The night air is cool and crisp with a perfect half moon throwing shadows through the tree line.  Four beams of light shine through the darkness, weaving in and out of the trees like a silent, illuminated procession through the forest.  Silent, except for the crunching of leaves under knobby tires and an occasional hoot of joy from one of the riders in the group.
With the advent of winter and the ending of daylight savings time, most mountain bikers have parked their bikes in the garage and dug out the skis with an eye skyward looking for snow.  But for a handful of Duluth area mountain bikers, the cold and darkness of the season doesn't stop them from doing what they love best - riding singletrack.

Besides the obvious lack of sunlight we are blessed with this time of the year, there are many other reasons why this group of bikers love to night ride.  It's mountain biking in it's most concentrated form.  Everything is narrowed down to a small beam of light, the singletrack in front of you takes on a whole new form.  Every old familiar trail turns into a mysterious new challenge at night.  Night-riding forces the mountain biker into a heightened sense of awareness.  Noises and movement in the woods appear into the periphery of vision and the occasional orange glow of eyes shining back at you from the trail side adds an intensity and dimension that daytime biking doesn't come close to.

On this night Grady, Kurt, Eric and Jay have met at a local trail to ride.  The rain that fell the night before has left the trail fairly dry, but every rock and root has a slippery glaze that will take the unsuspecting rider to the ground.  Wet wood and tire rubber are a lethal combination.    The rider must position himself on the bike in the bail-out position.  That is butt-back or behind the seat and arms slightly bent and relaxed to absorb any "sudden shock."  After waiting for a few no shows at the trail head, the group heads onto the singletrack.  Ten minutes into the ride Jay's light dims to a flicker before finally dying out.  He stays with the ride for a few more miles using "the force" and the light from the lead rider's light to surf the singletrack.   But after a few too many crashes, heads back to the truck at the trail head in search of a beer and some stargazing. ("The force" is hard to explain, but veteran night-riders know that it's a combination of luck, skill and most importantly, a large degree of faith that they're picking the right lines through the singletrack.)  The roots and rocks are causing their share of trouble, but with skill and a little luck the ride continues and everybody is loving it.  During the summer most of these bikers race and ride at a fast pace and don't usually take many breaks.  But with the race season behind them the training's over and the pure fun of being out at night on their bikes is what matters most.  Many rest stops are taken throughout the ride and the group always waits for the stragglers to catch up.  After about an hour and a half of riding the trails

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