Night Riding

I did my first night ride of the fall tonight. Nothing crazy, just 18 miles, so a little bit over an hour. Last year, I did quite a few night rides, maybe 8-10 and ended up with anywhere from 200-250 miles (It is hard to be exact, because I didn't mark every ride I did at night last year). Tonight was a lot of fun. Perfect evening, about 55 degrees. A great chance to get out on the bike.

I know what you are thinking. Perfect evening, except for one thing. Its dark! And it is hard to see in the dark! So why do you go out at night? Isn't cycling a sport better enjoyed during the day, when you actually can see?

In general, yes, cycling is a sport better enjoyed during the day. So why ride at night? Here are a few reasons why I do?

Brevet Preparation

As a randonneur, you are going to have to get adept at riding at night. You can do a 200 km brevet without any night riding, but the longer brevets generally require some night riding. On a 300 km, this may only be 60-90 minutes as you finish up in the evening. But on the 400 km last year, we were out until almost 3:00 AM. Given, we were taking some long breaks after dark, but that is several hours of night riding.

As with most things, you want to do what you can to prepare for a situation before the event. I have ridden enough at night to know that I can do it when called upon. However, I also find it useful to brush up n night riding even when I don't have any brevets coming up. I do not have a ton of after dark experience, so any I can gain will only improve my night riding skills. This will be helpful if I do a super randonneur series next year (a series of 200, 300, 400 and 600 km brevets).

Extending the Season

As of today in Appleton, sunset was at 6:17 PM. It is harder and harder to fit rides in during the day unless I leave work for an extended lunch hour, which is really not an option for me right now. Even commuting to work is squeezed by the available daylight hours. So riding at night gives me another opportunity to ride that I would not have if I limited myself to the daylight.

A Different Experience

Riding at night is a very different experience than riding during the day. You see less, sure, but what you see is different. It is getting 10 miles out of town so you can really see the stars up in the sky. Its so you can see the glow of the city as you come back into town. Its so you can see the lights flicker of the river as you cross the Fox River. And it isn't just the sights. Thre is much less traffic at night, so you hear more. There is a quiet, a peacefulness to riding at night. Same roads, yes, but a different experience.

Better than the Stationary Bike

Lets face it, getting on the trainer or stationary bike or the elliptical trainer is B-O-R-I-N-G. Later in the year when I get home and its 25 degrees (or less) outside, I'll have plenty of time to go to the YMCA and do all that stuff. But on a night like tonight where the temp is in the mid 50's, it is a whole lot more fun to do an outdoor activity than head to the Y.

I'll follow this post up with a post about the equipment I use to ride at night, because like I said above, its dark out there. And you need to see where you are going and you need people to be able to see you.