Singletrack In The Dark?

Yes I do it occasionally.  I ride my bike on winding singletrack, in the mountains, in the dark with a light attached to my helmet.  Some people think this is crazy.  To them I say try it.  It is a load of fun and yes a little crazy at times.

For some reason darkness can bring a whole new excitement to ordinary life.  Remember those neighborhood night games you used to play in the dark as a kid (ok perhaps you had better things to do, I didn't)?  The trees, streets, and side yards provided a whole new exciting experience when coupled with the task of "capture the flag" or "kick the can".  In daylight the backyard was just the backyard.  At night it was a battlefield of night game fun.

Similarly, riding at night can make those trails you've ridden hundreds of times come to life again.  Bumps, rocks, corners, climbs, descents.. they all look very different.  Add a few friends and the experience only gets better.

Last night I partook of some of this madness on the one-track at Indian Creek.  I added this fun riding to the 2+ hours of pain I put in earlier in the evening making a total of 4+ hours on the bike.  I'm in the last few weeks of training in preparation for the Park City Point-to-Point in September so this was some much needed saddle time.

Laurence Sones - Contemplating what he as gotten himself into.

Roger Stones - Ready to light the rocket engines up the shack trail.

Google Earth view of my ride.  A few trails were repeated.