Home Current News News Archive Shop/Advertise Ridecamp Classified Events Learn/AERC
Endurance.Net Home Ridecamp Archives
ridecamp@endurance.net
[Archives Index]   [Date Index]   [Thread Index]   [Author Index]   [Subject Index]

[RC] NC50 no riding in the dark - k s swigart

Linda Cowles said:


We are getting dark MUCH earlier than you at this latitude.
Sunrise is 7:35 and sunset is 6:30.


From: U.S. Naval Observatory
Astronomical Applications Department



Sun and Moon Data for One Day
The following information is provided for Front Royal, Warren County,
Virginia (longitude W78.2, latitude N38.9):

Saturday
    21 October 2006       Eastern Daylight Time
                       SUN
     Begin civil twilight    7:01 a.m.
     Sunrise                    7:28 a.m.
     Sun transit               12:57 p.m.
     Sunset                     6:26 p.m.
     End civil twilight         6:53 p.m.


So, had they started the ride at 7:00 am, they would have been riding
for one minute in the dark, and if anybody took all twelve hours to
finish, that person would have had to ride 7 minutes in the dark.

If they had waited until 7:15 am for the start, it would have been
plenty light enough for everybody, and only the small number of people
who are straggling in at the end (which I a "National Championship"
caliber event should have been relatively few, if any at all) would have
run up against finishing in the dark.

Personally, I think starting at 5:00 am so that EVERBODY is spending two
hours in the dark on a fresh horse was not what _I_ would have chosen.
And certainly not so I could have the awards dinner earlier.

kat
Orange County, Calif.

p.s. The NOAO website
http://aa.usno.navy.mil/data/docs/RS_OneDay.html#forma
is GREAT for finding out just when it is dark and how dark it is. (Since
22 October is the new moon, there wasn't any moonlight to speak of (i.e.
it was PITCH dark from 5:00 am to 7:00 am for the start of the ride).



=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=

Ridecamp is a service of Endurance Net, http://www.endurance.net.
Information, Policy, Disclaimer: http://www.endurance.net/Ridecamp
Subscribe/Unsubscribe http://www.endurance.net/ridecamp/logon.asp

Ride Long and Ride Safe!!

=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=