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If you are not riding around a city a large problem riding at night is that the animals are more active at night. Deer are not fun to play tag with.

I have not hit one on my bike but have had several close calls. Did tag one in my van. I have had several friends that have had collisions with deer with varying results ranging from no injury with bike damage to death of a friend.

Riding at night can be fun but be careful.

I've had several close calls with deer - only once on the bike though, and that was in the mid afternoon. I avoid riding at dusk because my eyes take awhile to adjust to the darkness, and for some reason dusk is the worst. And, as was mentioned, the animal population at night can be quite unsettling. I just do my best to spot those shining eyes on the shoulder, and hope they don't pop out onto the road. Riding at night does carry greater risk in some ways, but it offers a different kind of high as well.

Cheers,
Loonette

it's colder at night. Brrrrrrr

sv-wolf wrote:my SV is brilliant.

+1 My SVS is bright as hell.. I can see wonderfully, especially when the deer try to say hello (happened a couple of times in my 2 months of riding)

I know that my High Intensity headlight is much brighter than those on my truck. Either way you have to cut back on speed and stay alert. This time of year it's dark for both my ride into work and my ride home, so I get lots of practice.

Have you taken the MSF course? They teach about not outriding your headlights; a very good concept to understand.

I prefer night riding to day time riding. Less idiots to deal with. Just keep the peepers peeled for critters. If it's any bigger than a rabbit, it's a concern.

Skel3tor1 wrote:I prefer night riding to day time riding. Less idiots to deal with. Just keep the peepers peeled for critters. If it's any bigger than a rabbit, it's a concern.

I've always heard "if it'll fit on a plate hit it... unless it's a freaking turtle or armadillo"

In the DC metro area people hit deer all the time at night. Mainly because they don't think that there are any around. Hi-larious

"It looked like a deer officer"
"It Was a deer"
"No way, this is Arlington!"

i live out in an area where 2 minutes into one direction takes me into hardcore country (miles and miles of farms), and 15 minutes into downtown.

I dont ride the country at night, I tried one time and it just damn freaky. (if I fell, I would be sccreeweedd) Im the only person on the whole 10 mile stretch of land, and theres no lights what so ever, I can only ride 20-30 mph safely, (where I could be doing 60-70MPH). Just that one night Ive had a couple of encounters with raccoons, bunnies, and deer... its not fun.

When I go night riding, I go into the city (and you should to), its nicely lit and fun.

the only problem is, you arent nicely lit! lol, just gotta watch out for crazy drivers. I was in La Crosse at night once and a mini cooper almost rear-ended me.. grr

The night in the country isnt so bad.. if your bike and light properly

Jthmeffy wrote:the only problem is, you arent nicely lit! lol, just gotta watch out for crazy drivers. I was in La Crosse at night once and a mini cooper almost rear-ended me.. grr

The night in the country isnt so bad.. if your bike and light properly

If im "riding my headlights" I can only go about 20-30 mph... I have a 1000 piece of crap... the headlights seriously go about maybe 15 feet in front of me.. lol. I might get a GS500F or ex500 soon once Im in cali.

another problem is that its kinda freaky in the country, because Im the only one on the road. I live in bishops bay (This is on the far far northwest side of Madison, like maybe 10 miles northwest of the capital. Seriously, If i go down my street and turn left, there is about 10 miles of just straight, un lit country road, and If i turn right, there is a mcdonalds, then if I turn left I end up on university avenue, which I can take for about 15 minutes to get into the campus. You know where any of this is?