Full Moon Rides
 

Anyone else like to do this? I start off about an hour prior to sunset, get to a little outlying town by dark. Cruise about a bit, maybe stop in a local tavern for a refresh and then head home in full dark. I keep the rear flasher going but for much of trip back over rural empty roads I run without the headlamp. I've cleared with the wife to run one tonight, conditions should be ideal. I only go about 30-40 miles.

I tried a full moon ride ... but between low gravity and no atmosphere .... just wasn't happening.



No, I do the same on full-moon nights----roads where no one drives, no headlight .... love it.

if I stop posting after a full moon .... maybe it wasn't such a good idea, but so far ......

There is a group that meets here in Atl to do full moon rides at midnight. Given the parking hell in the area they meet in, and lack of train at that time of night I haven't made one yet. I used to love doing so as a kid, when I could see.

I'd love to do rides like this; but if I tried where I live some drunk redneck or tweeker would take me out.

I thought you were talking about riding without pants.

See the "Philly Naked Bike Ride". Lots of full moons. Some way fuller than others. Unfortunately, I can't unsee some of that....

Or he needs a new set of bibs.


I love to ride at night, but always use a headlamp. Too much wildlife on the MUT

I love to get in one or two full moon mtb rides each year. The conditions have to be just right - it has to be after the leaves are off the trees so the light gets through, and the moon has to be in a nearly cloudless sky to give enough light. It's almost a surreal experience, but after a short time on the trail your vision gets so adapted to the light level that you can see almost every twig and leaf. Keep in mind that I'm a 54 year old slow rider, so it's not like I'm flying through the woods in the dark.

Also have done a full moon ride on a rail trail across the line in PA, Sandy Creek Trail. That one was interesting because I had no idea there were so many porcupines over there. I must have seen 20 of them during the evening.

Steve Z

Yea, I have to turn on the light when going through tree tunnels for the wildlife issue. I love these rides, I probably catch 8 out of the 12 fulls a year. In winter I only go about 20 miles, since I tend to start those in the dark.

I ride at night when the moon is full but would never ride without a light and wouldn't bother wasting time at a bar.


I'd love to ride, either intown or Silver Comet Trail. I have a 25-30 mile full moon route off the trail from Hiram.

Let me know. We can set something up.


-Tim-

Yeah, the route I favor has a few pitch-black fully covered sections and I turn on the light just because.

For me the best part of riding at night (as it relates to traffic) is A.) LIGHTS ... most cars can be seen from a long ways a way ... and B>) QUiet---cars can be heard forever, lights or not, when there isn't much traffic. I might see three cars in ten miles ... and mostly on lit sections of the road, on the way to the more secluded sections.

Once I get into the upscale areas, houses are far apart and cars are exceedingly rare and never more than one at a time (not that I don't expect the second one to sneak along behind the first.)

A drunk can forget to turn his lights on, but when his is the only car running in ten square miles, he can't sneak up on me ... and the faster he drives, the louder.

Of course, if he is drunk enough lights won't help ... but whatever. Life is short at best and only gets shorter ... and harder.

Now that I have never done! Sounds very cool.

I also have noticed that the quality of the encountered motorists decreases greatly after 10pm or so...

Yup. There's a lovely elevated spot about 6 miles from here in a semi-rural area with a clear view in all directions. No serious traffic at night to worry about.

And the view from the MUP in the river valley to the east isn't bad either. The moon is often framed by trees and the city skyline. The MUP itself isn't lighted and there are only a few occasional utility lights at least 100 yards or more away. So it's a popular place for moon gazing on those astro-event nights.

Is that the same thing as those naked rides in Europe?

Back in the 90s a woman on a group ride was making fun of the size of my butt so I half mooned her.

Accidentally did one last year, when the light set I bought at Wally World (upon realizing I had left my regular at home a couple hundred miles away) was not practical for anything other than "be seen" reasons. It was actually quite nice, along the shores of Lake Superior with not a cloud in the sky and a beautiful bay to my side.

That said, I went off the trail when I couldn't see a corner (thankfully in a flat grassy area), and another time when I was admiring the beauty of the bay (again thankfully in a grassy flat area). I'd do it again, but with some minimal lighting up front.

Sounds interesting, but in the interest of safety I'll always use a headlight at night.

I ride on roads I know intimately and even then I recognize there is some risk of hitting something in the road ... but there is always that risk at night unless i want to run a couple different lights ... and off-road set-up with width and depth and a headlight to track my eye movement.

The reason I can relax and enjoy the ride is that I know where the driveways are, where the pavement irregularities are .... and with a the full moon out i can see the pavement about as well as I can with a headlight.

Like I say, if I stop posting suddenly and you guys notice it was just after a full moon ... best say "I told you so" now.

In central Iowa, there are 8 full moon rides on the High Trestle trail each year. Its on a Saturday each month from April - November when the full moon is closest to that Saturday.

There are bars at both ends of the 25mi Trestle trail and 2 bars on the trail, but most of the riding is done between 3 bars on 12mi of the trail. Its a blast and hundreds of riders are spread along the trail thru the evening. Ride as far or short as you want with a lot of access points along the trail. Hang out at the bar patios for a long time or a short time- there is no timetable and everyone does it differently.
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We used to rollerblade at night, but I don't know that I paid too much attention to the moon. That said you have to be careful of the lunatic's.

I like riding at night, but I like having a light so I can see potholes and wildlife. Then again, I haven't really tried a full moon ride. Hmmm...

Yeah, guys riding their bikes without lights could easily run into you.


-Tim-

2-3 times a week, I start at a local park at 7pm and then connect to the city Greenway down to a park that closes at 8:30pm(little over 10 miles). I leave at 8:30pm from the park and head back. In my city the Greenways close at dusk, so I am cheating a bit here. But the ride back to the park in the darkness is one of my favorite rides. I see many frogs, snakes, and deer(I go slow). On a full moon I can turn off my light. The park I started from is open 24/7 so I spend at least an hour riding on the roads in the park. The park gate is locked at this point, so no car traffic, but you are allowed to walk and ride in the park.

I find it hard to believe that so many ride without lights.

People are free to make their own choices but full moon or not, I would never do so. My primary concern is hitting a pedestrian.

Just got back from a 29 mile full moon ride myself. The sky is clear but I still used a 1200 lumen bar lamp and a 250 lumen helmet lamp.


-Tim-

If yo can see enough to ride safely there is enough light, whether it be ambient or artificial.

Seems so simple as to not need saying.

I don't want to hit anything ... pedestrian, road debris, potholes, sand piles, dinosaurs, landsharks ....

If conditions are such that I cannot ride safely I can modify them or not ride.

That is the standard each of us use for every ride.

I hope each of us gets from our riding what we want and even more.

I have relatives who live in the Des Moines area. I can picture myself scheduling a visit to coincide with one of those rides. Thanks for the idea.