Hacking in Winter

[Dyllymoo]

I'm still waiting for my physio rehab plan but I'm guessing hacking will be high on the agenda (as we don't really school).

I'm looking at sunrise/ sunset times and trying to work out if I should do afternoon/ evening (I can leave work at 3pm, be at the yard for 3.30pm) or stick to the morning routine (as long as I am in work by 10am and I meet my hours then that would be fine).

I'm leaning towards morning as it gets lighter rather than darker. Plus the yard is busier in the afternoon after school time. Plus there is the potential that once at work I may not be able to always leave at 3pm depending on work/ meetings, but I'm more likely to not need to go in early. I could potentially get J in as well as they come in at 4pm but I do worry that if I get stuck at work that I would need to organise someone to do it last minute and that would be stressful.

What do you do in winter?

 

[Roxylola]

I'd go with mornings personally as I prefer getting lighter to getting darker. It also gives you a fall back in the afternoon if need be

 

[doodle]

I can ride in the afternoon but in mid winter I have in head I need to be back from hack by 3.45 to beat the light.

 

[Annagain]

As you say, mornings will be an improving picture while afternoons will be a deteriorating one so that sounds like a good plan. Now that I'm working from home, my plan for weekdays is to ride early and start work a bit later although I tend to stick to the school in the week as the roads round by us are crazy from about 7 until 9. Our lanes are used as a rat run to avoid the main road through the village which gets very congested. If you don't have that problem, I'd definitely go for mornings.

 

[Surbie]

I prefer mornings - apart from days it is really cold and the roads might be icy. Those days I'd rather school or wait till the afternoon when the ice should have melted.

 

[ThreeWBs]

Mornings for me. It's not nice to lose light if you're far away from home! I just got caught out on a beautiful sunny day where the clouds rolled in as the sun was just getting a little dimmer... it was like going from day to night!

 

[scats]

I’d prefer to ride in the mornings in the winter, but my extremely wired horses like to get out first thing and I’ve got that many animals of my own I’m always in a rush in the morning to get done, sorted, home and greet my first dog of the day.
Fortunately we have off road hacking around the farm so I don’t have to worry too much if it starts going dark. I really detest the shorter days.

 

[Hallo2012]

hack off road in the pitch black after work,but obviously not an option for all so i would stick to morning in your shoes

 

[AmyMay]

Just be aware of work traffic in the mornings and make sure you’re light up like a Christmas tree.

 

[Fransurrey]

Depends on the day for me, as no two days are the same.

For those of you who get caught out, get a Hi Viz LED vest. They're bloody brilliant for situations like that.

 

[Branna]

I find mornings much easier, wear lights hacking if needed but it feels much better when going out when it's getting lighter rather than darker. And as you say it is so easy to plan to leave work at 3pm and get stuck!

 

[skint1]

I used to ride most mornings before work, on by 7am home by 8, quick muck out and turn out and then to work for 0930 but I was lucky that apart from crossing one road there was no roadwork

 

[teddypops]

Mornings. The latest I will set out for a hack is 2pm as that gives me enough time for a 1 hr hack plus a bit to spare. It starts getting dark 3.30ish especially if it’s a gloomy day.

 

[Micky]

Depends where you live, we get fog, that doesn’t lift till mid morning or later in winter, ice..so afternoons better for us, but before I moved, i loved morning rides best

 

[SussexbytheXmasTree]

I mostly ride mornings once the clocks go back. I work flexibly so can start late. If you’re quick to tack up and go you might on a bright day get a quick hack in the afternoon for a few more weeks.

 

[MuddyMonster]

I use flexi-time in winter to hack in the mornings. I have immediate access to bridleway network so don't need to do much if any roadwork (dependent on route) - ours are quiet county lanes so don't really experience rush hour traffic.

 

[Dyllymoo]

Thanks all. Think I will need to stick with mornings. We are starting with 15/20 min loops with one session in the school of 15 min/walk halt transitions off the track so I will do that for sure in the week and then I only have 3 other sessions I need to do early morning as I can leave at 1pm on Friday afternoons. So I should get 3 rides in daylight which will be cool.

 

[FireCracker238]

Depends on the day for me, as no two days are the same.

For those of you who get caught out, get a Hi Viz LED vest. They're bloody brilliant for situations like that.

Please could you tell me where you sourced your hi viz led vest from? I've looked on ebay but the led's are either on the front only or the back only, I could ideally do with ones on each side

 

[HollyWoozle]

Years ago they had some LED high vis armbands in Aldi - perhaps you could find something similar if you'd prefer them on the side? I still have some and am planning on using them when I start hacking out again. They are primarily for running, cycling etc. I would wear them and then a normal high vis vest.

 

[FireCracker238]

Years ago they had some LED high vis armbands in Aldi - perhaps you could find something similar if you'd prefer them on the side? I still have some and am planning on using them when I start hacking out again. They are primarily for running, cycling etc. I would wear them and then a normal high vis vest.

We don't have an Aldi here ?. I wonder if there is a way if I could source them that I could attach the led armbands to an ordinary hi-vis vest, I have plenty of those

 

[Karran]

would something like this be any good? https://www.amazon.co.uk/kwmobile-L...locphy=9044965&hvtargid=pla-422674102698&th=1

 

[sarahann1]

I opt for mornings.

 

[Fransurrey]

would something like this be any good? https://www.amazon.co.uk/kwmobile-L...locphy=9044965&hvtargid=pla-422674102698&th=1

That's the same as mine, but mine is orange mesh (I prefer orange as it's brighter in woodland/under trees). Link to mine for comparison:
https://www.amazon.co.uk/kwmobile-L...jbGlja1JlZGlyZWN0JmRvTm90TG9nQ2xpY2s9dHJ1ZQ==

 

[FireCracker238]

That's the same as mine, but mine is orange mesh (I prefer orange as it's brighter in woodland/under trees). Link to mine for comparison:
https://www.amazon.co.uk/kwmobile-L...jbGlja1JlZGlyZWN0JmRvTm90TG9nQ2xpY2s9dHJ1ZQ==

Yes! 1 of those would be perfect, thank you, Karran too ? I've ordered an orange one.