Unearthed: The Night Bison 2016

Here's an old one, from almost 4 years ago. It was 2016, the fourth of September. Marcus and I loaded up the Honda Fit that afternoon and rolled out to DeKalb for what felt like an annual homecoming. Little did we know, this was the last time we'd be doing this. Wait - is that actually true? Was 2016 the last year of The Night Bison? I think it was... but correct me if I'm wrong. Either way, it was the last time that we rode in the event. Damn. Realizing this again brings me a bit of sadness, because this was always such a fun ride.

The concept of the event was to create an abbreviated (and nocturnal) version of The Gravel Metric that marked the conclusion of the summer season, and it quickly became my favorite evening of the year. The Bison was conceived in the bike shop that I worked for at the time, and I remember the skepticism we had when initially planning the event - would people actually come out to our small rural town in Illinois and ride 50-something miles of gravel roads through the night with no support? The answer was "hell yes". We had an exciting turnout each year, and the popularity of the event always surpassed my expectations. Eventually, I left my job at the bike shop and moved out of DeKalb, but the Night Bison was always reason enough to return. The ride had traditionally begun at the shop, but in 2016 the ride began in a location that felt like the middle of nowhere - and it was better that way. We were able to hit those gravel roads we longed for almost immediately.

Anyways... Chronically running behind schedule, Marcus and I rolled up in the car just as the ride was departing. Fortunately, I arrived dressed with my bib shorts on under my regular shorts, and in order to save time I quickly grabbed my bike from the trunk, hopped on, and joined the group - riding into the sunset with cut-off denim shorts and a T-shirt. Despite the late start, we finished earlier than ever, giving us plenty of time to enjoy the after-party. We sipped a few brews, saw a sasquatch, and drove back to Chicago around 11pm with heavy eyelids. I don't recall much about the actual ride, other than we had a blast and it went as well as it could have.

Although we may never ride The Night Bison again, we can at least relive it through the photos taken. Below are the photos I took 4 summers ago, but never posted:

Bison de la Nuit MMXIV

As the last dusty sweat-drenched episode of summer, the Night Bison occurred. On a Sunday afternoon, Andy swung by the Milk Lodge, and I tossed my Nature Boy in the back of his truck. We drove west from Chicago, flying through every toll (we neglected to bring my iPass or any cash) until there was nothing but corn. We arrived and it had really felt like I was just there days ago for the Gravel Metric. We headed to T.J.'s for a pre-ride BBQ and a couple brews. Thanks again, T.J. and family for the excellent hospitality. 

I've attended all of the Night Bison(s) so far, but this was definitely the most enjoyable. It was the first time that I, more or less, rode with a single group throughout the entirety of the ride. In the past, I had let impatience get the best of me, and broke away from my buds. This time, I rode with my pals Marcus, Andy, and Jake. We all rode together, and we rode surprisingly fast, believe it or not. Andy's a bike messenger now, so he's used to riding fast all day. Marcus was practically turning a track gearing on his vintage Puch fixed gear conversion with monster tires. I was really quite impressed that he was able to turn that crank on gravel, and in fact, I had trouble keeping up with him on my gravel-geared All-City.

Sure, we had our fair share of fun too. In fact, the Rapha race trailer showed up to bring the party about mid-ride, with some tallboys of Coors, fresh shots of Stumptown espresso, and the tunes to get us goin'. It was a nice opportunity to hang out and light off a couple fireworks.

We finished tired, drenched in sweat, and coated in a veil of beige dust. We consumed a lot of pizza, and even more High Life. All-in-all it was a good time, and riding at night in the country is cool, and friends, and yadda yadda ok back to work...

DeKalb Bound

Pre-Ride hangz at T.J.'s. Awaiting nightfall.

Just before the ride. About 250 in attendance or so...

Mid-ride breaky with some treats.  

Thanks to Rapha for the outstanding support. What a surprise!

The only riding photo I got, blurry as all heck, but you can see the giant tires on Marcus' very old Puch conversion (with bullhorn bars). An unexpected gravel shredder.

The Night Bison, Gravel Nocturne - This Sunday

The Night Bison has always been a fun ride. It was even fun the time I did it with a 102 degree fever and unbearably sore throat. Hopefully I'll be in better health this Sunday, but riding out in the country at night is always bound to be a good time. Starts at sundown. Meet behind the 'ol mothership, North Central Cyclery, in DeKalb, IL. I might get out there early for pizza n' brews.

Night Bison Recap

This past Saturday night was the Night Bison Gravel Nocturne. It was a 53mi gravel ride at night, starting at North Central Cyclery. I was pretty excited about riding at night with a large group of people (about 60) because it would be an interesting change of pace from the small-group night-time gravel rides we've been doing regularly. I was also excited to get the opportunity to once again ride with our good pal Hellmutt, who was visiting from Florida. However, I nearly bailed on the ride after spending all of Saturday feeling sick with some sort of virus. I figured I would regret not riding though, and so I showed up at the last minute.

All was well until about 40 miles in. I completely lost all energy, my fever had escalated, the sore throat had worsened and I wished for nothing more than to be in bed with a pizza. I was out of water and food and so I stopped at a gas station only a few miles from the finish, in fear that I would completely bonk and awaken to a llama gobbling on my infected innards. The crappy egg salad sandwich and soda that I obtained carried me back to the shop where I took a shower, changed into dry clothes and went to bed. I have not left that bed for 3 days now. Would I be feeling better today if I had not rode that night? Maybe... I don't know, but I'm still glad that I did it. It was a fun ride. Riding out in the country at night is always fun, with or without a big group.

P.S. Thanks to T.J. for the whiskey. That may or may not have helped me.

Now for some shitty pictures from my cell phone (I really need to get a compact digital camera to take on rides):


About 60 rides preparing to roll out at NCC.


Cruisin' with the group before hitting the gravel.


I had the opportunity to test out this light by GEMINI. Damn! I'm sold on these things. They're very well designed and extremely bright.


Good ol' Hellmutt in the All-City kit atop his Gunnar Crosshairs, enjoying the terrain he's been longing for while living in the least cycling-friendly state in the US.


Attempting to demonstrate the brightness of the Gemini light on my All-City Nature Boy. The brightest setting was almost TOO BRIGHT for me.