Ask the cyclists who choose the dark of night to ride the trails in the mountains outside L.A. why they don’t do it in the daylight, and you’ll hear a lot about the business of daytime schedules. You’ll also hear about opportunities to see wildlife–owls and bear and even mountain lion– that don’t happen in broad daylight. Keep asking and you’ll come to the real reason: It’s an adrenaline rush. That’s the way night time biker Ed Daniels described the experience to Bill Becher, who writes about the late night craze in the L.A. Times. Becher tells us that riders say senses are heightened and even familiar trails seem different in the dark. Another thing that is often heightened, he says, is the candlepower of bike lights, and the number of lights, with many riders mounting one on their handlebars and one on their helmets.
For L.A. area bikers, Becher includes links to a few local clubs that ride at night. Geezer includes links to night rides in Great Britain, and still more in New Zealand.
Health, fitness and lifestyle tips for people over 50 who still like to play hard
Sunday, June 1, 2025
Night riding is the best. I haven’t rode at night in a while, but it is the ultimate tunnel vision. All you can see (when you have a light mounted on your bike, not helmet) is straight ahead.
I was riding one time and to the right of me I saw a skunk, about three feet to my right, thinking “YIKES” I turned my head and saw nothing but darkness.
I didn’t take the same path back.
‘Familiar trails seem…’ this is true, though I find the next time I ride the trail during daylight that I know it much better and recognize each root.
fun fun fun
l.m. 27