Things I learned tonight!

[FlyingScot]

So I went on an evening ride tonight. I usually go during the day but time got away from me. I set out on the local bike path (I'm too chicken to ride on the road and don't much desire to have my butt slapped) for a short 15 miler.

This is what I learned:
There are waaay more people on the path in the evening
It gets darker waaay faster than you think it will
There is a reason my bike glasses came with clear lenses
Don't breathe thru your mouth

So all you other newbies out there...why learn from your mistakes when you can learn from mine

Happy Riding...now I'm going to brush my teeth!

[boy in a kilt]

Riding at night is more fun.

It took me a long time to figure out why, but it hit me last night (when I was riding in the dark). Stripping away a lot of the visual stimuli and just focusing on the little spot of light in front of me is almost meditation. My pedal strokes get rounder and smoother, my arms are more relaxed and I don't bounce as much.

[velogirl]

and hills aren't as hard in the dark. really, they aren't. I find that my average pace on the same course will be much faster when I ride at night because I just hammer up my climbs instead of seeing them first and reacting.

[indigoiis]

Bike lights - do I need standard bike lights for night riding?

[mimitabby]

don't know about standard, but you certainly need bike lights for riding at night.
when i get back to commuting (second week in September) i will need them, so Cavalletta is at the shop getting outfitted with some powerful lights.

I have ridden in the dark before and without good lights you can hurt yourself.
Unlike a car (with headlights) if you go over a pot hole in the road or any small obstacle, it's no big deal, but on a bike, you can go down or wreck your tire.

so you do need good lights for riding.

[GeoCam]

Mimi - what kind of lights are "good" and what kind are not up to the task?

[EmilyM]

Don't breathe thru your mouth

Tell me about it. I repeatedly make that mistake! LOL!

[Torrilin]

I have a pair of Cateye lights. The headlight is ok for being seen, and for slow riding at night. I really treat it more as a cloudy/rain visibility tool. The rear light seems to give me good visibility. The longer I use my headlight, the less happy I am with how it performs in very low light. The beam just isn't wide enough to make me really comfortable going at a good clip. It's also no good for improving *my* ability to see if the weather is lousy. We've had some thunderstorms lately that have made it dark at 2pm, and my headlight did not perform as well as I wanted. For a more normal rainstorm or foggy day, it's fine.

I don't ride a lot at night so far, so upgrading the headlight isn't a big priority.

[Aquila]

Don't breathe thru your mouth

Mmmm, extra protein!

(You know, some people carry all sorts of fancy biking food for that, but you got yours fresh!)

[boy in a kilt]

Light and Motion Vega. A little expensive but:

1) Has 4 settings- high will go for about 90 minutes, will sometimes make cars flash their high beams at you, medium is good for around 2-3 hours, low beam about 6-8 hours (my normal setting in town) and flashing mode. I use this mode when I want my friends to think they are being followed by a cop.

When your battery is low, it'll automatically drop down to low beam and the green light at the back will flash at you.

2) Smart charge- I've left it plugged in for months with no apparent loss of battery

3) Solid mount- Plus comes with spare parts to fix the most common problem

4) simple- all sealed. It's heavy but it's basically one solid piece.

[Di bear]

I breathe through my mouth. It's great! You get a TON OF AIR. You just have to develop your spitting reflex.

[FlyingScot]

It was the choking that was getting to me. I rode thru and absolute swarm of gnats...gross.

[SouthernBelle]

I'm a mouth breather. When it was first warming up in the spring and I swallowed my first bug of the year, I was so excited.

[Scarlet]

get a buff and use it
its so handy in the heat of summer along those lanes when the farmer has cut the hay and the flies are buzzin'

I wish we had a summer this year its rained soooooooo much

JOKE
how can you tell a happy cyclist?

By the number of flies on their teeth!!!!!

Scarlet x

[Geonz]

Some of the things you're experiencing are why roads can be safer than paths

When I don't actually have a Christmas Tree on my bike, I still like to be lit up like one. When I went back to "regular" lights after last Christmas, I noticed a tangible - not huge, but tangible - difference in when the folks I share the byways with reacted to my presence, and how much space they gave to me. Now that we're going into Dark Seasons, I have to figure out the fancy stuff. I'll be going online to see if, somewhere, there are those strings of battery powered lights on sale outside of the "holiday" season...