[Closed] Scary Solo Night Riding

realising that you are the weirdo in the woods.

Listen to music, you can't hear the wolves howling or the heavy breathing of the monster behind you..

what tips for mtfu when alone in the dark?

realising that you are the weirdo in the woods.

😆 😆 😆

Familiarity is the only thing that works for me. The more you go out in the dark on your own the more "normal" it becomes. It takes me a few solo night rides to get back into it.

Clearly it isn't at all normal, and you are the weirdo in the woods as other have said but anyway.

if you're riding in woods near the town edge always carry a bag of skag with you. that way when the junkies jump out to murder you and take your bike you can throw it at them, and while they are scrutting around in the dirt looking for it, you can pedal the hell out of there.

@kimbers - god, you were quick! I got proper out of breath trying to catch you 😆

It's not August yet and we've got someone building a new light and the first "I shat myself last night" night riding thread! 😯

I'm telling myself the light nights will last forever at the moment.

Awaiting "what winter tyre" threads......... Personally I shall be using the same tyres as in summer, just falling off more and slipping all over the place.

Just this year i was riding up a little hill in calderdale (****ing steep) and was far far away from the rest of the group (at the back) with one other lad, spinning slowly up the very dark woods.

I started to tell him how i used to think there were werewolves chasing me on my lonely rides back down the canal after the group ride.

He rode off at a fairly decent pace and we haven't seen him out since 🙂

^^ 😆

What time was this and why were you riding then? get a life!

we haven't seen him out since

Eaten by werewolves. Probably.

realising that you are the weirdo in the woods.

^. This

I'm addicted to solo night riding, it really is 'away from it all'. Nothing alarming about it IME (other than being hit in the neck by a bat)

Wait, was that something/someone ducking behind that bush up ahead? Saw something white flash quickly in my light beam...?

buckster - Member
What time was this and why were you riding then? get a life!

8 week old twins + a 3 & 5yr old means I cant get out till after bed time, so I miss the local group ride

didnt start till 9 at woburn

it was when I got to the little corrugated iron shack on the church side that i got a bit freaked, it all got a bit serial killery (have been watching American Horror story lately

Wait, was that something/someone ducking behind that bush up ahead?

Doggers? Oh! Wait a minute......Ducking? My mistake. As you were.

I love summer night riding, all the fun of winter night riding but without the slop and you can wear a t-shirt and be warm enough!

Might just check my lights are charged when I get home...

I ride at night all year due to shift patterns, just man-up.

All the stuff that you hear is normally there during the day, it just isn't noticeable over the normal noise. Anything you come across will be more scared of you than you are of it ie you're the weirdo, they're just doing their normal thing. Enjoy seeing badgers, boar and deer that others don't see.

Like milky says there's nothing there at night that isn't there during the day, just at night it's awake and hungry.

[img] [/img]

^^ 😆

Pretty much what jam bo said.

There's no wildlife in the UK that'll hunt you, and muggers hang out in cities and right near built up areas where there will actually be people to mug at regular intervals.

it was when I got to the little corrugated iron shack on the church side that i got a bit freaked

Quite enjoy being spooked. Your corrugated shack reminded me of a solo night-ride over the Long Mynd circa 2004. There is a remote little shack at the top near the glider field (Pole Cottage?) - it was a weird dark red full moon, deathly still - and this noise in the air, coming near then far, circling. At first thought it was nightjar but it sounded more 'breathy'. I did dare to poke the light into the shack and saw an old manky armchair in the beam at which point I bravely rode away. You know when you're consciously thinking 'am not running away, am not speeding up'? That.

Tin shacks? Pffft...

I ride past this in the daytime regularly. It's at the bottom of a very steep hill.

Did it in the dark once. Never again.

[img] [/img]

There's no wildlife in the UK that'll hunt you

I once had an Eagle Owl swoop past me in Stanmer Park woods, Brighton whilst riding alone and at night. Scared the absolute crap out of me. And I know what it was because it landed in a tree nearby and was staring at me for ages. It was huge, I'm talking like 6ft wingspan. Presumed escaped from somewhere.

Badgers! They have no natural predators and therefore will amble-out on you mid-path and don't give a stuff - having ridden quite a few offroad all-nighters across the Southdowns I frequently encounter them and if you did hit one, it would be big enough to cause quite a serious off. The other week I was descending into Cocking on the SDW so going reasonably quick and just missed one....

