New Rides & Random Notes:

Wherein you will find some details about; Nights Under Lights Tonight!; The North Triple Ride; Dawn Patrols; and a totally Random “seasonal” Note. Please do read on.

First a word on night riding: There are several principles involved in riding at night. The first and most obvious is,

There ain’t no such thing as being too visible! Lights and reflectors! Lot’s of lights and reflectors.

Second, be predictable. Motorists are greatly puzzled by bicycles, and more so at night. When motor traffic is present, go single file, be steady, use hand signals, be very predictable.

Third. It is not a race! No one is as fast at night. Expect to be slower. Caution is advised.

Fourth. If you see something ahead that you don’t understand, A) shout it out! B) Slow down!

Stay on Gray: If something in the road appears dark black, avoid it! There is no way to tell if it’s a pothole, and oil slick, road kill, or a rock or some other obstruction. (Well, there is one way. Go ahead and hit it. This tends to cause crashes.)

Communicate with the riders around you! It’s difficult to see behind through the glare of headlights. If you are dropping, let the rider ahead know. If you are a rider in the middle, pass the word forward. When you are caught up, pass the word forward! If there is a problem or need, don’t hesitate, shout it!

Nights Under Lights Tonight! That’s right. We’re doing it again. Meet at Bicycles Unlimited for another hour+ ride in the dark. We had a blast on the last one of these, and I expect we’ll do so again tonight.

Details:

Location: Bicycles Unlimited

Start Time: 7:00 PM (sharp)

Distance: Approx 18 to 20 miles

Pace: Steady recreational road (approx 14 mph avg) Group will stay together.

Conditions: We’re going

Requirements: Helmets, good head and tail lights, reflective vest or sash, reflective ankle bands.

The North Triple Ride The concept is simple. We go to Helen, GA and we ride the “North Triple.” That’s a loop out of Helen. It includes Hogpen Gap, Jacks Gap, and Unicoi Gap. The loop is just a bit over 40 miles. Great climbing, thrilling descents, and spectacular vistas. We’ll do this one on a Sunday. The most likely dates are November 15 or November 22. I’d like some feedback on which is preferable.

Dawn Patrols Will be starting in December. These rides are an extension of the “Nights Under Lights” concept. (In point of fact, the Dawn Patrols came first. We’ve done these in years past. The evening version is the more recent, and still experimental, addition.) We get up early and start riding in the dark. The general format of the ride is as follows. We start in the early morning dark, with very little traffic. We ride someplace that we could never ride in the daylight hour. Along about dawn, we’ll make a stop for coffee. An additional hour’s riding after the coffee stop, will get us back to the start/finish point. Post ride breakfast is optional.

Part of the idea behind these things is that a tourist or randonnuer will, in the season ahead, invariably face a situation where night riding is unavoidable. Most likely that will be a high fatigue situation. These rides allow for practice for those skills. Besides, it’s fun being out when the world is quiet and we’re just about the only folks on the road.

As the season progresses, we will start these rides progressively earlier. So start now, learning how to dress and light up. Believe me, a four hour ride in the pre-dawn is an epic event!

Requirements: This is serious night riding. Helmets, strong headlights, good strong tail lights, reflective vests or sashes, reflective ankle bands are required. (Additional reflective and lighting equipment is a good idea.)

Strong Suggestion: Gear up as if you were on a tour and self-supporting.

The first one will be on Sunday, Dec 6. We’ll start at 05:00 (sharp)

Start/finish: Fayetteville IHOP parking lot.

Conditions: Ride goes at any temp above 20 degrees F, and all weather. (Yes, we’re still doing it if it snows.)

Pace: Night Time Touring, approx 13 mph avg.

Random “seasonal” Note: There are four seasons in the redneck year. They are, Rototiller, Barbique, Fourwheeler, and Yardsale. We can tell what the conventional season is, by observing the weather, trees, and animals. We can determine the Redneck Seasons through simple observation of the contents of redneck pickup truck beds and trailers.

The first season of the year is Rototiller. At this time, the typical redneck is seen carrying big gas powered tillers or heavy yard tractors in their trucks.

As the year warms, the home farming equipment vanishes and the plumage changes to big smokers, or industrial propane barbique ranges. This display will continue intermittently through the hotter parts of the year. It is especially apparent during the mating season around Memorial Day, and July 4^th.

As the year advances, the cookers are displaced. The primitive hunter-gatherer urges are felt, and behavior changes accordingly. The visible indicators are the presence of large, camouflaged four-wheel ATVs, usually sporting rigle scabbards. This equipment is completely necessary, as it is not possible to sneak up on a deer, unless one is astride an unmuffled 250 horsepower machine, and toting an elephant gun and a fifth of Wild Turkey.

The final season of the year is Yard Sale. At this point the seasonal pair bonds have been broken by the strains of the side-partner mate attraction activity displayed during Barbique, and the mate neglection of Four Wheeler. Pair-bonds are split, and the nesting implements are discarded, or sold in the front of the dwelling. At this time of the year, pickups will be full of furniture, usually with large bedding lashed above. Cultural antrhopologists speculate that this too is a mate-attraction behavior. Just as in some species of birds the male builds a nest to attract a suitable mate, so it is with the recently unmated Redneck. The display of home making furnishings and bedding are, quite possibly a means for the male to signal availability and suitability to likely females.

For those of us who ride bikes, these signals say one thing clearly; “Watch this driver closely! He is subject to random, intermittent, erratic behavior.