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.
I know as well as any of you that I've been checked out lately, kind…
Peter Sagan has undergone quite the transformation over the years; starting as a brash and…
The Women's road race has to be my favorite one-day road race after Paris-Roubaix and…
Holy fuckballs. I've never been this late ever on a VSP. I mean, I've missed…
This week we are currently in is the most boring week of the year. After…
I have memories of my life before Cycling, but as the years wear slowly on…
View Comments
@Giles
beauty
@The Pressure Look, I've never even dated a sheep, let alone had sex with one. These scurrilous rumours must cease.
Thanks for the article.
Commuting very early at the day means for me to use lights on my bike almost all over the year. For sure in the summer some flashlights are enough. But as soon the nights are longer I am in the need of "a full set" of light.
After two lights with batterypack which resulted in broken cables (=new battery pack) no matter how carefully I twisted them/not twisted them I switched over to the Supernova Airstream where the rechargeable battery is within the lamp. Okay, this one will never win a contest looking for longest duration. But for my needs of commuting (3-4 hours) it is just perfect. Since a couple of weeks I am also using the rearlight which gets the power from the headlight. Combined with some flashlights it guides me good through the darkness.
Have good and save rides in the dark!
@frank
In Scotland we prefer to have multiple hand holds just like on the bike...
@the Engine
The ladies at the top are for riding in a group with your friends or club while the lass in the second photo is for solo efforts against the clock or those rule 42 defining moments when you are going to have to dip your mount of choice first and then make a quick exit afterwards.
Although I have never interfered with a sheep, I may indeed have been lurking in a dress on Oli's night ride. Nothing sus.
Agree with Marcus, flashers on the front and too much lumenage is worse than not enough, it is distracting to drivers and can impair distance perception. 350 lumens is more than enough for a road bike. Same out back, super bright flashers can be almost blinding to drivers (not to mention riders when in a bunch)... we ride through winter at night on the road, and most of us run one up front and two out back max. I always have one of these mounted permanently now, un-noticeable and there if needed...
Riding singletrack at night is probably the most fun to be had on any bike anytime... but you'll need some bigger lumenage for max effect. Though back in the early 90s we had some pretty basic set ups, which were state of the art back then... heavy bid on batteries and quick-fade halogen lamps. Then HiD came along and changed the game, and now the LED technology and tiny Li Ion batteries is so affordable that everyone can ride fast on trails without wearing a diaper.
Frank; a shock is on the back of the bike, a fork up front.
I've been night riding for years with a variety of light set ups. From home brew set ups that a good friend of mine used to make up through to AY-UPs, and then the latest Cree P7s. One things for sure, lights have come a long way in the last few years. And they've got (much)cheaper too!
We ride regularly through the winter over here in blighty, and tonight's our regular weekly night ride.
@Frank
Here's my thoughts on night riding. I posted this up last week. I'd echo your 'cone of light' thinking, i just called it something different.
http://www.shifnalcyclingsociety.co.uk/2012/11/riding-in-bubble.html
@Beers
I realize that this is a cycling site but your post brought back so many memories of nordic skiing at night under full moons when I was a teenager. Just an amazing feeling.
@the Engine
Does your MTB look like this?
@Oli
How many dates does it take before they give it up? You'll have to relate it to high school dating for me, so I can understand. Pizza and sodas for a kiss, Olive Garden and a bottomless bowl of pasta for a feel under the shirt, and steal a bottle of wine for the whole enchilada?