Nights Under Lights

Sooner or later, every tourist, endurance cyclist, or utility cyclist is going to find themselves out after dark. Some events just about make this impossible to avoid. Some tour legs are difficult to complete during daylight hours. This is particularly true during late Autumn, Winter, and early Spring.

Then too, there is the unexpected. I mind a time I was doing a fairly simple leg. It was mountainous country, but the plan for the day was a leg of mostly valley riding, and only about 80 miles. Then I got lost. (this was before GPS) Then I had a flat. Make that two flats. The chain broke while I was climbing the mountain that shouldn’t have been there. I found a nice little tavern, and stopped for a late lunch. I met some nice people. Lunch ran long. I needed a nap. I slept for about four hours. (I’d only intended to catch a one hour nap.) I took another wrong turn, and didn’t realize it until the road, first became dirt, and then ended. This after about a ten mile trek, thus adding another 20 miles to an already long day.

By the time I was back on course, it was getting dusky. I’d had fourteen hours of good daylight available, and had estimated a total time on route of about seven to eight hours. I was still 20 or so miles away from my intended overnight stop, and it was in the middle of nowhere.

Boy was I glad I had lights!

More importantly, I was glad I was familiar with riding at night with lights. Make that, headlights, tail lights, reflective vest, reflective ankle bands, and a helmet light to read my map with.

It’s a good skill to master. Besides, it increases your capabilities as a cyclist.

Nights Under Lights will start soon. We’ll probably start with some Tuesday night rides of about an hour. These will start at about 7:00 PM. Keep watching this space for dates. We’ll do some shorter evening rides to start with. Then we’ll mix in a few Dawn Patrols. We’ll stick together on these rides. Safety in numbers.

Requirements: You must have a reglective vest or sash. You must have reflective ankle bands. You must have a good, bright tail light. You must have a good headlight. (Remember, stopping distance should never exceed visibility.) You must be wearing a helmet. Dress for the weather.

This should be fun.