Go To The Light(s)!

So, as summer winds down, and fall/winter creeps up on us, waking up uber early to get in a ride is no longer a necessity....unless, however, you have my schedule.  It's this time of year that bringing my bike into work and then heading out for a ride around 3:30PM or 4:00PM is extremely welcome.  I can sleep in, wake up with the family, and help get everybody ready for the day.  Problem is, that this year, my afternoon/evening schedule is JAMMED!  Coaching football from 4:30PM - 6:00PM, or working at the swim studio until 7:00PM, doesn't really allow any time for those glorious afternoon rides.  Enter the "dark rides"!

Before I continue, let me give some background on the gear I used when riding in the dark was unavoidable (i.e. Those Stenholm Crit rides that started at 7:00PM year round or IMAZ training when I had to ride in the AM and swim in the PM).  When I started cycling, circa 2008, I ended up buying a NiteRider Sol LED headlight that broadcast about 200 lumen.  It's done a fantastic job of both letting people see me and allowing me to see things on the road.  I've used it religiously every road ride, that has required a light, in the last five years and have been very satisfied with it's performance.  It's been soaked by rain, dropped, left on for days, ridden on the bumper of my truck for 20+ miles (I forget I left it there), and even been used by my son when he was learning to ride a bike.

A stock pick of my old light:

OK, getting back to my jammed schedule and the necessity to still ride in the morning darkness.  I've made the conscious decision to rack my tri bike indefinitely and start riding the trails more.  I've discussed this transformation in previous posts, so I won't rehash my rationale, but I will tell you that it's largely because of the increase in cycling vs. car incidents.  Rolling at 5:00AM allowed me to get up to a 26 mile MTB ride if I wanted to be home by 7:00AM.  Recently, I've had to roll closer to 5:30AM or 5:45AM and it's only getting worse.  My rides have dwindled from 26 miles to around 17 or 18.  I'm now going to have to ride my MTB, on the trails, with absolutely no kind of city lights, in the pitch dark.  Unfortunately, I didn't think that only 200 lumen would be enough, so I took the advice of my experienced MTB neighbor and purchased TWO 1200 lumen Cree XM Flashlight lights.  I wanted to mount one on my helmet and one to the handlebars.  The day after ordering them, I ended up taking my old light, on an MTB ride, out to the desert about 15 minutes before sunrise.  I must say, she did a satisfactory job, and 200 lumen lit up the desert trails better than I anticipated.  At any rate, at $23 per light, how could I pass that up?!?!?  I mean, my old NiteRider was $115 five years ago.  A quick search of other 1200 lumen lights came up with prices in the $250 - $300 range.  I did pay an additional $5 for a helmet set up too.  Everything arrived yesterday and this morning was their maiden voyage.

I set off at 5:30AM knowing that I would only be needing the lights for about 30 minutes.  I'm still getting used to avoiding rocks, cholla cactus, sandy washes, and slippery turns in the daytime, let alone in the dark, so I wanted to keep the darkness portion of the ride down.  Ultimately, when I become more adapt at riding in the dark, I will probably roll at 5:00AM again.  WOW!  What a huge difference these lights make!  I absolutely loved having the one on my helmet as it allowed my to look around instead of concentrating on 5 feet in front of me.  The handlebar light was also awesome in that it still kept the path lit even if I was looking off to the side trying to anticipate a turn coming up.  I attached one of the relatively small batteries to the underside of my handlebar and slipped the other one into my jersey pocket.  I could hardly tell it was there.  I can't wait until I get in a group ride that is in complete darkness, as I think that the bouncing lights would look awesome as they travel across the trails.  I've also heard that when the group stops, they all turn off their lights and enjoy the environment (listening off into the darkness or looking up at the sky).  Gotta love new adventures!  Oh, and my trusty old NiteRider?  Well, that's now firmly attached to my 7 year old son's bike.  It was like Christmas in September when I asked if he wanted it!

The new lights and setup: