As the days grow colder and the nights become longer you are forced to change your riding dynamic by turning on the lights. Old trails become unfamiliar as shadows bounce around a narrow tunnel of light that shines down from your bars. A new danger becomes apparent as you rely on a bubble of light provided by an ever draining battery to separate you from whatever may lurk in the darkness.
As you ride the mind wanders, imagining sounds that aren't there, pushing you to pedal faster and make your escape. Breaks take on a new form, and you hope your riding partners are still coming behind as not to leave you stranded alone in the eerily quite forest. Your voices echo, nervous laughter is pressent and you hope nothing else is listening.
Wisps of steam flow out and around your helmet while the chill in the air seeps into your clothing. While you find the thrill of the trail exhilarating, you secretly long for the warmth and safety of your truck at the bottom of the trail. You race towards the end of the trail feeling uneasy. Your lights begin to flicker, and you become very aware that riders aren't the only thing on the trail tonight.
The sun makes its way over the hills melting the thin layer of frost that accumulated throughout the night. A police man speaks to a tow truck driver. His lights flash in the background, but no siren is turned on. Why would it be? Sirens are for emergencies and they are simply towing another abandoned vehicle.
Huge thanks to:
Commencal Bikes for making such a dependable and bright frame. For more information or to purchase
click here.
Steve Riffel of
Riff Stills and Keenan Kovacs of
Lucky Nugget Films for their cinematography and photography work.
some years back we shot a "night shore" article at the old Esher Shore bike park for MBUK magazine here in the UK
check out the images I received from MBUK:
www.pinkbike.com/photo/1159279
www.pinkbike.com/photo/1159278
www.pinkbike.com/photo/1159274
www.pinkbike.com/photo/1159275
Loved it dude, shooting at night is a completely different ball game! (as is riding) and you nailed it. Nice one!
like fire:
www.pinkbike.com/photo/10244742
www.pinkbike.com/photo/9316652
If you are starting up it's hard to beat a cheap Chinese system though. Here in the uk you can order a 'Magicshine' clone direct from China for £25-30 and they are more than good enough. I did buy a UK brand light too at 5-6x the price and, whilst the light quality and build are better, I personally can't justify the additional cost when financially I'm not all that flush. Or just search eBay and you can find similar options...
Yeah - dx is where I started. Lights do have a definite bright spot with a sharp edge but I can live with that! I've found eBay is now even better though with stock already in the country (UK for me) so no long wait for delivery, and prices the same or cheaper. Everyone eBay 'bike lights'!
Oh, and in a slightly geeky fanboy manner I've watched your edits for what seems an age - thank you as they are awesome! Geek-out over...