Fab Foodie
hanging-on in quiet desperation ...
- Location
- Kirton, Devon.
Agreed... in fact Oxford on a Friday evening you don'te even have to be up that late!
And Thame at 1 am has it's fair share of
What is the attraction of cycling through the night?
- Thread starter Banjo
- Start date
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Agreed... in fact Oxford on a Friday evening you don'te even have to be up that late!
And Thame at 1 am has it's fair share of
Arch
Married to Night Train
- Location
- Salford, UK
I'm just back from my second night ride - York to Whitby.
I love: the empty roads, the eerie isolation of your own little pool of light, the bobbing red lights ahead your only clue to the gradient, the silence when no one speaks, the first glimmer of dawn on the horizon, eating a fryup knowing you've damn well earned it, the amazement of people when you tell them what you've done, realising it's light and you've ridden through the small hours...
I've been lucky with the weather so far - no doubt it's less romantic in the rain. But it's just... amazing.
I love: the empty roads, the eerie isolation of your own little pool of light, the bobbing red lights ahead your only clue to the gradient, the silence when no one speaks, the first glimmer of dawn on the horizon, eating a fryup knowing you've damn well earned it, the amazement of people when you tell them what you've done, realising it's light and you've ridden through the small hours...
I've been lucky with the weather so far - no doubt it's less romantic in the rain. But it's just... amazing.
StuAff
Silencing his legs regularly
- Location
- Portsmouth
Simon (and Arch) put it well. I very, very quickly came to the conclusion on my first FNRttC that I wanted to do another one ASAP. Whether it's been on one of the really big FNRs (120 or so on the March Martlets ride) or Dun Run II (four of us), the attractions are the same. Quiet roads. A different perspective on the world, because you can enjoy it without all the traffic. Amazing views at dawn. A great breakfast/brunch to look forward to (and bacon sandwiches just taste better at 3.30 am). Above all else, splendid company. Or splendid solitary, as Yello would say!
GrumpyGregry
Here for rides.
and in response to the OP....
the blackness of the night and all its shades of purple, the orange light on the horizon, the lack of other traffic, the silence when you stop, the isolation, the riding in a bubble of light, the velvet darkness of the night sky, the "look at that moon", the "look at those stars", the "look out for that hole!", the damp patch on road surface you mistake for a pothole, the swooping owl you mistake for a bat, the bat you mistake for an owl, the deer crossing the road and not running away as you approach, the getting hopelessly lost and not caring, the satellites arcing across the sky, the meteors shooting earthwards, the way the hills are easier to climb when you can't see how steep or long they are, the waiting at a country crossroads for your mates to catch up with nothing but your own frosty breath for company, the unbeleiving drunks, the mystified drivers, the astounded shift workers, all of these and more, but most of all...
dawn over Seasalter, or over the Weald, or Romney Marsh, or the Downs above Chichester. I love night rides.
the blackness of the night and all its shades of purple, the orange light on the horizon, the lack of other traffic, the silence when you stop, the isolation, the riding in a bubble of light, the velvet darkness of the night sky, the "look at that moon", the "look at those stars", the "look out for that hole!", the damp patch on road surface you mistake for a pothole, the swooping owl you mistake for a bat, the bat you mistake for an owl, the deer crossing the road and not running away as you approach, the getting hopelessly lost and not caring, the satellites arcing across the sky, the meteors shooting earthwards, the way the hills are easier to climb when you can't see how steep or long they are, the waiting at a country crossroads for your mates to catch up with nothing but your own frosty breath for company, the unbeleiving drunks, the mystified drivers, the astounded shift workers, all of these and more, but most of all...
dawn over Seasalter, or over the Weald, or Romney Marsh, or the Downs above Chichester. I love night rides.
tdr1nka
Taking the biscuit
- Location
- SE London, Bandit Country
It's a real hoot and a genuine experience.
Less traffic, good company and a chance to push yourself just that bit harder than you might do in your day to day.
