Night Rider

Apologies to those of you whose hearts skipped a beat and were suddenly transported back to the 80's TV show starring David Hasselhoff and Kitt. Those of us in the southern hemisphere are moving into shorter days and more time spent riding in the dark.  Yes, we are Night Riders and the only flashing lights you'll see are those which adorn our bikes.

Having to work back late I was faced with a more than a few choices as to how I was going to get home

1. a lift home with my work colleague, which would have meant leaving the bike at work
2. riding to the nearest railway station and catching two trains, which would have meant having to face those smug Collingwood supporters whose team had just had given my beloved Richmond a thumping at the MCG
3. get a taxi, which is no easy thing in that neighbourhood at that time on a Friday night
4. ride home on the road, which only takes 40min to cover the 18km, but still left me more exposed to the odd idiot on the road
5. take the bike path and ride 15 of 22km on a poorly lit trail

With the knowledge that cycling is safer when you separate yourself from cars and equipped with a high visibility vest, a fully charged twin beam headlight and flashing lights front and back, I took on the Koonung Trail bike path in the dark.  Now I normally avoid this path during winter evenings as my return trip home against the flow of traffic means having to contend with being blinded by oncoming cyclists which is unnerving when you've got a metre of path to yourself and the odd moving chicane in the form of unlit pedestrians.  It was 10pm so I figured I should have the path to myself and for the most part I did apart from one well lit late night dog walker and another not so well lit walker.

Night riding on a winding trail takes on a whole new experience.  Blind corners and visibility to 20 metres means you're not going to break any records.  Adjusting to different levels of light and light sources coming from houses, street and tunnel lights also creates a constant challenge of keeping focused on the next 10 metres. The dark bitumen and concrete path was saturated after 3 days of rain so the road surface didn't reflect any light.  To be honest I was more concerned with colliding with some nocturnal wildlife than an insomniac.

Anyhow, option 5 was the pick of the night.  It was a great ride and after not being out in the pitch black for a while it reminded me of a few things I'd forgotten in the last 6 months

• a helmet mounted headlight is preferable to handlebar mounted, as being able to see where you are going next is more important than what's immediately in front of you
• a helmet mounted headlight also allows you to make more direct contact with drivers entering from side streets
• have two lights on front and back, one with a solid beam and the other a flasher, more relevant on the road, but just as important as a backup
• exercise caution, even though you feel like you know every corner and bump of your regular ride and could probably ride it with your eyes closed, when there's insufficient visibility to make snap decisions you have to slow down
• if it all seems too much, just take one of the other options or go out to the shed, set your bike up on the wind trainer and turn the lights off

I'll definitely be channeling my inner David Hassellhoff seeking cheap thrills and doing a few more night rides as and when the opportunities present themselves. Is night riding your thing and what suggestions do you have for making your night ride and safe and enjoyable one?