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The Milky Way during a MTB night ride: 19/11


stevend

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On Wednesday I was out on my weekly group MTB ride in the Chilterns. It is amazing that amongst our group each of us brings a little bit of knowledge to every ride; plants, animals, birds, the stars ... we have it all covered. Some rides are like going back to school.

Although the conditions were misty/foggy there were occasional glimpses of stars as we started a long climb. Eventually we cleared the woods, got to the top and the sky suddenly cleared. We needed a break to recover so I requested we all turn off our (bright) lights.

We were high in the Chilterns, in the middle of a field, away from any towns and lights. :) I started off pointing out constellations; summer triangle, Cygnus, Lyra etc and then round to Pegasus, Cassiopeia, the Pleiades, Taurus etc. I was asked about a few specific stars which luckily I knew; Aldebaran was very prominent.

Then as our eyes adjusted we could see the Milky Way arch across part of the sky. Somehow there was not the usual rush to move on ;) but eventually we did ride on to a local pub with open fire before returning home, all feeling very content.

(As you are all aware) the night sky can be wondrous and it played its part in a most enjoyable off road ride especiaaly after the recent poor weather. :D

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On Wednesday I was out on my weekly group MTB ride in the Chilterns. It is amazing that amongst our group each of us brings a little bit of knowledge to every ride; plants, animals, birds, the stars ... we have it all covered. Some rides are like going back to school.

Although the conditions were misty/foggy there were occasional glimpses of stars as we started a long climb. Eventually we cleared the woods, got to the top and the sky suddenly cleared. We needed a break to recover so I requested we all turn off our (bright) lights.

We were high in the Chilterns, in the middle of a field, away from any towns and lights. :) I started off pointing out constellations; summer triangle, Cygnus, Lyra etc and then round to Pegasus, Cassiopeia, the Pleiades, Taurus etc. I was asked about a few specific stars which luckily I knew; Aldebaran was very prominent.

Then as our eyes adjusted we could see the Milky Way arch across part of the sky. Somehow there was not the usual rush to move on ;) but eventually we did ride on to a local pub with open fire before returning home, all feeling very content.

(As you are all aware) the night sky can be wondrous and it played its part in a most enjoyable off road ride especiaaly after the recent poor weather. :D

We do pretty much the same thing on a Thursday around Ripon. It's true you see a lot more on a bike. Last week turned into a bit of a badger safari!
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