Going out to play at night

[mangocrazy]

I remember in the early days of my biking career crossing Cannock Chase in the dark on the way to a mate's house, when a deer leapt out in front of me. There was no contact but it certainly got my attention. I'd just about calmed down after that piece of excitement when the rear wheel stepped out going in a straight line, in the dry. I can only assume it was oil or somesuch on the road. I drove the rest of the way at about 20mph...

[MrLongbeard]

Not ridden in the dark for many a year, not since my commuting days, might give it a go and see what the Harley LED headlight is like

[Wossname]

I'm happy to ride in the dark as long as the lights are good. KTMs are OK, my old VTECs were like daylight, the 2 1050 Sprints in between were appallingly bad. Roads are quieter but you have to turn things down a bit. I find it quite relaxing in a concentrating kind of way - the world feels a bit different.

[dern]

I hit a deer once, fortunately it was with an Opel Manta, neither me nor the Manta suffered any damage, the same can't be said of the deer

Got any pictures of the manta?

Dad came home with a Manta A when we were kids on the assumption that it would be fine for two lads and a labrador in the back and towing a caravan. We didn't keep that long. I had a Manta B as one of my first cars, loved it to bits. No pictures of either

[Le_Fromage_Grande]

Sadly no Manta pictures, I had two of them, both Manta Bs, both 1977, first one, the deer hunter, was a 1.9 automatic made in Gent that started to fall apart at 140,000 miles, I think it must have been in 1991, it's torque converter seal went which caused it to go to the scrap yard, second one was a manual 1.9SR made at Russelheim that I bought the day after the first one died, I had that one until late 1997, it just got old and had a number of problems caused by old age and it was difficult to get some parts for, so the poor old thing went to the scrappy. The second one was better made and finished.

I would like another one, but it would have to have a modern engine, brakes and aircon, they're a nice handling rear wheel drive car, but a Carlton rear axle improves them.

[dern]

I had a blast in mine. Mine was a 1.8s berlinetta coupe and I had a rally exhaust welded to the manifold in wales and then ragged it around Cheshire until it started to properly rust and traded it in for a 205gti. Happy days. Would also love another but the rust and the belief that they're worth loads holds me back.

[Whysub]

One of my rides at night was through the hills in Bosnia, heading into Mostar. Clear sky, bright full moon, 20°c, perfectly surfaced and empty roads.
One of the most memorable and enjoyable night rides ever. Much better than the M25 in winter.

[Trinity765]

One July a friend and I did a dusk till dawn challenge on our own and watched the sun set in Barmouth and rode across to Chapel St Leonards to watch it rise. The start was hard work as I realised headlights don't point where you look in corners and it was spitting, not enough to get wet, but enough to split oncoming car headlights into a thousand shards of light. Once out of the mountains I got used to not being able to see anything but cats eyes and got into it. A couple of times my rear wheel went over something but not knowing what that was meant I couldn't be afraid of it in future. If you can't see it, you can't be bothered by it.

Another time at night, going over the Black Mountains, I was playing catch up (so wasn't happy) and slalomed around some big white rocks in the road. Then I said to myself "Wait! You don't get big white rocks in the road". They were sheep who had gone to sleep on the warm tarmac. I then went to do an overtake and an oncoming car rose out of a hidden dip, full beam on - I had no idea it was there and it looks like a spaceship rising up onto the sky out of nowhere - I abandon the overtake I caught up though, muttering in my helmet "I fuckin' hate mountains, and sheep, and riding at night, who's idea was this?".

[cheb]

It's a long time since I rode in the dark, up here if it's pleasant enough to be out on a bike for fun then it'll be light.

[Rockburner]

I love night riding. The air is cooler, so denser, so the bike tends to run a little better. You can focus on just what you can see, no distractions from the wider view, it's almost zen like sometimes.

Coming back from the TT 100th Anniversary, I got the late boat back to Heysham, which docks at about 1am or something, and rode all through the night down to the South Coast. I was hoping to beat the sun home. Didn't quite win, the sun rise when i was about 20 miles short!

