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Just trying to gauge interest. It's going to be getting hot soon, so I'm wondering if anyone is interested in doing some century rides at night. It would be a self-supported kind of thing, and probably on Saturday nights. Maybe once a month. I live in Rowlett, but am open to starting from somewhere else in the area.
If we plan it right, we could end the ride with stocked beer coolers ;)
Steve
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In, maybe.
Starting and ending all at night, or starting late in the day and riding into the night?
Road dancing with the Saturday night drunks after the bars close is not all that appealing...
Not a century, but the Dorba Friday night ride can be made into a half century by adding a few laps around the lake with ease. That is what some of the more hard core riders would do back when I did it on a regular basis. And back in the day, it used to involve beer.
I don't know about the DFW area, but I have done lots of nightime centuries. If you are going near any bars or traffic from bars, Think about Friday night, or even better, Sunday night. Or just be far away from them at closing time.
Not many drunks out on Sunday night.
Just curious what you all use for headlights for something like this. (My light has a 2-hour run-time, and I can't pedal 50 mph).
Truman, I hadn't thought it out that far. I like the idea of starting late in the day (after rush hour), but ending before closing time. If we started out at say 6pm, we should be able to be winding things down by 1am, I would think. Or at least be away from the bars for the last stretch. I'm thinking it would be a country road kind of deal, to keep interactions with cars (drunk or sober) to a minimum.
Jsharr, that might be the ticket. I'll have to look into that as well.
2manybikes, good point. It's all about timing I suppose.
StephenH, I've got a 3 LED light that I built. It will run for the duration of a century without issue, and is pretty bright. On our last tour, I had oncoming cars bailing off onto the shoulder when it was in bright mode. :eek:
Steve
On our last tour, I had oncoming cars bailing off onto the shoulder when it was in bright mode. :eek:
Steve
That was SO sweet...
Steve, I'm in for a century that starts early evening and ends around midnight - that would be pretty darn cool to do actually, especially if I've done some small pay ride that same day. I will also have the capability of doing any night of the week starting in June, since I teach. I'd love to check out your night gear as well.
I'd have a tough time doing much night riding during the week. I work nights....of course I could play hookie.... ;^)
What part of the mess are you guys from? I'll start throwing together some routes. What say we start out with a shorter ride or two? That way we can include folks that aren't certain if night riding is for them. Better yet, I'll try to put together a 50-ish mile route, and we can plan for 2 loops. Those that aren't feeling it can peel off after the first loop.
If anyone is interested that doesn't have lighting, I've got a few AA LED flashlights that I've used on occasion. They're not grand for riding alone, but should be fine for group riding. I'll be happy to lend them out if needed.
Steve
I'm in East Foat Worthless.
Okay. Truman is around Fort Worth too, and I'm all the way East in Rowlett. We could try to meet up in Cedar Hill and do a route out there. It would be pretty close to equal distance from both sides of the metroplex. I found a route for the Cedar Hill Bike Rally that looks interesting. There isn't a 100 mile loop per se, but we could easily do a couple loops to get to the distance we're looking for. Here's a LINK (http://www.headforthehillsrally.com/route.htm) to the routes. I'll have a look at my schedule and try to come up with a list of days that I could do it, and we can pick and chose from there.
If you guys have other routes that look more interesting, by all means speak up.
Anyone else interested that hasn't chimed in yet? Like I said before, I've got a few LED flashlights that work in a pinch for headlights, and I've got at least one spare rear blinky for anyone that doesn't normally ride at night.
Steve
That might work out, so long as we stay together the whole way and light the sucker up! Crossing 287 can be a bugaboo, and there are trucks back and forth from the gas wells. I've got a light and motion arc lion that'll light the night pretty well. My schedule is pretty well set, so I should be able to commit to something.
Yeah, we will definitely want to keep the group together for the whole ride, for safety's sake.
Here's what I've got available coming up. I'll only list Friday and Saturday nights. I could also do Sunday nights, but I don't guess that many others would be able to.
