DnvrFox

I know some of you ride a lot in the dark, but this am was my first for this season - with the mornings getting darker, and all. Now, I don't ride 508 miles non-stop, I ride what are, for me, fun rides.

So, this am, temp was 50F about 5:30 - and I had not even prepared things. I found my lights, replaced batteries, put on warm pants, pumped up the mtn bike (that rear tire is still losing a lot of air) put the lights on the bike (2 on the front) and rear, put on some upper layers, hood and hopped on the mountain bike for a trail adventure.

I saw 3 commuters, all properly equipped with lights front and rear, one deer, 4 walkers and about 50 hares (rabbits?). I went out for an hour and had a great time just putzing around.

So, that is my story (and I am sticking to it) this morning!!

How about you??

mkane77g

Have a hard time getting out before 10.

Bikey Mikey

Realize, that on most days, the temp at 6am is cooler than at 4am. So, be ready for the temp to drop some if you start at 4AM and are still out around 0600.

DnvrFox

OK - got it!

tsl

Since I don't start work until 2PM, I catch it on the other end. Headlight season started for me about a month ago.

It was actually back in July that I had to stay particularly late one night, and rode home in the dark that I realized I missed it. It was also kind of shocking, to be riding after dark without snow on the ground.

Up until I came to that realization, I'd always switched to my 4½-mile direct route home after dark--all city streets. Now I'm sticking to a 13-mile cut of my long loop and continuing to enjoy the ride. Lotta bugs along the canal though. And there's a long stretch of unlit suburban secondary road too. Those two unlit sections are my favorite part.

lphilpot

During the deep of summer, I'll be up at 5, but usually not riding until 6 or 6:30. No later, though - It will be too hot before finishing otherwise. Wintertime (as we experience it here) means a mid morning or mid afternoon ride, usually in crisp clear air (since I'm not a rain-rider).

With only a rear (Planet Bike) light, I don't need to be out in the real dark, though. Might be fun in a way, but I can't mentally get beyond some of the drivers we have around here. They're bad enough in the daytime, never mind at night...

B. Carfree

I've been doing most of my riding over the past couple of months in the dark. My wife doesn't like traffic and our normal place for avoiding traffic has several large clear-cut logging operations going on, so we're not rolling there during the weekdays. That leaves that golden window from 3:30 AM (drunk landing) to 6:30 AM (commuters abound).

Since I would rather ride a tandem with my wife than ride a half-bike, I go with the flow and roll out in the dark. This time of year, we often return in the dark too.

Ali_Pine

Have you ever ridden in the RM Arsenal area?

The Jack-Rabbits weren't to be messed with. If they survived the small leaks.

OTIH - The deer at Rocky Flats didn't need headlights. They glowed in the dark.

Any news on the buried waste surviving the floods?

DnvrFox

RM Arsenal is now a beautiful, large and well managed Wildlife Refuge with a new Visitor Center detailing all you have mentioned (except the glowing) up to the current time, tours and the like. As to the floods, they were drainage specific - and there has been absolutely no mention of the Arsenal and any danger