At night all the psychopath killers (rapists? 🙄 ) would rather be in town/city centres than in the middle of the forest. And the big bonus of night riding is no dog walkers behind the corner!

I love night riding 🙂
The first few times I think everything you hear and see is magnified between your ears/eyes and your brain and you hear and see all sorts.. Once you convince yourself to get over that, thats when you can enjoy it much more.
The natural things you see at night, like the deer close up, badgers, owls and even bats is amazing, but I still occasionally hear something and think wtf was that! 😆

Plus night riding does improve your biking skills too.

@perchypanther....awesome photo! 🙂

Go riding at the full moon without lights. Epic fun. 🙂

It's what we used to do in the days before decent lights - you were better off with no lights than the glow worms that passed for a bike light.

BTW a ride in the woods is always enhanced by watching "Dog Soldiers" beforehand.

I ride at night all year due to shift patterns, just man-up.

All the stuff that you hear is normally there during the day, it just [s]isn't noticeable over the normal noise. Anything you come across will be more scared of you than you are of it ie you're the weirdo, they're just doing their normal thing. Enjoy seeing badgers, boar and deer that others don't se[/s] its now awake and hungry

I ride solo all year round rarely get the fear. Basically its just your mind messing with you

BTW a ride in the woods is always enhanced by watching "Dog Soldiers" beforehand and then taking some acid

I'm working in Tanzania.

There ARE beasts that want to hunt you down and eat you. 😈

I will not be doing any night riding until I return home.

😆

@perchypanther....awesome photo!

I wish i'd taken it but I didn't!

It's an awesome building that's sadly in ruins and is tres creepy at nighttime.

buckster - Member
What time was this and why were you riding then? get a life!

8 week old twins + a 3 & 5yr old means I cant get out till after bed time, so I miss the local group ride

didnt start till 9 at woburn

it was when I got to the little corrugated iron shack on the church side that i got a bit freaked, it all got a bit serial killery (have been watching American Horror story lately

Fair enough! I know a small old woodworkers hut that scares the crap out of me

One solo night ride it started to pour with rain so put my foot down to get to a nearby cave for shelter.
Came round the corner, lights on full, turned to go into the cave and was confronted by a half naked couple 'sheltering' from the rain.. 😯

Here:
[img] [/img]

+1 I love night riding - especially solo

I never really think about it (the risk) I just go out and ride

Toddboy - Member
I'm working in Tanzania.

There ARE beasts that want to hunt you down and eat you.

I will not be doing any night riding until I return home.

I didn't get eaten riding my bike at night along the bush tracks in Kongwa when I was a wee boy. It was the puff adders baking themselves on the warm track that were the problem.

I haven't heard of anyone on a bike ever being attacked, but no doubt there is some instance.

A friend of mine was going across the South Downs back from Brighton and through the mist appeared a man, on his own, middle of nowhere, revving a chainsaw. His Strava route was amusing as he set some P.B's after turning round!!

There's no wildlife in the UK that'll hunt you

Eh, Midges?

I had a badger run directly at me, full tilt, at night, on my own

I didn't know he was going to stop

I'm a grown man and I was absolutely bricking it, my thoughts went so quickly through my head that I had enough time to think how on earth am I going to explain this

He stopped about 4 metres from me, stared me down, ran back a bit, stared me down again and ran off

Head and bar lights on, probably just wondering what on earth I was. Previous experience was they run away from you, not run straight for you!

Deers staring back at you, with eyes reflecting your lights also 'interesting'

All good though, and nothing here in the UK that's going to hurt you!

Came round the corner, lights on full, turned to go into the cave and was confronted by a half naked couple 'sheltering' from the rain..
Here:

lmao - Clutter's Cave - That's one of my old haunts, and never saw the Beast With Two Backs in 10yrs+ - call yrself 'unlucky' ! Maybe that explains the handprint on the back wall...

Similarly caught in my lights - a bird hide in a nature reserve seemed to be temporary refuge for four sportshoed feet that all seemed to be pointing in the same direction! Put me right off any thoughts of shelter. Maybe it was a (very) short pantomime horse suit?

was confronted by a half naked couple 'sheltering' from the rain..

What happened next?

What happened next?

When I started night riding the best lights available at the time were 2 watt Vistalites, I used to commute home across the Quantocks after a 2 til 10 shift and even if you did hear anything the lights weren't bright enough to light it up. 😉

rone - Member
What happened next?

Everyone got wet...