Discover a whole new world on your favorite bike trails at night. Ordinary rocks become gnomes, dead trees become towering giants and your adrenaline glands supply a little extra torque to your pedals.
For some, night mountain biking provides a thrill that they cannot find while riding in the daytime. For others, the night is the only time for them to ride, being busy with things like school and work. But whatever the reason, safety must be observed when riding your mountain bike after sunset. Here are a few tips to keep you out of harm’s way during your night mountain biking sessions:
- Invest in a good lighting system. A lighting system is the most important thing in night mountain biking. Lighting systems include headlights (attached to the handlebar), taillights, and may also include helmet lights. It is advisable, however, to have both a headlight and a helmet light since headlights only let you see where your handlebar is pointed, while helmet lights allow you to see where your head is turned. Taillights are necessary for riders behind you to see where you are going. Get headlights that are lightweight, bright, and can last for a long time. Helmet lights should also be lightweight, but not as bright as your headlight.
- Check the duration of your lighting system. It’s important to know how long those lights are going to last. If they are only going to last for 4 hours, then don’t ride beyond 4 hours. Otherwise, you’ll be left in the darkness.
- Never ride alone. If an accident occurs while riding in the night, no one might be able to help you. So always ride in a group, and never stray away from it. It’s also a good thing to carry a warning device such as a whistle or a horn to alert your fellow riders in case of an emergency.
- Familiarize yourself with the trail. Go through the trail a few times during daytime before riding it in the night. Things will look different once the sun goes down, so it is best to have a good knowledge of the trail so as to prevent confusion. Also, exploring new trails during the night can lead to accidents and even getting lost.
- Slow down. The night makes things harder to see, so it is recommended to step your riding pace down a bit. Take a little more time to examine what’s in front of you, and adjust accordingly. With that said, expect night rides to be a bit longer than daytime rides.
- Wear bright clothing. This will make you more visible in the dark. Neon colors like yellow and orange should do the trick.
- Wear protective eyewear. You can never tell if some bugs or low-hanging branches are about to poke you in the eyes, so you’ll need to protect them all the time. A pair of clear glasses or goggles is what you need.
- Bring a small flashlight along. Flat tires and other bike-related accidents are inevitable. A pocket-sized flashlight will come in handy when taking care of these things. Using it instead of your helmet light will allow you to conserve the latter’s battery life.
- Train, train, and train. Mountain biking is a physically-demanding sport, so make sure you go through the proper training exercises before trying this activity so as to prevent injuries.
