Dark country lanes, eeeeeek.

[Hill Wimp]

MTFU sorry but you did ask

PS - I'm a girl and i do it and i have got you blokes to add to the list of things that might jump on me in the night

 

[Supersuperleeds]

This time of year my commute both ways has some pitch black sections. Morning commute has at least an hour of unlit roads before it starts getting light. Evening is normal a few miles of unlit cycle paths.

My heavy breathing normally drowns out any other noises and a cree light on the front makes it like daylight anyway.

 

[shouldbeinbed]

the only real issue I've had with riding unlit roads at night is being dazzled by oncoming cars.

+1 to this. A decent light on your bike is usually enough to elicit a dip beam from 80% of the vehicles tho. Countryside parks too in the wee small hours with rustling and the odd scampering form dashing through your beam are a hoot. Its not like you're going to meet a bear coming out of the teees

 

[Supersuperleeds]

+1 to this. A decent light on your bike is usually enough to elicit a dip beam from 80% of the vehicles tho. Countryside parks too in the wee small hours with rustling and the odd scampering form dashing through your beam are a hoot. Its not like you're going to meet a bear coming out of the teees

I had a heron come out of the bushes in front of me a t'other week, was a great sight as it took flight right in front of me.

 

[Saluki]

Where we live, we don't have much choice. Tonight I managed a 6.4 mile ride and only had 1/4 mile of unlit roads but usually the vast majority is on dark country roads. You get used to it but I do avoid from 5 to about 6pm as the locals are on their way home from work and they don't slow down just because its pitch black.

 

[PBB]

Been night mountain biking for years and I really want to get into night road riding. Trouble is, the Li-Ion battery for my HID light has gone pop and I don't want to spend £92 on a replacement.

Blimey, I don't blame you for being reluctant. How on earth do they justify that price!

I thought the 18650 batteries I bought were also overpriced, anything Li-ion based I assume.

Generally I prefer night riding to day. With decent lights, I feel more visible to motorists than I do during daytime riding, in the day it is easy to merge into the general surroundings and be un-noticed.

 

[Davidc]

Try not to dazzle other road users with those lights.

I really like riding in the dark. Riding with others is good, but at night alone is often the best. The wildlife is only one of the great things about it. Moonlit countryside, lights in the distance, mist over fields, and lots more. It's magical.

 

[Gravity Aided]

My club has organized rides during full moons. But I could get lost in my side-yard in darkness, so I use a Blackburn light, mainly during rain and at dawn and twilight. Full-on dark, probably not within my capabilities anymore.

 

[Globalti]

 

[Globalti]

Both pics taken by setting the camera on a fence post.

 

[DiddlyDodds]

I love riding the lanes early in the morning (6am) , its even more eerie when its dark and foggy , you cant see a thing, just some very strange noises

 

[Cyclopathic]

The scariest thing on country roads, lit or otherwise, has to be the cars. There is a certain type of driver who will bomb down these roads using the national speed limit as a challenge rather than an uppermost limit. I have known some of these people and they invariably say crap like "I drive these roads every day and know them like the back of my hand"
I'd like to see a slower limit on many of these narrow, winding roads and perhaps even the inclusion of speed cameras that could be moved around. There could be a blanket notice at the start of country roads saying mobile cameras may be used or something. Just anything to stop people using the roads like their own personal race track.

When I first passed my driving test I would sometimes go out on night drives for the sheer novelty and joy of being able to drive. A couple of times I'd pull up somewhere in the middle of nowhere, get out of the car and see how long I could stand the spookiness for. Not very long as it happened. After the warm,cosy artificial atmosphere in the car the wilds of the Midlands on a moonless night were too much for a brave young lad like myself to take.

 

[byegad]

I have done it, not often and so I don't have any really expensive (=powerful) lights. It can be a bit weird but the sense of bowling along in a pool of light can be rather exhilarating. You hear and sometime even see a lot of things that are only about at night, I come across a Badger crossing the road one night, magic!

 

[Globalti]

I'd like to see a slower limit on many of these narrow, winding roads and perhaps even the inclusion of speed cameras that could be moved around. There could be a blanket notice at the start of country roads saying mobile cameras may be used or something.

They already exist; they're called mobile enforcement vans or some other such euphemism for mobile cameras. Likely roads already have warning signs.

Unfortunately, as we've discovered in our street that's blighted by speeding short-cutters, they can only be used where there's a good sight-line and somewhere safe for the van to pull off the road.

 

[J1780]

I enjoy night road riding. I often feel more visible to motorists when its dark due to hi vis gear and lights. I get nervous at times as there is always the clown Who drives the road near me a fast as they can at night other than that I like the eerie feeling and the fact that I pick up on so many sounds that are not there during daylight hours. The feeling of isolation and a that sense of sensory deprivation can be appealing.