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Night riding...



 
 
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  #1  
Old January 12th 05, 02:59 AM
Absent Husband
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Default Night riding...

Hi all,

Was driving home with my wife last night after movie & dinner (kids
being baby-sat at their aunt's - woohoo!!) at the late (for us!) time
of 10:45pm.

As I drove through the "Woolloongabba 5-ways" intersection (right next
to the Gabba cricket ground for non-BrisVegans), I saw a cyclist
(roadie) go powering passed.

He was dressed up in some pretty nice gear, but couldn't pick what sort
of bike it was (too dark!). He had a flashing rear led, but couldn't
see any front light to speak of...

Anyway - I think this was pretty silly (and let's face it - I know
everything!!). Although, can see the appeal with cooler night, and
relatively less traffic than during the day.

So - just wondering if many people venture out for a road ride in the
late PM, or if this guy is an exception and most think it is a
bad/unsafe/whatever idea??????

Cheers all,
Absent Husband

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  #2  
Old January 12th 05, 03:04 AM
Tamyka Bell
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Default Night riding...

Absent Husband wrote:

Hi all,

Was driving home with my wife last night after movie & dinner (kids
being baby-sat at their aunt's - woohoo!!) at the late (for us!) time
of 10:45pm.

As I drove through the "Woolloongabba 5-ways" intersection (right next
to the Gabba cricket ground for non-BrisVegans), I saw a cyclist
(roadie) go powering passed.

He was dressed up in some pretty nice gear, but couldn't pick what sort
of bike it was (too dark!). He had a flashing rear led, but couldn't
see any front light to speak of...

Anyway - I think this was pretty silly (and let's face it - I know
everything!!). Although, can see the appeal with cooler night, and
relatively less traffic than during the day.

So - just wondering if many people venture out for a road ride in the
late PM, or if this guy is an exception and most think it is a
bad/unsafe/whatever idea??????

Cheers all,
Absent Husband


I regularly see people cycling (training) and running around UQ late at
night, I see cycle commuters late at night also. I also saw a lot of
this at the Gold Coast. They tend to stick to main streets where the
lighting is good, I think the fiveways is okay, but if he was heading
for the SE Fwy bike path I wouldn't be doing that late at night because
it'd be really easy to get trapped by some psycho killer people, I'd
take the main roads instead. Plus most of the really psycho drivers go
along the quiet back suburbs, they do 30 km/h over the speed limit out
the back of Rochedale etc, and I reckon you'd get killed pretty quick
cycling around there after dark.

T
--

______________________________________

Tamyka Bell, PhD Student
School of Human Movement Studies
The University Of Queensland
w: +61-7-33656105
m: +61-4-00782972
e:
______________________________________
  #3  
Old January 12th 05, 03:13 AM
Marty Wallace
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Default Night riding...


"Absent Husband" wrote in message
oups.com...
Hi all,

Was driving home with my wife last night after movie & dinner (kids
being baby-sat at their aunt's - woohoo!!) at the late (for us!) time
of 10:45pm.

As I drove through the "Woolloongabba 5-ways" intersection (right next
to the Gabba cricket ground for non-BrisVegans), I saw a cyclist
(roadie) go powering passed.

He was dressed up in some pretty nice gear, but couldn't pick what sort
of bike it was (too dark!). He had a flashing rear led, but couldn't
see any front light to speak of...

Anyway - I think this was pretty silly (and let's face it - I know
everything!!). Although, can see the appeal with cooler night, and
relatively less traffic than during the day.

So - just wondering if many people venture out for a road ride in the
late PM, or if this guy is an exception and most think it is a
bad/unsafe/whatever idea??????

Cheers all,
Absent Husband


I do most of my riding at night, to the point where riding in the day time
seems strange. I use both a red and blue flashing light on the rear which
seems to calm most traffic on the road. On really late nights I try and
sneak back through town so the locals don't think I'm weird, (too late
maybe). I always take my MP3 player and if the music's good I barely notice
the distance. Much less traffic at night, starry skys like you wouldn't
believe and nice and cool. You end up with a moon-tan instead of a sun-tan.
One of my friends recently called me The Night Rider (from Mad Max).
I like to run in the late afternoons when the sun is below the tree line,
preferably on bush tracks.

Marty


  #4  
Old January 12th 05, 03:27 AM
TimC
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Default Night riding...

On Wed, 12 Jan 2005 at 02:13 GMT, Marty Wallace (aka Bruce)
was almost, but not quite, entirely unlike tea:
"Absent Husband" wrote in message
oups.com...
So - just wondering if many people venture out for a road ride in the
late PM, or if this guy is an exception and most think it is a
bad/unsafe/whatever idea??????


