Yesterday I did my first MUni night ride. It was extremely warm for
the time of the year (18 deg C), and I hadn’t ridden for over a week
due to time constraints. Moreover, after all that I head read about
night riding being so nice, I thought I should give it a go. But I
didn’t yet like it as much as I anticipated from stories here on RSU.
I have a head torch with eight white leds, and I attached it to my
helmet. It was well after sunset. I ran it on full power most of the
time (the alternative is half power in which only four LEDs are lit).
There was some star light and quite a bit of environmental lights
(nearby cities and such), no moon.
Spot or flood? I don’t know… at 4 m distance the main beam is 1 to 2
m wide, and there is stray light outside of that over an angle of more
than 90 deg.
Perhaps the light is not bright enough? I don’t know a lumen value or
so, but the lamp’s rated battery life (full power) on 4 AA batteries
is 70 hours. With the ambient light conditions mentioned, the beam
reaches 10 - 20 m.
I also found the lighting quite flat, with the torch being so close to
my eyes. Most bumps I simply didn’t see and I UPDd on quite a few of
them because of it. (Even though I rode on familiar terrain.)
So I wonder:
Do I need better equipment, espscially brighter?
Can I improve on lamp placement, e.g. on the frame?
Do I need to get used to it?
Do I need to accept much lower ‘dexterity’ on the uni?
Klaas Bil - Newsgroup Addict
“dit dit diddle diddle dit dit did-it, dit dit diddle diddle dit dit did-it, dit diddle dit dit dit diddle dit dit, diddle-diddle-diddle-diddle-dit dit diddle diddle dit dit did-it,… - Spudman”
A brighter light definitely helps. I’d say if you’re as blind as me- a minimum 20W Halogen for non-technical MUni, and for misty/shadowy/techincal stuff, you need 35W. A wide angle beam helps too- no point trying to follow this bright dot in front of you- you want to see everything.
It’s not so much a case of having less dexterity, but being able to adjust to the occasional unexpected bump. So stay relaxed, have your seat slightly lower, and have your hands on the handle at all times.
It’s a while since I rode in the dark, but I used to enjoy it.
There are two approaches: make it light, or enjoy the experince of riding in the dark.
The “make it light” approach would involve powerful halogen lights. These would tend to wash out some of the detail o fthe ground ahead of you, but at least you’d have a good general view of the hazards ahead. People who do 24-hour races use this approach.
For me, the “enjoy the experience of riding in the dark” approach is more fun. This involves a small LED head torch, and possibly a hand-held Mini Maglite or similar. I ride more slowly, using my limited illumination to warn me of major hazards, and relying on feel and reflex to deal with minor bumps and changes in the surface. (A good practice is to ride across uneven ground or deep grass with your eyes shut. As long as there are no hazards you should be able to do this for long distances at a steady speed.)
So, either try to treat night riding as just like daytime riding, in which case get better lights, or treat it as a new experience, ride more slowly, and enjoy the peace and solitude.
One of my nicest riding experiences: cruising back towards my parked car along a country lane in the Vale of Belvoir, perched high on my Coker, able to see over the hedges. To one side, the last dying rays of the sun gilding the clouds on the horizon, to the other side, only dark silhouettes, and around me, almost complete silence except for the faint buzzing of the tyre on the tarmac.
i’ve done a 24 hour mtn bike race on a muni. i zip tied 2 mini mag lights to my helmet and held in my free arm a backpacking headlamp. all this would have been fine for jogging through the woods, sadly it left me with far too little detail to make good time on my night laps. you need a really bright halogen based headlamp. i’d recommend spending at least $200 if you plan on going offroad in the dark. i’ve ridden on a fairly well lit college campus and had no problems not running any of my own lights, but then again it’s all smooth and pretty easy even it isn’t semi-dark.
I converted a D-Cell Maglite into a 12 volt 20 watt halogen helmet mount for less than $50 total, including the price of the light. I originally built it for my mountain bike. It throws a huge amount of light out. On a dark back road i can nod my head and cars switch from high to low beams. Hitting jumps on the trails was thrilling as all getout.
With MUni speeds being slower I’d guess that modifying it to a 6 volt 10 watt setup may work ok and allow you to shave a few lbs. off the battery weight.
Here’s the link on how to do it yourself and a pic. of the finished product. I use mini-bungee straps to afix it to my center vent.
Now there is an interesting idea that I might just be daft enough to try. I
have managed grass at night without other than background light but to ride
completely blind is going to be quite a giant leap for me. Relying
completely on feel for balance. First dry night, local park, and get the
ambulance ready
Nao
The human race is a species that is so incredibly intelligent that it can
invent Gods to explain anything it does not understand. .
On Sun, 30 Oct 2005 06:25:50 -0600, Trapper wrote:
>I converted a D-Cell Maglite into a 12 volt 20 watt halogen helmet mount
Thanks for the link, I like that setup. Don’t know when I would have
time to make something like it though. Question: doesn’t it run too
hot?
I also liked Mikefule’s approach of just riding in the dark. That’s
sort of what I did already, except that I didn’t bring the right
attitude to appreciate it. It’s a mindset thing, and would cost no
additional money or time. Worth a second try.
Klaas Bil - Newsgroup Addict
“dit dit diddle diddle dit dit did-it, dit dit diddle diddle dit dit did-it, dit diddle dit dit dit diddle dit dit, diddle-diddle-diddle-diddle-dit dit diddle diddle dit dit did-it,… - Spudman”
Yeah, riding in the dark is a lot about using leg feel rather than your eyes to take you over obstacles. You also can’t choose pedal position on obstacles. It’s worth practicing things like riding over obstacles in many different pedal positions if you can be bothered. The best daytime practice for night riding though is to load up on sugar and find a trail that you can ride, but only just, and ride it absolutely as fast as you can pedal. Riding really fast uses similar skills of feeling obstacles with your legs because you don’t spot them.
I use a 12W halogen bulb for most riding, with a 20w for really tricky stuff. This lets you ride super fast and ride proper trails at night, but still isn’t anywhere as near as daylight. Compared to your light, it has a 4Ah battery pack, which is probably at least 4 times as much as your AA batteries and the equivalent of 13 batteries and lasts just under 4 hours on 12W.
Fencers sometimes practise moves with their eyes closed. This trains them to react to tiny changes of pressure on the blade as their opponent prepares for an attack. Fencers also learn to react to the feedback through their hands as they take control of an opponent’s blade with their own, and their opponent either pushes back or yields. This is referred to as “sentiment de fer” which might translate nicely if slightly inaccurately as “the feel of the steel”.
In the same way, a unicyclist should respond to the “feel of the wheel” - the information coming up through the uni through the various points of contact: the pedals, the saddle, the inside of the thighs (if standing up to pedal) and the front of the saddle/handle. Hold the handle lightly - don’t even grip it - and you will know what the wheel is doing under you.
As with fencing, you use your eyes to see the big picture, and your “sentiment” to deal with the small picture.
So, night riding, you can emphasise the small picture by riding slowly, avoid big obstacles, and rely on the “feel of the wheel” to deal with minor humps and bumps and changes in surface. It’s fun, and it will make you a better rider.
