# Night riding feels amazing



## Cymro74 (1 Dec 2020)

First year of carrying on riding through winter here in rural Wales. There are no street lights and miles of pitch black lanes with very little traffic. It feels like my senses are more raised at night, and it's so different to summer. Hedgerows feel like they are flying by at high speed, and hills feel more mountainous. Seeing so many owls and foxes up close as I glide silently by. I'm now going out more often than in summer.

Has anyone else felt these different emotions when night riding, especially in winter?


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## fossyant (1 Dec 2020)

It's good fun, especially off road.


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## Eric Olthwaite (1 Dec 2020)

This strikes me as an excellent illustration of the "when life gives you lemons, make lemonade" philosophy that I aspire to.

Yes, warm sunlit summer evenings are glorious. But dark winter evenings also have their beauty, and it's lovely to appreciate that too.


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## united4ever (1 Dec 2020)

Totally get it. Exhilarating.


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## macp (1 Dec 2020)

I do enjoy looking at the moon & stars and as you say your senses are heightened.


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## mudsticks (1 Dec 2020)

Cymro74 said:


> First year of carrying on riding through winter here in rural Wales. There are no street lights and miles of pitch black lanes with very little traffic. It feels like my senses are more raised at night, and it's so different to summer. Hedgerows feel like they are flying by at high speed, and hills feel more mountainous. Seeing so many owls and foxes up close as I glide silently by. I'm now going out more often than in summer.
> 
> Has anyone else felt these different emotions when night riding, especially in winter?




Yes love it . 

And a few times, when it starts to snow big fat flakes, and you're the first person in that lane, and the snow sticks to the bare branches. And your tyre tracks are the first there. 

And it looks like Narnia... 

But yes even, in normal night time it's pretty special, especially now with the moon just waning 🌖. 

Owoo wooo.. 🐺


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## Tribansman (1 Dec 2020)

Cymro74 said:


> First year of carrying on riding through winter here in rural Wales. There are no street lights and miles of pitch black lanes with very little traffic. It feels like my senses are more raised at night, and it's so different to summer. Hedgerows feel like they are flying by at high speed, and hills feel more mountainous. Seeing so many owls and foxes up close as I glide silently by. I'm now going out more often than in summer.
> 
> Has anyone else felt these different emotions when night riding, especially in winter?



Absolutely. Love riding at night for all the reasons you said. I virtually always ride on my own on day rides, but there's def a more intense solitude when ploughing through pitch black lanes. 

I try and do a sunset to sunrise ride every year - and a long night ride on bonfire night - it's an amazing feeling when you've ridden through the night and you see the sun come up.

If it's not a really familiar route, it makes me realise how much I rely on what I can see when climbing - gradient, how much of the climb is left. Have always found climbing at night, which you have to do completely on feel, more difficult. Maybe not being able to blast downhill and use that momentum is a factor too.

Where I am in Hertfordshire, deer can be a real hazard though! Have had a few near misses


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## raleighnut (1 Dec 2020)

Good lights are magical when there's a hint of Mist too.


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## mudsticks (1 Dec 2020)

Tribansman said:


> Absolutely. Love riding at night for all the reasons you said. I virtually always ride on my own on day rides, but there's def a more intense solitude when ploughing through pitch black lanes.
> 
> I try and do a sunset to sunrise ride every year - and a long night ride on bonfire night - it's an amazing feeling when you've ridden through the night and you see the sun come up.
> 
> ...



I've followed a good few trundling badgers for a long way too. 
They struggle to get up the hedge banks round our way. 

For some reason I don't ever try to overtake them, I spose I wouldnt want one panicking and running into me sideways. 

They're quite hefty, with big claws.


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## Drago (1 Dec 2020)

When i used to commute home from a late shift there would often be an owl waiting for me on a gate post between the villages. He was a big laddie, clearly higher up the food chain that I am, and took little notice of me. 

I live on the edge of a forest and would see a lot of deer at night, and sometimes doggers going at it, but after 12 hours at work I was too knackered to join in!

But yeah, ive aleays ridden all year round, and time of day or night, and I do enjoy after dark on a winters night.


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## biggs682 (1 Dec 2020)

Along with early morning best time for a ride


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## Mburton1993 (1 Dec 2020)

Yep, went out Sunday evening, foggy, eerily quiet, brilliant.


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## Ming the Merciless (1 Dec 2020)

Tribansman said:


> If it's not a really familiar route, it makes me realise how much I rely on what I can see when climbing - gradient, how much of the climb is left. Have always found climbing at night, which you have to do completely on feel, more difficult. Maybe not being able to blast downhill and use that momentum is a factor too.



Climbing at night I find easier. You’re more certain to pace it better when you can’t see a false summit or think it looks not as steep as it is. You have to go on feel which is a good skill to pick up.


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## gbs (1 Dec 2020)

You, collectively, are awaking my distant memories of FNRttC. What lights are recommended nowadays? Can one rely upon a rechargeable for more than say 4 hours?


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## Rock bus (1 Dec 2020)

I’m tempted by this but bit concerned about safety issue. Presumably with decent lights and right clothing people find it ok?


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## Specialeyes (1 Dec 2020)

YukonBoy said:


> Climbing at night I find easier. You’re more certain to pace it better when you can’t see a false summit or think it looks not as steep as it is. You have to go on feel which is a good skill to pick up.


I find this too - it's easier to focus just on the road in front of you at night, rather than worrying about how far the crest is, and as a result the top just appears anyway without you worrying about it


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## mudsticks (1 Dec 2020)

Rock bus said:


> I’m tempted by this but bit concerned about safety issue. Presumably with decent lights and right clothing people find it ok?



I think it depends where you ride. 
I'd not want to do it on main roads with lots of traffic. 

But at night in quieter wiggly lanes its almost safer, you can see things coming from miles off. 

But yes lights and high vis also maybe, so they can see you when nearer.


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## Cymro74 (1 Dec 2020)

Definitely will try a dusk till dawn next year - would be about 14 hours right now!
I have hub dynamo light set just above front wheel, which is perfect for highlighting potholes well ahead. Also have a cateye 1300 on handlebar for tricky lanes, but I only use low light level to avoid losing night vision. Other safety measure is just going a bit slower.


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## Sixmile (1 Dec 2020)

I got a wee Kom on my way home tonight so maybe I'm faster in the dark too


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## Tripster (1 Dec 2020)

Ahhhh the cool crisp air on your cheeks, often silence except for the woodland wildlife..... That whiff of dog crap spread across the garage floor that you rode through because it’s pitch black and you missed it


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## bladesman73 (1 Dec 2020)

I love it. Go out 2 nights per week around 8pm for an hour or two of night riding. It just feels faster!


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## ColinJ (1 Dec 2020)

I absolutely...





... hated it!

It isn't too bad riding back at 23:00 in June/July but I have done a few 200 km audax rides well into November and riding back through freezing fog when I was tired and it had been dark for hours left me dreading getting a puncture. The killer for me (and the young men in question nearly _did _kill me!) was this...



ColinJ said:


> I nearly got squelched up there*** riding back towards Rochdale on the _North West Passage _in the dark in Feb 2007. Jenson Button #1 was being chased by Jenson Button #2 at extreme speed. The first car passed within about 2 feet of me. His rival was so tight up his *rse that I don't think he even saw me and passed within a few inches of me. The shockwave blew me sideways off the road. It was a very near miss and it really put me off night riding.
> 
> *** Actually, it might have been the hill before, between Blackburn and Haslingden



On one of the audax rides I was cycling down a very black lane in Cheshire using a pretty inadequate front light so I couldn't really see anything except for a small patch of light on the road in front of me. I heard some weird noises which freaked me out and then 2 ducks almost flew into my face as they took off from the invisible mere to my left! 

I only do short rides in the dark now.


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## slowmotion (1 Dec 2020)

Tripster said:


> Ahhhh the cool crisp air on your cheeks, often silence except for the woodland wildlife..... That whiff of dog crap spread across the garage floor that you rode through because it’s pitch black and you missed it


You forgot the doggers in secluded lay-bys.

Edit: Oops! The ever-vigilant @Drago got his notebook out first.


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## PaulSB (2 Dec 2020)

This article may interest night riders

https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news...ckdown-in-pictures?CMP=Share_AndroidApp_Other


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## Mo1959 (2 Dec 2020)

I enjoy both riding and running in the dark too. So peaceful and atmospheric, and I actually feel safer into the bargain..........plus I run so slowly these days, it's less embarrassing when there's hardly anyone about!


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## Randomnerd (2 Dec 2020)

Love night riding.
Wiggly routes I’ve already travelled by day are transformed. Maybe I don’t go as far or as fast, but I get a really deep connection with my place, without the “noise” of everyone else.


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## Tripster (2 Dec 2020)

slowmotion said:


> You forgot the doggers in secluded lay-bys.
> 
> Edit: Oops! The ever-vigilant @Drago got his notebook out first.


I said the cool crisp air on cheeks......arse cheeks


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## Bazzer (2 Dec 2020)

I love it. Sometimes sensory overdrive. But Mrs B doesn't like me going out solo since a bad off at 1.30am a few years ago.
Now if I go solo in the dark, I have to tag it on to a longer evening ride, or, before lockdown, take the more limited pleasure of a 5.20am commute.


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## Tripster (2 Dec 2020)

Bazzer said:


> I love it. Sometimes sensory overdrive. But Mrs B doesn't like me going out solo since a bad off at 1.30am a few years ago.
> Now if I go solo in the dark, I have to tag it on to a longer evening ride, or, before lockdown, take the more limited pleasure of a 5.20am commute.


1:30am is for Badgers, burglars & prostitutes


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## Bazzer (2 Dec 2020)

Tripster said:


> 1:30am is for Badgers, burglars & prostitutes


It was a badger running from a hedge, on what had been up to then, a lovely quiet country road. Like hitting a wall. Leg broken in two places as I hit the tarmac. Now in the dark, particularly on roads where there is no pavement, so far as is practical, I ride in the middle of the road.
I suspect a burglar or prostitute might not have had the same consequences.


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## Blue Hills (2 Dec 2020)

raleighnut said:


> Good lights are magical when there's a hint of Mist too.


how do you mean?
I hope not that you can't see anything/feel like you're about to pass through to the other side?

Got to agree with you OP - must get out on another.

I did a London to Southampton night ride a few weeks ago - at one point on a track through a wooded bit I surprised two young lads and a young woman leaning against a barrier or fallen tree trunk or something having what seemed like an innocent natter at some ungodly hour - after they had recovered from their surprise at me coming through the trees I think I heard one say "he doesn't know where he is".

(I did and I didn't - was following a gpx track I'd made but didn't actually know where I was)


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## Blue Hills (2 Dec 2020)

Tripster said:


> 1:30am is for Badgers, burglars & prostitutes


the latter two intent on avoiding the attentions of the plod disguise themselves as the first of course.


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## Blue Hills (2 Dec 2020)

Rock bus said:


> I’m tempted by this but bit concerned about safety issue. Presumably with decent lights and right clothing people find it ok?


I don't think it's particularly dangerous.
Less drink driving than there used to be.
And less pubs, particularly in the countryside.
I try to avoid Friday and Saturday nights for night rides though.

And I wouldn't ride when there was any chance of ice on the roads.

Be careful of that OP.


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## Tripster (2 Dec 2020)

Blue Hills said:


> the latter two intent on avoiding the attentions of the plod disguise themselves as the first of course.


Lost a bit on that one.....disguised as a badger or a beaver ?


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## Blue Hills (2 Dec 2020)

Drago said:


> I live on the edge of a forest and would see a lot of deer at night, and sometimes doggers going at it, but after 12 hours at work I was too knackered to join in!



I thought doggers had regular vacancies for watchers? (sorry don't know the lingo - suppose there are different words for active, semi active and passive participants in the nocturnal drama).

I see a subthread on odd/suspicious/interesting things folks have seen on nightrides - nothing of mine immediately comes to mind - have seen a few things on nightime city walks when I was younger - though mostly run of the mill stuff like folk taking a suspicious interest in parked cars


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## Teamfixed (2 Dec 2020)

Its been a while but Audax night rides always felt like a magic carpet.


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## Tripster (2 Dec 2020)

Blue Hills said:


> I see a subthread on odd/suspicious/interesting things folks have seen on nightrides - nothing of mine immediately comes to mind - have seen a few things on nightime city walks when I was younger - though mostly run of the mill stuff like folk taking a suspicious interest in parked cars


I worked in a lighting factory once, regular nightshift 10-6... One evening about 1am the coating machine began dropping lamps all over. I was called over to take a look and asked where the operator was. Probably still in break outside.... I trotted off to his car and wrapped on window only to be greeted by his captain birdseye winking at me and a rather startled very old lass off the line who appeared to be cleaning it for him......... the things you see after dark 😱 Plea’s of not to say a word and begging for my silence where obviously heeded


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## Blue Hills (2 Dec 2020)

Cymro74 said:


> Definitely will try a dusk till dawn next year - would be about 14 hours right now!
> I have hub dynamo light set just above front wheel, which is perfect for highlighting potholes well ahead. Also have a cateye 1300 on handlebar for tricky lanes, but I only use low light level to avoid losing night vision. Other safety measure is just going a bit slower.


yes and be particularly careful on downhills, especially if you don't have lights as good as yours.
I often pretty much freewheel downhills on night rides.


