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Night time Cycling.

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verbalks

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Oct 12, 2007
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I was thinking about doing some late night cycling in the country side, Durham region, next week. I would be cycling between 9:30 p.m. and 10:30p.m.

I have a lot of cycling experience 1,000s of km but they all have been day-time trips.

Is night cycling a death wish? Any tips or shared experiences would be appreciated.
 
verbalks said:
I was thinking about doing some late night cycling in the country side, Durham region, next week. I would be cycling between 9:30 p.m. and 10:30p.m.

I have a lot of cycling experience 1,000s of km but they all have been day-time trips.

Is night cycling a death wish? Any tips or shared experiences would be appreciated.
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Perhaps an obvious answer but it depends on the roads and what drivers are expecting.
 
Aardvark154 said:
Perhaps an obvious answer but it depends on the roads and what drivers are expecting.
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Two lane paved and unlit, narrow shoulders. cars/pickups about every 4 to 6 minutes.

The road are usually empty except for the wildlife. The accident victims I have seen are the usual suspects : raccoons, skunks, cat, deer, squirrels, and a wild turkey last week.
 
Be sure to have the right gear for night riding (blinking lights, reflector straps, bright reflective clothing...)
 
verbalks said:
Two lane paved and unlit, narrow shoulders. cars/pickups about every 4 to 6 minutes.

The road are usually empty except for the wildlife. The accident victims I have seen are the usual suspects : raccoons, skunks, cat, deer, squirrels, and a wild turkey last week.
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Doesn't sound like something I would do.
Reduced visibility, narrow shoulders are not a good combination for me.
You get a driver that's had a couple or has a moment of inattention while lighting up a cig, tuning the radio etc. and....

If you're doing it for fitnesss, get yourself a good programmable exercise
bike or spinner bike.

It's not as good as the real thing, but it's only for 1 hr.
 
MichaelZzzz said:
Too bad there isn't a member who is really into cycling and posts about it daily.

If there was such a person he may even use "cycle" in his handle. :D
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I have heard of such a member but I thought I would get more feedback in the forum.

Mr. Cycle might be off putting the spare on Ms. Cycle.
 
verbalks said:
I was thinking about doing some late night cycling in the country side, Durham region, next week. I would be cycling between 9:30 p.m. and 10:30p.m.

I have a lot of cycling experience 1,000s of km but they all have been day-time trips.

Is night cycling a death wish? Any tips or shared experiences would be appreciated.
Click to expand...

I ride at night on the roads. However, my light system (combination of DIY and off the shelf) costs about 300 bucks to put together. Most cars are surprised I am not a motorcyle when they overtake me, but you really need that level of riding to be visible and safe. I also like a helmet mount and a handlebar mount. It can be amazing riding at night, but I would not do it with cheap lights and reflective material alone.
 
Garrett said:
Most cars are surprised I am not a motorcyle when they overtake me, but you really need that level of riding to be visible and safe. I also like a helmet mount and a handlebar mount. [light system (combination of DIY and off the shelf) - It can be amazing riding at night, but I would not do it with cheap lights and reflective material alone].
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Verbalks, I agree with what Garrett posted. It's really hard not knowing the area well to give advice. Basicly if you have good lighting, there are good lines of sight and drivers are used to looking out for "things," probably you will be ok. If the roads are winding with poor lines of sight, lots of speading vehicles and drivers who have been drinking - no don't do it.
 
Under the HTA a bicycle is "supposed" to be equiped with a HEADLIGHT WORKING BELL or HORN REFLECTIVE LIGHTor STIP ON REAR FENDER.

I pretty sure you wouldnt find any of these on any bike these days.Maybe the reflective strip on the rear.
 
See if you can plan a route that keeps you off the main roads, wear something reflective on your back, and have the little flashing red light.

I used to cycle at night around the city in the summer. Very refreshing to cycle in the cool night air, much better than cycling during the day when it's scorching hot. (And when you are cycling hard even 25C feels scortching hot.)
 
