RIDING INTO THE NIGHT BIKE CLUB FEATURES NOCTURNAL JOURNEYS FOR THOSE WHO AREN'T AFRAID OF THE DARK.

Byline: Bill Becher Staff Writer

In the evening, while most people are making dinner, mountain bikers are seeing local trails in a new light.

I joined three riders from the North Ranch Mountain Bike Club on a night ride from Juan Bautista de Anza Park in Calabasas.

``It's different,'' said David Buechel, who is on his second night ride. ``You can't go quite as fast. Things sneak up on you.''

Tamara Napier, from Newbury Park, has been leading night rides since 1995. She said she doesn't get enough mountain biking in on weekends, and the night rides are a great stress reliever after a day at her job as a corporate accountant.

``You can hear the coyotes howling at night,'' Napier said. ``It's like music in the background.'' Napier has seen bobcats, deer and even a baby mountain lion on her nocturnal rides.

This night we hear a lot of frogs, but no coyotes. Riding with lights takes concentration, and there's always that extra dash of adrenaline that comes from being out in the wilderness at night. You wonder what's lurking in the darkness.

These rides are not for rank beginners. The bike club rates its rides from one to five stars, with five the most difficult, ultra-gnarly rides. All night rides are rated four stars because riding at night requires good bike-handling skills and fitness. The pace is fairly high, and it's too cold to wait for slower riders, Napier said. And of course, you need lights.

Tom Robbins' company, Turbo Cat Systems in Thousand Oaks, makes mountain-bike lighting systems.

``What we're selling is the experience, not the equipment,'' Robbins said. ``You can have fun at 100 bucks. You don't need to spend $400 - but you can go faster with better equipment.''

Ashton Johnson of Sundance Cycles in Agoura said night riding is a new adventure even for experienced mountain bikers.

``The trails you've ridden for years are completely different at night,'' Johnson said. He suggests mountain bikers jaded with riding the same trails over and over again try them at night. Some areas are closed at night, so be sure to check before you ride.

The best light system is a helmet and a handle bar bike light, Johnson said. The bar light goes where your bike is pointed, but a helmet light allows you to look into corners and over drops before you come to them.

But if you get only one light, a bar system is the way to go. Helmet lights alone don't provide the shadows needed for depth perception.

Run time is important, as it will determine how long you can ride at night. Many systems offer multiple settings, so you can run most of the time at a lower setting and use only high power when you're going fast. Sundance Cycles and some other bike shops have demo programs for potential purchasers to rent a light, with the cost applied to purchase.

``Another way to make batteries last is to share a light when you're climbing,'' Johnson said. ``You're riding slow and close enough so only one person in the group needs to have their light on.''

I tried this method when my light started to dim and it worked. Sharing a light provides a good workout as you need to keep up with the person whose light is on.

The latest technology in bike lights is the High Intensity Discharge light (HID). These lights produce a lot more light for the same wattage. Some HID's put out the equivalent of 80 watts of light, as opposed to 32 watts on high beam.

I used an older model light, but it supplied enough light, especially when climbing and the pace was slower.

At the top of the trail, we stopped to catch our breath. We turned off our lights and enjoyed the night sky. But I was glad I had a helmet and bar light.

There were tight turns and steep drop-offs on the way back and I wanted to see them before I went sailing off into the darkness.

IF YOU RIDE

Tamara's Night Rides

The North Ranch Mountain Bike club night rides are Tuesdays and Thursdays at 6:30 p.m. at various local trailheads. Rides are between 10 and 15 miles long, with ride times of about 1 1/4-2 hours.

Check the monthly newsletters at the club's Web site at www.geocities.com/Colosseum/Arena/5258/ for details.

CAPTION(S):

2 photos, box

Photo:

(1) Twice a week, members of the North Ranch Mountain Bike Club wait until the sun goes down before riding on various trails throughout the Calabasas area.

(2) Tamara Napier of Newbury Park has been leading the North Ranch Mountain Bike Club's nighttime rides since 1995.

Bill Becher/Special to the Daily News

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IF YOU RIDE (see text)