Moonlight Bike Ride
On Aug 23 I took part in this year’s “Moonlight Bike Ride to benefit the Discovery Center. discoverycenter.org
First off… The Discovery Center in Central Springfield is one amazing operation. It is an interactive, hands-on museum, committed to inspiring people of all ages with a life-long love of learning and an appreciation of the world and our place in it.
But they are also involved in all sorts of community projects both in-reach and outreach - in other words, a very worth while organization.
Now on to the ride:
The ride took place at 9:30 Saturday night, starting and ending at the Discovery Center. The ride was a short seven mile stretch through the streets of mid-town Springfield. The local police (hats off to the SPD) blocked all the major intersections and the Discovery Center had people all along the route to help us riders stay on course. They had one of the local bike shops not only giving away, but setting up bike lamps for all those without. This was no small undertaking, considering there where close to 400 riders. At the end of the ride there was a pancake breakfast for all participants. No small undertaking there, either!
Though there was no moonlight that night (very Cloudy so therefore very Dark) and it was around 85 degrees, it was still One Awesome Ride…
…it was incredible, riding at night. I was aware of where I was at, knowing the route and the area pretty well. But at the same time it was so different, almost alien, all-in-all a magnificent ride…
…I’ve only been on a couple of night rides but I still kept a pretty good pace, staying with the top ten riders the whole time.
I will definitely be keeping my eyes and ears open for other night riding opportunities.
If you every get a chance to take a safe night ride jump at it, you will love the ride. Here are a few common sense rules to help you out:
• Stay away from the high traffic areas.
• Ride a familiar route.
• Ride the route in daylight first.
• Always check your bike lights, front & rear, reflectors, blinking reflectors, strobe lamps and head/helmet lamps, before heading out.
• Carry a pair of clear lens glasses to keep stuff out of your eyes.
• Be VERY aware of your environment, obstacles, other riders (no break lights), pedestrians, animals, and motorists.
• Wear all the safety gear you would usually wear, like helmet and gloves. And any type of reflective clothing is definitely a plus!
I rode my urbanized Orbea Alma and wore my usual gear. I added a Cateye ROL light to my handle bars, a great self-contained rechargeable bike light with bright, soft, and strobe settings. I also wore a clear set of glasses.
I have an older Trek helmet that I added several strips of reflective tape to, plus a Nike blinking reflector light attached to the back. I also strapped a Burton LED head lamp onto my helmet, which is another great light. It has three light settings plus a strobe. You can get eight hours of light on four AA batteries. I topped it all off with a reflective vest. My wife said I looked like some kind of UFO going down the road. Well, you want to be seen!!!
Send me your night riding stories… I’ll post them here along with any pics you may have.
Time to Hit the Trail
Mitch
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