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## raleighnut (2 Dec 2020)

Blue Hills said:


> how do you mean?
> I hope not that you can't see anything/feel like you're about to pass through to the other side?
> 
> Got to agree with you OP - must get out on another.
> ...


I run a pair of Electron lamps each with 8 focused LEDs that give very pretty 'cones' of light into mist. they can be adjusted (and switched) seperately so I genrally have them set with the nearside to the kerb and quite close to the front wheel whilst the other is further away and central. Here they are on the front of the Trike.







The other 2 brackets on the handlbars hold a pair of Cateye 'Opticubes' as the Electon lamps don't have a 'flashing' mode which I find more useful in traffic.


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## ColinJ (2 Dec 2020)

Teamfixed said:


> Its been a while but Audax night rides always felt like a magic carpet.


Mine felt like threadbare rugs... 


... that drunks had puked on!


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## Teamfixed (2 Dec 2020)

Well yes, I have a very selective memory! Sleeping in a ladies loo with a survival blanket somewhere in north Wales at 3am felt pretty rough


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## ColinJ (2 Dec 2020)

I am sure that the lack of traffic is great if you live somewhere where it is hard to escape it. Drunks really can be a pain though. I have had them lurching out in front of me several times and I don't ride much at night. 

I remember reading about drunks actually attacking a rider in Sowerby Bridge on the Three Coasts 600 km Audax! He was rescued by a group of other riders who came along in the nick of time. 

I have finished a few rides at sunset on sunny summer evenings. I DO like that.


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## GoldenLamprey (2 Dec 2020)

Living in the UK and having a 9-5 job means I have to ride in the dark if I want to keep fit (not a turbo fan). With decent lights it is great. Animals are perhaps a risk, but you cannot spend your life worrying about 'what-ifs'. I nearly got taken out by a running deer in the daylight (6am), so it is not a problem unique to night-riding.


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## Blue Hills (2 Dec 2020)

Teamfixed said:


> Well yes, I have a very selective memory! Sleeping in a ladies loo with a survival blanket somewhere in north Wales at 3am felt pretty rough


you were lucky to find one open.
Most public lavs have been sold off or shut at dusk or even earlier.
Got to ask if you are a bloke or a woman.
If a bloke why not the gents?
were they, er, "busy".


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## Blue Hills (2 Dec 2020)

GoldenLamprey said:


> I nearly got taken out by a running deer in the daylight (6am), so it is not a problem unique to night-riding.


Yep, leading a ride once in broad daylight once a deer jumped over a hedge and nearly took several of us out. It didn't know, or probably even care, that we were there.
My animal encounters.
Not a night ride as such but a long two day ride when I bivvied in the corner of a sodden field somewhere between Birmingham and Oxford. As I lay in the bivvy I heard a strange grunting sound and seemed to see something frantically running backwards and forwards across the field. Eventually I fell asleep - whatever it was (a boar of some sort?) it wasn't attracted by the smell of me or the Lidl wine gums I had for my evening meal and breakfast.


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## BalkanExpress (2 Dec 2020)

Here in the Kingdom of the Belgians we currently have a 22.00 to 06.00 curfew, so no chance of a proper night ride


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## Ian H (2 Dec 2020)

Our Wednesday night pubrun (obv suspended during lockdowns) goes on throughout the year, so night riding is required. 
A friend recently organised an overnight 300 (my route) because she was otherwise busy. Okehampton to Barnstaple in the dead of night is a splendid ride, as is heading East through N Devon, into the dawn.

I have had close encounters over the years with badgers, deer, rabbits, and a bat.


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## Teamfixed (2 Dec 2020)

@Blue Hills 
Erm... it was 1984 on the Bristol Anglesea 600. Male but cannot remember, locked maybe!


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## rockyroller (2 Dec 2020)

most enjoyable


View: https://youtu.be/q9ng0RSWihY


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## RichardB (2 Dec 2020)

I love riding at night (like the OP, dark rural lanes in Wales). Sadly now I am retired I don't actually need to ride after dark, but reading this thread I am tempted to go out for a spin later on. Stick to quiet roads, get some good lights, and it's fine. Although riding in the pitch black was quite a rush, the best time for wildlife was dawn. Foxes galore, Red Kites and, on one occasion, a whole family of Bullfinch burst out from a roadside bush into my face. And a very memorable game of Chicken with an owl - he swerved before I did


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## mustang1 (2 Dec 2020)

fossyant said:


> It's good fun, especially off road.


I'm thinking of venturing off road into the darkness of the forest. Alas I've never been alone in the forest so that'll be a first; previously I've always been with a group.

Edit: typo. Blxxdy heck i make a typo in every one of my psots.


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## mustang1 (2 Dec 2020)

Yeah it can get spooky especially with my over actie imagination. Watch The Walking Dead or World War Z before going out.......

Edit: fixed typo.


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## LJR69 (2 Dec 2020)

I absolutely love night riding and like someone said earlier, especially off road. There are trails I ride all the time in the daylight that feel completely and utterly different at night!


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## Solocle (2 Dec 2020)

mudsticks said:


> I think it depends where you ride.
> I'd not want to do it on main roads with lots of traffic.
> 
> But at night in quieter wiggly lanes its almost safer, you can see things coming from miles off.
> ...


Main roads with a lot of traffic? Well, you have a point in the evening, but 3am riding is an utter delight, even/especially on main roads.

Just a bit easy to get lost for the "navigationally challenged" like myself...





Is this right? Well, it's the 2nd left, and the road signs said the A40 is 2nd left.




...Ah 

Navigational errors aside, delightful!


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## Andy in Germany (2 Dec 2020)

Moonlit nights are magical on a bike. When I commuted in Somerset I'd turn off my front light when on the lanes and ride using my night vision. the only lights would be oncoming cars so I'd see them a long way away. 

Of course, if I'd encountered a cyclist doing the same as me I may have had problems...


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## Cymro74 (2 Dec 2020)

Animals seen on a night ride sounds like a great sub-thread. I move much more quietly on my bike than walking so many animals don't have chance to disappear. It's just the front light that they notice first.

I wonder if there's a TV programme idea there - Winterwatch by bike! Or is that too much like Alan Partride's 'Youth hostelling with Kris Akabusi'.


