Originally Posted by
jamawani
If they are out practically every night at 9:30 riding -
They are putting themselves at all kind of risk.
And they end up wherever - clueless and in the dark.
Plus, exhausted.
Then the next day they sleep til noon and ride past dark again.
Wouldn't it be smarter to call it quits at a reasonable hour?
Or is the schedule so important that there can be no deviations?
Playing "catch-up" on a long bike tour sucks.
And it invites accidents.
Hard to say what they were doing. I agree that it is dangerous if they are riding without lights/reflectors in the dark. With proper care to be visible (proper lights and reflectors) I don't see anything wrong with riding in the dark. It is asking for trouble waiting to find lodging or a campsite at 9:30 PM.
On the "exhausted" comment, they may not be all that tired. For all we know they start at 4:30 in the afternoon.
I personally turn in early and in hot weather prefer to start an hour or more before daylight, and enjoy that hour or two of riding in the dark. I
rarely ride after dark in the evening when on tour and
never plan on it. Once in a while it just happens.