Less traffic, good company and a chance to push yourself just that bit harder than you might do in your day to day.
lukesdad
Guest
...and going back to the OP...not quite sure where all this isolation and silence comes from on a ride with 50 + riders
you'd be surprised. There are times when the night just folds itself around you and you're just left with your thoughts, the tarmac and the stars. I sometimes drift to the back and pretend to be checking things out, but actually I'm just having a quiet time....and going back to the OP...not quite sure where all this isolation and silence comes from on a ride with 50 + riders
C
chillyuk
Guest
In the mid 60's I lived in Gloucester and had a girlfriend in Nottingham who was a night nurse. I would finish work on Friday early evening then set out and cycle up to Nottingham. If I arrived before she knocked off I would go to the all night bowling ally for a meal and warm up.
I loved riding through the night. The air was cool and clean, the roads pretty much deserted apart from the odd night trunker and I seemed able to keep a decent pace up. After a weekend's nooky it was hard work riding home on Sunday afternoon/evening though.
I loved riding through the night. The air was cool and clean, the roads pretty much deserted apart from the odd night trunker and I seemed able to keep a decent pace up. After a weekend's nooky it was hard work riding home on Sunday afternoon/evening though.
Yup, it is amazing how now and again on the ride it descends into complete silence apart from the whir of wheels on tarmac
Broadside
Guru
- Location
- Fleet, Hants
To the OP: you need to give it a go, I couldn't see the attraction of it myself until I tried it.
Borrow a decent light and ride deep in to the countryside away from street lights and cars, spend a couple of hours out there and see if that changes your opinion.
Sunny day rides are unbeatable but night rides are a very different but still brilliant experience. Hills seem to flatten out because you can't see the top. One downside however, punctures are a bit more tricky to sort out but it's all part of the experience and very satisfying when you come back in.
Borrow a decent light and ride deep in to the countryside away from street lights and cars, spend a couple of hours out there and see if that changes your opinion.
Sunny day rides are unbeatable but night rides are a very different but still brilliant experience. Hills seem to flatten out because you can't see the top. One downside however, punctures are a bit more tricky to sort out but it's all part of the experience and very satisfying when you come back in.
slowmotion
Quite dreadful
- Location
- lost somewhere
Yes, that is strange. On my first ride at the end of July, about half the way out, I found myself riding completely alone for about four miles in darkness through a strange narrow country lane. Although it did cross my mind that I might be totally lost, it really didn't seem to matter at all. Not a care in the world, and quite liberating.
Breakfast, beer, and bullshit added to the pleasure shortly thereafter.
Do it.
Ravenbait
Someone's imaginary friend
- Location
- The Seventh Level of Hell
I did the Dun Run 6 times before moving back up north. Travelled all the way down to do it again. Then started another one up here. This picture sums it up for me (dawn on the Forth Road Bridge, Dumb Run III):
It's the camaraderie, the challenge, the surreal change of perspective you get from travelling roads that during the day are covered in cars but at night are empty. It's the sense of being in a bubble formed by white halogen and blinking LEDs containing the whirr of cogs and the chat of your friends, and outside that bubble the context of the world is defined by what you have to do to get from start to finish.
There's something special about a night ride that can't be matched by doing something similar in the day time. It's magic. Even when the weather is foul it's magic.
Also, I don't like the sun very much.
Sam
It's the camaraderie, the challenge, the surreal change of perspective you get from travelling roads that during the day are covered in cars but at night are empty. It's the sense of being in a bubble formed by white halogen and blinking LEDs containing the whirr of cogs and the chat of your friends, and outside that bubble the context of the world is defined by what you have to do to get from start to finish.
There's something special about a night ride that can't be matched by doing something similar in the day time. It's magic. Even when the weather is foul it's magic.
Also, I don't like the sun very much.
Sam
Ticktockmy
Guru
- Location
- Crawley, West Sussex
A steady night time ride along the Southdowns way during the winter is strangly pleasent, and in places quite manic, more so if you catch last orders in the 3 Juggs in Kingston before heading on to Eastbourne. hones the senses, but well worth doing.
