Finally! The Luge at Night!
First time I ever went down The Luge I was pretty scared. It was loose and had one or two places where you could roll down a hillside if you made a mistake. It took several rides to really start to feel comfortable and confident going down. My arms and hands always took a beating because I would ride the brakes so hard.
Over time I became pretty comfortable with The Luge and it wasn't such a big deal. However all those trips were done in the day time. Going down The Luge at night is a pretty common thing in the biking community and so I knew I had to try my hand at it eventually.
I was confident that I could do the climbing to get to The Luge. No problem. My main concern was that my light was on my handlebars and not my helmet. This meant I couldn't see around corners and The Luge has plenty of those.
I need to make this post shorter, so let's fast forward ...
There were an insane amount of people out when I finally did this ride at night. I did it on a Tuesday (11/21/06) and I don't know I've ever seen so many people on this trail - at any time of day. Guys, girls, advanced riders, beginning riders ... just people all over.
The climbing was a breeze. My heart rate tends to be really low and manageable at night, mostly I think because of the cold weather.
Matt and I decided not to wait at the flag or at the start of The Luge. We just went straight for it. It turned out to be not bad at all. I had more than enough light and never felt out of control or worried for my safety.
I ran into two people on the way down that had some bike trouble. One guy got a flat and the other guy might have fallen. His bike seemed ok, but he was standing on the side of the trail for some reason. Oh well!
I got passed by some guy (more like I moved over and let him pass) and then his wife/girlfriend ALMOST passed me. By the time she came up behind me we were almost done and I had too much pride to let someone else pass me. I tried to step it up and go faster to keep up, but she was right there.
Overall a great ride and a big boost of confidence.
Over time I became pretty comfortable with The Luge and it wasn't such a big deal. However all those trips were done in the day time. Going down The Luge at night is a pretty common thing in the biking community and so I knew I had to try my hand at it eventually.
I was confident that I could do the climbing to get to The Luge. No problem. My main concern was that my light was on my handlebars and not my helmet. This meant I couldn't see around corners and The Luge has plenty of those.
I need to make this post shorter, so let's fast forward ...
There were an insane amount of people out when I finally did this ride at night. I did it on a Tuesday (11/21/06) and I don't know I've ever seen so many people on this trail - at any time of day. Guys, girls, advanced riders, beginning riders ... just people all over.
The climbing was a breeze. My heart rate tends to be really low and manageable at night, mostly I think because of the cold weather.
Matt and I decided not to wait at the flag or at the start of The Luge. We just went straight for it. It turned out to be not bad at all. I had more than enough light and never felt out of control or worried for my safety.
I ran into two people on the way down that had some bike trouble. One guy got a flat and the other guy might have fallen. His bike seemed ok, but he was standing on the side of the trail for some reason. Oh well!
I got passed by some guy (more like I moved over and let him pass) and then his wife/girlfriend ALMOST passed me. By the time she came up behind me we were almost done and I had too much pride to let someone else pass me. I tried to step it up and go faster to keep up, but she was right there.
Overall a great ride and a big boost of confidence.
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