Sunday 20 December 2015

Nighttime Trailquest


I have really neglected my mountain bikes since Cybi moved in but it's hard to find time and we have been running a lot as its something we can enjoy together. After racing bikejor with him I realised I needed to get some bike fitness back and so took my singlespeed out the other week. After noticing there was a night trailquest from Great Longstone (so not too far from home) last night I put an entry in. It's two hours of navigation with the aim being to collect as many points as possible by finding as many control points as possible. I was a little nervous about night riding seeing as its been so long and I'm not feeling very confident on my bike off-road in the light but with where the controls were they were mainly on trails I know well as they were towards my house. I planned a route and set off, grabbing the first control easily...well a little bit of back and forth at the point to spot it in the dark. Then it was time to start climbing, I was pleased with my riding making sure I didn't push too hard but felt I was covering the distance okay. I had to make some decisions as to which controls to go for near the end as time felt like it was getting tight, missing out one of my planned controls. I rolled in with 4minutes to spare and 10 controls ticked off. I was pleased with my timing and route selection. I had forgotten how much harder it is to navigate in the dark, even when you know the trails. No idea if it was a reasonable score overall but a lovely ride, 15miles in total, and great to get out on the mountain bike.

2 comments:

  1. Mountain bike nights rides are very popular although they dont appeal to me as I like to take in the scenery. But good to read you're back on your bike as its a different fitness to running and vice versa. Its hard to fit all the things you like doing when there's demands on your time from many directions .

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  2. There is something amazing about night riding, moonlight can illuminate the scenery in an amazing way.

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