Arizona_Night

Ok, so it's been 108+ during the day and a not so cool 85 at night for the last couple of weeks. You've tried waking up early to attempt riding your favorite local trail only to get heat stroke as soon as the sun creeps over the horizon. You've also tried riding just before sunset only to realize that as long as the sun is still shining it's just unbearably hot. "That's ok," you tell yourself, "I can drive up to the cool pine trails around Flagstaff or Sedona this weekend to get my singletrack fix, right?" Wrong! Extreme fire danger caused by the drought conditions has resulted in the predictable summer closing of the trails within Coconino National Forest. So now what? Road trip it to somewhere where it rains more? Sign up for spin classes at the new 24 Hour Fitness? Buy yourself a trainer and convert your bike into a stationary exercise bike? Maybe...But there's another solution. Night riding! You can beat the relentless AZ summer sun and have the trails practically to yourself. As a bonus, many desert animals are nocturnal you may see animals that you'd never get to see otherwise. Not only that, but trails you’ve ridden a million times suddenly take on a whole new character.

No need to wait for the light of the next full moon to go on your first night ride- you can purchase a bright new lighting system specifically designed for bikes that will shed more than enough light to pick out the perfect line on the trail.

Gone are the days when you had to duct tape your Mini-Mag flashlight to your handlebars. Partly due to the growing popularity of 24 hour races, lighting technology has come a long way in the past few years. A trail quality light attached to a battery pack that straps to your frame or fits in your bottle cage can be a little more expensive than the flashing AAA battery powered kits that you need to legally ride at night in the city. A decent entry-level lighting system with a rechargeable battery pack and charger (like the CygoLite Night Rover) starts off at under $100. Some of the best and brightest can set you back $300 or more.

There are three types of lights that you can buy: halogen, LED (Light Emitting Diode), and HID (High-Intensity Discharge). Halogen lights use the same type of bulbs found in most car headlights (and Mini-Mag flashlights) and have been around the longest. They have a nice warm white color and tend to be among the least expensive. However, battery life with halogens generally isn’t quite as long as the others.

LED lights are the same type of lights that you’ll find in keychain lights but much more powerful. LED’s cast a bright light for how compact they are and they tend to be among the most durable light systems, which is important on a mountain bike. Cat Eye has both a double and triple lamp version (EL-710RC for $289.99 and EL-700RC for $359.99, respectively). But neither halogen nor LED’s are as bright as the HID.

HID’s cast a slightly bluish light. You’ve seen their ghostly hued counterparts on new cars such as Mercedes and Lexus’s. They are definitely the brightest lights around and the favorite of the 24 hour racer. Topeak has a model called the MoonShine HID with a run time of over 2 hours with an optional Lithium ion battery that extends life to 4 hours or more! MSRP on the MoonShine is $399.99, but well worth it for those epic rides.

Once you’ve decided on a light system, there are a few more things you might want to bring along with you at night, along with the standard items like helmet, spare tube(s) multi-tool, phone, energy bar and water, etc. Clear lens glasses, such as plastic safety glasses will keep bugs and rocks out of your eyes, and a smaller keychain light will help you see what you’re doing if you have to make any adjustments or repairs on the trail. It will also be a nice backup in case the battery of your main light runs low on those long rides.

Mountain biking can be dangerous enough during the day but even more so at night. So it’s a good idea to ride with a buddy or two. Global Bikes will be hosting a few night rides soon, for more information visit the Chandler location, or email Mark at mafunicello@hotmail.com with the subject ‘nightriding’.