You're asking about road bikes aren't you? 'cause I do half my
_commuting_ at night.

I do most of my riding at night, to the point where riding in the day time
seems strange. I use both a red and blue flashing light on the rear which
seems to calm most traffic on the road. On really late nights I try and


Impersonating police? Quite an offence. Over the weekend, just coming
back into Lilydale from Warburton, some guy passes us on the left as
we are turning right into the station, and he lets a siren off. Of
course, it's just a couple of yobbos in a beat up old commodore, and
it would have been nice if real police were around...

--
TimC -- http://astronomy.swin.edu.au/staff/tconnors/
cat ~/.signature
Electromagnetic pulse received (core dumped)
  #5  
Old January 12th 05, 03:37 AM
eddiec
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Default Night riding...


Like TimC I do a fair amount of commuting at night, but must admit tha
I rarely have as much fun as when I strap the halogens onto th
mountain bike and take a quick lap around the local bike and mt
trails... There's a weird solidarity thing with the other few peopl
out and about on those trails after 10pm! If my couch weren't s
inviting and comfortable when I got home I'd get out in the evenings
lot more often..

--
eddiec

  #6  
Old January 12th 05, 03:37 AM
eddiec
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Posts: n/a
Default Night riding...


Like TimC I do a fair amount of commuting at night, but must admit tha
I rarely have as much fun as when I strap the halogens onto th
mountain bike and take a quick lap around the local bike and mt
trails... There's a weird solidarity thing with the other few peopl
out and about on those trails after 10pm! If my couch weren't s
inviting and comfortable when I got home I'd get out in the evenings
lot more often..

--
eddiec

  #7  
Old January 12th 05, 04:35 AM
hippy
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Default Night riding...

"Absent Husband" wrote in message
So - just wondering if many people venture out for a road ride in the
late PM, or if this guy is an exception and most think it is a
bad/unsafe/whatever idea??????


Yes. Midnight training not out of the question..
Cooler, less cars, "different", fun..

It's almost certainly safer than my regular
peak-hour commute..

hippy


  #8  
Old January 12th 05, 04:44 AM
Theo Bekkers
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Default Night riding...

TimC wrote:

Impersonating police? Quite an offence. Over the weekend, just coming
back into Lilydale from Warburton, some guy passes us on the left as
we are turning right into the station, and he lets a siren off. Of
course, it's just a couple of yobbos in a beat up old commodore, and
it would have been nice if real police were around...


We were going home at 2am the other week from a bush fire. Three guys in the
big fire truck and me and another guy behind in the light tanker. Guy coming
the other way on high beam didn't dim, even after a couple of flicks from
the truck. The guys in the truck turned on their blue/red flashing beacons.
Instant dim of lights by the other guy. Impersonating a fire truck? :-)

Theo


  #9  
Old January 12th 05, 04:52 AM
LotteBum
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Default Night riding...


I've done a fair bit of night riding in the last couple of years. M
first ever night ride was at the Fellcrag 24 hour which scared the cra
out of me. Then I actually bought myself a good set of lights (Marw
Nightpro - awesome light) and started riding a longer way home fro
work.

I actually found riding at night fairly safe, although you do reall
need good lights. I wouldn't spend less than $30 on a flasher and
think my lights were around the $250 mark (which is quite reasonable i
you ask me!).

My night ride used to take me from the city, along the Coro driv
bikway, through UQ, down the back of Indooroopilly, across the bridge
down Oxley Road, Sherwood Road, Ipswich Road, Granard Road, Beaudeser
Road, Compton Road (there used to be a really scary bit going throug
Karawatha Forest there, but it's being upgraded now that I no longe
use it), then through a few dark streets in dodgyville...

I always found it very relaxing to ride in the evening, and it feel
like you are going a whole lot faster than you actually are.

Enough rambling. In all, night riding is quite safe if you have decen
lights

--
LotteBum

  #10  
Old January 12th 05, 05:16 AM
DRS
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Default Night riding...

"hippy" wrote in message

"Absent Husband" wrote in message
So - just wondering if many people venture out for a road ride in the
late PM, or if this guy is an exception and most think it is a
bad/unsafe/whatever idea??????


Yes. Midnight training not out of the question..
Cooler, less cars, "different", fun..

It's almost certainly safer than my regular
peak-hour commute..


With no front light?

--

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Q: What is the most annoying thing on Usenet?


 




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