Is riding on unlight country roads at night suicide?

[buzzy bee]

Hi

I have to cycle on the lanes to get around, night is safe just in different ways, you can see lights approaching, which gives you warnign about them, unlike in the light.

I have an led light on the front and back of the bike, one on the helmet, and have in the past had a rechargeable torch like this:- http://www.expresstools.co.uk/images/product/main/sea2097.jpg clipped to my handles as a head light to see the pot holes and where the river is etc. Works quite well and they are not very heavy.

Cheers

Dave

 

[Origamist]

I wear a cap at night to limit dazzle, a Sam Browne belt, ankle band, have two powerful lights front and rear for redundancy (you don't what to be caught out) and ride a bit slower (animals scooting across the road can be a problem and it's harder to pick out pot-holes/obstacles in the dark when it's wet. I carry an extra warm layer in case of a serious mechanical, some food, water and I make sure my phone is charged.

 

[Valy]

If you plan on riding unlit country roads at night, I would do a good slow recce in daylight first. The state of the roads presently are dangerous enough with all these potholes that have appeared this winter. Even with good lights it is difficult to tell shallow holes from deep holes till your on top of them. Another problem I have found on country roads, I can sometimes get disorientated to the edge of the road if it is not marked by a white line and have left it in the past on occasions

On the plus side, cars approaching from the front and rear can be spotted from a good distance especially when going round blind corners providing they have their lights on.

So go for it but keep your speeds down to give yourself time to react to these potholes and anything else which may suddenly pop up in front of you, for example, ninja joggers, dog walkers, animals etc

I lol'd!

 

[jig-sore]

Something which seems to have gone out of fashion but it I believe a good light mounted low down on the fork is better for picking out potholes and other road issues. It works best if it's aimed slightly high or roughly parallel to the ground and gives a good view of the road for a considerable distance. I mounted my halogen headlight to the dynamo bracket on the front forks and this works very well for seeing the road and have another reasonably bright LED light on the bars which I think makes it easier for motorists to see me as the other light is possibly too low for that.

+1

i have a home made bracket (aluminium rod with a hole it one end) mounted to my front mudguard mounting right next to the front Axel. i mount my hope vision 1 down there when it's foggy.

 

[mayfieldga]

How good are your lights........................

What have you got. Unlit roads you'll be wanting something very bright - e.g. Hope Vision 1, or a 'high power LED torch' type light, and rears good quality ones like Smart superflash, Blackburn Mars 3 or 4 etc. etc. Also have a backup light as well on front and rear.

How about the possibility of animal attacks at night. I am thinking 360 during the day, but at night, I am thinking how to protect myself from the four legged creatures.

 

[mayfieldga]

If you plan on riding unlit country roads at night, I would do a good slow recce in daylight first. The state of the roads presently are dangerous enough with all these potholes that have appeared this winter. Even with good lights it is difficult to tell shallow holes from deep holes till your on top of them. Another problem I have found on country roads, I can sometimes get disorientated to the edge of the road if it is not marked by a white line and have left it in the past on occasions

On the plus side, cars approaching from the front and rear can be spotted from a good distance especially when going round blind corners providing they have their lights on.

So go for it but keep your speeds down to give yourself time to react to these potholes and anything else which may suddenly pop up in front of you, for example, ninja joggers, dog walkers, animals etc

Oh yes the animals. Where I live in middle Georgia, there are some wild animals. I hope to be able to maintain sufficient 360 for those things. Oh, for my area, wonder if anyone considered scenarios where some not so good ole boys may see you as a victim. I am thinking of preparations for feeling intensities of stops turns and other sounds to perhaps have a heads up for those also and may breaking for the woods early to make for a smaller target.

 

[fossyant]

12 year old thread ? What local wildlife do you have in Georgia ? Nothing worth worrying about in the UK.

 

[pete drans]

Hi all,

I cant decide on this. Im planning on doing lejog and can only do my large 50miler+ runs at the weekends, so during the week i am limited to 6:45pm and onwards, which usually means its dark.... But i need to train.

Now I want to do this route tonight as although its not a huge distance, it has a pretty steep hill climb that should allow me to give my legs a good workout.... Im just slightly worried about riding on unlight country roads, with no cats eyes or anything when it gets dark, I do obviously have lights but dont have any idea of how dangerous or not this may be... What do you guys thing? Anyone do this themselfs?

BTW the A road is pretty quiet although i will get a good 20 - 30 cars or so passing me... THanks!

What about a set of rollers or a turbo trainer

 

[Peter Salt]

How about the possibility of animal attacks at night. I am thinking 360 during the day, but at night, I am thinking how to protect myself from the four legged creatures.

12 year old thread ? What local wildlife do you have in Georgia ? Nothing worth worrying about in the UK.

I'm not sure what's the problem with digging out an old thread, that already has a lot of useful replies, instead of starting a new one. Makes sense to me.

Been to Georgia, without a bike though. Wildlife is aplenty: wild boar, deer, wolfs and bears. Out of these the boars are by far the worst. I think what people do is make sure that they can be heard - fit the bikes with bells and the like so the animals keep away. Most dangerous thing in Gorgia was the rakija

 

[nagden]

I always cycle early in the morning. This means my winter rides start off in the dark. I have invested in some good lights front and back and wear a reflective gilet. Never had any problems and have seen some fantastic wildlife as the day breaks. Enjoy.

 

[roubaixtuesday]

I think perhaps @mayfieldga should worry less about the effect of animals in the woods and more about the effect of those special mushrooms.

 

[Mike_P]

Lights that are easily switchable between luminance levels are good, you need to see the road surface clearly but at the same time avoid blinding anyone passing on either direction Halfords have a range that have an optional handlebar control.

 

[Andy in Germany]

Hi all,

I cant decide on this. Im planning on doing lejog and can only do my large 50miler+ runs at the weekends, so during the week i am limited to 6:45pm and onwards, which usually means its dark.... But i need to train.

Now I want to do this route tonight as although its not a huge distance, it has a pretty steep hill climb that should allow me to give my legs a good workout.... Im just slightly worried about riding on unlight country roads, with no cats eyes or anything when it gets dark, I do obviously have lights but dont have any idea of how dangerous or not this may be... What do you guys thing? Anyone do this themselfs?

BTW the A road is pretty quiet although i will get a good 20 - 30 cars or so passing me... THanks!

I've cycled thousands of kilometres on unlit roads in the UK and Germany; as others have said it's often safer than in daylight: I can see cars coming further away, often long before they know I'm there, and when I had double headlights they tended to assume I was a tractor and pull rapidly into gateways...

 

[Andy in Germany]

How about the possibility of animal attacks at night. I am thinking 360 during the day, but at night, I am thinking how to protect myself from the four legged creatures.

I know the UK has changed since I left; are the squirrels more aggressive?

 

[nickyboy]

I know the UK has changed since I left; are the squirrels more aggressive?

Badgers...

This is a major reason I don't ride at night. Around here there are loads of badgers (up to five in my garden) and if I'm going downhill at 30mph and one jumps out it's going to end badly for me