NIGHT RIDERS : AS DARKNESS CLOSES IN, BIKERS GET BRIGHT IDEA.

Byline: Mark Langton

As I was finishing up a late afternoon mountain-bike ride recently, I was met at the trailhead by a pair of headlights.

These weren't just any headlights - one was on top of the other, not horizontal like a car. It was, to my surprise, a mountain biker equipped with lights just beginning his ride.

How smart. With summer over and the clocks turning back at the end of the month, those motivated enough and well-prepared can continue to ride well past sundown.

A growing number of off-road enthusiasts are strapping powerful, high-tech lights onto their bikes that can turn an otherwise blind ride into an entirely new recreational experience. Indeed, with trails becoming increasingly crowded during the daytime, this hearty segment of the mountain-bike community is extending their exercise hours.

If you think these riders are simply duct-taping flashlights onto their bikes, remember that we are in an era of the microchip and space-age materials. Compact, featherweight, sophisticated lighting ``systems'' costing between $140-$280 boast dual-beam headlamps and powerful batteries that can sustain them for up to four hours. Focused-beam halogen lamps offer pinpoint directional lighting, while broad-beam lights illuminate the entire trail.

There are even helmet-mounted lights that allow riders to see in all directions, not just where your handlebar is pointed.

Tom Robbins, whose company, TurboCat Lighting in Thousand Oaks, produces one of the more advanced systems, believes the trend has shown some promise of staying power.

``I'd say there are about six or seven lighting companies (in the United States and Canada) producing close to 300,000 systems a year. And that's `to see with' lights, not `to be seen' lights.''

One of the most obvious advantages to night riding is that it extends your biking opportunities.

``We call our rides `the married man's ride,' which doesn't mean that you have to be married to go on the ride, it just means that the kids have eaten, they're settled down and then we can go riding,'' said Bob LaBass of Michael's Bicycles in Newbury Park, who along with his partner Eddy Black has been leading night rides for seven years. ``Night riding is good for us guys with kids because we don't have that much of a chance to ride in the daytime during the week.''

Night riding also has a naughty, or maybe risky side to it. While it's not illicit, most backcountry parks are posted with ``closed at sunset'' signs so night riders get a little bit of guilty pleasure in addition to their nocturnal exploits.

But even though the parks are closed, it is not against the law to ride in the local public backcountry at night, although some people will tell you it's not the best idea.

``First and foremost, never ride alone,'' said LaBass. ``Whenever we ride, we all make sure that between all of us we have a first-aid kit, extra inner tubes, tools, everything you need, because if you break down out there, there probably won't be anyone else coming along. An extra battery is not a bad idea either, in case your primary battery for some reason fails to run its full time.

``Basically, you want to be ultra prepared,'' he said.

The beams of the lights isn't all that can be seen at night, either. Wildlife is abundant after dark. It is not uncommon to see creatures you wouldn't necessarily see during the day, such as kangaroo rats and owls, along with the more common local fauna - rabbits, coyotes, deer and even the occasional bobcat and even rarer mountain lion.

``You see a lot of eyes. And every once in a while an owl will fly at you,'' said Westlake Cyclery owner Ron Jacobson, who also leads night rides out of his shop. ``It's definitely a different world.''

I recently gave night riding a whirl, and the experience left me with a sense of wonderment and exhilaration, similar to when I first started riding off-road some 14 years ago.

I also noted a lack of macho posturing that usually accompanies my daytime group rides. And although there were no women on this ride, there was a guy with his 7-year-old daughter in tow, with a helmet light of her own on a half-bike sort of contraption with its independent drive train that attaches to the adult bike's seat post. She is my new hero!

There were riders of many different levels of experience, but we all shared a fraternal bond for those couple of hours. And as we dispersed afterward into the night, I couldn't help but feel that I had gone through yet another magical mini-metamorphosis, thanks once again to my mountain bike.

MEMO: Mark Langton's cycling column appears monthly in the Daily News.

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Photo: (1-2--color) At top, a mountain bike with high-te ch handlebar-mounted lights featuring independently adjustable headlamps, quick-release handlebar clamps, machined hardware and 47 watts of power. Above, night mountain-bike riders explore Newbury Park.

John McCoy / Daily News