Moonlight Ride
 

Last night I joined a group ride in a neighboring county. It was lead by their volunteer bike trail group and the first event of this type that they've held. Our volunteer group has been working with them to get their organization started. The ride was held on a section of the Little Miami Scenic trail and was a short 16 mile out and back ride.

I must say this was one of the most eventful rides I've been on in awhile. I would have thought people joining a night ride would be the more experienced riders but this certainly wasn't the case last night. There were 10 riders - the two Trail Sentinels, myself and seven others. Only eight of us made the return section of the ride.

One gentleman planned to ride one-way as he lived in our destination town. He was in his late 70's, riding a 1947 Columbia bike without lights of any type. He was an interesting fellow and indicated he often rode the trail at night. I forgot my camera and didn't get a picture of his bike. It was in very good condition but seemed to be a little small for him. Maybe it was because the seat was set too low.

The other fellow who didn't make the entire trip got a ride from the park rangers. He was riding a two day old Schwinn Le Tour road bike. Now he had lights and a helmet but hadn't been on a bike in years. Our first clue that something was wrong was when he dragged his feet to stop the bike about one mile into the ride.....he didn't know where the brakes were on his bike:eek: At this time one of the Sentinels was showing him how to use his brakes and smelled alcohol on his breath. They decided to keep him separated from the rest of the group and hoped the chilly night air would sober him up. About the two mile mark, a couple tumbles off his bike and a trip into the ditch they called the park rangers to pick him up before he injured himself. His truck was in the parking lot when we returned so we don't know if they took him home or to the county jail to sleep it off.

After safely delivering the older gentleman to his home we enjoyed an uneventful return trip. The remaining riders said they enjoyed their first night ride and would love to do it again.

Here's a picture I took a couple years ago of the Xenia Bike Station which was our starting point. This is the hub for several trails in our area and has restrooms and vending machines for people using the trails. http://i24.photobucket.com/albums/c3...a/DSC00250.jpg

Each summer in St Louis Hostelling International holds a fundraiser "Moonlight Ramble" ride. It used to start at 2:00 AM after the bars closed but in recent years the start time has been moved up to midnight. The first year that I rode it had 25,000 participants. It was wall-to-wall drunks and assorted other people who only bicycle one night a year. I nearly T-boned a guy who, without any warning, made a sudden left turn right in front of me so that he could look back for his girl friend.

I've done it a couple of times since but it's not enough fun to warrant staying up past my bed time.

Well, now we know why DG hasn't been posting lately, he's back in Ohio - night riding, nonetheless.:D