Midweek Early Winter Nighttime Bike Polo in the Desert

(Secret/personal reminder to self: it's probably time to start wearing gloves, at least on nighttime rides. 45F seems to be your number for that.) I got an email from a friend who has been playing bike polo for something like 10 years with these guys that there was a game on tonight. I didn't plan to play, but I did ride over to watch.

Polo Bike Casually Tossed in the Grass

Part of my ride to the park where they always play was crossing a pedestrian bridge that arches over the 51 Freeway. At night, alone, with the wind, and the cars roaring underneath, it's a strange crossing on a bike. 

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Before they started, they hung around in the park chatting for some time, in no real hurry to get started.

 

 
Pre-Polo Strategy Session (I assume)

Then they set up the equipment on the field, which included some goal markers fabricated from clear PVC pipe with a Streamlight penlight jammed down inside to light the marker. 

Sitting there watching friends playing bike polo, at night, in the middle of the week, in a park, in December, I couldn't believe that I had thought about driving my car over to watch, instead of biking. My hands did get numbed on the ride home, but the ride there and back beat the hell out of sitting around the house. Get up. Go ride.