MichaelZzzz said:
verbalks said:
Too bad there isn't a member who is really into cycling and posts about it daily.

If there was such a person he may even use "cycle" in his handle.
Click to expand...
I have heard of such a member but I thought I would get more feedback in the forum.

Mr. Cycle might be off putting the spare on Ms. Cycle.
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LMFAO! Yes... Mrs. Cycleguy needed a fill up last night! (She pretty much requires daily fill-ups actually! :p )

It all started with an innocent game of "strip pool" (a re-match from the previous night in fact!) and ended with "oh god.... OH GOD... FUCK ME JESUS aaaaahhhhh... AAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHH..... EEEEEEEEEEEEAAAAAAAAAAAAA!!!!!!!!!

As for riding at night, I personally don't do it, but to each their own. In addition to what's already been suggested, I would HIGHLY suggest one of these:

http://www.cateye.com/en/product_detail/265 (or reasonable facsimile)

and one of these:

http://www.cateye.com/en/product_detail/320 (or reasonable facsimile)

Happy trails!
 
Cycleguy007 said:
LMFAO! Yes... Mrs. Cycleguy needed a fill up last night! (She pretty much requires daily fill-ups actually! :p )

It all started with an innocent game of "strip pool" (a re-match from the previous night in fact!) and ended with "oh god.... OH GOD... FUCK ME JESUS aaaaahhhhh... AAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHH..... EEEEEEEEEEEEAAAAAAAAAAAAA!!!!!!!!!

As for riding at night, I personally don't do it, but to each there own. In addition to what's already been suggested, I would HIGHLY suggest one of these:

http://www.cateye.com/en/product_detail/265 (or reasonable facsimile)

and one of these:

http://www.cateye.com/en/product_detail/320 (or reasonable facsimile)

Happy trails!
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If I might add to that (no need to talk about last night), You should not ride alone in rural areas at night.
 
Cycleguy007 said:
Unless you have a GPS as suggested by Lisa! :p LOL!
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She is actualy talking a PERB. PERSONAL EMERGENCY RESCUE BEACON
 
Cycleguy007 said:
As for riding at night, I personally don't do it, but to each their own. In addition to what's already been suggested, I would HIGHLY suggest one of these:

http://www.cateye.com/en/product_detail/265 (or reasonable facsimile)

and one of these:

http://www.cateye.com/en/product_detail/320 (or reasonable facsimile)

Happy trails!
Click to expand...

I would NOT ride on the roads with either of these lights at night. Neither one is sufficient. You need to get something on the order of this:
http://www.batteryspace.com/index.asp?PageAction=VIEWPROD&ProdID=2883

In addition, while blinking rear lights can be fine, you need something on the order of what a motorcycle has. I have a 60 LED rear light (yes, 60) and do not blink it. Studies have actually shown drunks drive towards blinking lights, so while they may be good for attention, they do not look like a car.

As for drunks, they are out at all times. A friend of mine was killed on the roads on a Sunday morning by a drunk. I would always pick low traffic routes, with well defined shoulders. In my experience, varmints are on the roads more at night too. Hitting a raccoon at 60kmh is not something I want to try :-)

As other suggested, I always ride with a cell and a GPS too. A GPS is invaluable if you want to head out for a few hours and explore.

For all of that, riding at night can be an exhilerating experience.
 
spankingman said:
Under the HTA a bicycle is "supposed" to be equiped with a HEADLIGHT WORKING BELL or HORN REFLECTIVE LIGHTor STIP ON REAR FENDER.

I pretty sure you wouldnt find any of these on any bike these days.Maybe the reflective strip on the rear.
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You can find the headlight, bell and taillight on my bike, as well as pedal reflectors. I also wear one of the construction safety vests when I ride at night.

I remember coming back from Mt. Hope to Hamilton on 6 around midnight. Trucker caught up with me at a light and his passenger leaned out to compliment me on my choice of gear. "We could see you about a mile away, we weren't sure WHAT was there, but knew something was coming up!"
 
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