Apr 12th (Saturday)
Apr 18th (Friday)
May 9th (Friday)
May 10th (Saturday)
May 16th (Friday)
May 17th (Saturday)
Well, I'd be in on Sunday nights for sure once June rolls around, but I'll check my schedule tomorrow and let you know which night I'll be available.
May 10th would work for me for sure for the full century. I'd want to start so that we spent no more than 5 hours in the dark though. I can do a century in 5 1/2 in the day, but I know my speed will slow tremendously at night.
May 17 would probably work but I'm riding in the cross timbers century that same day, so depending on how that goes I might want to cut it down to a 50 mile ride.
After that, May 30 or 31 would work, and after that, any Sunday for sure!
Can we plan on May 10?
East Fort Worth, I might be in, and I like the loop idea. Could I be any more vague?
Ryan
The 10th sounds good. Let's plan for that.
So let's do the Cedar Hill route if there are no objections. I'll try to drive it between now and then just to be sure of any issues. I'll probably go ahead and book a campsite at the State Park there. We can start and finish there and have a place to crash after if need be.
We could start around 6pm. I should think that would equate to about 3 or 4 hours of dark riding.
Steve
I just reallized that the yearly Cedar Hills ride is that day. It looks like they plan to be done by 3, so I wouldn't think that would impact us at all.
Nope. And I'm only 30 minutes away, so you'd be welcome to crash at my place if you like - though it might make for a longer ride home the next day.
bump for anyone else - we're riding this coming saturday. Where shall we meet - at the actual pay ride start?
bump for anyone else - we're riding this coming saturday. Where shall we meet - at the actual pay ride start?Yeah, sure. That works for me. I'm pretty sure Truman is still in too. We'll plan to get started at 5:00, so I'm guessing we'll be done between 11 and 1, depending on stops and such.
I'll try to get some time this week to put the loops into a GPS route if anyone wants it.
Anyone else interested? It should be good times. No need to do the full century if you don't feel like it.
Steve
Here's the 60 mile loop (http://www.mapmyride.com/ride/united-states/tx/cedar-hill/918946483528), and here's the 40 mile loop (http://www.mapmyride.com/ride/united-states/tx/cedar-hill/747991372741).
I just reallized that the yearly Cedar Hills ride is that day. It looks like they plan to be done by 3, so I wouldn't think that would impact us at all.
Ought to be markings on the road to help us out, then.
Just curious what you all use for headlights for something like this. (My light has a 2-hour run-time, and I can't pedal 50 mph).
What if only one person uses a light at a time?
Oi, I've just become 'iffy' on this ride. My kid appears to have broken her right tibia, and I don't know how that's going to translate for tomorrow night. I'll keep you posted.
Wow, bummer. Tell her we wish her the best. That has to hurt.
I'm hoping I don't have to bail either. I just had a bit of an "interaction" with a car on the way home from work. They didn't technically hit me, but they forced me off the road into the sand bank and caused me to wipe pretty good. The bike is okay, but my knee doesn't bear weight very well at the moment. It doesn't seem to bother me on the bike though, so I might be good as long as we don't stop. ;^)
Anyway, keep us posted. Let me know if there's anything you need at the house.
stupid driver, wtf is up with that?
As far as the knee goes, well, I feeeeeel your pain.
We'll keep a good thought and I'll likely talk to you tomorrow for the final call.
Man, you guys be careful out there, and lots of luck to your daughter. One of the nice things about riding a recumbent - the cars think you're handicapped and give you a MUCH wider berth than they do when I'm riding my diamond frame.
Give me a call if you decide to bug out. We can reschedule for the last weekend in may when there's nothing organized. My wife won't mind if I spend Saturday night with her, and my buddies are riding early sunday, so I'll still get my miles in. My batteries are charged and I'm ready to go, but don't feel obligated to do something that might bother your knee.
It's still pretty sore, I'll take a quick spin in the morning to see what the scoop is. I suspect it will be fine, but I'll call late morning if I have to bug out.
Steve
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