Texas - Night Riding in Houston

Does anybody ride at night on any of the bike trails late at night? I work second shift and now the weather is warming I am seriously considering riding the Braeswood trail after work around midnight.

I think all the bike paths close at dusk. I know George Bush does.

George Bush "closes" at dusk... but I have ridden it as my alternate route home when I got off at Midnight. Kinda creepy.... but pretty cool to see all the wildlife. First time i saw a pack of hogs was surprising.

No idea what consequences would be if you got caught, but I know George Bush and Terry Hershey both have signs saying they are closed from dusk till dawn/6am.

No idea what consequences would be if you got caught, but I know George Bush and Terry Hershey both have signs saying they are closed from dusk till dawn/6am.

I'd guess nothing but a warning. I think the real reason for "closing" the park is so there's an excuse to roust any kids sneaking off to get high or anybody looking to do something else illicit.

I think all the bike paths close at dusk. I know George Bush does.

I ignore the signs as well and ride anyway. During winter months, i wouldn't be able to ride if i didn't ride at night and I really liked not having to worry about cars at night even thought my lights are more than sufficient light up the area.

I think that they would just tell you to get out and leave it at that. They may at most give you a written warning (criminal trespassing?). I would be surprised if anything more serious would come of it.

Not to concerned with the police harassment I rode Allen Parkway and the Picnic Loop at Memorial from 10:00pm to 1am Sunday and saw several HPD officers and none concerned with me. Though they had the K9 unit by the baseball fields at Memorial park, not sure what that was about but again they weren't concerned with me. I was more concerned about safety issues with the homeless and such if anyone had problems.

I ride Humble at night.. not really Houston but... I feel fairly safe. With all the lights I think people probably think I am on something motorized and therefor am not to be bothered. I carry pepper spray just in case, but really I feel like my visibility and odds of being in an accident are decreased at night. It's quieter and easier to hear things coming, and relative to your surroundings you are very visible. I hung a blue LED blinky next to my red blinky so that I look like a cop from a distance - this is vaguely illegal but I highly doubt a cop would have a problem with it.

I ride Humble at night.. not really Houston but... I feel fairly safe. With all the lights I think people probably think I am on something motorized and therefor am not to be bothered. I carry pepper spray just in case, but really I feel like my visibility and odds of being in an accident are decreased at night. It's quieter and easier to hear things coming, and relative to your surroundings you are very visible. I hung a blue LED blinky next to my red blinky so that I look like a cop from a distance - this is vaguely illegal but I highly doubt a cop would have a problem with it.

Well, I got back about 20 minutes ago, and it was very liberating, it's like I owned the streets for once. Really enjoyed it and I will be doing it more for sure. I saw one other cyclist which makes me happy and a little more comfortable like I am not crazy. I hope I have enough lighting I like your blue and red combo will have to pick me up one.

I don't normally ride as late as you.... usually more like 9-midnight... maybe midnight:30. Unless I wake up in the middle of the night, can't sleep, and bum around the neighborhood.

With that said... I LOVE night rides. 1 thing I like, easy to spot cars coming (a quick glance to check for lights). Less traffic and cooler weather are great too.... although last night was a little too cold... not bad though.

Our night rides are always on the street.. never use the trails we talked about above, unless it's a lazy morning cruise (day-time).

My goal for the summer is to do my morning rides - which are always on a trainer, because it's 5:00 AM - outside. I figure if I can ride for 45 mins in the morning I won't hate sitting behind a desk all day as much.

I regularly ride the Braes Bayou trail during the day. Once I rode to work during the day and came home at night. My light is a low-end Blackburn light, the kind where you can be seen by cars but is not bright enough to illuminate the road. Most of the Braes trail (west of 610) is away from city streets and not illuminated, and like I said, my light didn't really light up the path so I was concerned with debris. If a rock or something was on the trail it was likely I wasn't going to see it. On the city streets I had no problem because the streetlights do a good enough job of lighting up the road. This was between Rice and Hillcroft, so I can't comment on the trail inside the loop.

As for the homeless, late at night you'd probably find them under the bridges inside the loop. I have never found them to cause any trouble other than a couple early morning rides they were sleeping on the path instead of up under the bridge (the bridges that have the "no camping" signs on them :rolleyes:), but almost always they are up under the bridge out of the way. I'd be more concerned with muggers than I would the homeless.

I don't recall if the Braes path has a closing time. I know there are a few signs posted here and there so will look the next time to see if it says anything about closing.

I've done a lot of night rides around the Montrose/ River Oaks/ Memorial area. Never been hassled by HPD or anyone else. Been out until 4AM a couple of times on weekends. The key is probably to be seen. HPD/ Metro PD/ Constables/ Sherriffs figure if you can be seen you're OK and not up to anything nasty. Make sure those lights work carry extra batteries and stay visible.

What streets would you guys consider good candidates for riding at night?

I ride the same area that PJones rides but that's normally just going to dinner, bars, hanging out, etc. No real goal or anything.

It's not so bad, some streets are busy, some aren't. Winding your way through neighborhoods is the way to go. Just make sure you've got decent lights. I don't have any high end stuff, just things that blink and let cars know I'm around. $40 Cateye and $7 red blinky from Performance and I'm set.

I made the leap to a "high-end" light and I love it. I have a Cyglow Dualcross 300, about $250, and I can see better with it than I can with my car's headlights. It is a different experience at night with a nice light, and I think most cars and people assume you are on a moped or motorcycle since the light can really be blinding.

I have that same light it's great, now that I am thinking about it I may run home and charge it for tonight after work.

What streets would you guys consider good candidates for riding at night?

Any of the residential areas. Stay off main routes, i.e. Westheimer, Richmond, Montrose. Especially after the bars close on Friday/ Saturday nights. Trails from downtown to Memorial Park are nice at night.