RWBlue01

Night riding?

It has been too bloody well HOT here for me to ride. I am tempted to do some night riding.


It would be on a MUP. It is not well lit. I have 3 thousand lumins worth of lights I was going to use. I don't ride very fast.


Thoughts?
Good idea?
Bad idea?

Shimagnolo

Here in the CO Front Range I get up at dawn for my summer rides before work:
- No heat.
- No traffic.
- No wind.
- No sunblock needed.
- No worries about the late afternoon storms we have nearly every day in the summer.

SteamingAlong

Depends on the neighborhood/region the MUP is in. If you're in a decent area, with lights, and a moderate speed you'll probably have a great time. Bugs could be an issue too, if you're riding too slow.

Location is key. I know there was a MUP in the Philly area that was having all kinds of issues a few years ago. Including someone stringing barbed wire across the path, in the approximately the right height to decapitate someone.

GiantDefyGuy

Meh. Decapitation from standard barbed wire usually only happens if you're going above 14mph. You'll probably be totally fine if you just go 14 or less.

Seriously though, I ride at night with a front light and a back blinky. With good lights, I sometimes feel like I'm more visible at night than during the day. I usually go a little slower because road obstacles are harder to see (and so I don't get decapitated).

Yo Spiff

Have fun. I've been enjoying night rides lately, both on my own and with a group. I get my way lit by fireflies as I go through the woods and I'm serenaded by croaking frogs on the way up the river. Quite nice. The gnats I could do without, though.

Closed Office

I've done a lot of night riding. I've had shifts for years that would end at midnight, or start at 5 in the morning. It never seemed to be a problem. There is much less traffic at those times so it seemed to be a solution.

OKIE_55

I'm thinking of this as well, getting hot down here, nice and cool in the mornings, at least for now.

A10K

Yeah, riding is so much better on weekday nights. Less traffic, cooler... its great on- or off- road, though I prefer on-road. There's too many pretty views and side paths you might miss on a trail, even with a lot of light.

daleb116

Try it. I ride a lot of evenings. You can start well before it is dark.

Drew Eckhardt 

Absolutely. Perfect for threshold intervals in the summer without drowning in your sweat. Both temperature and traffic are more pleasant.

Yes.

a1penguin

I love night riding. You have plenty of lumens. My commute home is partly on MUP. I worry about blind curves. Even with plenty of lumens, night riding feels a bit more risky than day riding. If the mup is tree/bush lined, you might have to worry about critters, too. If you ride the MUP regularly and are familiar with it, there's most likely not a problem. Just take it easy on the ride. Not sure what you mean by "not fast".

Flying Merkel

And another for night riding. One of the joys of summer.

OldsCOOL

A real good argument for riding in the drops

Homebrew01

Go for it. I do some night riding in the winter months with about 300-900 lumens up front, depending on the situation.
Did you mean 300 ? 3000 will light a small town.

GiantDefyGuy

Yeah, that way you just get scalped instead.

dhunley1

I love night riding. I work long days and I'm usually stuck at work till 9:00pm or so, so I do a lot of riding at night.

mje

Many MUPS are officially closed after dark here. Check your local regulations.

RWBlue01

3000
I have three flashlights from MTE.
https://site.gregmcgeeengineering.com/M3-2I.html
I can light up the night. I use rechargables so there is no expense in using these lights. The lights do get hot and then I don't get as much light.


BTW, I rode and people got out of my way. It think they thought I was a car, motorcycle.....

ctimrun2012

3000 Lumins??? Wear some dark sunglasses I have a very bright tail light, and a 500 lumin headlight, and some side-marker-type flashers, and I have no issues with seeing, nor with visibility to cars. Just be careful, as always.

wahoonc

I used to ride at night as a necessity, worked second shift. Now not as much. I do have lights and generator hubs installed on several of my bicycles, mainly for utilitarian purposes. If it works for you to ride at night, do it. I usually ride early in the mornings to beat the heat. With the current heat wave on, we don't get decent temperatures until early in the morning.

Aaron

Whiteknight

My wife and I sometimes stay on the "MUP" (SRT) after dark. She does not like it. I love it! Plenty of bugs to deal with some nights. Other nights are fairly bug free. We have had some dun things happen after dark. One night after dark we were heading up along the river to get back to the car. It was the night the toads came out to mate. Real fun dodging flopping toads. Then throw in several hog nose snakes on the trail looking for their favorite food. Toads.

Another night we were heading back to the car after dark. I was leading the way. Lots of light on my bike. Next thing I hear crashing in the leaves along the trail. Hear my wife yelling for me. When I looked her way I saw a doe running on the edge of the trail alongside her. Just keeping pace with her. My wife could have reached out and easily touched it. Wife hits the brakes and the doe cut away and into the woods.

Then of course you have walkers and runners on the MUP with no reflective clothing or lights. Along with a few bicycles minus reflective clothing or lights. *****ing that we were blinding them. TS.