1. You feel like you are riding so much faster
Ok, so you might not be but it feels like you are. It is harder to ride at night and you will concentrate on the patch of light emitted from your lights. This makes everything seem to happen quicker. You will get to the bottom of a favourite trail feeling like a legend!

2. The trails will be much quieter
The same excuses you might use to not ride in the dark is the same for everyone else. So you will be one of the few. There will be less chance of running in to walkers and slower riders and it means that you have the freedom to play on the trails. Take your time, session sections that are usually busy.

3. Your regular trails will feel like new
At night all trails seem slightly different than they do during the day. You will be looking for your usual reference points but they will have seemed to have moved. Features seem bigger than they do in the day. Drops seem twice as big, the trails seem steeper and the levels of concentration required are far higher.

4. Your skills will improve
Riding at night is always harder and therefore your time on the bike in the dark will help you develop as a rider. Learning to ride some of the gnarlier trails in the dark will ensure that you nail them during the day. Plus you get the added benefit of being fitter than everyone else when summer arrives.

5. Lights don’t have to be expensive
We know that most things to do with mountain biking are expensive but you don’t have to have super expensive lights. There are some really affordable lights online. Some may only last one season of night riding but by then you may be hooked. The choice of lights at the expensive end of the market will light up the woods like daylight.

To some the woods can be a scary place at night to begin with. So higher heart rates and PR’s on the slower sections will be guaranteed!