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## Tribansman (3 Dec 2020)

Andy in Germany said:


> Moonlit nights are magical on a bike. When I commuted in Somerset I'd turn off my front light when on the lanes and ride using my night vision. the only lights would be oncoming cars so I'd see them a long way away.



They certainly are, and that's what I did this evening...

Started off a lovely clear night, but the clouds and mist rolled in an hour or so after I took this. Saw a couple of deer and sadly several dead rabbits and badgers


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## Wobblers (3 Dec 2020)

mudsticks said:


> I've followed a good few trundling badgers for a long way too.
> They struggle to get up the hedge banks round our way.
> 
> For some reason I don't ever try to overtake them, I spose I wouldnt want one panicking and running into me sideways.
> ...



Yeap, I had a few nocturnal encounters with live badgers (as opposed to the more usual roadkill sort ) when I was living in Brum. Like you, I used to slow down or stop to give them a chance to amble off. I felt a bit sorry for scaring them. Besides, as you say, they've got a mean set of claws! Never tangle with a mustelid, that's what i say...


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## mudsticks (3 Dec 2020)

McWobble said:


> Yeap, I had a few nocturnal encounters with live badgers (as opposed to the more usual roadkill sort ) when I was living in Brum. Like you, I used to slow down or stop to give them a chance to amble off. I felt a bit sorry for scaring them. Besides, as you say, they've got a mean set of claws! Never tangle with a mustelid, that's what i say...



I had one be quite snarly and aggressive towards me in a green lane very near here, it was planning on crossing hedge to hedge as I walked along the track. . 

I had to wave my coat at it, matador style to get it to back up. 

The funniest part was when I looked round and found my oh so gallant walking partner was legging it off down the lane


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## mudsticks (3 Dec 2020)

Andy in Germany said:


> Moonlit nights are magical on a bike. When I commuted in Somerset I'd turn off my front light when on the lanes and ride using my night vision. the only lights would be oncoming cars so I'd see them a long way away.
> 
> Of course, if I'd encountered a cyclist doing the same as me I may have had problems...



I used to do this no lights thing alot.. It's lovely. Even if a bit naughty. 

And also met an unlit cyclist coming the other way one time. 
Thankfully it was a friend who had similarly bad habits. 

Not sure I'd do it now that everywhere is busier, even round here. 

I get all harrumphy now when I see people in dark clothes with no lights - even just walking. - must be getting sensible in my middle youth


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## biggs682 (3 Dec 2020)

@Rock bus deffo some good lights and reflective clothing , try it you will love it .

I have had 2 hard days at work this week and a nice 10 miles last night just after 7 pm and those 2 days just melted away and the further away you are from towns the better it gets trust me


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## Spartak (3 Dec 2020)

Few years ago I rode the Avalon Sunrise 400km Audax, starting at 10pm at a pub in Devon, we then headed north cycling across Exmoor to Minehead, fantastic ride under the moonlit country lanes... 👍


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## PaulSB (4 Dec 2020)

As I'm retired I can ride whenever I wish which means I haven't ridden in the dark in four years. Prior to this I often had to ride in dusky light if I wanted to get out. On Tuesday I found myself riding in fading light. I was wearing a bright yellow rain jacket and running high quality Lezyne lights in the brightest flashing mode. Despite this I experienced the two worst close passes I've known in my life.

The Protec company transit from behind brushed my right elbow with the wing mirror. About three miles further I had glanced down and on looking up saw a large bright yellow vehicle bearing down on me fully on my carriageway at +/- 60mph. He passed me before I had time to do anything. I don't know how I'm alive. Unbelievably lucky.

I'm far from a nervous rider but these two incidents mean I will do all I can to avoid riding in failing light or the dark. Yes, I know both could have occurred in bright sunshine but there is a possibility failing light contributed to the close passes.

I've never considered a camera but I wish I'd had front and rear on Tuesday!!!


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## raleighnut (4 Dec 2020)

PaulSB said:


> As I'm retired I can ride whenever I wish which means I haven't ridden in the dark in four years. Prior to this I often had to ride in dusky light if I wanted to get out. On Tuesday I found myself riding in fading light. I was wearing a bright yellow rain jacket and running high quality Lezyne lights in the brightest flashing mode. Despite this I experienced the two worst close passes I've known in my life.
> 
> The Protec company transit from behind brushed my right elbow with the wing mirror. About three miles further I had glanced down and on looking up saw a large bright yellow vehicle bearing down on me fully on my carriageway at +/- 60mph. He passed me before I had time to do anything. I don't know how I'm alive. Unbelievably lucky.
> 
> ...


The worst time to ride is in twilight, as I have posted before some people have difficulty seeing in dusk conditions.


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## PaulSB (4 Dec 2020)

raleighnut said:


> The worst time to ride is in twilight, as I have posted before some people have difficulty seeing in dusk conditions.


Yes, I've seen those remarks and I definitely agree murky or dusky conditions are the most difficult time to see anything.


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## Flick of the Elbow (4 Dec 2020)

I no longer work so my days of night riding are mostly over. But oddly, I do miss it. I used to ride home through country lanes and offroad tracks and used to enjoy the sense of quietness and solitude, and also the wildlife, badgers, roe deer, tawny owls, and most memorably a barn owl that flew in front of me following my light on the road for a good five minutes well I watched fascinated.


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## freiston (4 Dec 2020)

I love night riding for all the good reasons already given in this thread - particularly around the hours of 12 to 4 - things seem (to me) to be at their quietest then. I personally reckon it's a lot safer than daytime cycling. I use dynamo lighting (front lamp is a B+M 80 lux) but sometimes mount a 1000 lumen torch to the handlebar, pointing directly ahead rather than angled down. The torch is not left on and is rarely used at all but I can switch it on with a soft touch to the tail-cap switch (remove my finger and the torch goes off) - on the bigger, straighter roads, I find that some oncoming vehicles are slow to dip and a momentary burst often gets them to dip their lights. I've occasionally used it for a floodlight too. Once, in the early nights of the first lockdown (when people still treated it as a lockdown), down a narrow singletrack lane on a pitch black moonless night, I could make out a badly parked car in a passing place. My first thought was that it had been abandoned or was being used for fly-tipping (I cycle this lane regularly at all hours and have never seen a car parked anywhere down it but have seen lots of fly-tipping). I gave a burst of floodlight to see a young lady bouncing up and down on top of her partner in the passenger seat. I quickly turned the light off and cycled past. My suspicion is that for whatever reason, their opportunities for assignations during lockdown had been seriously compromised.


