Day vs Night?

[bychosis]

Over the Holiday season I took the opportunity to get in some night rides, loved it. Having much better lights than the last time I rode in the dark reasonably regularly also improved the experience. Modern LED lights are soooo much better than the home-made lead acid powered halogen setups of yesteryear. It also put a whole new perspective on look where you want to go with a helmet light setup that I haven't used before. Recent rides in the dark prior to these night rides have been pretty short because the sun comes up nice and early.

The small group we had also pushed it a bit and I got plenty of strava achievements which was a bit surprising considering the limited (and different) vision provided a signidicantly different experience. We kicked of with a pre Christmas lights ride where a couple bikes were decorated with battery powered Christmas lights and other decorations and had a good time so organised a couple more rides (sans decorations).

The setting sun meant less heat. Early evening meant the spiders hadnt finished booby trapping the trails. The four of us with young children also discovered that a ride post evening bedtime routine worked better than a morning ride admittedly at the cost of some sleep for us (small price to pay).

I was prompted to buy some more lights to even the headlight to bar light balance and am looking forward to some more night rides. Day rides can wait til the summer cools off and for now early morning rides will be restricted to bike with bub seat while junior is waking an hour before everyone else in the house.

What are your experiences/thoughts?

[silentbutdeadly]

I love night riding but don't do it often enough. Summer night loops of our MTB track tend to be a hoot but the dark makes the line selection all the more critical...and track knowledge helps too.

On my first night lap way back when, I managed to ride off one of the small bridges and into a gully for an OTB into the saltbush. Recent efforts at planning night rides stalled when the temps at 8pm were repeatedly in excess of 36 degrees...

[clackers]

What are your experiences/thoughts?

Enormous fun, Bychosis.

Having one possum fryer on the bars focused in front of the wheel and another on the helmet so you can actively see what's coming up is a great combination.

The mood is different at night. Animal eyes reflecting back is cute, too.

[Fletch1408]

Night rides are a weekly occurrence for several groups in Hobart. The key factor that makes the night ride very dependable and regular is as mentioned - kids are in bed so time pressure is off. Oh and beers at the end are a welcome reward too. The only downside is tiredness the next day.

[rangersac]

Another addition for the night ride fan club. Especially when you have the kid factor involved, it's really the only option unless you want a serious loss of brownie points on the weekend. I also often find night rides more of a buzz than day ones, probably because you have to concentrate that bit harder and things always seem to move quicker at night.

[Mugglechops]

I am also a big fan of night riding.

Crashes do happen a bit more though.

Here is one from the old halogen days of 2004.



A year after this I bought a HID that cost a bomb compared to today.

[bychosis]

"Back in there day", late 90's, I got into a night race series. It was great, guys with dolphin torches and duct tape, or whatever they had built to see with. One night I went a little wide around a bend and over into the scrub. Landed with bike on top, no injuries but my light had gone out and I couldn't see a thing. A mate who I had just overtaken stopped to see where I went. Funny stack, wouldn't have been anywhere near as funny in the day time.

Night riding with helmet lighting gives a whole new perspective on look where you want to go too.

Last few rides we stunned the same possum mid trail two times, same location, saw an echidna out for an evening stroll and were surprised by cicadas dropping from the heavens all around us. All different to daytime, but all good too.