ochizon

I do. It might be because I live in a busy area, but ever since the time change, I dont want to ride, and for some reason, the bike riding is all or nithing with me. If I cant ride 5 times a week, I have little drive to ride at all.

Am I alone in this, or are others similar?

The worst part is that the weather is GREAT for riding here in Miami this time of year.

Tom Stormcrowe

Personally, I love riding at night. The key though is to be visible. I use a 10 led DUal headlight array, reflective tape and a cateye tail light.

10 Wheels

I liked night riding.
Found it is much harder to see hazards ahead in the road.
Hit glass 1.5 miles from home while returning from a 100.8 miles ride.
Walked the rest of the way.
Don't have time for it now.

jgjulio

I love riding at night. It is not windy, in my neighborhood the streets are well lit and other than having to dodge cars (like during the day) it is very relaxing. At night it is easier to see oncoming cars at intersections due to their headlights warning of the approach.

My wife ride together - we both have flashing tail lights, LED headlights and a white helmet light.
We want to be seen.....

Neil_B

I enjoy it only when I am properly lit. Also when I know the road is free from ice. I doubt you have that problem in Miami. Unless it's Miami, Ohio.

jboyd

I love riding at night. I live in a small town, so no traffic issues. I love the feeling of being sort of stealth in the dark.

As stated in another post, I have a voyeuristic side, so I kinda dig looking in the lit windows as I cruise streets. Something surreal about watching families do the dinner thing, or seeing couples argue, or seeing one person in one room doing one thing and in another room, someone doing something completely different. I know, NUTS.

Besides, there are no hills at night Just steep flat areas.

You need to dump the "if I can't ride 5 days I don't want to ride at all" thing. Just ride when you can. Don't pressure yourself so much. To me that takes the fun out.

Jay

Neil_B

If Hollywood ever remakes Hitchcock's Rear Window, they could use you.

CliftonGK1

They did remake it. Unfortunately they titled it Disturbia and stuck a bunch of dippy kids in it.


That being said, I love riding at night. I have a Supernova E3 headlight, a Princeton Tec Quad on my helmet, 2 Superflash blinkies, and a few yards of reflective tape on my bike. I don't live in a busy area, so I rarely worry about traffic. The most I worry about at night is having a deer or other woodland critter run out in front of me.
Quite a bit of my night riding is on lightless wooded roads, so it's extra dark even when the moon is full and the sky is clear. It's awesome knowing you're the only vehicle lighting up the night for miles in either direction.

wrobertdavis

I have enjoyed and continue to enjoy riding at night. I've had two unfortunate accidents at night because I could not see. Accident no. 1 was sliding down on a descending curve and getting a bad case of road rash. I did not see the fine dampness on the road surface from a misting rain that had happened before I came along. I purchased a better head light (cateye triple shot). Accident no.2 (2 years later) occurred in pitch black darkness riding through a park. I did not see the two wild boars charging from the left until they were right in front of me about five feet away. I T-boned them and up-ended the bike and me. See full details at https://bob-thespiritmovesme.blogspot.com/ (scroll down). This is a true story. I purchased two better headlights (bar mounted dinotte 400L and helmet mounted dinotte 400L).

Finally I can see in front and to the sides and down the trail. I also don't go over 18 mph in the dark.
I will never stop riding at night. Its a must in the hot summers in Houston.

Bob

JoelS

I don't ride at night. That's really all I have to say on it

cod.peace

How's the experience with the Supernova E3? Do you run it off a SON?

CliftonGK1

I run it off a SON28 and it was the replacement for an L&M Solo 13W halogen. The E3 is absolutely brilliant. Amazingly bright, and for an LED it even gives good contrast in the rain.
If you're considering one for riding on busy streets vs. suburban and rural roads (like much of my riding) then I'd suggest the asymmetrical lens version. It's the equivalent of the Schmidt Edelux, with horizon cutoff optics to keep from blinding oncoming traffic and put more light on the roadway.
I'm actually going to double up my front lights and get one of those asymmetrical ones to wire in with the original symmetrical one. That way I can have high/low beams or a mega-beam for my high-speed descents.

cyclezealot

Hot summer days.. Night riding is far preferable. The part of night riding I feel queasy about.. Seeing bumps and stuff in the road.. Take along your brightest light..

