[zippywonder]

Rode my bike into work tonight for the first time. I work third shift. It was a nice night for riding. Not cold at all. I was nervous at first. But it was fun. No june bugs out tonight thank god. Those suckers hurt like heck.

 

[RonK]

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Well, if you didn't ride half naked, they wouldn't hurt so much. :biggrin:

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[NordicMan]

Throw a small quick release windshield on your bike to deflect the bugs!

 

[anybike]

zigzag

 

[grasshopper]

A windshield helps a lot! especially in these woods where I live. Deer is another story. My windshield gets crusted with bugs around here as soon as it starts getting dark.

 

[Stainlesstehle]

Hang a bug zapper off the front of the bike

 

[zippywonder]

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Well, if you didn't ride half naked, they wouldn't hurt so much. :biggrin:

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Lol!! I usually ride in gear, unless I'm posing for pictures. I'd rather lose cloths than skin. But those bugs will always find that one patch of bare skin and hit it every single time. I've learned at an early age to keep your mouth shut on a bike, especially at night. It only took one bug stuck in the back of my throat to figure that one out!!

I like the bug zapper idea. But then people would really think I'm a redneck. Though there's nothing wrong with a redneck life, my son is a total redneck....

 

[Blaine]

You haven't lived until you run into a swarm of bees at night. I did a few years ago, bee keeper dropped one of his prize boxes off and the honeycomb was spread all over the road.

I ride every morning well before dawn, just about the time the deer decide to move, it keeps life interesting.

 

[Christine]

I like to ride at night. There's less traffic, which makes riding safer, and you can go faster.

 

[RonK]

I like to ride at night. There's less traffic, which makes riding safer, and you can go faster.

--

This may be true some places, but for most folks, not. The first problem is the halogen lights usually used on bikes instead of the often illegal HID headlights. The HID give off much more light and a wider area.

Also at night, you are limited to a cone of area in front and can't see side actions that might affect your ride (like wind gusts, animals, unmarked turns, road surface conditions, parked car movements, pedestrians, billboards with info, etc.). Even with HID lights, the detail of what's in your path is maybe (I'm guessing) only 40%.

I'm not even considering riding in some urban areas after dark. Of course, there are a lot of them I don't care for even in daylight.

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[zippywonder]

The best advice that I have been given is to never outrun the headlights at night. You need to be able to stop within the headlights distance. Deer are a bit harder to spot with just one headlight. I followed my bike last night, as I was too tired to drive home from a family members house. Once the bike gets a few car lengths ahead, its hard to tell the difference when the brake light is applied, so my next investment for her is going to be a brake light upgrade, maybe on of those that flash.

 

[joemac]

I avoid riding after the sun has gone down.
I have this funny quirk about being able to see what's in front of me clearly.
Lots of nocturnal critters around these parts, especially white tails.

 

[soupy1957]

Having a windshield has proven to be a great plus, but I haven't done any night rides. Primarily because I don't "need" to, but also because I don't relish the cleanup of all those bugs smeared all over everywhere.

-soupy

 

[RonK]

Having a windshield has proven to be a great plus, but I haven't done any night rides. Primarily because I don't "need" to, but also because I don't relish the cleanup of all those bugs smeared all over everywhere.

-soupy

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What I do if a swarm of insects is coming, is turn sideways so they will impact the least body parts possible. My ears can fill up that way, however.

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[Goliath616]

I've learned at an early age to keep your mouth shut on a bike, especially at night. It only took one bug stuck in the back of my throat to figure that one out!!

that reminds me of that old joke..."how can you tell if a biker is happy? count the bugs in his teeth!"

I don't worry about bugs too much...it's all protein :biggrin:

 

[jlmoss]

I'm night shift too and ride my bike in to work. In agreement that a bug sheild/windshield is necessary for regular night time riding. I do enjoy night riding just as much as day time. Same ride but completely different scenery at night. lol

 

[Oldman47]

I only ride at night on familiar roads. If I don't know the road, I don't want to be on it in the dark. There are things you can see in daylight that you cannot see in the dark, even with your headlights on. Some of those things are dangerous if you don't know they exist. If I know a road I know its innate hazards so I can enjoy riding it at night. All I need to worry about then is the hazards I can see, the things that change all the time. I already know about the other stuff.

 

[soupy1957]

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What I do if a swarm of insects is coming, is turn sideways so they will impact the least body parts possible. My ears can fill up that way, however.

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I'm trying to visualize "turning sideways" on a bike. (lol). Must be hard to DO!?

-Soupy

 

[RonK]

I'm trying to visualize "turning sideways" on a bike. (lol). Must be hard to DO!?

-Soupy

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Not for me. I ride sidesaddle.

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[MONI]

Ahh Soupy, in case you haven't realized it yet, RonK can do anything...at least in his mind.

Sideways, straight on, not really that much of a difference in my case. (Beat ya to it Ron.)