First night in the dark

[Sharky]

Did my first night time ride home this evening since last winter. Forgot how exilrating it can be. Remembering where all the pot holes are and following the white lines in the middle of the road, until you sense the headlights of a car approaching from the rear and then you tuck in a bit.

And cars with their full beams heading straight for you, making you blind and losing sight of where you are headed. I just aim straight for the car until they see me and dip their lights.

Even experienced a bit of wobble tonight. Riding up the A20 out of Wrotham is a bit of an uphill slope and this rabbit started running alongside me. Startled me and I wobbled, but corrected my self just before I landed on the grass verge. There are hundreds of rabbits along this stretch of the A20.

But it was so nice, just to ride at a nice pace, letting the bike do the work. When it's light, I usually end up hammering myself, but tonight it was just fun.

Keith

 

[jack smith]

I ride in the dark a few times a week, half roads half old railway lines
Through the countryside without street lighting and its great i love it, ive even done it with just the light on my phone a few times and even with no lights (the lines) when they have gone flat.
i ride the route all the time so can do it in the pitch black but its much more relaxing at night i find (apart from the bit through a graveyard) and what we call the maze round here which is basically a sucsession of tight bends one after another which causes plenty of crashes and pain during the day nevermind the night, its terrifying at night when you go round a corner and see someone staring at you . I do have a rabbit that runs out on the same corner everytime without fail too which i find quite nice.

 

[slowmotion]

Good stuff Sharky. I'm a big fan of cycling in the dark. Round here, Richmond Park is closed to motor traffic at night but anybody else can get in. At 8pm you are usually pretty much on your own except lots of deer and the odd suicidal badger. I love it. Six hilly miles of fun.

 

[classic33]

I ride in the dark a few times a week, half roads half old railway lines
Through the countryside without street lighting and its great i love it, ive even done it with just the light on my phone a few times and even with no lights (the lines) when they have gone flat.
i ride the route all the time so can do it in the pitch black but its much more relaxing at night i find (apart from the bit through a graveyard) and what we call the maze round here which is basically a sucsession of tight bends one after another which causes plenty of crashes and pain during the day nevermind the night, its terrifying at night when you go round a corner and see someone staring at you . I do have a rabbit that runs out on the same corner everytime without fail too which i find quite nice.

Whats wrong with the graveyard part!

 

[raleighnut]

Always loved night cycling, more so now you can get decent lighting (instead of EverReady glow worms) quite cheaply. Favourite time of day is the 'false dawn'.

 

[coffeejo]

Love riding at night, especially under a clear sky with the stars twinkling like diamonds on black velvet.

 

[cyberknight]

Been riding in the dark for months , in fact this morning on the return from night shift it was lighter.

 

[Panter]

My first dark commute didn't go too well to be honest...
Few hundred Yards in and the chain broke. Bugger, thinks I and fumbles around in the rucksack with a Hope vision clenched in my teeth for the chain splitter. Which, of course, isn't there because it's in the other rucksack. at home. Bugger, again.
So, phone the Wife to come and collect me before realising that if I do that I'm going to be stuck with the car for a few days and as I'm just starting cycling again after a Year off, I really don't want to do that.
So, Wife runs me to Halfords, new chain purchased, then home for the chain splitter, then back into work to fit the new chain.

Remove lights from handlebars so that I can invert the bike and after a bit of faffing and fumbling (it's been a long time since I did a chain) its all fitted and good to go.
Reattach lights and one won't stay clamped on for some reason. That reason being that the bracket has broken. Bugger.
Oh well, no matter, I'll just ride with the one.
And, all goes well. Beautiful evening, very little traffic (its quite late at this point) flying through the town and all is well with the World
Until I'm well into the "dark" bit of the commute, a backroad with no street lighting in the middle of nowhere at which point, of course, the light goes out.
Bugger.
No problem, I just need to switch the battery pack with the one with the broken clamp in my rucksack.
Which, of course, I have to find and change pretty much by smell because it's pitch dark.

Still, got there in the end, got my commute in and I'm set up for the weeks journey's (my first full week as a cycle commuter)
The chain is jumping a bit so I'll have to fit another cassette and another Hope light is on order. But, getting there!

 

[ianrauk]

Will be my first dark commute home since earlier this year. First couple of weeks it's great, something different, but as the weeks turns into months it soon get's to be a grind.

 

[Beebo]

I tend to take it very easy around traffic as cyclists can get lost in the background on busy roads in the dark.

 

[raleighnut]

I tend to take it very easy around traffic as cyclists can get lost in the background on busy roads in the dark.

Its bad in towns for that reason but lovely out on dark lanes / rural commutes.

 

[jack smith]

Whats wrong with the graveyard part!

Of all things its a big statue of mary that creeps me out, im sure it watches me hahaha

 

[SatNavSaysStraightOn]

yep, its that time of year now when I have to start carrying 2 front lights with me because 1 doesn't last long enough for a there and back, so one light out and the other for the way home... But I do find it easier in the dark.

 

[Kevoffthetee]

this is my first winter commuting and my solarstorm arrives tomorrow so I can venture up dark country lanes. looking forward to getting out but am waiting until I get a few more items such as waterproof rucksack, overshoes, mudguards.......the important winter commuting essentials

 

[coffeejo]

After my gym class last night, everyone else bundled themselves up in jackets. Me, I swapped my trainers for cycling shoes and rode home in the dark in shorts and t-shirt. Lovely. So much so that I went the long way home.