Night Rider!

I woke up at 12:30am and was feeling pretty good.  I bought new front and rear lights for my bike and I've been dying to try them out. Except I've been sleeping through the night which is unusual for me but fully accepted. Sleep is good (but that is for another post)  I've also been wanting to make a segment on strava for a lap around town that I want to do more often since they just added a nice bike lane for part of my to be lap.  With this in mind I jumped on my bike and lit up the night with my new SecurityIng® 4 Modes Waterproof 2800 Lumens Cree XM-L U2 LED Bicycle Light (& 6400mAh Battery Pack & Charger, Cree LED Bike Lamp Light Super Bright Lighting Lamp for Outdoor Sports Like Camping, Hiking, etc..) which might just be getting a smashing review after some more use.  The rear light seems to be nice too but it's not something I can really see in action while riding, though it did offer a little light to my feet while clipping in.  Hopefully I'll get up a review of both the front light and the rear light (a Portland Design Works Danger Zone Tail Light).  Happily I used my new lights and could see great in the pitch black streetlightless roads around town, but riding at night is scary, at least it was this my first time.  Scared of the dark? No.  But there were the



Deer may be skittish but atleast you don't need to fear an attack!

 

deer.  I came across four of them on my 2.5 mile ride.  The first one scared me the most because it was on the side of the road and I didn't see it and it didn't see me until the last second at which point it jumped. Luckily for me in the right direction.  The others I saw from a distance and whistled and they went on there way no problem.  A dear could end my ride quite easily so I happy to dodge this first obtacle.  So along I ride and see more "wildlife." Infact the most wild of animals. 

The night cyclists least worrisome foe:the cat

The CAT!  Ok, so I saw a few cats and they were the least of my worries while riding since they were all a far away and steered clear of me.  But the next foe was probably the most worrisome opponents I came accross.  A dark (I think marbled) pitbull.  I'm not a big fan of pitbulls, and animals with little fear that like to chase bikes or cars (how dumb is that anyway - that's like a person chasing an airplane) such as dogs can pose a threat to the cyclist - in this case me.  I've been barked at on several occasions and chased by dogs that were behind fenses but this pitbull was strolling down the single lane street coming in my direction. 

 

Rare shot of a pitbull at night.  You won't find me taking one.



The dog saw me and I saw the dog but I am not a local news headline (thank goodness).  Neither of us gave up ground and went on our ways.  I quickened my pace after we passed and listened to make sure I didn't have the enemy attacking.  No offense to the dog, but I never want to see you again.  -- I would like to note that it took quite a while to find a picture of a pitbull at night.  I guess no one goes out seeking a pitbull at night for a photoshoot or says," Hey check it out it's a pitbull let's take a pic."

The last nightcreeper I saw was a

the nights final opponent:the raccoon

raccoon.  It was pretty big. It was probably medium dog sized and as many know raccoons can be quite scary.  The raccoon and I snuck up on each other so I'm sure the raccoons heart skipped a beat too as I rode away and it ran. Again in opposite directions!  I was back in bed by 1:00am. 

 After this short 15 min. or so night ride will I be riding at night again? Yes, but I think I got a heads up that there are definately others up at midnight for cyclists to worry about.  Less cars, more animals!  I think I'll take my chances with the animals.  I think a collision with a deуr would end better than a collision with a car.  I saw this pic which with a few animal modifications pretty well sums up my first night ride.

For me it would have been a deer, dog, racoon, cat combo.  I think there's a rooster on top in the photo.