Another One Lights The Dusk

On Tuesday, training partner Jeff Wren and I went down to Cedarburg to watch some Tour of America’s Dairyland action. We didn’t get back to West Bend until 9 p.m.  But it was a gorgeous evening and neither of us had ridden earlier in the day, so we fired up our bike lights and hit the Eisenbahn State Trail. I knocked out 20 miles in 1:16:36, a 15.7 mph average. That’s alright under the circumstances. (Jeff’s ride was a little shorter. I started from my house on the south side of town; he started from Barton. Downtown Kewaskum was our turnaround point.) I could have been persuaded to stay out much longer if not for my work schedule. I had to log in from my home office by 11 p.m.  Doing a ride so late in the day was taking a chance. Something as simple as a flat tire might have made me late for work.

No misfortune found me, but I did have only minimal performance from my headlight for the last couple of miles. That was my fault: the light wasn’t fully charged when I started. I use a 700-lumen Bontrager Ion. It serves not only as a great bike light, but also as a powerful and compact flashlight. I travel with it, carry it on nighttime walks/hikes, use it in tight spots while performing home maintenance or auto repairs … it’s super handy. And I always have appreciated that it recharges via USB. I can recharge it in the car or by attaching it to a laptop or by plugging it into a wall outlet. Very versatile. Very convenient.

So, I bought another one! Trek has them for just $49.99 right now. That’s 50% off and it’s a steal. If you think that’s still a lot of money for a bike light, then you’re underestimating the value of never having to replace batteries. I think my first Ion was about $80, discounted, in 2015 and it’s still going strong. Even at that higher price, it has paid for itself. But it can’t back itself up, and recharging takes about 5 hours. I’m going to like having a second one. These lights are so compact that it will be no hassle to take both on a nighttime ride.

Some night when I don’t have to work, maybe I’ll take the Eisenbahn all the way to Eden and back. The Ion’s runtime at maximum power is a little more than 1.5 hours, and a full-distance Eisenbahn ride takes me about 3 hours. The math works, but to be safe I probably should start while there’s still some daylight left, then deploy the first Ion when I arrive in Kewaskum at about 30 minutes elapsed. The more I think about that ride, the more I want to do it. I will watch the forecast for a warm, dry Thursday or Friday.