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## ColinJ (4 Dec 2020)

freiston said:


> I find that some oncoming vehicles are slow to dip and a momentary burst often gets them to dip their lights.


That was another problem that I forgot to mention!

On a night ride I was wearing a headtorch as well as having a front light on the bike and I eventually discovered that I could persuade most drivers to dip by pointing the headtorch beam at them, then flicking it down towards the road. Most dipped immediately, some took 2 or 3 'hints'! I don't think anybody ignored it. That told me that those drivers were careless rather than nasty.


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## fossyant (4 Dec 2020)

Off road gnarly descents in the dark are ace ! Trust me. I set PB's on a few recently, and conditions weren't ideal - wet and muddy. Just shut your eyes. 

The 'views' make it worthwhile too.


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## ColinJ (4 Dec 2020)

fossyant said:


> Off road gnarly descents in the dark are ace ! Trust me. I set PB's on a few recently, and conditions weren't ideal - wet and muddy. Just shut your eyes.
> 
> The 'views' make it worthwhile too.


They probably _ARE_, but I worry about your dodgy back if you fall off doing that!


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## fossyant (4 Dec 2020)

ColinJ said:


> They probably _ARE_, but I worry about your dodgy back if you fall off doing that!



I'm not ! My camelbac has some spinal protection and I've usually got elbow armour on !


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## hoopdriver (4 Dec 2020)

I especially love the magic of riding through pre-dawn mists on a dark country lane. This image taken about 5am on a country lane on the marshes near Pevensey, East Sussex


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## Andy in Germany (4 Dec 2020)

ColinJ said:


> That was another problem that I forgot to mention!
> 
> On a night ride I was wearing a headtorch as well as having a front light on the bike and I eventually discovered that I could persuade most drivers to dip by pointing the headtorch beam at them, then flicking it down towards the road. Most dipped immediately, some took 2 or 3 'hints'! I don't think anybody ignored it. That told me that those drivers were careless rather than nasty.



I had a set of double lights when I cycled in the lanes of Somerset, with a batery that was strapped to the crossbar: they had a "normal" and "High beam" and on one memorable occasion I managed to shine them on a helecopter. These were fantastic for reminding car drivers to dip their lights, in fact because of the twin beam a far few mistook me for a tractor and pulled clear off the road to get out of the way...


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## ColinJ (4 Dec 2020)

hoopdriver said:


> I especially love the magic of riding through pre-dawn mists on a dark country lane. This image taken about 5am on a country lane on the marshes near Pevensey, East Sussex


It is interesting to me just how different people can be... 

There are obviously _a lot_ of people who agree with you, but that picture literally fills me with gloom at the idea of potentially 3+ months of that sort of weather to come. That pesky old S.A.D...

If I open the blinds here in the morning, look across the valley and see mist everywhere, I promptly close the blinds again. Sometimes they remain closed for days, or even for weeks some murky winters.

I have stopped cycling in November some years and not got my bike out again until February or even March if we had what I call a 'dreary' winter. I would much rather have a freezing, sunny day than a mild, misty, damp one. Mind you, then there is the ice problem...


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## rockyroller (4 Dec 2020)

mustang1 said:


> I'm thinking of venturing off road into the darkness of the forest. Alas I've never been alone in the forest so that'll be a first; previously I've always been with a group.


I have a forested area near my home that I am very familiar with. I think it helps, even if you are alone, to know the terrain. but yeah it's spooky. one night I could swear I heard "bigfoot" throw a boulder into the lake, across from me, breaking the ice. I heard rock on rock sounds, ice crashing & water splashing. couldn't imagine any natural cause. freaked me out completely. it was great


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## PeteXXX (4 Dec 2020)

Full beam on both my front lights.. Easy to find my way home from work! 👌


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## bobsinatra (5 Dec 2020)

Tribansman said:


> Absolutely. Love riding at night for all the reasons you said. I virtually always ride on my own on day rides, but there's def a more intense solitude when ploughing through pitch black lanes.
> 
> I try and do a sunset to sunrise ride every year - and a long night ride on bonfire night - it's an amazing feeling when you've ridden through the night and you see the sun come up.
> 
> ...



I am in St Albans, so don't come across many deers, but do see plenty of well fed foxes.


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## bobsinatra (5 Dec 2020)

slowmotion said:


> You forgot the doggers in secluded lay-bys.
> 
> Edit: Oops! The ever-vigilant @Drago got his notebook out first.



Dogging has exploded in lockdown sadly.


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## RichardB (5 Dec 2020)

mustang1 said:


> I'm thinking of venturing off road into the darkness of the forest. Alas I've never been alone in the forest so that'll be a first; previously I've always been with a group.
> 
> Edit: typo. Blxxdy heck i make a typo in every one of my psots.



Make sure you have a phone or other backup plan if you are in the wilderness at night doing something like cycling. A good friend of mine was a forester and was doing some surveying of forestry, alone, in Scotland. After dark and about a foot of snow. He was about a mile from his car when he tripped and fell face-first onto the sharp stump of a freshly-cut tree. His face was badly smashed up and he had no phone signal. Eventually he made it back to his car, having badly frightened an old lady in a cottage where he called for help. After that, his wife insisted on a satellite phone for him. An extreme example, but if you are doing a physical activity in a lonely and inaccessible place, it makes sense to do a bit of worst-case planning. Having sorted that, you can have fun.


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## Blue Hills (5 Dec 2020)

bobsinatra said:


> Dogging has exploded in lockdown sadly.


How do you know?


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## rockyroller (5 Dec 2020)

PeteXXX said:


> Full beam on both my front lights.. Easy to find my way home from work! 👌


beautiful


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## rockyroller (5 Dec 2020)

at nite in the snow anyone?


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## Andy in Germany (5 Dec 2020)

rockyroller said:


> at nite in the snow anyone?



Rural cycle commuting in Germany features this frequently.


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## Blue Hills (5 Dec 2020)

rockyroller said:


> at nite in the snow anyone?


I wouldn't.
Anything in ice territory (I know snow isn't ice) I stay off the bike.


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## rockyroller (5 Dec 2020)

Andy in Germany said:


> Rural cycle commuting in Germany features this frequently.


👍 trying to decide if I want to do it for fun late afternoon/dusk today/tonight, for fun. have to work in the morning so I'm tempted to stay in, warm & dry


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## rockyroller (5 Dec 2020)

Blue Hills said:


> I wouldn't. Anything in ice territory (I know snow isn't ice) I stay off the bike.


heard that. I have a bad track record w/ ice


View: https://youtu.be/kuQpYZPUf3s


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## Blue Hills (5 Dec 2020)

I hope you hit the ground as gracefully as your bike.


