2-5 AM: the safest time to ride in rural Thailand?

[Gecko123]

If you Google "night time bicycle riding" many websites will warn you that riding at night is significantly more dangerous than daytime riding. But in rural Thailand, after months of experimenting, I have come to the conclusion that riding between 2-5 am may be the safest time of day to ride your bike here.

 

For one simple reason: there is almost nobody on the roads at that time of night. Believe it or not, on a two or three hour ride, I might pass only as few as 2 or 3 cars or trucks. I stick to mostly blacktop roads, although my regular route has about a 5 km stretch of dirt road. In my area, people out on the road at that hour mostly seem to be getting an early start on their day, and generally show more consideration than many daytime drivers who zoom by you with narrow clearances. There are no drinking establishments which stay open to the early hours, and I've yet to encounter any inebriated people driving or sneaking home in the dead of night as I've always imagined I might.

 

Another big surprise is that dogs are far less aggressive than I imagined. The few that give chase are quickly discouraged by shinning my helmet light (a must) in their eyes which tends to blind them, and if that doesn't work, a squirt or two of diluted Mr Muscle window cleaner (19% ammonia) almost always deters them from bothering me on subsequent rides. On occasion a dog or cats (lots of cats out at night) will run in front of your bicycle unexpectedly, so you have to be alert.

 

Another thing I really like is that because it is so quiet and dark out, you can see and hear approaching traffic much better than in the middle of the day. Of course I wear a helmet, have a 400 Lumens headlight, taillight, and a Cateye 400 lumens helmet light with a rear red tail light on the helmet light as well. I just wanted to share this because I feel a million times safer than I do in the daytime when there's more traffic on the road. Oh, and I almost forgot! It's the coolest time of the day as well. I've been absolutely loving riding at this time of the day. I'm just curious if anyone else is doing this and has any nocturnal bike riding tips or experiences they'd care to share.

[StreetCowboy]

Sometimes when I’m out in the earlier part of your recommended period I find the bike quite hard to control, and on one occasion had to acknowledge my own frailty and accept a lift home.

I have found the dogs more aggressive in the wee pre-dawn hours - or at least less lazy and more persistent.

but it is nice to get to the start of your 7 am ride and know you’ve done 25% already; it’s slightly tougher stopping for breakfast with the guys knowing you’ve still got 25 km to go as the sun rises over the yardarm and the shadows shorten.

[n210mp]

I ride from the dark side in Pattaya in the direction of Sattahip usually at around 4 15 am about 2 times a  week, if there is no golf then sometimes more  and I   find that the air is cleaner much more Oxygen content, the roads very quiet and the people that I do meet much nicer and friendlier.

 

I ride a road bike and like the OP have many  different lights  (6) , 2 on my crash helmet, 2 on the rear of the bike,  2 on the handlebars.

My main lights are 200 lumens and   are certainly very good and effective and show all the road up in great detail and thereby also the potholes loose stones and grids etc.

 

The forward light on my crash helmet because I can move my head from side to side is great for looking side to side. Of course I don’t use them all at the same time unless there is a need to be seen more than normally like on Sukhumvit  if I am returning a little later than normal and this coincides with heavy traffic coming from Bangkok in the busy holiday times, or when the street lights go out which is not very often.

 

In my mid 70s now and don’t have much of a problem with dogs even though I ride a mix of main roads  like Sukhumvit and also the small streets running off  and going down to the various  villages and beaches,

In contrast to the OP I find that dogs are usually much more “On guard” at night time and certainly more aggressive in defending their territories but I suppose that it depends on where you are at the time.

 

Most of the little doggies on my runs and after 7 years generally know me and let me go past with maybe a little token bark or growl, if they don’t and sometimes are spoiling for a fight then I dismount, confront and admonish them with my golf club driver shaft, 44 inches (Without head) that is supersonic if it connects and they usually get the message.

 

I don’t like hurting any animal and respect that in their doggie minds they are only instinctively doing their jobs and protecting the pack and their territory, however if “needs must” then I must protect myself!

 

I also have a rear view mirror on my right hand drop which is an absolute necessity for me whether riding at night or in the daytime.

