the Way of the Turtle

A NICE CHILLY NIGHT
12.6 Miles on the Mohawk-Hudson Bike Path
Tuesday, November 27, 2007

When I left work there were actually some spots where the sun was breaking through the clouds, so there was no question in my mind that I was going to get out on my bike tonight. Besides, I wanted to test out some new lights I bought on clearance at REI...

Got to the Niskayuna Lions Park parking lot after full dark, and was a bit surprised that there were no other cars there. Geared up, and headed east on the path, not entirely sure how far I would go... I ended up going all the way to the top of the steep hill down to Island View Rd. No other riders on the path, but I did pass two runners who commented on the fact that someone else was out tonight.

The new lights worked OK... the 5 LED one gives off plenty of light to see by, at least on a paved path - don't know that I'd want to try going off-road with it. The 3 LED light is an OK supplement to the brighter one; I definitely wouldn't want to try riding with that one alone. My only real issue with the brighter light is that some brilliant designer thought it would be a good idea to have a strip of clear plastic around the LED mount, which ends up producing bright glow that effectively destroys my night vision. I tried riding with one hand over the top of the light, but that became uncomfortable fairly quickly. Finally, I hit on the best solution, and tied my Croakie eyeglass strap around it... I'll have to apply some electrical tape before I use it again. The angle of my handlebars was also a bit inconvenient, and left the light shining a bit off-center, so I'll also have to see if I can mount it closer to the middle of the bars.

After returning to the park, I rode out to Lock 7 and back, with not a soul in sight. It would have been nice to stay out a little longer, but I wanted to get over to the karate school in time to work briefly with one of my younger students after the kids' class, so I headed back after reaching the Lock, packed up my gear and bike, and headed over to Colonie to catch the last few minutes of class.

All in all, a good night ride - chilly but not too cold, with occasional glimpses of stars through the clouds and the sounds of the river at night accompanying me as I whirred along the bike path.

JMH