Is riding on unlight country roads at night suicide?
- Thread starter MacLean
- Start date
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MontyVeda
a short-tempered ill-controlled small-minded troll
- Location
- Lancaster... the little city.
That's my biggest fear on the unlit lanes at night. Almost got taken out a few years back by some wally taking the racing line.
It's not the problem it once was but there is a culture here of young people acting the idiot on minor roads in old scrap cars, number plates removed and just dump them if anything goes wrong.
Nowadays they seem to have more money and use things like Ford Sierras, Opel Omegas, Lexus IS200s, BMWs or any other old rear wheel drive car for drifting, donuts and burnouts and some practice on public roads. Not usual to find all the skid marks and black circles at junctions. Even saw someone acting the idiot in an E21 BMW and they are very pricey these days.
lazybloke
Considering a new username
- Location
- Leafy Surrey
Hell no, the glare of headlamps and the noise of an engine (particularly if being thrashed) are really very obvious when you're alone on a silent, dark lane. If you do feel at risk, you can adjust your line & speed, or can even find a place to stop.
Dogtrousers
Kilometre nibbler
Do you suppose he paid for it?
MontyVeda
a short-tempered ill-controlled small-minded troll
- Location
- Lancaster... the little city.
not on the incident I mentioned... it was only* the driver noticing me that avoided me being hit.
*of course i could have not gone out on the bike
lazybloke
Considering a new username
- Location
- Leafy Surrey
Sorry to hear that.
Bad interactions with cars can happen day or night, but in the small hours there are almost NO interactions at all. To me, that feels far safer than say, rush hour.
cyberknight
As long as I breathe, I attack.
- Location
- Land of confusion
its the noises in the hedgerows that give me the heebie jeebies, particularly on one stretch where im slogging uphill next to woodland and theirs crashing in the undergrowth .
- Location
- Inside my skull
That’ll be the Jabberwocky, you really don’t want to meet them at night.
cyberknight
As long as I breathe, I attack.
- Location
- Land of confusion
i know its liable to be a deer / sheep etc but its unsettling especially when your crawling up a hill and couldnt go faster unless i got a brown trouser boost !
taximan
senex crepitu iuvenis cordi esse
- Location
- Whitby North Yorkshire.
I remember many years ago, our club were riding on the old ironstone railway near Rosedale, Yorkshire on a damp and misty night. Of course we did not have the benefit of super duper modern lighting systems but were using the old style lamps with 2.5 tungsten bulbs. Suddenly we saw a pair of luminous eyes peering at us out of the gloom and were so startled that we all finished up in a pile in the middle of the track. by this time there were several pairs of eyes looking at us. Eventually we plucked up the courage to charge towards them screaming like banshees 
and the flock of sheep ran off into the night.
and the flock of sheep ran off into the night.
MontyVeda
a short-tempered ill-controlled small-minded troll
- Location
- Lancaster... the little city.
I don't know what you're trying to argue against. I mention 'my' biggest fear when riding country lanes at night which is bourn out of experience. And you, for some reason feel inclined to tell me that I'm wrong. I've cycled a lot in rush hour and I don't feel in danger of some twonk hurtling round a corner on the wrong side of the road because it's never happened to me at rush hour.
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My memorable experiences of night time commuting/training
Front light failure in the pitch black outside an old cemetery shortly after I'd been told it was the scene of a fatal road crash years before (turned out the cable from the battery had corroded)
Cycling downhill at 30+mph and blinded by car lights I hit a pothole and almost lost control. Thankfully I kept it upright but front wheel buckled and busted water bottle and tool bottle. In fairness the car lights were dipped but the brightness meant I couldn't see the road.
Some other observations....on a Cold winters day the roads can freeze up very quickly as the sun goes down. Oh and Fixing punctures in the dark isn't fun - maybe a head torch is one to consider.
Other than those events I do enjoy the quietness of the night time training,
Front light failure in the pitch black outside an old cemetery shortly after I'd been told it was the scene of a fatal road crash years before (turned out the cable from the battery had corroded)
Cycling downhill at 30+mph and blinded by car lights I hit a pothole and almost lost control. Thankfully I kept it upright but front wheel buckled and busted water bottle and tool bottle. In fairness the car lights were dipped but the brightness meant I couldn't see the road.
Some other observations....on a Cold winters day the roads can freeze up very quickly as the sun goes down. Oh and Fixing punctures in the dark isn't fun - maybe a head torch is one to consider.
Other than those events I do enjoy the quietness of the night time training,
Jody
Stubborn git
Are you in Ireland by any chance?
Yes.