 

Just one other thing in the deterrents of aggressive doggies I also have a 5W Bluetooth speaker connected to my phone from which I enjoy some great music and find that I can move through a large pack of dogs  and they seem to be mesmerized or calmed  by the music, Ok not every time  but generally works!

 

Photos

 

My old 29er Hybrid at Ban Amphur bridge overlooking the small fishing harbour.

 

Sunrise over lake mabrachan 

[balo]

It depends where you live I guess. I live in sin city Pattaya and many drunk drivers on the roads here, especially early mornings , you can read about deadly accidents weekly. 

 

So I avoid the bigger roads and  feel safer to ride my bicycle during daytime or evening, even in heavy traffic.  

 

 

[Gecko123]

1 hour ago, balo said:

It depends where you live I guess. I live in sin city Pattaya and many drunk drivers on the roads here, especially early mornings , you can read about deadly accidents weekly. 

 

So I avoid the bigger roads and  feel safer to ride my bicycle during daytime or evening, even in heavy traffic.  

 

 

Definitely, definitely agree. There's no way I would be doing this if I thought there were any drunk drivers about. When I first started doing this, a sugar cane lorry driver seemed to be inordinately bothered by my headlight from quite a distance away and I was left wondering if his pupils might be dilated from yaa baa use. But since then, I've been quick to lower the beams, drivers reciprocate quickly as well, which is great because it confirms that they have spotted you.

 

 

[Gecko123]

18 hours ago, StreetCowboy said:

Sometimes when I’m out in the earlier part of your recommended period I find the bike quite hard to control, and on one occasion had to acknowledge my own frailty and accept a lift home.

I have found the dogs more aggressive in the wee pre-dawn hours - or at least less lazy and more persistent.

but it is nice to get to the start of your 7 am ride and know you’ve done 25% already; it’s slightly tougher stopping for breakfast with the guys knowing you’ve still got 25 km to go as the sun rises over the yardarm and the shadows shorten.

I've noticed that if you go out after dark before midnight dogs will bark their heads off at you, but by 2-3 am, most - but by no means all - of them are in nap mode. They seem to be inhibited from excessive barking (afraid of waking their owner's) or are too sleepy to break out of their curled up positions. That headlamp really turns the tables on them too. They go from the hunter to the hunted, and once you've spotted them, the beam takes away the element of surprise.

 

I just think the #1 road hazard out there are motorists, and anything that can be done to avoid them is a step in the right direction.

 

 

[StreetCowboy]

Tigers can be a major threat to your safety when cycling late at night.

Or Guinness.

[n210mp]

1 hour ago, balo said:

It depends where you live I guess. I live in sin city Pattaya and many drunk drivers on the roads here, especially early mornings , you can read about deadly accidents weekly. 

 

So I avoid the bigger roads and  feel safer to ride my bicycle during daytime or evening, even in heavy traffic.  

 

 

Yes I understand where you are coming from, the only time I "venture" into Pattaya is if I come back from doing the four beaches run,   Naval base, Ban Amphur, Bansare and  Jomtien then   ride  pass the Police station at the end of Beach road Jomtien and instead of turning right to go up Thepprasit and back to the dark side I carry on for a bit and then go over the Pratumnak  hill towards Bali Hai pier area  going the wrong way down Walking street and then returning up Pattaya south road and even that little "essay" into the bright side has me stressed!

 

Also I have tried riding in the day but with Viking ancestry, blue eyes and very fair skin the Sun has me beat so in effect the only "Safe" time for me  (from every point of view) is early morning.

 

I must say though that I have not (To my knowledge) had any interaction with drunk drivers anywhere I ride, bad drivers, inattentive drivers slow drivers, inconsiderate drivers yes loads of them but then again this is Thailand isn't it .

 

My Texan friend Bob has not been so fortunate in central Pattaya with a motorcycle  taxi coming out of a side street whilst looking at his mobile phone and knocking him off his bike same rider also in Pattaya  had a Bangkok taxi run over his back wheel.

I am beginning to think that he has a bit of a jinx becasue just recently whilst resisting a pack of dogs in Bang Chang one dog managed to go through his front wheel becoming dead in the process but leaving Bob with a mangled bike and also cuts and injuries  from the resulting fall that needed 14 stitches in his back!

 

Bob tells me that the dog problem in Bangchang is far worse that in Pattaya