Night Ride

I have been riding for a lot of years and I think last Thursday night was
the best ride of my life. Well, at least the best ride this season.
Someone had the bright idea to try a night ride. I was skeptical to say the
least and a little bit nervous. But after a couple of miles I was able to
relax and enjoy the ride. I couldn't believe how much fun it was. The air
temp was just right and the wind has died down. We even had a deer cross the
road 100 feet in front of us. Cars were even more courteous then ever
giving us a lot of room. We all had a great time and we even averaged over
18mph.



Monty



Here is the email sent out by the ride organizer.



It was July 29th, 2004, an ordinary day, much like any other Thursday.
Until 9:00 PM, that is...


At that moment, a collection of flashing red taillights and ultra-bright LCD
high beams converged upon a vacant parking lot. Ghostly, images of lucre,
carbon, and rubber hovered between the lights. A surreal mass of would-be
specters and apparitions began to swarm. and then... the Night Ride was
born.

It was a blast of course. About a dozen bikes did the 24-mile Fisk-loop
last night. It was a surprisingly exhilarating experience. It was so much
fun that we decided to make it a weekly event. Every Thursday, 9:00 PM, at
the church lot! Bring your LCD headlights and flashing red taillights.
Don't forget your helmet!

I have been riding for a lot of years and I think last Thursday night
was the best ride of my life. Well, at least the best ride this
season. Someone had the bright idea to try a night ride. I was
skeptical to say the least and a little bit nervous. But after a
couple of miles I was able to relax and enjoy the ride. I couldn't
believe how much fun it was. The air temp was just right and the wind
has died down. We even had a deer cross the road 100 feet in front of
us. Cars were even more courteous then ever giving us a lot of room.
We all had a great time and we even averaged over 18mph.

I love the night air too. Personally, I try to stay off roads at night as I
am concerned about carless drivers, but side streets, trails, etc. are
terribly fun after dark. Some friends and I were out til 5 am last night

--
Jem Berkes
http://www.sysdesign.ca/

On Mon, 02 Aug 2004 02:04:33 GMT, Jem Berkes wrote:

I have been riding for a lot of years and I think last Thursday night
was the best ride of my life. Well, at least the best ride this
season. Someone had the bright idea to try a night ride. I was
skeptical to say the least and a little bit nervous. But after a
couple of miles I was able to relax and enjoy the ride. I couldn't
believe how much fun it was. The air temp was just right and the wind
has died down. We even had a deer cross the road 100 feet in front of
us. Cars were even more courteous then ever giving us a lot of room.
We all had a great time and we even averaged over 18mph.

I love the night air too. Personally, I try to stay off roads at night
as I
am concerned about carless drivers, but side streets, trails, etc. are
terribly fun after dark. Some friends and I were out til 5 am last night


Riding at night is definitely fun and even more so the last few days
with a full moon. It is nice to ride out to a deserted spot and take
in the scenery by moonlight at midnight. Stars are great once you
get away from city glare.
Have fun,
Bill Baka


--
Using M2, Opera's revolutionary e-mail client: http://www.opera.com/m2/

Riding at night is definitely fun and even more so the last few days
with a full moon. It is nice to ride out to a deserted spot and take
in the scenery by moonlight at midnight. Stars are great once you
get away from city glare.

Yes, the full moon last night was incredible. By the way, with respect to
lighting --

If I'm on the street, I always use lights! I have two small lightweight 3-
white LED units called "beamer" from Planet bike, bought at Mountain
Equipment Co-Op (Canadian). Costs $17 CDN or $12 US. Runs on 2 x AA, steady
on or blinking -- which is great for seeing reflectors up ahead.

I have two of these lights on my front handlebars, quick snap on/off.
Draining 92 mA @ 3 v (steady mode), power usage is over a quarter watt so I
don't know how long the batteries will last. But I like the units because
they are small, use common batteries, and are decently bright. Doubles as
portable flash light when I need it.

