Doin' It In the Dark

I left work yesterday determined to get in a training ride outdoors. I didn’t call anyone, didn’t tell anyone, didn’t invite anyone because honestly, I was a little concerned about the state of my fitness. The holidays, vacation, and a cold were all conspirators in a chain of events that had kept me off my bike for over two weeks. This would be a secret training ride....just me, my bike, and my headlamp on the swamp rabbit...incognito.

I saddled up and headed for the Swamp Rabbit Trail from my house. I felt surprisingly good as I crested the hill into town and descended towards the trail head. As I turned into Linkeystone Park, I spotted a grey sedan with Maine plates and immediately knew that my cover was blown; I would be seeing Brian Thompson out on the trail somewhere.

I entered the trail and settled into my planned pace. Upper Zone 2 all the way to TR and back. Steady as she goes. Within a few minutes, I spot another headlamp ahead of me on the trail....it’s Brian....he’s doing basically the same ride that I am, only he’s on his second lap up to TR. We link up and ride side by side all the way up to Furman. It’s good to have someone to talk to. We have to remember not to turn our heads towards each other when we talk to keep from blinding each other with our headlamps. I realized that the state of my fitness is not quite as bad as I thought it was. It ended up being a nice ride and good to have some company on the trail.

I recently purchased a Nightrider headlamp. I use the MiNewt 600. I have used other headlamps in the past, and can’t say enough about how amazing this little gadget is. It’s rechargeable, bright, easy to use, comes with helmet and handlebar mounts. If you haven’t experienced riding at night, you are missing out. Road biking in the dark is cool, Mountain Biking in the dark....that’s a story for another post....but it takes the adventure to another level.

Here’s a link to the gadget.