Night Riders : Mountain Biking After Dark Increasingly Popular--if Illegal--Sport

In utter darkness, paramedics hiked into Whiting Ranch Wilderness Park last month to rescue an injured mountain biker.

As they hauled out the biker on a stretcher, bobbing lights flashed around a bend in the trail and several bikes whizzed by, narrowly missing the emergency crew.

It was the county park system’s introduction to a new and fast-growing sport: night mountain biking.

Nobody knows exactly how many people take to Orange County’s wilderness trails after dusk, but bike shops report booming sales of expensive light systems that cost as much as $500, and county rangers have gotten reports of nocturnal bike tours of up to 30 riders.

With the end of daylight saving time, darkness comes about 5 p.m. and “a lot of people don’t have time during the day, so they ride at night,” said Rancho Santa Margarita resident Joel Smith, who says he rides his mountain bike at local parks five times a week.

“It’s a different sensation being out after dark,” he said. “It’s a different atmosphere, a different feel, that’s pretty neat.”

The only problem is that night mountain biking is illegal in both state and county parks.

At sundown, state and county parks close, and anybody entering after hours is trespassing, a misdemeanor. Citations are regularly written at Crystal Cove State Park. At county parks, where rangers only recently became aware of regular night bike excursions, warnings are being handed out.

Only at Cleveland National Forest are Orange County mountain bikers permitted to ride wilderness trails at night.

And although mountain bikers argue that night riding is safe, county officials say their prohibition will probably remain firm.

“We don’t allow night activity,” said county parks manager Tim Miller. “Period. [Night bikers] are people breaking the rules. They could ruin it for everyone else.”

With nobody minding the parks at night, except during special patrols, county officials are worried about liability issues and accident response.

“Accidents are our main concern,” said Whiting Ranch ranger John Gannaway, who stopped nine mountain bikers while conducting a special night patrol last month. “If somebody gets badly hurt, nobody is patrolling the park at night.”

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But just as important is the disturbance to coyotes, mountain lions, raccoons and many other animals that are nocturnal foragers, said Miller.

“What these animals are doing is searching for food,” he said. “People riding through there with their lights, noise and speed upset wilderness habitat.

“The animals wind up going elsewhere, so the net effect is that any intrusion by humans winds up shrinking their feeding grounds.”

However, there is little doubt that night mountain biking is a recognized, fast-growing offshoot of the sport.

Marathon races that include night biking are held across the country, some attracting hundreds of participants. Several manufacturers make high-priced light equipment for mountain biking.

One of the largest, NiteRider Technical Lighting of San Diego, has sold more than 30,000 helmet and handlebar lights for mountain bikes. The company has seen its sales skyrocket by about 50% each of the last three years.

“Night cycling has really been mushrooming in the last few years,” said Mike McGary, a company spokesman. “People are really getting the bug.”

NiteRider and other companies make high-powered halogen lights that fit onto handlebars and helmets. The more expensive versions are available with dual beams, much like car headlights, ranging in power up to 32 watts, capable of beaming a cone of light up to 100 feet.

The bike lights “throw out an incredible amount of candlepower,” said Dave Mashaw, president of an Orange County mountain biking club called SHARE. “They provide very good visibility and make it very easy to ride, even at fast speeds. . . . It’s no worse than driving a car at night.”

Like with night driving, mountain bikers should adjust their speed to trail visibility, said McGary.

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Because far fewer people use wilderness trails at night, McGary said, night mountain bikers should always bring along at least one friend in case of an accident. Packing extra batteries and light bulbs is also a good idea, he said.

As for upsetting natural habitat, “the etiquette of staying to established trails should remain,” said McGary. “We have not heard of any complaints of wilderness creatures being disturbed.”

But even with diligent preparation, night mountain biking is risky, said Miller, and the county’s potential liability would be huge if it allowed mountain bikers to have their way.

“There is an inherent danger,” said Miller. “It’s a wilderness area, and the trails and hills are uneven terrain.”

Daytime accidents are not uncommon at Whiting Ranch, where rangers estimate that about 75% of the 60,000 annual visitors are mountain bikers. Paramedics are called to the park about once a month to deal with serious injuries such as broken bones.

At another popular mountain biking spot, Crystal Cove State Park, rangers say they also see about one serious injury per month.

State ranger Kirk Marshall has written several tickets for trespassing to night mountain bikers, including a handful who were racing through the wilderness park without lights.

Mountain bike lovers say the few who get an adrenaline rush from danger are the ones who give the sport a bad name.

“Sure, there are people out there who are reckless, who don’t even use lights,” said Brian Krug, a bike mechanic at Jax Bicycle Center in Huntington Beach. “These are the guys who put the brakes on things for all of us.”

“Night biking is definitely a thrill, but I want to make it enjoyable,” said Krug. “I definitely go slower at night than during the day.”