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## Andy in Germany (5 Dec 2020)

Snow and ice are spiked tyre time.


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## JPBoothy (5 Dec 2020)

rockyroller said:


> heard that. I have a bad track record w/ ice
> 
> 
> View: https://youtu.be/kuQpYZPUf3s



That's the downside of two wheels isn't it. When that front end goes no amount of bike handling skill will save the spectacular dismount from happening.


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## JPBoothy (5 Dec 2020)

PeteXXX said:


> View attachment 561655
> 
> 
> Full beam on both my front lights.. Easy to find my way home from work! 👌


Wow, they are awesome! Sorry if you have already said but, what brand of lights are they? How long does a charge/battery last you?


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## Iainj837 (5 Dec 2020)

I often ride at night and love it


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## Iainj837 (5 Dec 2020)

Andy in Germany said:


> Rural cycle commuting in Germany features this frequently.


My commute is rural lovely but not so good In the fog


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## PeteXXX (5 Dec 2020)

@JPBoothy One is a Fluxient 1,600.
T'other is the Halfords 1,600 £60 light that I got for £28 😉
I get 3½ hours on full from the Fluxient and 2 to 2½ full beam from the Halfords..


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## bobsinatra (5 Dec 2020)

Blue Hills said:


> How do you know?


Lot of press coverage fella.


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## colly (5 Dec 2020)

Another thumbs up from me for riding in the dark. Love it. And I am another one who finds hills a breeze at night.

A couple of years ago on a down hill section out in the sticks I stopped under the tree canopy and switched off the lights front and back. Like being down a coal mine. Absolute pitch black. Maybe a few mins would have given my eyes time to adjust but out in open country it's a weird feeling. Across the hedge to the side I heard a distinct growling.  I didn't hang about long.

Lights on and ride off pdq.


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## chris-suffolk (5 Dec 2020)

PeteXXX said:


> T'other is the Halfords 1,600 £60 light that I got for £28 😉
> I get 2 to 2½ full beam from the Halfords..



Do you know the specs for the battery? up to 2½ hrs + at 1600 lumens seems good considering I get about half that from my light with a 6000ma battery. Halfords, helpfully, don't give voltage, mille amps, watt hours or run times at various outputs on their site.


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## PeteXXX (5 Dec 2020)

chris-suffolk said:


> Do you know the specs for the battery? up to 2½ hrs + at 1600 lumens seems good considering I get about half that from my light with a 6000ma battery. Halfords, helpfully, don't give voltage, mille amps, watt hours or run times at various outputs on their site.


I'll check the box when I get back from work later 👍🏼


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## PeteXXX (5 Dec 2020)

@chris-suffolk Hopefully you can read this. My bad, it's 2 hours on 1000 lumens.
The Fluxient, from Torchy the Battery Boy, is discontinued I think. One x 18650 - 2,600 battery lasted nearly to the end of the Dunwich Dynamo swapping between full and half power.


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## RichardB (5 Dec 2020)

colly said:


> Across the hedge to the side I heard a distinct growling.  I didn't hang about long.
> 
> Lights on and ride off pdq.



A field full of cows in the pitch dark sounds like the Big Cats cage at a zoo - grunts, growls, sounds of tearing (grass, probably). Keep riding, keep riding, it's _probably_ only cows ...


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## Blue Hills (6 Dec 2020)

bobsinatra said:


> Lot of press coverage fella.


Lots?
What sort of press do you read that gives lots of coverage to such things?
Feel free to provide links.


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## bobsinatra (6 Dec 2020)

Blue Hills said:


> Lots?
> What sort of press do you read that gives lots of coverage to such things?
> Feel free to provide links.


https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-gloucestershire-53260967

Here you go fella. Lockdown boredom has seen dogging activity increasing massively.


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## Blue Hills (6 Dec 2020)

bobsinatra said:


> https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-gloucestershire-53260967
> 
> Here you go fella. Lockdown boredom has seen dogging activity increasing massively.


please spare me the "fella" - am concerned that it's a doggin come-on.
That's a single spot in gloucestershire.
Hardly a nationwide scientific survey.

and it says "rises"
not massive increase
and
"according to residents"

I see the News of the World lives on. 

Loved the quote from the bloke:
"Lunchtime and on the way home from work, those are the worst times," Mr Laurens said.

who seems to take very regular strolls through a car park.
Did his google (maybe not maps) tell him that he had to walk that way?


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## JPBoothy (6 Dec 2020)

colly said:


> Another thumbs up from me for riding in the dark. Love it. And I am another one who finds hills a breeze at night.
> 
> A couple of years ago on a down hill section out in the sticks I stopped under the tree canopy and switched off the lights front and back. Like being down a coal mine. Absolute pitch black. Maybe a few mins would have given my eyes time to adjust but out in open country it's a weird feeling. Across the hedge to the side I heard a distinct growling.  I didn't hang about long.
> 
> Lights on and ride off pdq.


It was probably an injured Dogger


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## bobsinatra (6 Dec 2020)

Blue Hills said:


> please spare me the "fella" - am concerned that it's a doggin come-on.
> That's a single spot in gloucestershire.
> Hardly a nationwide scientific survey.
> 
> ...



I don't think there will be scientific studies into the rise of dogging fella.


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## Tribansman (6 Dec 2020)

bobsinatra said:


> I don't think there will be scientific studies into the rise of dogging fella.



There could be, perhaps published in PNAS


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## colly (6 Dec 2020)

Blue Hills said:


> Did his google (maybe not maps) tell him that he had to walk that way?



No it's probably the way his trousers hang.




Boom Boom


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## chris-suffolk (6 Dec 2020)

PeteXXX said:


> View attachment 561854
> 
> 
> @chris-suffolk Hopefully you can read this. My bad, it's 2 hours on 1000 lumens.
> The Fluxient, from Torchy the Battery Boy, is discontinued I think. One x 18650 - 2,600 battery lasted nearly to the end of the Dunwich Dynamo swapping between full and half power.


Tested out my new Ravemen 1600 today in the lounge to see what run time I would get. Accepting that it was indoors, and thus warmer than outside, full power gave up after 2:55 against a manufacturer quoted time of 1:35 - I'll take that.


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## rockyroller (7 Dec 2020)

rockyroller said:


> trying to decide if I want to do it for fun late afternoon/dusk today/tonight, for fun


wound up going for it. fun is a matter of perspective I think


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## rockyroller (7 Dec 2020)

JPBoothy said:


> That's the downside of two wheels isn't it. When that front end goes no amount of bike handling skill will save the spectacular dismount from happening.


