Road Cycling - Night Riding

Just back from a night ride, the weather here in Westchester, NY was beautiful tonight: 40s, clear and no wind.

Great time, just wish the cars and trucks thought I had a right to some of the road. Only had traffic for the first mile then lonely back roads...nice.

Last night while the wife and I were driving home from a restaurant we came across a group of 7 riders. All had headlights and taillights. Looked like they were having a great time. Wished I was riding with them instead of driving home with a full stomach. :eek:


About a mile or two later we came upon a commuter with a small blinkie clipped to his belt on his left side, not his back. Because of where he had it positioned we couldn't see it until we were really close to him. He had no headlight and no reflective clothing, etc. Hope he made it home ok.

While off my regular shift work arrangement, I have to ride at night to keep up my base miles.. Night riders on this forum vouch for the safety of night riding. I will soon be doing such and have plenty of reflective tape and a great lighting system. However, those I ride with will not ride at night unless there are at least 5 of us doing such.. Do you all have trouble getting others to ride with you at night..
My thing, since it seems wise to ride slower- are we getting a great workout...?

Speed becomes a dependancy of your light. I have a Night Rider Digital Pro 32 Watt system. I can ride at 25mph without overriding the light. If I were to ride much faster than that, on suspect roads, I would add a helmet mounted light. But I get quite a good workout, and I ride home every night in the dark about 15 miles. Some areas have zero streetlights, and less-than-ideal roads.

I ride at 6 AM most weekdays and I don't usually have to slow down. I am using a Viewpoint 15w light, which provides enough light to ride a familiar route. I would probably have to slow down on unfamiliar roads, though, unless I had more light. Mostly, I need to spot new obstacles, like fallen tree branches and leaves.

A group of riders in our local club didn't want to stop riding on the after work 6:30 p.m. rides so we decided to just keep meeting despite the darkness. It has been a blast, although on country roads and curvy downhills it is admittedly a little scary at times. We all stick together and wait for each other at intersections and parking lots, driveways, etc. so nobody gets stranded with a problem (try changing a flat in the dark by yourself). I'm sure that the car drivers that come across us on the road are sure that we are completely insane;) We are just having fun and we aren't a bunch of youngsters with the average age in the 40's. We did 29 miles of hills, flats, climbs and rollers last week and it was worth the effort to get out there in the dark. Some of the guys are truly addicted to it now and wouldn't miss it. One of the funny things you'll notice is you can't look down and see what gear you are in - especially shifting before a steep climb - do it all by feel. Plus don't bother looking at a computer on the bike since you can't see it either. Almost as if you are in some kind of a black hole. Weird!

Good, bright, long-lasting lights are really important. One of the guys has a helmet light (helps on downhills curvy roads to see the side of the road), and a really powerful headlight, plus five blinkies arranged on the back and a safety vest. Quite a site - looks like a UFO floating down the road from behind. We have noticed that cars really are very careful (they can't figure out what is ahead of them until they pass us), and give us a lot of clearance and wait for us at intersections. So far, so good.

Most of us ride mountain bikes with slicks or older road bikes (winter beaters). Hate to trash a nice bike and wheels because you didn't see a pothole.

I rode at night for years as a bike commuter and it is very different in a country setting without the ambient light of the city around you. Just be careful and use common sense and you'll have fun.

I'm not sure you have a right to the road at night. Just my opinion but it seems like if you ride at night you are asking for trouble. I ride alot and wouldn't take the chance if I thought it too dangerous!

If you are riding after dark without lights, you are breaking the law. Better have your wives prepared to bail you out of gaol when the local gendarmerie finally catch up with you!

Originally posted by D*Alex
If you are riding after dark without lights, you are breaking the law. Better have your wives prepared to bail you out of gaol when the local gendarmerie finally catch up with you!

Who said anything about riding at night without lights? Only a very foolish person would do so, although I saw a rider the other night in the pitch dark without a headlight, a dim blinker on the back and riding carelessly. I was driving and I almost didn't see him. No helmet of course too.

as a shift worker i ride a lot in the dark, it definatly is a lot safer especialy in urban area,s, the early hours of the morning are the best, i ride some great circuit,s home in the early hours , along the beach road is great, the moon on the sea,the crash of the surf & the buzz of the chain running thru the gears the only sound & of course taking the crown of the road, pure magic:D

Greywolf, you just painted a pretty picture in my mind. I hate being landlocked. I miss the beach!!!

I ride in the early morning. Traffic in nonexistent at 4:30 am.

This morning was 30 degrees. With frost on the ground, a light fog, and a full moon it was beautiful. The moon made the thin fog glow a bluish gray and the frosted barn roofs glow. I could see the rolling corn fields as various shades of gray and the darker mountains in the distance. My head light made the leaves on the road sparkle. I wished that I could keep riding, but I had to get ready for work.

Later from the car, on the way to work, the landscape was almost invisible. The non cyclists have no idea what they missed.

I went on a great night ride tonight. I rolled out about 9 and headed down some lonely country roads. The roads are entirely unlit, and the farmhouses even have only a few lights.

I could hear the haunting whistle of a freight train far in the distance. As it hpppened, I arrived at a lonely rail crossing just in time to see the monster fly by, must have been ~50mph.

Otherwise, I glided unseen past acres and acres of snow covered fields, the dark vastness of the world pressing in on the edges of my headlamp's glow. I felt the bitter cold on my face, and I could hear only the very distant sounds of traffic.

Between the cold (~32F), the dark, and the fact that the roads are little used anyway, I had the whole world to myself. Awesome.