Bonfire Night

After a couple of failed attempts to get out for a night ride this week we finally managed to get our act together to head out on Wednesday night which just so happened to be Bonfire Night. In recent years it seems that bad weather has plagued this traditional celebration of home-grown terrorism but with clear skies and a near-full moon it looked like it was going to be worth getting out.

Our earlier ineptitude reasserted itself as we were parking the car at Threshfield - Cath wondered if she'd put her cycling shoes in the car. Of course she hadn't so since she was using flat pedals I suggested that she use the Crocs she was wearing (other hippy plastic shoes are available). It seemed to work so off we set, twitching occasionally when a particularly loud firework detonated nearby.

With the clear skies it was pretty cold and it was with some reluctance that we rode past a large bonfire at the bottom of the lane leading on to Boss Moor. My hands still hadn't warmed up by the time I reached the top though a minute or two's rest allowed the warmth to return. The bridleway over the moor was resurfaced a few years ago and old railway sleepers put in to span drainage ditches and frost was already beginning to form on these - the cold air can attack from all sides so they cool quicker.

At Bordley Lane we had a choice: down towards Kilnsey and up Mastiles Lane (the opposite way to how we'd ridden last time up here) or head up the lane, on to Mastiles Lane and round to Lee Gate Farm before heading back to Bordley then southwards towards Hetton before getting back on to Boss Moor. Cath didn't fancy the climb up Mastiles so up the road it was.

The moon was so bright that we kept thinking that there was a car behind us, understandable on a road but we kept thinking it when off-road as well! At the drop down to the end of the road we cut right and climbed steadily to Mastiles Gate then left and along the open lane until we could cut left through the fields to Lee Gate. Things were a lot muddier than the last time we were up here and it was with relief that we got on to the hard surface of the bridleway back to Bordley farm.

Going past Bordley was a little tricky as there's no option but to go through the farmyard and wake the dogs up but we did the best we could. Getting across the beck below the farm meant that we both had wet feet to some extent - not good in the temperature at the time. The track down past Lainger House is fast, well once the sheep get out of the way, and there's just a short steep pull on tarmac until the next bridleway cuts left over Boss Moor.

Soon we are at the top of the initial track and the tricky part is making sure to hit the wooden water bars square on as they are now pretty frosty. I'm thinking I'm struggling to see and it's a while before I realise that the light on the handlebar has come loose and is pointing nearly straight down - oops!

The bonfire is nearly out as we pass it again but it's still pumping out plenty of heat and we grab a minute of warmth before coasting down to the car. The bikes are filthy and I grab a rag out of the car to wipe the worst of it off but it's all frozen to the frame! Cleaning will have to wait. It's now ten o'clock, time to get something to eat.

Night Rides

The evenings are definitely drawing in now that we are past the autumn equinox which leads to a quandary: hit the turbo or sort out the lights and head outside.

Actually it's not so much a quandary as when to actually start night rides, there's still some light at around 1830 - 1900 so unless you wait for an hour or so you end up with half the ride in daylight and half in the dark. Riding in the dusk is either quite risky if you are on the roads (drivers are even less aware of what's going on) or hard work off road since you don't get the benefits from your bike lights and the natural light isn't quite enough.

Last week I nipped out for a quick blast round the local bridleways to check that the lights worked after a summer's holiday. This Thursday Cath was going to go for a road ride but the weather looked a bit iffy with a strong breeze and showers blasting through so I persuaded her to go mountain biking instead.

The loop over to Earby that I'd discovered a few weeks ago was going to be ideal and hopefully the recent rains hadn't turned things to gloop. The initial road section was done in the twilight so by the time we turned on to the bridleway it was just about dark. The first field had cows in but they weren't interested in these strange creatures moving among them. The bridleway was firm and straightforward and soon we were on the lane leading down to Earby.

The climb was steady, one thing about biking in the dark is that you only see a small part of what's ahead because of the limit of the lights but this means that you just take everything as it comes, there's no looking up and seeing another 400 metres of climbing to dishearten you. Once off the lane and on to the moor it was going to be a case of seeing how boggy things were: generally not too bad but keeping off bare earth was the key to keeping forward momentum.

A bit more road leading back to the top road. "Road back home?" asked Cath, "Straight on, it should be firm". Again the lack of a view ahead meant that you just got on with the climb. At the summit I made Cath look round and take in the view, it was one I'd see a lot a few years ago as this was my turning point when I did night runs after we got the Hope headlights.

We took the descent steadily, dismounting for the sleepers crossing ditches - no point in taking a flyer. Rather bizarrely we passed a couple of tents pitched for the night, presumably they were bemused by a pair of bikes trundling past. Down at the road we decided to skip the last off-road section as it does get very boggy and headed home on the road.

One point we realised is that just having a light on the handlebars isn't quite enough - it lights where the bike is pointing but often you need to look in a different direction so having a light on your helmet adds an extra dimension. A bit of internet searching and a light was ordered (all of £20 including mount and posting) and arrived this morning so we'll see how it works on the next ride.