I didn't have a chance to react either


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## rockyroller (7 Dec 2020)

Blue Hills said:


> I hope you hit the ground as gracefully as your bike.


sadly no. it was an instantaneous smack-down. I was stunned & stayed motionless while I held my head w/ 2 hands evaluating the situation. it took a second, then everything seemed intact


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## mustang1 (7 Dec 2020)

rockyroller said:


> I have a forested area near my home that I am very familiar with. I think it helps, even if you are alone, to know the terrain. but yeah it's spooky. one night I could swear I heard "bigfoot" throw a boulder into the lake, across from me, breaking the ice. I heard rock on rock sounds, ice crashing & water splashing. couldn't imagine any natural cause. freaked me out completely. it was great


Actually another thing that bugs me about night-riding-in-the-forest are if i meet some unsavoury types.


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## Blue Hills (7 Dec 2020)

mustang1 said:


> Actually another thing that bugs me about night-riding-in-the-forest are if i meet some unsavoury types.


i can't imagine bunches of "unsavoury types" choosing to hang out in a damp forest of a night.
More likely to meet a bunch of boy scouts i would have thought.


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## rockyroller (7 Dec 2020)

met a hunter yesterday. he seemed nice enough. he shouldered his rifle as he saw me approaching


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## ColinJ (7 Dec 2020)

rockyroller said:


> met a hunter yesterday. he seemed nice enough. he shouldered his rifle as he saw me approaching


I wouldn't fancy being anywhere that hunters were hunting...

I remember what happened to *Greg Lemond*!


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## Bazzer (7 Dec 2020)

PeteXXX said:


> @JPBoothy One is a Fluxient 1,600.
> T'other is the Halfords 1,600 £60 light that I got for £28 😉
> I get 3½ hours on full from the Fluxient and 2 to 2½ full beam from the Halfords..


I have a Cateye Volt 1300. Having ridden many hours in the dark with it, I would sorely miss it. 
I recall being on a group night ride and being "domestique" to a rider struggling over a remote misty final climb. When we met up with the main group one of the riders commented they thought it was a car with a single headlamp coming over the climb.


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## PeteXXX (7 Dec 2020)

Bazzer said:


> I have a Cateye Volt 1300. Having ridden many hours in the dark with it, I would sorely miss it.
> I recall being on a group night ride and being "domestique" to a rider struggling over a remote misty final climb. When we met up with the main group one of the riders commented they thought it was a car with a single headlamp coming over the climb.


I don't usually have both lights on, but occasionally it cheers me up to see how much I can see within the beams!
I scare small animals sometimes, and frequently attract moths and bat's 🦇 😂


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## Ming the Merciless (7 Dec 2020)

rockyroller said:


> wound up going for it. fun is a matter of perspective I think
> 
> View attachment 562097



Did you own spiked tyres at the time?


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## rockyroller (7 Dec 2020)

YukonBoy said:


> Did you own spiked tyres at the time?


I do for 2 bikes. haven't put them on yet. Saturday was a slush-fest, no ice, so no studs required (yet)


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## rockyroller (7 Dec 2020)

ColinJ said:


> I wouldn't fancy being anywhere that hunters were hunting...
> I remember what happened to *Greg Lemond*!


they're freaking everywhere, here in the US. thanks for the link!


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## ColinJ (7 Dec 2020)

rockyroller said:


> they're freaking everywhere, here in the US. thanks for the link!


I knew what had happened to him but I hadn't read the story in so much detail before. He was _VERY_ lucky to survive that, and it is amazing that he recovered and went on to win the Tour de France twice more _and _become world champion.


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## JPBoothy (7 Dec 2020)

ColinJ said:


> I wouldn't fancy being anywhere that hunters were hunting...
> 
> I remember what happened to *Greg Lemond*!


Probably be okay as long as he doesn't wear anything with fur on it.


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## ColinJ (7 Dec 2020)

JPBoothy said:


> Probably be okay as long as he doesn't wear anything with fur on it.


I think it is often a case of shoot first, look for fur/feathers/hide later! Lemond's brother-in-law blasted away at the first sign of movement, unfortunately that of Lemond rather than that of a turkey...


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## JPBoothy (7 Dec 2020)

ColinJ said:


> I think it is often a case of shoot first, look for fur/feathers/hide later! Lemond's brother-in-law blasted away at the first sign of movement, unfortunately that of Lemond rather than that of a turkey...


I always wonder if any of the 'Beaters' ever get hit during a big shoot as there must be so many guns aiming for the same birds.


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## RichardB (7 Dec 2020)

JPBoothy said:


> I always wonder if any of the 'Beaters' ever get hit during a big shoot as there must be so many guns aiming for the same birds.



If it's in the UK, than I would put my pension on the safety of the beaters. On shoots I have been on (not that many, I admit), the rules for the safety of the beaters have over-ridden everything else. Beaters are volunteers. Shoot owners/organisers treat them well, or they won't have any beaters next time.


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## Cymro74 (8 Dec 2020)

Braved the freezing cold last night - as always, the worst part is getting going. Apart from a few owls and rabbits it was eerily silent on totally black lanes. Spent far too long looking straight up picking out constellations.
My eyes play tricks on most night rides - this time it was bracken fronds which looked like alien arms reaching for me. Also, my light picked out dozens of small creepy swaying green lights a couple of fields away. Turned out to be sheep eyes reflecting my light from a distance.
Regarding battery times, my cateye 1300 lasts 15-20 hours on low permanent light, which is perfect for unlit lanes. I'm using it more at the moment as I have switched to my old bike without a dynamo hub. They are gritting the roads every day and I'd rather sacrifice my cheap old Raleigh.


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## Blue Hills (8 Dec 2020)

Cymro74 said:


> Regarding battery times, my cateye 1300 lasts 15-20 hours on low permanent light, which is perfect for unlit lanes.


Is low really good enough? Can you see potholes and the lie of the road ahead?
My Ixon IQ premium is often on full power on lanes. Of course that doesn't give anything like your run time.


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## Blue Hills (8 Dec 2020)

Night riders/sky watchers might be interested in this.
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-york-north-yorkshire-55218589

Makes me want to get out on a bivi (when warmer)


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## Cymro74 (8 Dec 2020)

Yes, cateye on low is fine on unlit roads and still allow some night vision. I do switch it to medium, or switch on helmet lamp now and again.
I have never used high setting as it drains battery in 2 hours. More importantly it doesn't show up potholes very well as everything on road is too bright.


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## rockyroller (9 Dec 2020)

JPBoothy said:


> Probably be okay as long as he doesn't wear anything with fur on it.


nah, I was dressed like a snowy owl


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## cubey (9 Dec 2020)

Riding through the calmness before the madness of the day kicks in.


