night riding

[purplemoon]

If you're half as attractive as your avatar, then you're most definitely a lady!

Anyway, I'm sure your very nice, too! And that's what the snakes in Thetford forest think, as well!

You flatterer!

And besides, it's not as if I'm actually scared of snakes considering I do own a few myself, so I have no idea why I got so spooked

 

[HLaB]

I done my first proper night riding of the year last night. I realised how ineffective my lights were for seeing the unlit roads but they were effective for being seen. It was only 16.5 miles but I really enjoyed it and got plenty of respect from motorists.

 

[wafflycat]

I've just had a good giggle reading about all those of you who get spooked riding at night, thanks!

Well, yesterday, whilst riding through Thetford Forest, in daylight I might add! - we went off down a pathway through some heathland and I could hear what sounded to be movement from animals/insects or whatever to my left. Anyhow, this noise seemed to get louder and louder and appeared to be following us

I ended up completely spooking myself, and knowing there are snakes in the area, I imagined this huge anaconda sized thing racing through the grass alongside me as I rode like a bat out of hell, waiting to swallow me and the bike up whole!!!

Can you imagine what I'd be like riding in the dark!!!

The Thetford Forest is positively crawling with deer, so you may well have heard deer moving about. IIRC during the winter months there is some night time off-raod cycling organised in the forest. Must check it out.

I don't think we've got anaconda in Norfolk. Yes to wallabies, but not anacondas

 

[purplemoon]

Oh, I forgot to mention it was shortly after my spooky moment that my son was wondering what it might be like to go out cycling in the forest during the night, and I said surely no one would be crazy enough to do that

Then I read this thread so I've just phoned him to tell him there are more crazy people like him in the world

 

[purplemoon]

The Thetford Forest is positively crawling with deer, so you may well have heard deer moving about. IIRC during the winter months there is some night time off-raod cycling organised in the forest. Must check it out.

I don't think we've got anaconda in Norfolk. Yes to wallabies, but not anacondas

Hehehe

I've just been looking around for more info on activities in the forest and it seems there's plenty of stuff to do, including women's cycling groups

Linky here if you want to have a look

 

[JohnRedcoRn]

a colleague saw a hare for the first time (she's just changed jobs from town to join us rural workers)....she thought it was a wallaby. and yes she is in fact blonde, i kid you not.

it is kind of a pity we dont have many large dangerous predators in the british countryside, it would be kind of exciting to think you were riding along a dark country lane and bears or wolves were watching you.

so far i've found just before dusk best for wildlife - foxes, bats, deer if your lucky.

heres to clear skies on dry winter nights, especially when the moon is massive and bright, its great when its like a huge orangey yellow ball. and of course shooting stars, satellites .

of course a pants shittingly scary UFO experience would be the icing on the cake.

 

[andrew_s]

Every time we come to Autumn/Winter I think about getting some decent offroad capable lights, but never bother in the end. Which lights currently give the best performance in terms of power output, battery life, weight etc for around £150?

Dave.

I'd suggest getting a pair of these Hope 1 LEDs, if you've got the handlebar space. You would have to allow for the cost of a couple of sets of AA NiMh rechargeables and a charger if you don't have them already.

If you want something smaller and neater, look at the USE Joysick MaxX
. Extra piggyback batteries start at about £40 to double your runtime.

Both of these lights get as much out of a single LED as is currently possible.

 

[trio25]

Oh, I forgot to mention it was shortly after my spooky moment that my son was wondering what it might be like to go out cycling in the forest during the night, and I said surely no one would be crazy enough to do that

Then I read this thread so I've just phoned him to tell him there are more crazy people like him in the world

I night ride off-road once a week in the winter. There are a lot of groups who meet regularly throughout the winter, its seen as normal in mountain biking circles.

 

[wafflycat]

of course a pants shittingly scary UFO experience would be the icing on the cake.

Well, not quite a UFO and it was daytime...

I was cycling along a narrow lane - fields either side and bounded by high hedges. The unmistakeable *thump* *thump* of helicopter blades close by. Rising up above the hedge alongside came a huge great helicopter gunship... facing me. That was an interesting experience for the innards!

 

[Scoosh]

Every time we come to Autumn/Winter I think about getting some decent offroad capable lights, but never bother in the end. Which lights currently give the best performance in terms of power output, battery life, weight etc for around £150?

Dave.

Check out this thread, where a satisfied customer says:

If you can afford it though, £100+ will get you something almost as good as daylight. I've got the AyUp roadie lights, which at about £150 are quite pricey but worth every penny. They are absolutely tiny, lightweight, amazingly well built and bright as f**k. Completely transformed my night riding. I can ride much faster and more safely than I could with the previous Electron halogens.

HTH

 

[dodgy]

Thanks andrew_s and scoosh, I'll check them out

Dave.

 

[philr]

did my second night ride home last night. the tail wind was great helping me achieve good speeds.
this time i wore a head light, which was great i could check the grass verges on the country lanes in the middle of nowhere, only problem when it started to pour with rain the head light just illuminated the rain drops when it got really heavy it was like a wall of light just in front of me and i had terrible trouble seeing the road ahead. it was a lot like a heavy snow storm when in the car. but at least i could see if there was any nasty bogey men waiting in the verges for me.

 

[Lazy-Commuter]

Whooo Whooo !!

Just repeating a bit from my newbie thread, 'cos I liked it so much.

I was testing some lights out last night, getting ready for winter. As I headed back home down the lane, I had an owl gliding alongside me a few yards to my right for 20-30 yards or so. An amazing experience.

 

[Fnaar]

If you're off road then trees and stuff can look like they're moving as you approach them with decent bike lights - they cast strange shadows.

They actually are chasing you... woooOOOOOOOooooooh!

 

[Angelfishsolo]

You should know that no matter how fast you ride, run, drive, etc, etc the monsters always catch you

i recall cycling home from work recently at 230 hrs am.

country side cycling full moon no cars or street lights for miles around, was really enjoying it. then for some stupid reason i started to think about recent horror films, bogey men and the like. what a complete and utter wus, a grown man and cycling at nearly 30 mph in case something come out of the bushes and chased me, at least at that speed they might not catch me (going through my mind).