A night-ride on an unfamiliar bike

So Scotty calls up on Monday afternoon and says "Hey! I've got a whole lot of GT demo bikes here! Wanna go for a night ride?" and of course I said yes. I waited patiently for Scotty to get home to see what I was going to be riding.. and it was a 2008 GT Marathon..

First thing I did was drop the seat height almost a foot, then let out half the air pressure in the forks and the rear shock, put my ghetto night light on my helmet..


.. and we were good to go.

Riding down the road to Makara Peak carpark and I began to realise that the bike was perhaps a tad on the big side for me! I had no standover clearance (oh well, I'll just try to not straddle the top tube!), the handlebars were too wide, and the front end sat a lot higher than my Superlight. Hmmm. This will be interesting!

The bike pedalled well uphill. Up Koru and Sally Alley we went. I was careful about the trees on the side of the tracks due to the width of the handlebars, but didn't clip any. Phew! A few stops to re-group with some people we were riding with along the way, and by the time we hit the top of Ridgeline Extension, I was beginning to get a bit more of a handle of the bike. The cool thing about night-riding I've found is that it that I probably ride faster at night because I can't see the track as well as I could in the day. Where's that slippery rocky section gone? Oh.. it's back there huh? Ok. Next section!

I hadn't quite set up the suspension right with the rebound, so it was feeling probably a bit harsher than the bike could be. But it was fun! Out on the 4wd again and along to Magic Carpet, the last part of Koru again. Then SWIGG/Starfish down. I hadn't been night-riding for a couple of months, and I think it was just what I needed. The unfamiliar bike also brought a whole different aspect to the ride. The differences in set up, geometry, suspension, size.. they all made the ride interesting! So, if you're getting sick of riding the same old MTB circuit in the day on your trusty bike, beg/borrow/steal some night lights and a different bike, and head for the hills :)

Is it dark outside yet? I think I might go for another ride..