Here’s why a night bike ride can make you feel like the luckiest person in the world – and the kit you need to succeed in darker months
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To me, it doesn’t matter whether it’s raining or the sun is shining or whatever: as long as I’m riding a bike, I know I’m the luckiest guy in the world.’ So said Mark Cavendish – now, Sir Mark Cavendish, after his inclusion on the 2024 King’s Birthday Honours list – one of the finest competitive cyclists the UK has ever produced.
At the time of writing, Sir Mark was days away from retirement, calling time on an illustrious career in which he won (deep breath): three World Championship golds and an Olympic silver medal on the track in two different disciplines; a World Championship gold and a silver in the road race; the Milan-San Remo Classic; the Milan-Torino Classic; one green jersey for the best overall sprinter in the Vuelta a Espana, plus three individual stages; one mauve jersey for the best overall sprinter in the Giro d’Italia, plus 17 individual stages; and two green jerseys for the best sprinter in the Tour de France, plus a record- breaking 35 individual stage wins, the last of which took him past the great Belgian Eddy Merckx, whose marker had stood for five decades.
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While much has been written about Cavendish’s killer instincts and aggressive riding style, the main thing most cycling fans will remember is his seemingly endless relish for racing.
His final Tour de France stage win came earlier this year, at the age of 39, long after most sprinters retire, and indeed, one year after his own planned retirement in 2023. Like all great cyclists, ‘the Manx Missile’ had an incredible ability to push through physical pain. You can’t win a sprinters’ jersey unless you complete the entire, gruelling Grand Tour, something Cavendish achieved 14 times.
But he also apparently loved the mind games involved in elite cycling, which he once described as ‘a series of chess moves.’ If his performative swagger seemed innate, a trait that dated back to his earliest days racing mountain bikes as a teenager on the Isle of Man, what really shone through to fans was how much he just really loved riding bikes – whatever the weather, and whatever the conditions.
This boundless enthusiasm put me in mind of another famous quote, from a fellow knight of the realm, which I often think about as the days grow shorter around this time of year. ‘When the spirits are low,’ wrote Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, in Demorest’s Family Magazine, ‘when the day appears dark, when work becomes monotonous, when hope hardly seems worth having, just mount a bicycle and go out for a spin down the road, without thought on anything but the ride you are taking.’
You don’t need to be a detective of Sherlock Holmes’ deductive powers to work out that cycling is easier in summer time, when days are longer, lighter and warmer. But I often think the mental health benefits his creator pointed to in that 1895 article are more profound when the days are literally dark.
Back in Conan Doyle’s day, when streets outside cities would have been poorly lit, if at all, cycling in December would have been dangerous. But thanks to today’s high-powered bike lights, it’s perfectly possible to ride right through the winter.
As a rule, if I’m heading out for a night ride – or any ride after about 4pm in December – I try to avoid roads as much as possible and head for my local mountain bike trails instead. Of course, there are extra obstacles when you’re riding through the woods, but trees are far more manageable than several hundred kilos of car hurtling along at speed. I also make sure that I dial back on the level of technicality of the trails that I might try to tackle in daylight.
You won’t find me taking on rooty, bike park blacks in the dark. It’s strictly blue and green runs for me, ideally as mellow and flowy as possible. And obviously, having the right gear is essential.
After your bike, your lights are the most important component of your night riding kit. The set-up most people recommend involves a wide-beam light attached to your handlebars and a more concentrated spotlight on your helmet, to help you look around corners and anticipate what’s coming next. You’ll want to make sure that each of the lights has at least 1,500 lumens of power if you’re riding trail centre blue runs, and potentially more if you’re stepping up to more tricky trails or riding faster. Don’t forget a backlight either – while you don’t need quite as much power, you want to make sure you’re clearly visible to anyone riding down behind you.
Next on the list is a decent reflective jacket. If there’s even a little bit of road riding to get to the trails, you’ll need to make sure you’re highly visible. And like the backlight, it’ll help avoid any unfortunate incidents with fellow bikers once you get off-road.
Gloves are an essential piece of mountain bike kit at all times, but it’s worth investing in slightly warmer ones for winter. And you’ll want to make sure that you have a properly waterproof pair of mountain bike shoes. Even if it’s not actively raining when you head out, there are likely to be more puddles on the trails in December, and there’s nothing worse than cold, wet feet.
There are times when jumping on a bike after dark feels vaguely masochistic, or more hassle than it’s worth. But I’ve never once been out and regretted it. There’s something thrilling about the way that familiar trails are transformed after dark. The mood-boosting properties of a good bike ride are just as potent now as they were when Sir Arthur was alive. And if you have the right gear, it doesn’t matter ‘whether it’s raining or the sun is shining or whatever.’ As Sir Mark says, if you’re out riding a bike, you feel like the luckiest person in the world.
Three items that will make night riding better
The Surprisingly Useful: Wacky Jerseys – High Visibility Reflective Cycling Hooded Jacket (Buy here)
Super-bright reflective jerseys are normally the kind of thing that road cyclists wear. And indeed, Wacky Jerseys are more famous for their road cycling clothing, including their range of printed cycling tops. But if you’re riding round a trail centre at night, the extra visibility that a high- vis jacket brings is surprisingly useful, and if you have to cover any sections of road to get there, it’s essential.
Wacky Jersey’s hooded models come in a range of colours and they’re all ultra- reflective, water- and windproof, breathable, quick drying and tear-resistant.
Geographical readers can get 15 per cent off all orders using the code GEOGRAPHICAL15.
The Essential: Exposure Lights – Six Pack Mk14 & Zenith – £495 & £295 (Buy here)
Designed specifically for night-time mountain biking, the 14th version of the popular Exposure Six Pack light is an incredibly powerful piece of kit. It’s capable of pumping
out 5,800 lumens of light, in a broad spread that illuminates your front wheel and the trail ahead of you.
The UK-based brand’s clever Reflex Technology dims the beam automatically for slower sections, such as climbs, to optimise battery performance. The Zenith is the ultimate helmet-mounted accompaniment to the bar- mounted Six Pack. Offering 2,200 lumens of light, it can switch between modes with a simple tap to your helmet, meaning you don’t have to fiddle with buttons.
The Luxury: Adidas Five Ten Trailcross Gore-Tex Mountain Bike Shoes – £160 (Buy here)
Adidas bought the beloved mountain biking brand Five Ten in 2020, and has invested heavily in technical innovation in every collection since. These Trailcross Gore-Tex mountain bike shoes are a case in point. The sole is made from Five Ten’s Stealth Rubber and the upper is synthetic mesh with a waterproof Gore-Tex membrane similar to those found on Adidas’s trail-running shoes.
The high-top design, with an adjustable ankle cuff, is made of the same material as most wetsuits and is designed to help keep out mud and debris. A winter-specific pair of biking shoes might sound like a luxury, but these make all the difference when it comes to comfort.
