Do you ride slower in the dark

[confusedcyclist]

My speed is correlated with mince pie consumption. Sadly it's not a positive correlation. Luckily the last batch have got yellow stickers on now so there is light at the end of the tunnel.

 

[cyberknight]

I am on country roads. Deep dark country roads. Maybe that's it.

I will put the back light on my Wahoo tomorrow and actually keep an eye on the speed.

Like everyone else. I feel like I'm whizzing along in the dark.

It's not important. It only makes a 5 to 10 minute difference getting to work. But it is a mystery.

like me then, you have to take it a bit slower as you cant see potholes,debris ,hit the corner apex as good etc,

 

[davidphilips]

Depends most of the time a few mph slower but if i go out about 3am (very seldom) there are few cars if any and can sit well out from the side and find i can go quite fast (well its for me anyway).

 

[Markymark]

Depends. During the day there’s around a 3mph advantage of riding away from the sun due to the tailwind effect of the photons* so depending on your direction you may be slower at night.

*This may not be true but maybe we could have 20 pages of people arguing over it?

 

[johnnyb47]

I'm a alot slower too ,this time of the year on my evening rides. The ride though feels fast ,but my average speeds are way down compared to the summer months :-)

 

[Ajax Bay]

remembering where the hidden ditches on each side of the road are

Why does the location of ditches (hidden or not) which are 'on each side of the road' matter? Are you riding on the verges?

 

[Andy in Germany]

Why does the location of ditches (hidden or not) which are 'on each side of the road' matter? Are you riding on the verges?

It's hard to tell where I am on the trail (not road, my sloppy language) in the dark. On one section there's three points where culverts run under the path, and the trail makes a gentle curve.In the dark, with leaves all over the forest floor, and trees on either side, I have to be aware of where I am even if I think I'm riding along the centre of the route.

This gets even more fun when dogs are walking the opposite direction...

 

[pjd57]

My main night rides are through Glasgow, and when it's dark I tend to stick to main roads. , bus routes are gritted first.
My times from my house to Celtic Park are a few minutes quicker at night , probably because the roads are quieter.

If I occasionally go along the canal after dark I do slow it right down though.

 

[huwsparky]

Get a 1500 lumen light and ride the same speed.

 

[Banjo]

Get a 1500 lumen light and ride the same speed.

Yes but.......

 

[furball]

Why does the location of ditches (hidden or not) which are 'on each side of the road' matter? Are you riding on the verges?

Verges get churned up and it's not always possible to where the road stops and the verge begins. A section of my commute has a very deep ditch with very little verge between it and the road.

 

[SkipdiverJohn]

Get a 1500 lumen light and ride the same speed.

And if you'd done that on a cycle path near me, you probably wouldn't have noticed the length of rope that some chavs had strung across the path at a height of about four feet above ground. You'd have had a very nasty and sudden off. I was on foot at the time but after seeing that I will be very wary next time I ride a bike along that route.

 

[Andy in Germany]

Get a 1500 lumen light and ride the same speed.

I think in many cases that would just make more shadows.

When I was commuting to work at a city farm I did consider making white pegs to put into the leaf mulch alongside the train, but I kept forgetting.

The worst bit though is a boulder right in the middle of the trail where it meets a road, it was always in a slight shadow which rendered it invisible.

 

[pjd57]

Get a 1500 lumen light and ride the same speed.

And blind all the oncoming cyclists.

 

[PK99]

I have discovered that I ride about 4km slower on my commute to work in the dark, than my return in the light.

Even when I ride at night, my speed is lower, even though I try and keep the speed up.

Has anyone noticed this and can someone explain it?

Temperature difference will have some effect via air density

plug some numbers in here > http://bikecalculator.com/

Also more rolling resistance on colder tyres.