapped. I had a nervous ride home, expecting my helmet light to run out at any moment and to be clenching the tiny light n my teeth.

I imagine even axe murderers get scared of owls and shit.

Not bothered about stuff like that, but I noticed the huge moon last night as I was looking for the guys in the woods. I watched too many crap Hammer films in my childhood not to be bothered about a full moon peeking through the trees. (Not sure that it was properly full but irrational thoughts don’t pay attention to that)

Calderdale MTB on Facebook do a regular Monday night ride from Hebden Bridge station.