Easy fire trail, but soooo dark. Very eerie. Keep waiting for the bogie man to leap out. But main issue was concentration required to see the trail. Even with a very bright light, I was very nervous and took a few UPDs. Very tense. Tense uni doesn’t work. 15 minutes was enough. Temperature was not an issue – was actually overheated. My friends suggested that I do it alone, without cellphone service, during hunting season. Well…2 out of 3.
Maybe with friends and blasting Led Zeppelin out of backpack? That could work.
a long time ago I remember a Muni night ride near Farnborough in England with a brit rider.
T’was raining (would you believe it :p). My lamp was weak but the other rider had a fantastic projector.
One of my best Muni ride ever! Woods during the night are eerie ! and mud tastes so good
(the only problem was that I was so covered with mud that I waited for the landlady to look the other way before entering my bed and breakfeast ;))
so try group riding and listen to the music of the woods!
I love riding the deep, dark spooky trails at night!
I usually do it with a friend which helps the nerves, but its fun alone if you’re feeling crazy. I just strap a bright light to my head and keep it looking where I’m going. Yeah the rough stuff is far more difficult, but eventually you get used to doing it by feel rather than by sight, which helps your daytime riding too!
Only been out a couple of times this year, but man, there is something special about cutting through the woods full speed on a trail you know pretty well in the pitch black. The right music definitely helps. I like Nujabes. Singletrack keeps your mind on the task at hand. Maybe you could also use that zombie runner game on your phone… that’d keep you going nice and fast. : P
I don’t like it either. Even with light, my depth perception of bumps was skewed, so I had too many UPDs, and I couldn’t see my pedals when I needed to re-mount. Plus I have an irrational fear of mountain lions.
I looooooove night riding! I ride with a 750Lumen light mounted on my helmet. I like the element of surprise, the terrain doesn’t look the same. I’ve ridden the trails here about a thousand time, being able to go ride at different times of the day makes it a bit more interesting.
When I was a beginner, I once rode on my street in the dark. I had trouble keeping my balance. I attributed this to my difficulty reckoning the horizon. I no longer have this problem, and riding in the dark (on the street) is not a big deal. If there’s nothing in front of me, I can now ride with my eyes closed.
Riding on trails in the dark–adds another challenge: not seeing the bumps prior to riding over them. Part of learning unicycling, I think, is developing quicker reflexes, being able to respond almost immediately to a change in the landscape. As a beginner, it was necessary to see obstacles in front of me, because I needed more time to react to them / prepare for them.
No, I haven’t tried off roading in the dark. I live in a populated area with a lot of light pollution. The meaning of dark may vary from rider to rider. I could probably ride some local trails without a light and see well enough to avoid riding off a cliff. However, my job affords me time to ride each day before the sun goes down.
Most of the time just now the only riding I do is in the dark off road. Its hard, but I certainly see the payoff in my riding when I do get the chance to get out without needing lights!
Rain also adds to the challenge, I seem to get a lot of glare from my head torch!
I tried riding in the dark once in the forest on a dirt road and that went really well. Riding in the rain on uni or bike, or doing anything in the rain is not my thing, but during winter when not riding for longer than a week, makes me just drawn to the uni, so in weekend rain or no, I just neeeed to ride
We just have to ride…no matter the weather. Last night it was 20 degrees…2 nights before was rain… Next, the snow will be here and we’ll find a way. It’s a family thing, too. We just enjoy it so much and find it great to spend time together in this way. My daughter hadn’t joined us for 3 rides until last night… it was great having the “gang” back together again.
I like to night ride but I have been limiting it to jogging trail type terrain and not single track. I do get the extra UPD occasionally but that isn’t problematic.
Used a weak little 250 lumen helmet light for the Lights Under Louisville last Christmas and vowed about a mile again “never again”. Got a couple of 900 lumen MagicShine cheap ($40) cree lights. I put one on my helmet and one on my handlebars. 1800 lumens made a night and day difference this year. The kids got along fine on their bicycles both years with simple flashlights zip tied to the handlebars which tells me it’s more important for us unicyclists to actually see the bumps we are about to hit.
My favorite 3 MTB trails are in parks that close at night so I don’t get a chance at much nighttime mUni unless I get caught out in it but I do a fair bit of Cokering asphalt at night.
My new set up KH 36 bare aluminum, non painted, polished up real nicely! 4lbs lighter than my Nightrider with handlebar and heavy Coker offroad tire. Darn , so light and nimble it almost feels like Im riding the 29er. My first ride on the 125s at night, next ride I should be able switch to the 110s without a problem ;)20151228_184116_opt.jpg
