Getting dark early--have you considered this?
I ran into a delightful couple from Canada the other day, that travel around in their small airplane with two bikes in the back. They said that since it was getting dark early, they had begun mountain biking at night! They do it with approximately 12 friends--beautiful view of the stars and if you stop and look back, you can see the lights of all the riders behind you! Interesting--is this a normal activity out there?! I think a lot of the parks around here close after dark!?
"Well-behaved women seldom make history." --Laurel Thatcher Ulrich
'09 Trek WSD 2.1 with a Brooks B-68 saddle
'11 Trek WSD Madone 5.2 with Brooks B-17