The Wheelsucker Report on Riding Fixies in the Extreme Cold in a Park so Dark You Could Not See Where You Were Going

It was very dark as there were no lights of any kind in Quiet Waters park other than those attached to bikes and helmets; it was also very cold and windy. Despite a fully charged headlight the wheelsucker could barely see the road and only just managed to swerve to stay on the road and avoid riding into the grass and trees several times. The brightest things in the park were the deer’s eyes reflecting back bike headlights. Do the lights attract or repel the deer?

How crazy do you have to be? Very crazy. Need we mention that Quiet Waters Park is closed on Tuesdays, so riders probably should not be in there anyhow?

Four riders on fixies of various ages, sizes and gearing, with various strange and wonderful lighting "solutions", most of dubious value, rode the Quiet Waters loop last night. The wheelsucker’s light was not bright enough for him to see the road clearly, while Sue Estes had a green glow that would have worked well for a Martian Invasion B movie. Dennis’ NiteRider light was so bright that when he rode behind someone, the rider ahead cast a shadow that looked like a giant on a bicycle, dwarfing Quiet Waters Park. One hoped this apparition kept the deer off the road.

The wheelsucker was worried about overdriving his headlight and hitting a deer, a tree, or just riding off the road, but apparently the deer were also concerned about this possibility, and stayed out of the way. It is not clear who would have come off the worse in such a crash. Lars assured the other riders that the suicide squirrels were not out after dark, so that was one blessing.

Could this be any more dangerous? Sure, the deer could have been armed, there could have been black ice on the road, riders could have been in a serious pace line, or the wheelsucker could have been riding alone, so only would have been found the morning after the bad crash.

The wheelsucker is searching for more lights and hopes to be better prepared -- and faster -- next Tuesday evening.

Wheelsucker data:
35:12, 10.75 miles, 18.32 mph (including warmup and cooldown), 132/154 bpm, 83/113 rpm, 15.66/24.82 mph. 48-17, which is 74.2 gear inches.

Deer 0: Riders 0.