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## LJR69 (9 Dec 2020)

rockyroller said:


> nah, I was dressed like a snowy owl
> 
> View attachment 562525


lol that's quite the outfit! I'm surprised you can pedal wearing all that


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## rockyroller (9 Dec 2020)

LJR69 said:


> lol that's quite the outfit! I'm surprised you can pedal wearing all that


lol I'm slow as sh*t. originally got the white camo rain jacket(s) for me & my sister, one February cuz we we trying to photo snowy owls on Cape Cod. we meet there annually for her birthday. I used to torture her, making her do a 10 mile hike out to Jeremy Point, Wellfleet, timed at low tide, which usually meant starting in complete darkness. we would go regardless of weather & more often than not, it was bad, very bad weather

down below I've got thin fleece pants under some Showers Pass brand storm pants






been toying w/ getting matching white camo pants, but don't want to look silly ;-)

I used to SCUBA dive, also at night, also during storms, so this is really not bad at all. no tanks on my back!


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## Blue Hills (10 Dec 2020)

Also found this

https://aurorawatch.lancs.ac.uk/alerts/

Might use when in striking distance of the Dales - apparently you have to be ready to set out at a moment's notice.

On the, er, bright side, it came as news to me that they can be seen from the UK at all.


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## rockyroller (10 Dec 2020)

now that we have a cpl inches of the white stuff on the ground & trails, I know I shud choose my trails wisely, also keep an eye on the temps. wet mud is like fly paper ... too slow & pedaling thru it is drudgery. however white crusty snow over pine needles, now that's a bit of fun. I missed my opportunity this week but looking at next week, after some rain, the snow will be less deep, possibly gone, but if not, frozen hard. looking forward to next Wednesday night


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## ColinJ (10 Dec 2020)

Blue Hills said:


> Also found this
> 
> https://aurorawatch.lancs.ac.uk/alerts/
> 
> ...


My mum used to watch 'the northern lights' as a girl in Scotland. (*Visit Scotland article*.)


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## Brummie53 (11 Dec 2020)

On a camping/ cycling holiday with a group of mates in Devon when we were younger ( a lifetime ago now) we were camped at Newton Abbot and used to cycle into Torquay for the evening. Riding back always seemed different at night to in the day on those country lanes and pacing ourselves on the climbs always seemed difficult. Mind you I don’t suppose the alcohol we’d consumed in the pub helped. Youth has no fear.


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## John482 (14 Dec 2020)

One of my favorite damn things ever. I ride at night in the summer as it's way to hot to ride in the day where I am on the Mojave desert in California. I turn off my light when there aren't any cars which is most of the time in the rural aria I live in. The stars are crazy pretty, you look up into the whole galaxy and it's just insane. I feel like I've lived maybe 5 hours in a few minutes of doing that.


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## Blue Hills (14 Dec 2020)

John482 said:


> One of my favorite damn things ever. I ride at night in the summer as it's way to hot to ride in the day where I am on the Mojave desert in California. I turn off my light when there aren't any cars which is most of the time in the rural aria I live in. The stars are crazy pretty, you look up into the whole galaxy and it's just insane. I feel like I've lived maybe 5 hours in a few minutes of doing that.


re this turning your lights off to appreciate the heavens, I'd be nervous about turning my rear off. Would a rear interfere with your view?


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## Ming the Merciless (14 Dec 2020)

It is particularly great at the moment with all the fantastic Christmas lights out there


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## LJR69 (14 Dec 2020)

John482 said:


> The stars are crazy pretty, you look up into the whole galaxy and it's just insane. I feel like I've lived maybe 5 hours in a few minutes of doing that.


Don't you crash into trees doing that?


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## John482 (14 Dec 2020)

Blue Hills said:


> re this turning your lights off to appreciate the heavens, I'd be nervous about turning my rear off. Would a rear interfere with your view?


No never touched the rear, I can only see a soft red glow from that anyway and only if I look back and down to look for it.


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## Andy in Germany (14 Dec 2020)

Blue Hills said:


> re this turning your lights off to appreciate the heavens, I'd be nervous about turning my rear off. Would a rear interfere with your view?



I always left my back light on at night, even when turning off the front.


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## Landsurfer (14 Dec 2020)

I love riding in the dark with the lights off .. on my bicycle and motorbike.
An amazing feeling on a moonlit night ... hard to describe but my heart soars as i ride along ...

And if anyone has any fears about safety, remember you ride a bike ... thats a hundred times more dangerous than any virus we have around at the moment .... "staying safe", like fear, is the little death.


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## rockyroller (14 Dec 2020)

Landsurfer said:


> And if anyone has any fears about safety, remember you ride a bike ... thats a hundred times more dangerous than any virus we have around at the moment .... "staying safe", like fear, is the little death.


maybe where you are, but COVID-19 was the leading cause of death in the U.S. (last week) ((& the covid death rate will be worse this week))
https://www.cbsnews.com/news/covid-19-leading-cause-of-death-united-states-this-week/

so Ill be riding my bike, later this week, away from ppl! ;-) ;-)


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## Landsurfer (14 Dec 2020)

rockyroller said:


> maybe where you are, but COVID-19 was the leading cause of death in the U.S. (last week) ((& the covid death rate will be worse this week))
> https://www.cbsnews.com/news/covid-19-leading-cause-of-death-united-states-this-week/
> 
> so Ill be riding my bike, later this week, away from ppl! ;-) ;-)


Thank god i don't live in the US ... I'll be spending all my working day close up to lots of other people ... many of whom i've never met before ... Life ..


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## John482 (14 Dec 2020)

Landsurfer said:


> I love riding in the dark with the lights off .. on my bicycle and motorbike.
> An amazing feeling on a moonlit night ... hard to describe but my heart soars as i ride along ...
> 
> And if anyone has any fears about safety, remember you ride a bike ... thats a hundred times more dangerous than any virus we have around at the moment .... "staying safe", like fear, is the little death.


" "staying safe", like fear, is the little death." boy you got that right. I've even heard a woman at a protest on youtube actually say "we don't want to be free , we want to be safe". At that point you're basically already dead.


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## John482 (14 Dec 2020)

LJR69 said:


> Don't you crash into trees doing that?


This is where I live


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## John482 (14 Dec 2020)

Landsurfer said:


> Thank god i don't live in the US ...


I wouldn't put too much stock in that or anything else from our tabloid news over here. I live in the US and there just aren't that many people dying from covid, typically people catch it like a cold and in a week or so they're back to work.


----------

