Aside from wheels staying in one piece and the frame holding together, the thing we take most for granted when riding a bike is how our bodies instinctively respond to and absorb bumps. The human body is, in fact, an incredible shock-absorber; our arms and legs are capable of flexing and shifting in ways that no mechanical suspension is capable of and reacts at near-instantaneous speed to the intelligence streaming in from the ocular system. Remove the power of sight from the equation and the effect is staggering.
My first encounter with night riding was during a 24-hour mountainbike race in Minnesota. Until that race, I had taken care to always ride during the day, partly because I couldn’t afford a reasonable headlight and partly because I could always arrange my training to take place during daylight. A 24-hour race, however, held distinct implications for nighttime riding.
I never bothered practicing riding at night, and I didn’t bother with buying a proper headlamp. Instead, I recommissioned my semi-reliable headlight which I used for nordic ski training in the dark winter months. The week before had also seen the decommissioning of my first-generation Rock Shox which had always graced the front-end of my beloved Schwinn mountainbike, made of what I assume were sand-filled tubes. I didn’t maintain the shock the way a shock should be maintained, and with its death came the rebirth of the fixed fork that had originally steered the machine.
I don’t need to go into detail on the race, but suffice to say that my headlamp stopped functioning within minutes on the first nighttime lap and that I rode the remainder of the race by the light of the moon and my insufficient instincts. Climbing was unpleasant, flats were uncomfortable, and descents were a blend of suicide and anarchy. Each bump the front wheel found blew through my unprepared arms and cascaded through my body, usually focussed on the saddle which ungracefully found its way to my crotch whether I was sitting on it at the time or not.
With this induction into the dark art of night riding, it has been something I’ve typically done with some reluctance. In other words, I’ve avoided it like the plague. Living in Seattle and having the privilege of a fulltime job does have certain ramifications on riding in daylight hours in Winter; namely that it isn’t possible. With the introduction of a good headlight comes the surreal solidarity of riding cocooned in a cone of light. The shorted line of sight together with the elimination of one’s peripheral vision has an inexplicable calming effect despite the sense that you can’t properly judge the bumps in the road as your headlight briefly illuminates them, and that every puddle looks like a small lake whose depth cannot be judged until you’re on top of it.
I’ve ridden with a Mammut Zoom headlamp and a Lezyne Super Drive, both of which served the purpose of making nighttime riding slightly less terrifying. But with my new 45km commute, I moved to the Lezyne Mega Drive, which is basically a car headlight refactored to fit on a handlebar. I heard that the lights in small villages dim when I turn it to full power and I’ve noticed that deer come running towards it when I ride by with the mistaken belief that it signals the arrival of a deity.
Never one for half-measures, I still mount the Super Drive on the helmet and the Mega Drive on the bars; its like riding with the Eye of Sauron on your bike. Oh, and I have three different red flashers on the back of the bike and another white flasher on the front. You know, just in case.
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@chiasticon
And what's with his 10 gallon water bottle too? Thumbs down!
@Chris
I believe you're right. Gotta break the rules before you can make the rules I guess.
@EricW Wasn't this shot taken before his crash?
Excellent timing for this article. Lights have been on my mind since I found myself at 3:45 yesterday looking out my office window at the quickly darkening skies, then at my lightless bike leaning against the office wall, then back at the darkening skies...
@Duende I had the same thing. Looked out the window, "Ok, great. I've got time to take the long way home." Sent a couple more emails, looked out again. "Crap, it's pitch black outside!"
I'm running Leyzne Femto front (under the stem) and rear (seatpost) on my Fango SS commuting mo-sheen for a discreet, low lumen blinking "Eye of Sam" set-up.
I commute mostly on mixed use paths. I run around 400 lumens on my helmet and 300 on my handlebars. As to the pedestrians, maybe only 1 in 20 at best have any lights or even reflective gear. Often they're walking multiple dogs off leash, so I figure if my lights are two bright for them, they can at least be thankful I had lighting and didn't run into them. Don't even get me started on the other "cyclists" who ride in the pitch dark with no lighting or reflective gear at all. It boggles my mind.
@Colorado Nate agreed, can spend 10 grand on a bike but won't shell out another 100 bucks for a half decent light?? Lot of that round here.
WRT to Wiggo, that yellow lid is just a little ostentatious for me. I know he's the only man on the planet to be entitled to wear it, but he looks like a belisha beacon. So off the bike something like springs to mind:
@Giles
The yellow helmet is a a privilege offered to the team leading the points classification during the Tour. Most teams don't take advantage, with Sky being a notable exception during part of 2012's race. Given that Team Radio Shack won, it's odd to see him in it anyway, but I doubt anyone from TRS is shouting about Wiggo wearing yellow anywhere on his body.
With all that said, he looks like his mother dressed him to make snow angels in a field with large rocks in it, not like a PRO. Yikes.
Can recommend Ay-Ups as others have said ..... had mine for 6 months and have enabled me to get on the bike more due to having a young family.
Great addition to my "kit" .....
@Enoch
My goodness my guinness, if ever there was proof of the reason we seek to Look Fantastic and that while to Look Pro has an intersection in that set, there is no Set Eclipse going on between the two.
Merckx.