I was eager to try out my new Lights in Motion 200L head lamp for some mountain bike night riding; stupidly, I also decided to ride the rigid single speed.
The experience was a blend of emotions...
Remember as a kid, your first time in Disney World and riding Space Mountain? You start off in a dark chamber, lots of blinky lights, as you prepared yourself to be launched into a dark abyss of gravity defying thrills?
Remember, your first time parking the car with the high school girlfriend in a dark area. It was dark, not sure what your getting into...
Both of these emotions can be mixed into one sweet elixir" "Mountain bike night riding."
I started off unsure what to expect, I climbed Horse Gulch road focusing on a circle of light 15 feet in front of my 29inch wheel. Everything outside the light's diameter was dark. I contemplated on the light; would this be similar to the light I will see at the moment of death? I can hear voices saying "Don't follow the light", fortunately this time, this light will keep me safe!
I continued riding, the air was cool and it felt good. I approached the meadow and scanned the helmet light across the dark abyss. To my surprise, and off in an unknown distance, I saw eyes. A couple little eyes, but one set in particular caught my attention. They were much larger than the rest. Possibly a bear or mountain lion. From this point forward every 30 seconds I would grunt loudly to hopefully scare off anything considering me a tasty evening snack.
After awhile, I calmed down, and rode on silently. I let go of any concerns of being torn apart by a nasty saber tooth tiger and become one with the night. I heard the bugs, felt the cool breeze, saw the stars, and barely heard my wheels quietly rolling on the single track. I felt as if I was supposed to be there. I stopped at one point to turn off my head light and just listened. It was very calming....
Enough of the philosophical discussion! The bottom line, it as great fun and training for the 24 hour Moab race coming up in October!
Helmet light, Battery pack, and Camel Back. The light runs 10 hours at low setting and 5 hours at high setting.
click for larger imageThe Rigid Single Speed, Kona 2-9 Unit
click for larger imageThe happy mountain biker (me) after the ride and displaying the gear!
click for larger imageRigid Single Speed Night Riding in the gulch!
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