Finally starting to enjoy cycling at night

[Johnno260]

Winter/night riding I have always enjoyed.

I wont mess with ice or fog but I find it quite relaxing.

Just make sure you’re visible and decent lights.

I have struggled with decent lights for a while, I took the plunge and purchased a UT800, it pairs with a Garmin Edge computer to adjust the beam and I found it very responsive so far.

That picture was on an unlit road using an IP7 I have dipped the beam more after this picture.

 

[hondated]

Hi.
Last winter , in all honesty I didn't really enjoy cycling to much in the dark evenings. I think it was a combination of it being my first full winter of evening cycling , and the worry of cars not seeing me that put me off. Because of this my miles dropped off ,as I would only ride at the weekend in the daylight hours.By February this year all my hard work of the previous years cycling seemed to be slipping away in the terms of fitness. My weight started to increase slightly and the usual rides often felt a little harder. Come the spring though I was in full flight again and normal service was resumed.
This coming winter though, I really didn't want to get hung up on not wanting to cycle again in the evenings , so have taken some steps and some future planning to continue.I've ditched the cheap wilkos front bike light and invested in a decent Lezyn light to illuminate my way down the dark country roads. I,ve kept the Aldi cob lights on the bike as well as they are very good at making you visible to other road users ( but not very good at lighting your way ). The other big factor was choosing a decent route where cars are at a minimum, and the where the roads are of a half decent standard to cycle along. A lot of the quiet roads where I live are almost constantly caked in farm mud and pot holed quite badly, and the thought of riding along them on my pride and joy getting it absolutely filthy each time and dodging vicious pot holes is not what want to do.
So this week I've really been enjoying my evening rides out in the dark. The new front light is a transformation compared to my old one, and lights the tarmac up really well. The 20 mile route I took was only met by a dozen cars ,so the stress of traffic is none existent. Even in the dark it amazing what wildlife can be spotted. Tonight alone I spotted two badgers and a fox on my travels as well as the abundance of bats flying close by to me.
Coming home at night from work to an empty house and just sitting down in front of the tv is not something I relish throughout the winter. It's a long night by yourself ,so getting out on the bike for an hour or so really breaks the evenings up for me.It's a shame that the popularity of cycling really tails off from now to spring by so many, purely because of the fact it's cold and dark outside. With a little forward planning it can still be done safely and still be enjoyable" if not amazing."
Granted, I know many members here cycle all year around rain or shine, but if you were like me and a little apprehensive to cycling at night, I hope this post is of some help to you.
All the best and stay safe .
Johnny :-) :-)

Johnny you are so right. At the beginning of this year I started doing it by going out at 3 - 4am purely because I get acid reflux of a night so sometimes cannot sleep. Cycling over to Birling Gap at that time really is magical. More recently one of my must do early rides are on a Sunday mornings at 5.15 am. It really is like another world at that time but sadly so many others do not realise it.

 

[hondated]

Love a good winter ride. I'm actually starting to get a bit excited about winter coming despite the cooler weather. Properly good bike lights are a transformative experience, especially when riding on quieter, unlit roads, but one thing I love about winter is riding into town in the dark, and the mish mash of reds, oranges and yellows from other traffic as well as the neons of shop signs etc. I find it quite meditative.

Agree about having good bike lights but unbelievably for the last two years I have been using some cheap Chinese rechargeable Cree lights and they've been great.

 

[johnnyb47]

Thanks for all the good posts in this subject. Its been a good read and has only encouraged me more to wanting to cycle in the darker evenings. Somehow I feel cycling in the dark makes you feel your more alone, which in a strange way is what I often enjoy about cycling. After a manic day at work were everybody's " in you face" ( figure of speech :=)) its just nice to be on your own out in the middle of nowhere with just your own thoughts. Cycling at night seems to exaggerate this feeling making it a much more magical experience. :=)))

 

[Globalti]

I LOVE night riding; you can creep up on the doggers and go "boo" at the window then laugh when they panic and grab their clothes.

 

[johnnyb47]

I LOVE night riding; you can creep up on the doggers and go "boo" at the window then laugh when they panic and grab their clothes.

:-) :-) :-) :-) :-) :-) lol :-) :-) :-) :-) :-)

 

[Jon George]

[QUOTE 4992989, member: 9609"]I love riding in the gloaming[/QUOTE]
Cheers - a word new to me. (Quite made my day after a work's meeting that was all obfuscation.)

 

[Blue Hills]

I LOVE night riding; you can creep up on the doggers and go "boo" at the window then laugh when they panic and grab their clothes.

Do tell us more. How do you know they don't get off on this? They are doggers after all.

 

[andrew_s]

My experience is that the very powerful lights tend to 'flatten' potholes and make them less visible. Whereas the shaped beams of lights like the IQ-X and the Supernova seem to make them stand out more - they become more noticeable

Are the lights mounted in the same place?
Dynamo lights are usually mounted at fork crown level, but battery lights are almost invariably mounted on the handlebars.
The further the light is from your eye line, the more potholes and other road surface irregularities will stand out. Head mounted lights are particularly poor.

 

[pjd57]

Few miles along the Canal in Maryhill tonight. The cat's eye style lights are great. Unfortunately there's unlit sections as well.

 

[Reynard]

I like to ride at night during the winter. When it's still, you have a sky full of stars, its cold enough to make your nose tingle and breath steam and it's just you, your bike and the night, there's not much better. Except maybe coming home to a steaming hot cup of tea.

Good lights, warm jacket and winter gloves a must though.

 

[pjd57]

Does having one of these 1000 lumen headlights make cycling on a dark path any safer , or does it just dazzle incoming cyclists , walkers etc and scare off the wildlife.

I was quite happy with a fairly bog standard front light.

 

[Cuchilo]

Does having one of these 1000 lumen headlights make cycling on a dark path any safer , or does it just dazzle incoming cyclists , walkers etc and scare off the wildlife.

I was quite happy with a fairly bog standard front light.

Ive started to go out early ( before sunrise ) and they certainly help with letting on coming traffic know you are approaching . Its not hard to flip the light down when you see traffic and then flip it up again to light the way . As for scaring wild life ...... i hear the birds singing and if it scares little critters off the road then thats good because i wont be squishing them

 

[cyberknight]

Rode home from work at 3am on my usual route , its a bit disconcerting hearing rustling in the bushes as you ride down country lanes at that time.

 

[Ajax Bay]

they certainly help with letting on coming traffic know you are approaching . Its not hard to flip the light down when you see traffic and then flip it up again to light the way

I agree. I have a (nominally 1000+lumen) CREE T6 LED light which I can twist to the left and down a bit when others are coming the other way. I may also place my gloved hand partly over it (to 'hood' it) for the few seconds of the approach (ie 50m proximity). Also worth bearing in mind that a lot of these lights are actually far less powerful than advertised (but still powerful enough for the road, imo).