Winter seems to still be here, even though its technically spring now! Thats if you live in Britain and have experience all the snow and super cold spells over the last month.. Anyway despite the crazy weather I’ve been managing to get my regular mid-week night ride in. So heres my top tips that will hopefully get you out and wanting to ride in the dark!
Lights!
Lights, it seems pretty obvious right? But buying a good quality set of lights will make you enjoy your night rides even more! (See Liv Lights) The best lighting combination is having a powerful and wide beam light on your bars and a lower powered but more focused spot on your helmet. The light on the bar will illuminate the trail ahead giving you more confidence whereas the helmet light will be there for when you’re checking out the next section of the trail and seeing around that berm. I would say that getting a powerful light for your bars is a must – you’ll need a around 2000 lumens plus, less for more straightforward, less technical riding and 600-1000 lumens for a helmet mount! This will allow you to see far enough without overpowering those all important shadows created by your bar mount.
Take a bag
Taking a bag is definitely a good idea! When you’re out on the hills and you’re miles away from your car or home it’s always a good thing to be prepared especially when its cold and dark..
- Liv Multi Tool
- Liv Tyre Levers
- Spare innertube
- Hand pump – Liv Control Mini
- Spare Layers – Delphin Womens Rain Jacket / Norsa X Womens Long Finger Winter Glove
- Spare torch – phone torch will do (just incase they run out of charge or your on the hill for longer than expected)
- Phone
- Snacks
- Water – PourFast DualFlow Bottle (600cc)
- Mini first Aid-kit
- Some money (always nice to make a stop at the pub!)
Plan your ride
Nothing worse than being lost in the dark! Ive had that experience a once or twice and its not so much fun. Go ride somewhere you’ve already been and know well! Its hard seeing the trails in the dark and its so much more enjoyable if you know where you’re going and whats coming up next 🙂
Night ride buddies
I would definitely recommend riding with a riding buddy and not risking going it alone! Its waaaaaaay more fun riding with people in the dark than lone wolfing it and not to mention a million times safer. I personally wouldn’t do a night ride on my own for safety reasons.. If you’re struggling to find people to ride with in the evenings theres loads of places you can look for MTB cycling groups in your local area. Try your local bike shop as normally they’ve got a mid week ride out and if they don’t know of any local clubs try good old Facebook! Facebook has loads of groups with members that regularly go on mid week night rides and loads of groups that are female specific if you’d rather ride with other girls 🙂 Heres a few of my favourite MTB Groups that have loads of awesome members that are sure to be able to help with information in your local area!
- MTBChix&Trails
- MTB Divas
- Dame Cycling Forest of Dean
- GirlMTNbiker
- MTBaddicts
Its something I look forward to the most during the week as its way more fun that going for a run or to the gym! So yeah! Get out there and ride your bike 🙂
Alyssa Podesta 