--
Jem Berkes
http://www.sysdesign.ca/

On Mon, 02 Aug 2004 03:36:23 GMT, Jem Berkes wrote:

Riding at night is definitely fun and even more so the last few days
with a full moon. It is nice to ride out to a deserted spot and take
in the scenery by moonlight at midnight. Stars are great once you
get away from city glare.

Yes, the full moon last night was incredible. By the way, with respect to
lighting --

If I'm on the street, I always use lights! I have two small lightweight
3-
white LED units called "beamer" from Planet bike, bought at Mountain
Equipment Co-Op (Canadian). Costs $17 CDN or $12 US. Runs on 2 x AA,
steady
on or blinking -- which is great for seeing reflectors up ahead.

I have two of these lights on my front handlebars, quick snap on/off.
Draining 92 mA @ 3 v (steady mode), power usage is over a quarter watt
so I
don't know how long the batteries will last. But I like the units because
they are small, use common batteries, and are decently bright. Doubles as
portable flash light when I need it.

Lights I need, since I rode by moonlight and could see just fine but
the cars couldn't see me. All of two cars I saw the whole night so not
a big concern. I wish I had about $400 to burn and then I
could buy one of those dynamo hubs.
If it's fun do it.
Bill Baka

--
Using M2, Opera's revolutionary e-mail client: http://www.opera.com/m2/

Jem Berkes wrote in part:


I love the night air too. Personally, I try to stay off roads at night as I
am concerned about carless drivers...

Carless drivers are indeed dangerous. They wander around aimlessly,
confused and afraid. You never know what they're going to do. Best to
give them a wide berth.

Robert

Bill Baka wrote:



Riding at night is definitely fun and even more so the last few days
with a full moon. It is nice to ride out to a deserted spot and take
in the scenery by moonlight at midnight. Stars are great once you
get away from city glare.

All very true.

It's sad that there are so many kids growing up who have never seen the
Milky Way.


--
--------------------+
Frank Krygowski [To reply, remove rodent and vegetable dot com,
replace with cc.ysu dot edu]

Monty wrote:
I have been riding for a lot of years and I think last Thursday night was
the best ride of my life. Well, at least the best ride this season.
Someone had the bright idea to try a night ride. I was skeptical to say
the
least and a little bit nervous. But after a couple of miles I was able
to
relax and enjoy the ride. I couldn't believe how much fun it was. The
air
temp was just right and the wind has died down. We even had a deer cross
the
road 100 feet in front of us. Cars were even more courteous then ever
giving us a lot of room. We all had a great time and we even averaged
over
18mph.

I enjoy riding at night. But I am also well aware that 75% of bike
fatalities occur at night, while 75% of bike riding occurs in the day. It
requires proper lighting and due caution.

snip

Monty probably didn't write:
At that moment, a collection of flashing red taillights and ultra-bright
LCD
high beams

No such thing as an ultra-bright LCD.

Austin

RobertH wrote:
Jem Berkes wrote in part:


I love the night air too. Personally, I try to stay off roads at night
as I
am concerned about carless drivers...

Carless drivers are indeed dangerous. They wander around aimlessly,
confused and afraid. You never know what they're going to do. Best to
give them a wide berth.

Actually, most of the carless drivers I know stay at home, sitting with a
beer, and complain about not having a car. That doesn't sound dangerous to
me.

Austin

Jem Berkes wrote:
I love the night air too. Personally, I try to stay off roads at night as I
am concerned about carless drivers, but side streets, trails, etc. are
terribly fun after dark. Some friends and I were out til 5 am last night

Some of the fun of riding at night is that the six-lane arterial which
would be packed with cars at rush hour is now deserted. This allows you
to try some other routes which you normally wouldn't find enjoyable
during the day. Four- and six-lane roads are especially nice, since you
can often take a lane for yourself without bothering anybody.


--
Frederic Briere *

= IS NO MO http://www.abacomsucks.com =