Wow the winter season hit us quick,
hopefully it's just a short blast and things will warm back up a bit once Sandy
hits the road, at least that's what weather.com is telling me. I've never been
a fan of the cold weather, my fingers & toes just can't stay warm enough, I
think it's a circulation problem. I've got some of the warmest winter riding
gloves, shoes & socks but sometimes I feel like I'm riding in flip flops.
Nothing can ruin a ride more quickly for me than stinging fingers and toes on
the bike.
With the daylight saving time change
coming up next weekend, the night riding season will be in full swing as well.
I thought we were ready for it with 3 separate lighting systems in the bike
room but after Melinda and I both suffered dead batteries after maybe an hour
of riding I quickly realized it's time to get rid of the cheap Chinese
Magicshines.
Unfortunately we weren't the only ones
who ran outta juice, 2 others with aging Niterider HID's walked out in the dark
as well. What's bad is, our batteries were brand new with only a couple of
rides on them. I sent off for the new batteries when Geoman had its recall and
got 2 fresh new batteries which should have latest longer but these were worse
than the ones that got recalled. Now with Geoman out of business I've got no
other choice but to look elsewhere.
Over the last couple of years I've
pretty much bought everything I could local and now I think it's time to do the
same with my lights. I can understand buying something online if it can be
bought locally but driving an hour and a half to buy at a big box store? I
don't care what their return policy is, I would rather support my local guys, and
it’s the right thing to do. When I bought the Magicshine's, they were selling
LED's for under $100 when everyone else was $200-$300. Back then the LED market
was just getting started and I couldn't bring myself to plunk down $600 just so
Melinda and I could do the occasional night ride. Now things have changed,
technology has gotten better and the prices have come down.
I've wanted to get away from lighting
systems with a wire running down my back to the battery for a while but just
couldn't justify it with 3 separate systems. Now the time has come to take the
leap into the all in one unit LED's, that are all the rage right now. The
technology is there and they just keep getting brighter & better.
Do the research though, I've been
looking at 3 or 4 different models and it's the little details that make all
the difference, like being able to swap batteries on the trail in the dark tool
free. That right there is one factor that will decide which light I buy.
I'm not a huge night rider, with my
shift schedule I'm able to ride during the day much more than most but there
are times when everyone is doing a big night ride and I don't want to miss out
on all the fun. I doubt I'll see any night racing anytime soon, I've pretty
much been off the racing grid this year and the urge to pay $$$ and finish mid
pack just hasn't been there this year. As far as training goes, I just can't
bring myself to take the chance and ruin something I love to do. I would love
to be fast and atop the podium but racing and training usually leads to missing
out on the great things about mountain biking for me. Stopping and enjoying the
scenery, pulling a can of craft brew outta my pack at the top of the mountain
and toasting my buddies or spending weekends traveling to race venues I've
already been to when I could be camping, and exploring new trails with Melinda
and friends. Don't get me wrong racing can be fun and still is for me every
once in a while but for now I'm just enjoying the ride.
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