Weekly Night ride clinics

Written by Cyril Jay-Rayon
Created Date: Tuesday, 11 January 2011 11:36

In keeping with tradition, our exciting night rides are back in 2011. As always, these rides are open to all and are sponsored by our trusted sponsor, Light and Motion, who provides demo lights from the multisport Stella to the high performance Seca. If you haven't ridden with a Light and Motion light, you haven't yet fully experienced the joy of night riding. Come on out and experience the difference! Just let us know before the ride if you're planning on coming so we can set  a light aside for you.

Many of our our amazing sponsors will also provide some giveaways during the course of the coming months.

This year, we're adding San Francisco to the mix as DART co-founder, Ryan VanGorder (aka RVG) has moved there and wants to keep sharing the excitement of night riding with the Bay Area mountain bikers and adventure racers. So, we'll hold rides in Los Angeles, San Franciso, and Seattle. For specifics on a given week's ride, please contact:

Los Angeles: Cyril Jay-Rayon ( This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it )
San Franciso: Ryan VanGorder ( This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it )
Seattle: Glenn Rogers ( This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it )

Ride Description
Although the rides are open to all and we NEVER leave anyway behind, weekly rides will be graded as follows to allow people to find rides that fit their interest:

Beginner/Intermediate ride: if you’ve been nervous about coming out, don’t be. We’ll ride with you and help out. Speed won’t be an issue. The technical level will mostly involve dirt roads so it will be easy. Ride time 1 1/2 – 2 hrs. Faster riders are absolutely welcome as we’ll split up the group if rider speeds vary. So, if you’ve been coming to the rides regularly, keep coming every week.

Intermediate/Advance ride: These rides will be longer, faster and will explore more trails. If you’ve been coming regularly, keep coming as these rides are for you. We will drop no one so if you feel you’re an intermediate rider, come on out!

Note: All our rides are no drop rides which means that we’ll regroup along the route to make sure everyone finishes together. Depending on how many we are, we will split the group into speed levels. If you want to go fast, you can join the fast group but if you want to go slower you can just hang out and enjoy the night. We will have a “sweeper” at the back of the group at all times. A sweeper is an experienced rider who knows the route and will help anyone who needs help. Just feel confident that you can ride at your own pace. During the rides, we’ll gladly help anyone with training and technical tips.

What: Night mountain bike training rides
Who: ALL skill and fitness levels (we will help everyone improve their skill and fitness level)
Why: Because we all need motivation to get out there and have some fun on our mtn bikes during busy weekdays
When & Where:
Los Angeles:
Every Thursday nights in the winter/Spring months. Meet at 7:15pm and ride starts at 7:30pm (the rides will happen irrespective of weather conditions)
Where: To keep things interesting we meet at different locations. See below for location start places and check with Cyril for which location for a given week.

San Vicente/26th in Santa Monica Location (tons of free parking here) - This is our standard meeting place but we may change it from time to time so please check with Cyril the week of the ride.


View Night Rides - San Vicente / 26th meeting location in a larger map

Westridge Location (tons of free parking) - this is a favorite for our beginner rides because we need to climb a lot less to access the beautiful Santa Monica Mountains.


View Thursday night rides - Westridge start in a larger map

For San Francisco and Seattle details, please contact RVG and Glenn respectively.
What to Bring: a helmet is a MUST so is a rear red light. In addition to these 2, make sure you bring a spare tube and a means to inflate (co2 cartridge or pump), tire levers, and a multitool. Also warm clothing is advised as it can get a little cold on winter nights.

We look forward to sharing our love of night riding with you!

Keep Exploring,

Team DART-nuun-SportMulti