Last Friday, my friend Babu and I went on our first night time bike ride. With extra lights, spare batteries and more than a few nerves, we made our way to Hyde Park Corner, where a peleton of about 30 riders set off at just past midnight for Brighton, roughly 60 miles away.
There's a group who do this every month, on the Friday closest to the full moon. I first heard about the ride in this Guardian article and subsequently found that a work colleague had done it last month.
We didn't have the best luck with the weather this month - I swear I was borderline hypothermic as we sped downhill from the Beacon into Brighton. Still, it was a super bunch of cyclists, and the bacon sarnie at 3:00 am was a real lifter. The ride was incredibly well organised, so well done Simon and crew.
It is a fun experience to cruise what would in normal hours be very busy roads. The group stayed together pretty well, and we pulled into Brighton a bit past 7:00 a.m. on Saturday. Too cold and wet to think of anything other than getting home to a hot shower, we made straight for the train station and a smooth trip home.
My family gave me some slack for a three-hour kip before steaming into the day. I then went to bed at 6:00 Saturday night, sleeping 12 hours before waking refreshed Sunday morning.
Babu is a little worse for wear, having not ridden a bike for years. An admirable performance to just hop on and do 60 miles (with a few hills, including the steeply-pitched 'Beacon' just before our destination). His poor bottom didn't take well to his saddle, and he's only now comfortable sitting again.
You can see what the other riders had to say about this FNRttC at Another Cycling Forum.
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