rousseau

Especially when there's snow. Not on the roads themselves, which have to be dry, but everywhere else. The sheen from the white stuff brightens everything up, including one's mood.

It is an uplifting experience gliding through the frosty, silent night. It was -5C out there with light winds this evening, and I was perfectly warm for a good hour and a half. These last few years I've totally embraced winter riding. You can't get out as consistently as the rest of the year due to the occasional snow storm or stint of stupid cold, but nowadays the term "off-season" just means that you slow down a bit and consider every ride to be a gift. And on the days you can't ride? Just go to the Y to play basketball or something.

Anything to avoid the dreaded trainer. I haven't used mine at all in the last five years, and I've never been happier.

Bikewolf

You know, the view is even better during the day ;-)

Good thing you are having fun!
I love winter riding too, but as a commuter. I really enjoy the connection with the elements as it somehow makes me feel more alive.

OldTryGuy

Winter snow riding, night or day, when I was back north in Jersey was great. The hush was fabulous and couldn't help but think about Paul Simon's song


REALLY enjoy down here in SW FL a bit more since at 12:17AM this past Thursday I was out starting my 105 miler. Not the "snow hush" but still QUIET!

GreenAnvil

Cuyuna

GrainBrain

I have one of those lights you show, I bet two of them are quite illuminating!

There is a magic from riding at night in winter. The absolute best is winter night riding around during a holiday like Christmas. No one is outside.

I had written a note about the emptiness during Thanksgiving night riding from last year. It was really cool in that the streets were very empty, but all the local stores parking lots where packed full! Very surreal.

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rousseau

Commuting is different. It's gotta be, right? I've never actually done it myself. Nope, when I ride, it's only because I really want to ride. Which is a real privilege, I know.

Caveats about winter riding, during the night or day: I know my local roads really well. I know when they're dry. Black ice isn't much of a thing where I am save for relatively rare days we get freezing rain (and the day after if the temp drops), but I wouldn't be riding on those days anyway. I go a bit slower, and don't do any crazy cornering. I stay away from busy streets and roads.

Knocking on wood, I haven't had a puncture on a winter ride, but if I did I would be on the cell phone to my wife or a cab right away. The Campy Scirocco wheels I have are a bear to mount tires onto at the best of times. Actually, come to think of it, I did get a flat once on a winter ride. I had to call my wife to pick me up after trying, and failing, to replace my tube. Here's why:

GreenAnvil

mcours2006

I begin my commute at 6AM and I am done by 7, so in essence I am riding at night at this time of the year. It is quite serene on streets that are deserted, but extra care must be taken with the lone drivers who are out as they don't expect anyone else to be out either. I wouldn't, however, go out to joy ride at night. That's just inviting trouble.

raria

You stumbled across the secret sauce exclamation don't try to do summer rides of two plus hours during winter you just can't stay warm for that amount of time and any sort of sweat that you generate makes it quite miserable

TimothyH

I regularly ride three to four hours at night in below freezing temperatures. With the right gear it isn't a problem.

Hydration is the biggest issue. Cold beverages are just not appealing and routes are generally built around convenience stores where hot beverages are available.

Marcus_Ti

It is fun. Mean to stop and take out my cam, and never do. Either because it is well below freezing and want to keep warm/moving, or I'm in a hurry.

cthenn

You know what's even better? Riding at night in California, where it's like 50 degrees at night, and you can wear pretty much regular kit without freezing your ass off.

rousseau

"Joy ride"? Sounds like a puritanesque dismissal of riding for non-utilitarian reasons. The desire to experience joy is pretty much the only reason I ride. It's a reliable drug, too. Every hit is a good trip.

Riding on country roads at 8 pm in the dark is exponentially safer than commuting at 6 am in the dark. I mean, in the morning you've got barely awake and distracted drivers, and more of them. It's no contest.

rousseau

50 degrees! Holy crap. I experienced that once in Turkey on the coast. It was, literally, like an oven. Summers are regularly like that in the Middle East, from what I gather. No thanks.

mcours2006

Not being dismissive. I go on joy rides all the time, but I wouldn't do so in the dark, and certainly not in winter when a puddle in the afternoon could turn into a patch of invisible ice by 8PM.

I am not going to argue with you whether it's safer to ride at 8 PM on darkened country roads with 80 kph limit or on the wide, well-lit secondary/residential roads with 50 kph limit, but I will say that there are distracted drivers out at all hours of the day. I don't know if they are more distracted at 6AM or 6PM, but there are certainly more of them at 6PM.

dmanthree

I used to road right at night, and did so for decades. But lately my area and roads are a lot busier, so I stopped. It just wasn't any fun any more. So now I Zwift, which, while no substitute for road riding, is OK.

rousseau

I know my roads and am careful. For example, it stayed around 0 all day today and there was no precipitation, so there are no puddles around to turn into ice. On the rare day when it rains and then the temperature quickly drops below freezing, I just don't go out.

I'm gonna argue! Darkened country roads mean fewer visual distractions. My taillights are distinct and highly visible to the one car I encounter coming up behind me every five minutes or so. Much more so than on a well-lit street with regular traffic and other visual distractions. Not to mention that drivers in town are likely to be more preoccupied with navigating to their destinations than those cruising along a country road.

I don't go out at 6 pm. I go out at 8 pm when rush hour is over. There are still evening shoppers out there, but I avoid busy streets on my way out of town, so I don't encounter them.

There's no quantitative evidence out there, but my anecdotal experience over the past five years has convinced me that night rides in the countryside are unequivocally safer than night rides in urban settings. Mostly to do with the comparative lack of traffic. I never have close calls out in the country.

BikingTech

I just got back from a short grocery hop, 6:15 pm my time now. Temp is around 33F and no wind. I love riding on the first night of snow because in my area the roads are empty, benefits of a farming community. Sadly though, we haven't had any standing snow yet. As I was approaching my house a cop taking a break at the church down the road yelled at me, "Is there a day you don't ride?!" I just laughed because my day was just made!

mcours2006

Yes, single-point data is always compelling and convincing. You are, of course, entitled to have your opinion.

rumrunn6

Steamer

Fahrenheit.

rousseau

Is that a Jewish name?

cthenn

Yes, sorry, I guess I should have stipulated that Actually it's been colder here lately, dropping into the low 40s. (Fahrenheit...)

Steamer

congratulations on your superiority.