Online Exclusive: Six Mountain Bike Night Rides

Photo: Alan Davis

The end of daylight savings time meets many with frustration as days get shorter and daylight becomes a scarce commodity. Sneaking out of work early to get a ride in can prove an even greater challenge. Instead of pissing off your boss, we think the best way to cope with the time change, is to embrace the night. Bust out the halogens, HIDs or LEDs and do some night riding. Here are a handful of group rides that make the most of autumn all over the country.

Scranton, PA
Every Thursday the Hubbard Bike Club does a long ride across Hubbard Mountain, or nearby peaks like Cary, Myers and Bell mountains. Look forward to a lot of topo changes and a solid 8-14 miles of intermediate and expert singletrack. When it gets too snowy for tires, the group usually snowshoes the trails just for fun, and if you bring a couple of bucks, you can usually count on a hearty post-ride meal at the Hubbard Barn; the last couple of weeks have featured beef stew, meatball hoagies, home-made fries, and salad for those health nuts. Check out the club's WEBSITE for more details.

Fairbanks, AK
You might not know it by listening to the presidential campaigns, but people in Alaska do more than just hunt and fish. In fact, Fairbanks has a vibrant all-seasons Tuesday night ride schedule that continues year-round until the snow gets too deep to handle. Organized by the Fairbanks Bicycle Club, the "post-season" rides range from intermediate 15-milers like the University Ski Trails ride with 1500 feet of elevation gain, to more ass-chapping routes like the Pipeline Viewpoint trail, a 30-mile, 3000-foot elevation gain ride. Riding with the club requires you be a member, but a one-day membership only costs $5. See details at the club's Tuesday Night Ride SITE.

El Paso, TX
The west side of El Paso has some of the best trails on the border, and the New Mexico Cycling Club takes advantage of the temperate climate by running a Thursday night ride around 6 or 7pm. The group treks into the Redd Road trail network, a well-mapped knot of technical singletrack that sports everything from beginner to black diamond-level features and about 20 miles of riding in total. The area overlaps with a Texas State Park, which is actually rider friendly--but if you're stopped by a ranger, he'll want you to pay for a one-day riding pass, which will run you $3. For more about Redd Road trails and a trail map, click HERE; for New Mexico Cycling's group ride schedule, click HERE.

Fullerton, CA
The Fullerton Loop is a Southern California standby all year round, with two rides per week, both on Thursdays. Groups depart from the Fullerton Court House parking lot, where there's free parking, at 5pm and 6:45pm sharp; the first ride is a fast-paced training ride, and the second is a more relaxed, social affair. The loop is 12 miles of quick, rolling and easy terrain, with the occasional abrupt climb or speedy singletrack descent, and a total of about 1100 feet in elevation gain. Count on a post-ride "tea party" at Roscoe's bar starting at around 9pm. Check out SoCal Trail Riders' WEBSITE for more information.

Athens, GA
If you live in Georgia, do your freezing Northeastern friends a favor and ride because you can. A good group usually heads out of Athens' The Hub bike shop on Wednesday nights at around 6:30, to do two hours of riding at one of several local spots. Most nights take riders across 8-15 miles of trails, and the terrain can vary from local, urban trails, to spots like Hawkes Creek Farm, a short but twisty, technical loop. Call before showing up: 706-355-3989, or get more info on The Hub available at their WEBSITE.

Burlington, CT
Some New England riders hibernate after Thanksgiving, but you can usually count on fat-tire holdouts to show up Tuesday and Thursday evenings at Burlington's Nassahegan State Forest. With over 30 miles of singletrack and a smattering of jeep roads, Nassahegan and the surrounding area of Sessions Woods requires plenty of pedaling to keep you warm, and lots of abrupt, technical rock gardens to test your night-ride skills. Check out CT rider-board CRANKFIRE for week-to-week ride details.

More Info
If you live in a part of the country where snow is a factor, check out these TIPS on riding in winter. If you don't already have a light setup for your helmet and handlebars, check out a few of the latest LED models reviewed HERE.