Freeway riding...NIGHT OR DAY???

[BigMike]

When you HAVE to ride a long ride...what do you prefer??? Night or Day? Any tips on night riding? I already know...dress warm, check lights..., and be alert. Looking for any things that you all might do. :thumbsup:

[TreAdidas]

When you HAVE to ride a long ride...what do you prefer??? Night or Day? Any tips on night riding? I already know...dress warm, check lights..., and be alert. Looking for any things that you all might do. :thumbsup:

I prefer day... visibility...

My longest journey was a 2000 mile extended weekend excursion through the Midwest. Temperatures went from 28 degrees to 80 degrees. Temps won't bother you just dress appropriately. Word to the wise... BUY A GEL SEAT PAD. I'm not even kidding. My azz hurt for days. I couldn't sit even in regular chairs it hurt sooo badly.

[BigMike]

The day is cool...but there is more traffic through the city....and that takes more attention....meaning more exhaustion. Its tiring as a mufugga lane splitting for hours.

[technophile]

I prefer day, but I've done my fair share of riding SD freeways at night. There are a couple of things to remember.

1) Slow DOWN! it is too easy to outrun the reach of your headlight. In otherwords, if you are going too fast, you will not be able to stop if something suddenly moves into your path of travel. For highways these means taking it easy with the on and off ramps.

2) Extend your following distance. It's dark, getting late, and even though you've downed like 12 cups of coffee, your body's natural rythm is to start slowing down, this means slower reaction times. Leave a little extra room between you and the car in front of you, which leads me to...

3) Make sure you leave yourself an out. As riders we should do this day or night as it is a good idea to have an escape if that idiot next to you or in front of you decides to demonstrate his stupidity in a public manner. However, this is especially critical at night. You may not realize it, but during the day you are able to pick up on all kinds of small clues that alert you to another driver's activities, like they turn their head to check thier mirrors(Hint, the faster they turn their head, the more immediate the following action...Watch out!), the front wheels indicate a turn or lane change, gabbing on the phone, etc...Problem is at night, you can't see many of these little signals that tell you that the drivers aren't paying attention, so having an escape plan is key.

4) Don't split lanes (see #3)

5) Be Cool, ride safe, get home in one piece.

[krasiejay]

I prefer day also, more visibility for you and the other cagers :rifle: .

I wear ear plugs, and have a tank bag with some clothes so I can lean almost upright on the tank. I also have a throttle rocker that i use once in a while so my wrist doesnt get fatigued if im just cruising.

At night, I'm not trying to look cool, so i'll wear a bright vest if I'm taking a long freeway trip. I also drink lots of water so a) i dont get dehydrated and loose alertness, and b) so i'm forced to stop every once in a while.

[Melbell]

On the bike, I prefer daytime for long trips.. but for driving, I prefer night (only because I can set the cruise control and don't have to worry about traffic)

[247BlackOut]

On the bike, I prefer daytime for long trips.. but for driving, I prefer night (only because I can set the cruise control and don't have to worry about traffic)

ditto. It's true that during the day it might be harder to ride through a big city, but just don't go during traffic hours. I think I would probably get up with the sun and call it quits around 4 or 5 if I knew I was going to be running through a big city soon. But then again there are many different factors when riding a long ride. I haven't done a long ride yet, but I would like to some day. =)

[grimfandango]

I prefer day... visibility...

My longest journey was a 2000 mile extended weekend excursion through the Midwest. Temperatures went from 28 degrees to 80 degrees. Temps won't bother you just dress appropriately. Word to the wise... BUY A GEL SEAT PAD. I'm not even kidding. My azz hurt for days. I couldn't sit even in regular chairs it hurt sooo badly.


+1...

my little romp to seattle's saving grace was a pair of bicycle shorts...

asspadding is reccomended

[GixxerDemon55]

I prefer Daytime riding!

[wanderer]

i like both. obviously, better visibility during the day. the one thing i like the best about nite riding is WAY less wind turbulence on the highways with less traffic.

i'd say the most important thing for LONG trips is a comfortable bike.

[MilesPerHour]

iWAY less wind turbulence on the highways with less traffic.
Double true on that. Specially all us folk from the Bay Area and headin' up and down the '5' during the day with all the wind through there. I'm gonna jump on the butt padding wagon to... do it. Also, how long were you planning on riding and over what amount of time?

[dcnoj]

^ Word.

[MilesPerHour]

Oh and if you are thinking about heading through the desert at night, dress WARM! I froze my butt off last night on the way home from Phoenix...

[peter1sp]

+1 on butt padding. +1 for as much annoying reflectivity as possible.

Still I prefer night riding. Fewer cars and your headlight is much more visible because it vibrates all over the place so people will see you coming up behind them more easily. Also my bike is air-cooled so it likes the night air better anyway.

My cruise set-up includes sport bags, tank bag and camelbak and a Vista Cruise Throttle Lock.

If you do ride during the day. Sunscreen on the back of your neck and deodorant on the sides. That little area of skin that gets exposed between your helmet and your suit or jacket, burns nicely on a long ride. The problem is that you might not know it because you have air moving over it constantly. The Deodorant I haven't actually tried but it supposedly keeps your neck from chafing.