Warning for all...if you plan on riding the Burke Gilman at night make sure you have a BRIGHT light.
I've done my fair share of night riding. Sure, most of it was in a city where I had the luxury of illuminated streets. It has only been once before, riding from Beaver Dam to my house in Wisconsin, where I rode in complete darkness...until now.
Saturday was my only full day to spend some time with Amanda and we had plans to see a play that night at a local high school. I've been a little short on money lately as well as i've been lagging behind on my goal of riding 5,000 miles in a year. I had the bright idea of biking to Amanda's that day and using her car to get us around. The only problem that I completely forgot about was that Amanda's window was broken and would not roll up...it was also a rainy day so driving her car around in rainy weather wasn't the best of ideas. Now being the problem solver that I claim to be I decided to reflect on the issue at hand. Soon enough I had an epiphany. I would load up my bike, drive to Amanda's, do our stuff for the day, drive to work (just down the street from Amanda's), and bike home that Saturday evening only to bike back the following morning for work (I needed my car in the Bothell area for Sunday as well). It sounded like a good plan so I went through with it. 11:00 pm came along and it was time to leave the girlfriends house. I drove down the road a bit, unloaded my bike, locked up my car, and hopped on my bike for the ride home. The trip started out pretty well. The streets were illuminated and the cars could see me. It wasn't until about 2 miles down the road that the street lights disappeared and I was in darkness. I knew that this portion of the route had vertical grates on the bike lane, however I couldn't really see them. PAUSE: for those of you who don't know there are three types of sewer grates that exist (3 that i've seen). Vertical grates, horizontal grates, and diagonal grates.
HORIZONTAL: (Safe. Tires roll over easily.)
DIAGONAL: (Safe. Tires roll over easily.)
VERTICAL: (Deadly. Tires get stuck in the gap.)
The diagonal and horizontal grates are just fine. What you have to worry about is your front tire getting stuck in the vertical grates and you flipping over your handlebars. Other then the fact that there was a complete lack of lumens that wouldn't allow me to see the grates, I was also going downhill at 30 MPH which would only make my fall hurt worse if I were to wipe out. Needless to say I slowed down and made it through this part of the darkness without incident.
I finally made it to downtown Bothell where there were some lights. This made me feel better, however I knew that the darkness would return once I got on the Burke Gilman. I turned onto the Burke Gilman bike trail and to no surprise it was pitch black and would remain this way for the next 8 miles. The darkness made the ride very challenging. I couldn't see the edge of the trail too well and was basically drawing the shape of the trail out in my head by memory. The trail is also notorious for tree roots uplifting the pavement and not making the trail very smooth. I couldn't see any of the bumps coming so I was gripping my handlebars tight for fear of hitting these bumps...which I did many times. I also was startled by someone walking on the trail without a light (other than his cigarette), and was also looking out for animals that decided that they owned the trail. I finally made it off the trail and back onto city streets where the light posts light the rest of my route home
It wasn't my best ride, however it was a pretty ride. The trail hugs the shore of Lake Washington and the glow of the lights across the lake made for quite a site! I will be doing the trek many times and will not let the darkness stop me. I should also note that I carry a very large kitchen knife with me on my rides at night. A little food for thought in case anyone reading this blog decides to rob me on the path.
THOUGHTS: I need to get a brighter light.
