Cycling at night-your comfort level & speed

[shootingstar]

Even with my bike lights on at night, I usually prefer to only cycle shorter distances and honest, sorta hope that I've already done parts of the route at some point during daytime. Particularily if it's a route that I seldom cycle and it's well over 20 kms. long with some steady stream of road traffic in sections.

And my speed cycling at night is slower. I just can't anticipate the bumps and potholes. Or maybe it's not feeling confident of my night vision. Maybe it's in my head.

I just found out we got tickets to Olympics women's speedskating shorts in evening in a few weeks. So I'm just hoping..it won't be heavy rain. That is worse, cycling at night in heavy rain on a route I seldom do. No, the worst would be black ice. (And no, during the Olympics, bikes are not allowed on our light train commuter lines due to crowds.)

Am I an overly cautious mouse or what? I should be this super confident woman cyclist by now..

[bikerHen]

I love riding at night. Really good lights are the key. Half of my evening commute is on unlit roads and bike path. I easily can and often do hit speeds well over 20 mph. on the bike path. It's mostly downhill. Granted I know the route well but I still keep a sharp eye on the ground and surrounding area. Almost hit a ninji jogger one night and of course there are numerous pile of dog poo to avoid! Plus the path is very isolated so you never know what's out there . . . scared the cr@p out of a couple of deer one night!

I keep up a pretty brisk pace on the road as well. On one section there are no lights, no shoulders and fast cars. If I time it right and ride hard I can make it to the bike lane section before the next group of cars come after a light changes. It's my nightly challenge!

And if it's raining, well that's just bonus points in my book. Last weeks evening commutes were very, very foggy. Really cramped my style. Plus I discovered a helmet light is like having your highbeams on in the fog. Can't see squat! So I only had my handle bar light. Definitely took my time on those rides. I say embrace the darkness. Add a few more blinky lights and have fun. If you do have a chance I'd ride the route during the light of day too. It always helps to have some idea of the terrain. bikerHen

[PinkBike]

we ride home from work at 11 every nite. My thought is you don't outrun your lights. It's the city so it's not real dark most of the way, but coming down one dark hill I get tense because I'm going faster than my lights. I know the road completely but who's to say what's possibly lurking out there? I slow down enough that if something shows up I will see it and be able to avoid it. I have no fear of riding at night, I probably should, but I kinda like it as long as I don't outrun my lights.

Don't miss this opportunity to catch the Olympics -- just be a little more cautious.

[Melalvai]

I go slower at nights. Even on well-known roads. I'm cautious about over running my lights.

I was chuckling because I won't do mountain biking. I'm too cautious and it is too scary. But people think I am SO brave, or crazy, for biking in traffic.

Speed is just never a consideration. I might try to go faster when I'm running late but even so I know that my efforts won't make any difference in how much time it takes to get somewhere. I can't sustain the kind of output that would make a significant difference (like 5 minutes). Not in town, and not for a 3 - 5 mile trip.

The short answer is, I go as fast as I'm comfortable with for the conditions. I slow down for debris, road decay, wet, dark, fatigue, and more.

[indysteel]

Ugh; I have no excuse for not riding at night. I have a great light that essentially turns night into day. I just need a few other blinkies and some reflective wear, and I'm set. My BF (just two more days he's my DH!!! ) and I were just talking about how we now have the perfect set up for it. We live just a half mile from quiet country roads that we're pretty familiar with. We just need to do it!