Night-time bicycle riding can be fun!

By Jeff Dickinson
Free Press Staff
Thursday, October 31, 2002

Shadows dance as lights bounce through the woods on a cold, dark autumn night making every root, rock, mud puddle, and tree branch seem to come alive. Now that daylight-saving time is behind us and the sun drops below the horizon well before 5 p.m., most mountain bikers have given up on the idea of an after-work ride through the woods.

For some however, it is the beginning of a new season of off road adventures: night riding.

Riding a mountain bike through the woods at night might sound like pushing an already classified "extreme sport" just a bit beyond reasonable bounds, but there are a lot of reasons to give it a try.

First of all, it will make your daytime riding better. Lights make every bump look bigger, every steep seem steeper; and every corner becomes a complete unknown. It is a true test of your technical riding skills. There is nothing fast about it, except how fast you hit the ground after misjudging an obstacle.

Besides making you a better rider, it will provide you with some great scenery. Wildlife is more active at night, making the chance of seeing raccoons, deer and moose more likely. Watch out for the little critters like skunks and porcupines, however, who could, if caught by surprise, cut your ride dreadfully short.The best part about night riding is the change of routine.

"You can go to the same place and do the same ride all year long in the daylight, but going there at night makes it a completely different ride." says Steve Gioacchini, 35 of Burlington. Steve has been riding at night ever since he started mountain biking in 1989. Even before he had a bike light he would go for rides during clear, full-moon nights. "I have a hard time getting off my bike; I'm addicted."

Maneuvering his full-suspension Klein mountain bike over a fallen tree, Randy Hill, 31 also of Burlington, says, "It makes the easy stuff look hard." Hill started night riding in the early '90s. "Good bike lights were just starting to come out and sometimes there just wasn't enough time in the day," said Hill, who at the time, was working 12-hour days at a bike shop in Buffalo, N.Y.

Sounds like fun, right? It is, and it's real easy to get started once you know a few simple things.

The inexpensive toy-store lights and generator sets we had as kids are fine for making you more visible to traffic, but a true nighttime off-road adventure requires some serious candlepower.

With the growing popularity of night riding comes an increasing number of manufacturers offering a variety of lighting options.

The first thing you need to decide is whether you want a handlebar-mounted light or a helmet-mounted light. Most serious off-road night riders have both. From there the options can be dizzying: single or double beams, NiCad or NiMH batteries, digital or analog systems - and it doesn't stop there.

Some of the newest lights are using the technology seen in the latest Mercedes and Lexus headlights. These systems, called HID lights, which stands for high intensity discharge, use lower wattage than standard Halogen bulbs but emit a brighter, more even, white light.

Most lights have variable settings, offering a variety of brightness and battery run time. The brighter the light, the shorter the run time of the battery.

The last thing to keep in mind is the cost. Be prepared when you go shopping. The prices will give you as much of a headache as staring directly into one of these lights. You can expect to spend between $100 and $500 for a single light. One of the best things about these systems is that the good ones come with chargers and battery packs that, if cared for properly, will last a long time under some fairly strenuous conditions.

A quality bike shop will be able to take some of the headache of shopping away by showing you lots of options and answering any questions about the different lighting systems available for the type of riding you want to do. They might also be able to hook you up with some fellow night riders to take you out on a dark and wooded adventure.

Now grab some friends and go out and enjoy the night like never before. Just remember that as the days get shorter, the nights get colder, so dress for excess, shed layers as needed and keep an eye out for glowing sets of eyes.