"I'm... so... scared..."

I have done a few night rides now with my new bike light, and it's been a blast! It's really bright; a huge improvement over the weak-sauce light I bought many years ago. I only rode in the woods once with that older light, and that experience kept me off the trails at night until recently.

When I first bought that old light, I excitedly decided to try it out that very night. This was when I lived in Arkansas, and although I had several hard-core riding buddies, none of them had lights at the time. So, I headed off solo to the Camp Robinson trails (just north of Little Rock). I had planned to just ride on one or two of the easier, shorter loops to see how this whole night riding thing worked. Well, my new-found zeal soon emboldened me to continue into some of the deeper, more intermediate trails and all was going just fine. It was a moonless night, and the deeper trails at Camp Robinson really are out in the middle of nowhere, so it was a very peaceful and pleasantly surreal first-time night ride experience - right up until I suddenly flatted a tire...

Like my new light, I had this older light mounted on my helmet. I laid the bike down and proceeded to unpack my bag and ready the wheel for a tube swap. That's when I really noticed just how incredibly quiet that deeper section of the trails was. At first! Then the noises just seemed to steadily increase. Leaves rustling, sticks crunching, branches rubbing and snapping, etc. From all directions. I would hear something (close by?!?), and then swing my head up to look, and (of course) see nothing. Now, I must point out that this was about the time The Blair Witch Project was out, and I had seen it recently. And me nervously swinging that darn helmet light beam all around was reminding me of that movie more & more with each passing second. And the noises seemed to get closer each passing second. Somehow, despite my increasingly shaky hands, I managed to get the new tube on, and I raced back to my car faster than I have ever done before or since. I was so thoroughly freaked out by that experience that I have not biked any woods at night until now, so many years later...

So, it's been good to have some very positive night ride experiences lately. I still ride solo, which is kinda scary, but that's OK - it builds character, right? ;) I just ride at an nice-n-easy pace and don't do anything crazy. And riding Pookie (rigid singlespeed) helps keep my riding not too aggressive, so that's worked out well for starting out. That new light is very comforting in how bright it is. Much more confidence inspiring. However, no flats or mechanical issues on these last few rides, so I'm still not sure how I'll handle that whole scenario again... And let's hope that I don't have to find out anytime too soon!

Happy trails & good dirt!
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Now playing: cake - the distance