biggs682
Touch it up and ride it
- Location
- Northamptonshire
Night riding feels amazing
- Thread starter Cymro74
- Start date
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Spartak
Powered by M&M's
- Location
- Bristolian
Few years ago I rode the Avalon Sunrise 400km Audax, starting at 10pm at a pub in Devon, we then headed north cycling across Exmoor to Minehead, fantastic ride under the moonlit country lanes... 👍
PaulSB
Legendary Member
- Location
- Chorley, Lancashire
As I'm retired I can ride whenever I wish which means I haven't ridden in the dark in four years. Prior to this I often had to ride in dusky light if I wanted to get out. On Tuesday I found myself riding in fading light. I was wearing a bright yellow rain jacket and running high quality Lezyne lights in the brightest flashing mode. Despite this I experienced the two worst close passes I've known in my life.
The Protec company transit from behind brushed my right elbow with the wing mirror. About three miles further I had glanced down and on looking up saw a large bright yellow vehicle bearing down on me fully on my carriageway at +/- 60mph. He passed me before I had time to do anything. I don't know how I'm alive. Unbelievably lucky.
I'm far from a nervous rider but these two incidents mean I will do all I can to avoid riding in failing light or the dark. Yes, I know both could have occurred in bright sunshine but there is a possibility failing light contributed to the close passes.
I've never considered a camera but I wish I'd had front and rear on Tuesday!!!
The Protec company transit from behind brushed my right elbow with the wing mirror. About three miles further I had glanced down and on looking up saw a large bright yellow vehicle bearing down on me fully on my carriageway at +/- 60mph. He passed me before I had time to do anything. I don't know how I'm alive. Unbelievably lucky.
I'm far from a nervous rider but these two incidents mean I will do all I can to avoid riding in failing light or the dark. Yes, I know both could have occurred in bright sunshine but there is a possibility failing light contributed to the close passes.
I've never considered a camera but I wish I'd had front and rear on Tuesday!!!
raleighnut
Legendary Member
- Location
- One of the 'Elite'
The worst time to ride is in twilight, as I have posted before some people have difficulty seeing in dusk conditions.
PaulSB
Legendary Member
- Location
- Chorley, Lancashire
Yes, I've seen those remarks and I definitely agree murky or dusky conditions are the most difficult time to see anything.
Flick of the Elbow
Guru
- Location
- Edinburgh
I no longer work so my days of night riding are mostly over. But oddly, I do miss it. I used to ride home through country lanes and offroad tracks and used to enjoy the sense of quietness and solitude, and also the wildlife, badgers, roe deer, tawny owls, and most memorably a barn owl that flew in front of me following my light on the road for a good five minutes well I watched fascinated.
I love night riding for all the good reasons already given in this thread - particularly around the hours of 12 to 4 - things seem (to me) to be at their quietest then. I personally reckon it's a lot safer than daytime cycling. I use dynamo lighting (front lamp is a B+M 80 lux) but sometimes mount a 1000 lumen torch to the handlebar, pointing directly ahead rather than angled down. The torch is not left on and is rarely used at all but I can switch it on with a soft touch to the tail-cap switch (remove my finger and the torch goes off) - on the bigger, straighter roads, I find that some oncoming vehicles are slow to dip and a momentary burst often gets them to dip their lights. I've occasionally used it for a floodlight too. Once, in the early nights of the first lockdown (when people still treated it as a lockdown), down a narrow singletrack lane on a pitch black moonless night, I could make out a badly parked car in a passing place. My first thought was that it had been abandoned or was being used for fly-tipping (I cycle this lane regularly at all hours and have never seen a car parked anywhere down it but have seen lots of fly-tipping). I gave a burst of floodlight to see a young lady bouncing up and down on top of her partner in the passenger seat. I quickly turned the light off and cycled past. My suspicion is that for whatever reason, their opportunities for assignations during lockdown had been seriously compromised.
ColinJ
Puzzle game procrastinator!
- Location
- Todmorden - Yorks/Lancs border
That was another problem that I forgot to mention!
On a night ride I was wearing a headtorch as well as having a front light on the bike and I eventually discovered that I could persuade most drivers to dip by pointing the headtorch beam at them, then flicking it down towards the road. Most dipped immediately, some took 2 or 3 'hints'! I don't think anybody ignored it. That told me that those drivers were careless rather than nasty.
fossyant
Ride It Like You Stole It!
- Location
- South Manchester
Off road gnarly descents in the dark are ace ! Trust me. I set PB's on a few recently, and conditions weren't ideal - wet and muddy. Just shut your eyes. 
The 'views' make it worthwhile too.
The 'views' make it worthwhile too.
ColinJ
Puzzle game procrastinator!
- Location
- Todmorden - Yorks/Lancs border
They probably ARE, but I worry about your dodgy back if you fall off doing that!Off road gnarly descents in the dark are ace ! Trust me. I set PB's on a few recently, and conditions weren't ideal - wet and muddy. Just shut your eyes.
The 'views' make it worthwhile too.
fossyant
Ride It Like You Stole It!
- Location
- South Manchester
They probably ARE, but I worry about your dodgy back if you fall off doing that!
I'm not ! My camelbac has some spinal protection and I've usually got elbow armour on !
hoopdriver
Guru
- Location
- East Sussex
I especially love the magic of riding through pre-dawn mists on a dark country lane. This image taken about 5am on a country lane on the marshes near Pevensey, East Sussex
Andy in Germany
Guru
- Location
- Freiburg im Breisgau
I had a set of double lights when I cycled in the lanes of Somerset, with a batery that was strapped to the crossbar: they had a "normal" and "High beam" and on one memorable occasion I managed to shine them on a helecopter. These were fantastic for reminding car drivers to dip their lights, in fact because of the twin beam a far few mistook me for a tractor and pulled clear off the road to get out of the way...
ColinJ
Puzzle game procrastinator!
- Location
- Todmorden - Yorks/Lancs border
It is interesting to me just how different people can be...
There are obviously a lot of people who agree with you, but that picture literally fills me with gloom at the idea of potentially 3+ months of that sort of weather to come. That pesky old S.A.D...
If I open the blinds here in the morning, look across the valley and see mist everywhere, I promptly close the blinds again. Sometimes they remain closed for days, or even for weeks some murky winters.
I have stopped cycling in November some years and not got my bike out again until February or even March if we had what I call a 'dreary' winter. I would much rather have a freezing, sunny day than a mild, misty, damp one. Mind you, then there is the ice problem...
rockyroller
Guru
- Location
- 20 miles northwest of Boston, MA
I have a forested area near my home that I am very familiar with. I think it helps, even if you are alone, to know the terrain. but yeah it's spooky. one night I could swear I heard "bigfoot" throw a boulder into the lake, across from me, breaking the ice. I heard rock on rock sounds, ice crashing & water splashing. couldn't imagine any natural cause. freaked me out completely. it was great
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