It's awesome! The runway starts one side of a dual carriageway, the cyclepath, which is also lovely NEW smoooooooth tarmac is the other side. To give you a clue how close it is, I ride between the runway landing lights! sometimes when the airport is busy you can see the planes stacked up, so i stop and lie on the grass so they go right over the top of me, other times I get off my bike and stand in the jet wash as the big ones take off (they need the whole runway so sit right on the end before firing up their engines). It makes the grass go flat and my hair nearly blow away!
Anybody else enjoying the dark rides?
- Thread starter speccy1
- Start date
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Turdus philomelos
Guru
- Location
- West Lothian
I feel safer on early morning commutes in the dark as I'm lit up like a Christmas tree
puffinbilly
Veteran
Loving the dark nights - great when it's dry and still as it is at the moment - even looking for excuses to go out and ride in the country in it.
You seriously need to use a couple of cable ties to secure that syrup then!
andyfraser
Über Member
- Location
- Bristol
It's been years since I did something like that. I'm jealous!
They extended the runway a few years ago so they could take the big Boeings and built a lovely cycle path at the same time. It's only half a mile long... But I think it was built by Carlsberg!
Not particularly enjoying it since the clocks went back. One problem is the blinding lights from some cars which at their worst, momentarily destroy my vision, which is not good when commuting on unclassified roads which tend to be at the bottom of the list as far as maintenance is concerned. I'm not sure whether it is because some drivers feel the need to have full beam on so they can blast round the country lanes like they are on a rally circuit, or whether some car headlights are just badly aligned, so that if the approaching car is going uphill slightly, I get the headlight beam directly in my face (my commute is a little undulating). The other issue that seems to have got worse recently is that what I would normally think of as quiet back roads are not, trying to go along a back road to get away from traffic just results in more convoys to deal with, even on the teeny tiny single track lanes, it is like the motorists have taken over all the A roads so they are now on a mission to take over the lower class roads as well. I've got nearly five months of this before the clocks go forward, I'll get used to it like I have done every other year.
ColinJ
Puzzle game procrastinator!
- Location
- Todmorden - Yorks/Lancs border
I did a long audax ride in the autumn once which involved several hours of riding in the dark and I had the same experience of being dazzled. I had a bright head torch on my helmet and I discovered that I could get drivers to dip their lights by shining the torch directly at them, then flicking the beam down to my nearside. They all took the hint!
PS I gave them a thumbs up in the head torch beam to thank them and most flashed their lights to acknowledge it. It showed me that a lot of the problem was due to lack of awareness rather than malice.
robjh
Legendary Member
- Location
- Cambridgeshire - almost Essex
I'm guessing BHX.
I pass Coventry airport regularly but I don't think I've ever coincided with a plane moving anywhere near it.
Yes it is Birmingham. Coventry only has lighter aircraft anyway doesn't it? You don't really get the same effect as you do with the 777s.
RichardB
Slightly retro
- Location
- West Wales
Since a change in my hours a few months ago (2 am finish on Saturday) I have been doing at least one journey a week in the dark. I vary it between a shorter route which is mostly the A40 (way too fast and busy to consider during the day) and a longer route down country lanes. Now the clocks have gone back, my journey into work at 6-7 pm is in the dark, and my journey home at 7 am will soon be too. I actually love it. I used to like riding my motorcycle at night, and I am enjoying the slower version as well. I'll take the country route unless it is 2 am, and I ride past fields of cows, through woods, across a couple of rivers and up and down some 'interesting' hills. I know I will appreciate it when the spring comes and the mornings and evenings are light, but for now I am enjoying the dark. One thing that is puzzling me: I have to cross two main roads and ride about 2 miles on another. Since the clocks have gone back, they are much busier - like 5x the traffic. When I cross the A40, I normally don't have to stop as there isn't a car in sight. This week, it has been constant headlights in both directions and I have been waiting for a gap for 3-4 minutes. Strange.
robjh
Legendary Member
- Location
- Cambridgeshire - almost Essex
Coventry gets some commercial freight flights, and a few years back even dabbled with a few passenger services, but mostly it's a fairly low-key place. But the runway lights around Baginton are still pretty good in the dark, and I can still see them clearly from the hill at Offchurch some 6 mles away.
robjh
Legendary Member
- Location
- Cambridgeshire - almost Essex
Tollbar Island makes for 'interesting' cycling. I've worked out my preferred routes across and around it (and am quite enjoying the roadworks with all their extra traffic lights) but it would scare the wits out of many a cyclist
RichardB
Slightly retro
- Location
- West Wales
I think you're right, broadly speaking. I would always look for simple ignorance first, before ascribing malice to anyone.
However ... On a dark road on my way in tonight, I saw some headlights on a parked vehicle ahead of me. Full beam, not moving. As I got closer, I could see they were on my side of the road. It was a farmer's 4x4, unloading some livestock into a field. I pulled out to pass him, and realised I simply could not see an inch past him because of the glare of his lights. I had to virtually stop and walk round it, with my eyes shielded by my hand. Parking on the wrong side of the road with your main beams on is lack of awareness taken to an Olympian standard.
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