Have also hit a deer at night, was doing about 80 coming out of a village on my commute home one evening about 10pm when a roe female jumped out of the hedge the other side of the road, and crossed on front of me.
Bit of a brown trousers moment and i thought i was dead. Could of seconds later i realise I'm still on the bike, still on the road, and still upright.
Wondering what the fuck happened i turned around to find out what happened to the deer.
It was lying on the nearside verge stone dead.
I worked out eventually that the cylinder head of the R1150RS i was on had clipped it on the side of the head.
I don't think it suffered at all, which was a small consolation, it didn't travel more than a yard or two after the impact.
Funnily enough the incident happened about 300 yards from a friends house (herriewullie if anyone remembers him?), so i tend him to let him know and he came out and picked it up. He feed his dog venison for about 6 months!

[Count Steer]

I love night riding. The air is cooler, so denser, so the bike tends to run a little better. You can focus on just what you can see, no distractions from the wider view, it's almost zen like sometimes.

Coming back from the TT 100th Anniversary, I got the late boat back to Heysham, which docks at about 1am or something, and rode all through the night down to the South Coast. I was hoping to beat the sun home. Didn't quite win, the sun rise when i was about 20 miles short!

Have also hit a deer at night, was doing about 80 coming out of a village on my commute home one evening about 10pm when a roe female jumped out of the hedge the other side of the road, and crossed on front of me.
Bit of a brown trousers moment and i thought i was dead. Could of seconds later i realise I'm still on the bike, still on the road, and still upright.
Wondering what the fuck happened i turned around to find out what happened to the deer.
It was lying on the nearside verge stone dead.
I worked out eventually that the cylinder head of the R1150RS i was on had clipped it on the side of the head.
I don't think it suffered at all, which was a small consolation, it didn't travel more than a yard or two after the impact.
Funnily enough the incident happened about 300 yards from a friends house (herriewullie if anyone remembers him?), so i tend him to let him know and he came out and picked it up. He feed his dog venison for about 6 months!

Don't mess with a flat twin!

I remember herriewullie. He used to live about 300 yards away as the crow flies but moved further south. Tree surgeon (fell out of a tree and damaged his back).

Bikes aside, summer nights are the best time to drive a convertible (with the top down obvs ).

[Hot_Air]

Almost hit a muntjac deer last winter on the Fazer on a dual carriageway and didnt even see it till it was about 6 foot in front and flashed past my left foot luckily enough

^ this is also my experience. I’ve had too many close encounters of the animal kind.

Only last week, a deer took out the car in front of me. And a mate had a 60mph slide on his derrière after a deer hit him.

[The Spin Doctor]

I have to say I am quite surprised at the number of deer encounters.

I've had just one close one. I was up in Scotland, right up north in the Flow Country, taking advantage of a deserted stretch of straight road with excellent view to open the FZ750 up. There was a field on my right with barley and a walled estate to my left. The wall was about 10 ft tall. I was doing three figures-plus when a deer jumped the wall and landed in front of me. I hit the brakes and would never have stopped, but fortunately it took one look at me and decided back behind the wall was its best option. It cleared it easily again.

And this was broad daylight, very early afternoon in fact.

I guess we all tend to remember incidents like that.

[asmethurst99]

Now and again i'll ride home in the dark from work - its east London and not far - did it all the time when i worked 12.5 hr shifts-No deer though
I'll go out early ish at weekends just for a spin to avoid the traffic

[Supermofo]

Used to love late night blasts when I lived in North West London, empty roads, well lit and no wildlife.

Now I still quiet like more open A roads but the twisty Bs scare me a bit. Even well know roads have an unfamiliar look, visibility is down and the main reason is deer. I get little Montjac in my front garden in the day time let alone at night!!

[Noggin]

When I got my first bike (November 2002! ZZR600) I was working in the evenings at a friends pub. Any day the weather was good, not freezing and especially if it was a Friday or saturday, I'd ride the bike to the pub. Boss always laughed at me cos I rode the bike about 2 miles and the customers never understood. But my boos always knew that if the weather stayed the same, the trip home after midnight would be around 20-40 miles Bloody lovely on a clear night, even in winter!! LOL

I haven't done it much since as for some reason all bike lights (that I've had since) are rubbish!!!


As for deer. My riding buddy's best mate was taken out in style but the second deer. My riding buddy always told me that they cross in pairs. If you only see one, it's best to assume that the second one is about to leap out!! His mate was coming out of a village, not totally stupid speeds as he did 30 through it, and missed the fist deer but the second got him good and proper. Broken pelvis, cracked vertebrae but back on a bike once healed!

Steve did show me the places that deer would often cross on the routes we used to use on Sunday mornings. At first I couldn't understand why he always slowed down in certain areas, normally straight roads. When he explained, I continued doing that even after he wasn't around!!