I've always liked biking after dark but in this time of social distancing I am enjoying it even more for numerous reasons. With Minnesota's current Stay at Home Order people are doing their exercise or getting out of the house for a while during daylight hours. This has caused congestion on local trails and in parks making social distancing more difficult. This is where biking after the sun goes down is the perfect time to get in that daily ride. In this post I will go over the benefits of riding at night and provide you with some helpful tips to be safe and have fun.
The trails at your favorite park are almost empty, go ride them. Just be sure to abide by the park's visitor hours.
Get out a little before dark to take in the sunset. I've seen a lot of sunsets from the saddle and it never gets old.
Some areas around the city that have too much traffic to ride safely during the day have almost none once the sun goes down. This is when I ride the areas that I normally would not go during daylight hours.
Mountain biking at night is a blast and in most cases you'll have the trail to yourself. Work on those night singletrack skills and experience that old familiar trail in a new light. I ride with a light on my bars and one on my helmet so I can see better through the turns, find my line and navigate obstacles scattered along the trail.
I've been doing a lot of bike from home rides recently and riding at night is a fun way to explore my local trails in a new way. Most trail users have gone home by the time the sun sets making it a great time for riding and practicing safe social distancing.
Tips for riding at night
Drivers may not see cyclists after dark so increase your odds of being seen by using reflectives placed on you or your bike. While lights will get you seen from front and behind, reflectives will let drivers know you are there from many other angles up to 500 feet away. I use Brilliant Reflective's Stick-on Reflective Strips strategically placed on my bike for maximum visibility when riding at night.
During night rides I will adjust my headlight beam frequently depending on the speed I am traveling. The last thing I want to do is overdrive my headlight and hit that pothole or fallen tree branch I didn't see.
Intersections are dangerous during daylight hours and the darkness can make a cyclist even less visible. Approach with caution and use your lights and positioning to let motorists you are there.
The last thing you want when riding at night is to have a light that is giving you a low battery indicator. Make sure your lights are fully charged before a ride and know the length of run time for its various modes so you don't cut your battery short. For longer rides I will bring a backup headlight in case I use up the battery on the first light before the end of my ride. Then I can simply swap it out and continue riding illuminated.
Whether you're a mountain biker, roadie, graveleur or trail rider, getting out on your bike at night is very enjoyable and easy to practice safe social distancing. The winds have died down, people are at home, the nocturnal creatures are starting to come out and the trail or road is all yours. Night rides are the perfect way to unwind after a long day or to take that next bike adventure. For more information on riding at night visit the Night Riding section of Bike MN's Minnesota Bicycling Handbook. Be safe, be seen!
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