It was a dark and stormy night. - Dylan's Ride Blog

As I parked the car and started to assemble the bike, I noticed the last of the day's ramblers were getting into their cars. The wind was getting up, and the long shadows told of night not being far behind. Ramblers might not like being out after dark, but mountain bikers, armed with a stadium's worth of lighting, need not fear the coming of the night. In fact, night riding lets you keep riding through the winter, but brings it's own particular pleasures.

What would be a fairly boring gravel track in summer, becomes a scary roller coaster of slippery corners, hidden drops lurking in the shadows, and unfathomably deep puddles. Leaves and mud make each turn and dab at the brakes an exercise in bike control, as the laws of inertia attempt to over rule your attempts at going where you want to go. Puddles become dark lakes, with absolutely no clue as to how deep they are. Do you risk going around them, only to slip back in, or do you just try to plough on, and hope for the best, knowing that once you commit, you really don't want to stop, as putting a foot down is to risk a boot full of cold muddy water? Wet mud is dark, and seems to absorb all the light you can give it, so judging the ground is more by feel through the bike, than seeing through your eyes. Navigation becomes more challenging too, as no matter how bright your lights are, you are in a small bubble of light, in some very dark countryside, and you have to guess where you are based on where you have already been, and no matter how you strain your eyes, you can't see any landmarks outside the range of your lights.

Speed seems different too. In dry summer conditions, 20 mph is fast, but well within you ability to mentally keep up and control the bike. On slippery mud, in the dark, on a rigid bike, and suddenly 15 mph is too fast for your brain to process the narrow tunnel of flickering light you are heading down. Mud and roots hidden under leaves threaten to unseat you, as you attempt to keep the bike from sliding out under you. The photo above shows what sort of range you can see with a good set of lights. The blurry attempt at a photo whilst riding (below) is probably closer to how you actually see the world on the bike in the dark.

There's also the slight frission of being just slightly afraid of the dark. Humans are basically not used to being outside in the dark, and it doesn't take long before the nearby hoot of an owl, or wind whistling in the wires starts to make you think of the 'before' bits of a horror film. The abruptly stiffled cry of some unseem animal being pounced upon makes you think of the 'after' bits of a horror film too. Although your are probably not going to meet a mad axe man, or chainsaw wielding nutter, it's not always easy to convince yourself of that when you ride through some dark wood.

The ride I did was only about 11 miles. There were no major hills (just as well on a single speed) and the track where really not that technical. Despite this, I felt I had pushed myself harder than 25 miles of summer riding. So much so, that when I arrived back at the car, cold and very wet, in my haste to get back in the car, and away, I managed to remove the front wheel, and leave it behind. Luckily it was still there the next day, so I got to ride the same ride in reverse, rather than the longer ride I had planned.

If you feel the urge to try a night ride, here's a few suggestions:

• Group rides are certainly best for getting your confidence up.
• A winter hack bike, with mud tyres is a good idea. You really want a bike that is simple, and reliable, and tyres that stand a chance of gripping the ground. I usually ride a singlespeed bike, with rigid forks and Panaracer Trailraker tyres, as the bike seems to cope with mud better than anything more complex. And trailrakers find grip when nothing else will.
• Your lights should have a battery life of at least twice the time you intend to be out, as winter riding at night is always slower than you think. Usually a 10 mile or so ride is more than enough. The 'Rudston loop' ride is a great route for a night ride.
• Take a head torch with you, such as a Petzl Zipka, as trying to fix a puncture in the blinding glare of your main lights is no fun. And if your main lights fail, it's better than nothing as a reserve 'get you home' light.