Lachlan Morton’s top tips for cycling in the dark

Lachy has done more than his fair share of nighttime riding on long-distance adventures like the Alt Tour, One Ride Away, The Divide, and Great Southern Country. He has made all the mistakes, scared himself more than a few times, and figured out the hard way what works best for riding in the dark.

Ultra-distance racing, FKTs, and audax events are becoming evermore popular — and riding at night is often part of the game. It can also be dangerous, especially on open roads.

We asked Lachlan for his best nighttime riding tips, so you can stay safe and have fun on the bike at night.

I very quickly learned that it is a massive advantage to be able to see the road, or trail. You save so much mental energy when everything is well-lit. Especially if you are riding off-road at night, I would say go with high lumens and lots of battery.

Knog has a 1300-lumen Blinder that I put under my Wahoo. That works really well, because I can just leave it on the bike all the time. They also have a super high-powered, 2300-lumen big dog that is great for absolutely lighting it up. You can toggle through the different brightness modes. Basically, if you’re going uphill or if it is less technical, you can run it lower and then when you need it, you just crank it up. Get good lights.

I always wear a headlamp at night. It helps to be able to light up the trail where you’re looking, as well as where the bars are pointing. And then, if you’re trying to get something out of a bag or you stop to pee, it’s helpful to always have the headlight. So, as soon as it gets dark, the headlight goes on. That doesn’t mean I’m always running it, but it is good to have the combo ready.

Managing sleep is super important. I’ve done it both ways in ultra events, pushing through the nights and dedicating time to sleep, and I definitely now prefer to sleep. For me, if I’m getting five hours, I think it is a good amount. That way, you at least get a full sleep cycle. There’s always half an hour or so on each side for setting up and packing up. For keeping the stress down, sleep is super important. You know: I’ll get the sleep and then I’ll be better for it.

What I do is try and work out during the day how I’m traveling and then get an idea that I could get to “spot X,” whether it’s a town or a campground or somewhere else I like that would be a good spot to set up. That helps you stay focused until you get to that point, as opposed to just riding until you get tired. I prefer to do it that way.

Even though I have ridden through whole nights, I wouldn’t advocate for it. If you do plan to do it, knowing yourself becomes very important, because you can switch really quickly from feeling really good to feeling like, “Oh, I’m in a hole, and I need to stop right away.”

Gauging when you need to stop is key. You need to work out your own cues for when you’re getting tired. Sometimes, because you’re very stimulated, they can be hard to read, but you need to work out what those cues are and when to call it a night.

Sometimes, it’s just a lack of focus and concentration, which, if you’re riding off road, is really easy to pick up because you get sloppy and make mistakes. On the road, it is a little harder to work out, but, in general, it is a focus thing and once your mind starts to wander, you should call it a night. You’re better off calling it early than finding yourself pushing a bit too far and then being stuck somewhere and being really tired all of a sudden and having to work it out at that point.

Being careful around traffic is a huge one. The nice thing is that if you have good lights, you should actually be more visible at night, because you really stand out. Make sure you get the lights on early, because twilight, the hours between when the sun starts to go down and complete darkness, is probably the most dangerous time. It’s also when there tends to be a lot of cars.

You have to be aware that people who are driving at strange hours might also be tired. During the day, you might not think twice about a car overtaking you, but if it is 2:00 AM and you’re riding along a random road, check to make sure that they have seen you.

As a bike rider, it is on you to look after your own safety a little bit more at night, because no one’s expecting to see you. If you are in a city, coming through a town where there are blind corners, or where traffic merges, it is definitely important to bring it back a notch and make sure that the drivers have seen you. If someone’s pulling out of a street at 11 o’clock at night, they’re probably not expecting to see you. That doesn’t mean there’s any malintention behind it. It’s just human nature, so having that awareness is key. I don’t think that riding at night is necessarily any more risky than riding in the daytime. But, with traffic, it is on you as a bike rider to ensure your safety, because you are always going to come off second best in a crash.

One thing you can easily underestimate at night is managing things like clothing. Little things become a lot more difficult when it’s dark. Once I know I’m going into the night, I’ll stop and tell myself, “I might need this, so I’ll get it out of my bag now and put it in my pocket.” Or, I might just chuck on a vest then and leave it open. When you switch to night mode and it’s dark, you want everything to be as simple as it can be and have everything you need right there, so you don’t waste time looking for it, because all of that becomes 10 times more difficult in the dark.

Night riding, especially if you’re with a group of people out on a casual night ride, can be so fun, because you can ride roads or terrain that you’ve done a hundred times before, but at night they are completely different. If you haven’t done it, I would say, go and do it. It feels a little naughty, like you are out too late, or something. It is a really fun thing to go and do. Just stay safe.

Check out Lachlan’s favorite Knog bike lights.