Mr. Beanz

I like it. 2 headlights, one bright and one set on strobe while descending. Rear blinkie and best of all, the ankle bands that seem to be the most visible of all. Mainly due to the movement IMO.

We live at the foothills so in order to avoid traffic, I ride uphill. A bit scary coming down at 30 mph in the dark but someone's gotta do it!

CliftonGK1

Mount your lights as low as you can get them for greater shadow and contrast to see road debris and potholes/bumps.

I've got mine on the front of my platform rack, just above my wheel. When I switch to a dual headlight setup, I might even drop them lower onto mid-fork mounts. (although, they're tougher to keep clean when mounted there.)

StephenH

I don't like riding at night, but I'd rather ride at night than not at all. So during the winter, I do try to get out. I may not go as far or as fast. I tend to stay off the bike trail and more on the (deserted) suburban streets, where visibility is better and it's not as spooky.

wirehead

I loves the night. All around. My best pictures were taken at night. I love going for walks at night. It's a totally different view of things. And you can actually look up at the sky and see stars and meteors and mountains on the moon and sometimes even pink elephants with two trunks parachuting down.

But, yeah, lots of illumination is a must while riding at night. I'm sufficiently obsessive that I need to have two front lights from different manufacturers and two back lights, also from different manufacturers.

Wino Ryder

I commuted to and from work for five years riding at night. Its great. I love it. Here recently I took a promotion and it put me on the day shift, but I still have all my lights and stuff. Its crazy but I lost more weight riding at night commuting than the 30-40 weekend daylight miles I was doing.

Riding down here in Florida during the summer when its ungodly hot and muggy makes you really appreciate riding at night.

cod.peace

I was reading up on them at the Peter White site. It's such an elegant solution compared with DIYing a bunch of LEDs or halogens and running wires all over the bike for power. However, with the light running $200 ea and a SON-equipped wheel is what $300-500 I can't justify the cost yet. I can't opt for the cheaper Shimano hub due to my 20" front wheel. I tried a co-worker's 20w halogen the other night and that's almost enough for me so I will probably do dual halogens plus an 8 lb lead-acid battery. Then I'll reward myself with the E3 (or its successor, if there is one by then) next fall!

cyclefreaksix

I'm much more visable at night than I am during the day thanks to my lighting/blinkie setup. A recent addition of a xenon strobe makes me feel even more visable. I love night riding! Less traffic, less wind, cooler summer time temps...

Mazama

I do most of my riding in the dark early morning. I like the quiet solitude. +1 on good lighting, visible clothing, reflective tape and a reflective ankle band

c_m_shooter

Night rides are a lot of fun, but even better if they are off road. The limited sight provided by your light makes even relatively tame trails interesting. Just watch out for the boogieman hiding in the trees.

cyccommute 

I actually look forward to this time of year so that I can ride at night. I've been doing it since the very early 80s and have been through just about every bad iteration of lighting you can imagine. Several years ago, I discovered the wonders of overvolting for halogen lamps and have been using them ever since.

One of my 'weak' lights (MR11 bulbs, 20W, 14.4 V) rival most HID and put all but the most current, cutting edge LED to shame. I usually run 3 or 4.

One of my current lights exceed HID output by about 2 times and I run 3 of those for about the same price as a premium LED or HID system. All DIY. The results speak for themselves



Three MR16, 20W, 14.4 V. Over 1500 lumen each with between a 2.3 and 3.5 hour run time (depending on the battery pack)

surfrider

Yep, but in the morning darkness, not the evening. I go out at around 4AM for a 15-20 miles on So Calif suburban streets with good lighting, doing a somewhat repetative 6-mile loop with options for shorter loops (boring, but its a good way to get a weekday bike "fix"). I try to be off the streets sometime between 5AM & 5:30AM since that seems to be when the traffic picks up quite significantly. I use front and rear lights, a reflective vest, reflectors on the pedals (I use pedals with straps), and reflectors on the spokes of both wheels.

Fantasminha

It really depends. When I'm a total slacker and oversleep so that I don't get my commuting miles in, I have to do them on the bike trails around the house. Those trails are not lit--not at all, so there's absolutely no ambient light. And the trees are right next to the paved trail. So it feels creepy to be out there all by myself. I carry a pepperspray with me in case I get attacked by Bambi...

But I really enjoy riding in the city at night!