Morris Minor Owners Club

In the UK its time to put the clocks back this Sunday.

Remember thats an extra hour in bed folks! (And god knows I need it!)

yep and dark at 4 oclock boooooooooooooooooooooooooo

dark going to work and dark coming home yuk

Good for me - because I had 4:30 am rise planned - to go start the fire in Morayshire for a day's steaming (Or steam-punking!!) . That extra hour will be very welcome.

dont forget if you rujning your mog all year round check the lights carrie spare bulbs i just pulled other tail light out but got away with it as in the milltry you check lights each time you drive so i said i did lol but i do each morning

It is much easier to check your lights in the winter - just look for the reflections in vehicles around you while waiting at lights etc!

And test your mainbeam on oncoming drivers

I don't think I ever had a favourite time of year but I must say that I now like the Spring, as you have a good 6 or 7 months of longer daylight hours (Though the weather may not be any better). The hour on is a bit of a pain in the morning but I prefer the clocks going on in March.

I cycle to and from work. During the light nights, I usually go home on a nice "Off road" route. Although the Summer are wet, I think the lower ambient temparatures in Winter mean that the ground never dries out. The combination of this and darkness can sometimes put the off road route to bed.

The worst thing for me is icey roads. The trouble is so many people seem to drive with no anticpation of an icey patch. When you see them on an obviously slippery road, like beached whales, it makes you realise how they would cope with an unexpected slippery patch. It's worrying!!

Aside from that, I don't mind cycling in the dark, as bike lights are now a world away from the old "Ever Ready" torches of old. The roads can also be quieter - at least where I ride.

Car wise, the Midget goes away for the Winter at the end of the month, though the V8 is taxed, as is the Traveller. I'll try to avoid getting salt on them - another reason why I don't mind rainy Winters - no frost.

Hope you wear lots of Hi Viz and reflective gear while cycling - the main thing is to be SEEN - not so much the seeing. I hate cycling on a busy road - even in bright daylight - much prefer to be on country lanes - or even better - in the forest!

All my rain and bad weather gear is bright yellow. Trousers are black but being cycling gear, they have reflective bits on them. Most of my jerseys are yellow or red. I knew of a man, who worked at a local army camp and he used to cycle in to work (Through the hedged lanes) wearing a combat jacket .

I'm lucky that I don't have to do busy roads (1700 feet and windswept yes) but the off road run is nice. I tend to reach quite high speeds, so my front lights have to be powerful. My road bike has a 200 lumen light, which is enough for 35 - 40mph (Roads with hedges are easier because the light reflects off the hedges back into the road). My mountain bike has about 750 lumens. You need to see the ruts and roots before you get there and there are no road markings, so although speeds may be lower, you need more light (Also my off road route goes partly on an old tram road over open moreland).

The other night I was on the road bike and I rounded a bend to find a car waiting to pull out of a pub car park. In broad daylight, I know the car would have pulled out (Most people have no idea of how fast you can go on a bike if you're used to it) but because they saw my light rather than me or the bike, they waited until I passed them. In that sense night riding has its advantages. In the old days you tended to just get dazzled by on coming cars but now they dip, as I do. If they don't my full beam (Esp the mountain bike light) puts them right.

Sounds bright!

bmcecosse wrote:Sounds bright!

You might find this interesting http://www.bikelights.com/folders.asp?uid=1. To be fair to them, they do what it says on the tin.....unlike some I could mention. If there was one thing I would chose as the best "Improvement" in equipment over recent years, its lights.

Anyone forget to put their clocks back then?

I would dearly love to be able to forget it, what a silly idea it's horrid when it gets dark at 3.30/ 4pm the idea was introduced in 1916 and never changed - we should get rid of it.

cormorant wrote:I would dearly love to be able to forget it, what a silly idea it's horrid when it gets dark at 3.30/ 4pm the idea was introduced in 1916 and never changed - we should get rid of it.

As early as 3.30....I'd guess you're well to the North? I'm not sure whether the alteration of the clock was for BST or GMT. Given that GMT is what we're on from today, I'm thinking maybe that's what it's meant to be??

At this latitude, I don't mind it altering the clocks, as the alternative would be that it gets light later. Given that the coldest part of the night would OTBE be just before dawn, I think its better for it to get light earlier. I suppose its swings and roundabouts. In tropical latitudes they have very little variation in daylight hours and roughly 12 hours of it daily. On balance, I think the long hours of daylight are worth the dark nights from now until March. One day I'd like to go to Orkney (Or Shetland) during June (Been to Orkney in September...lovely place).