Moonlight employee Paul Ogier rides The Bright Midnight, a gravel cycling race of 1,100 km and 20,000 vertical meters in 79 hours. 

Photos courtesy by: Nils Laengher

At Moonlight, our team comprises passionate people who love the great outdoors. The how, where, and when don't matter much to us as long as we're outside. As a small brand, we enjoy multitasking both in the office and the mountains. Whether it's knee-deep powder, running shoes, climbing with a harness and ice axes, or climbing with not much, at Moonlight, we live for these moments.

“With ultra cycling, you don’t get to sleep, so you have more vacation time for free”

Endurance athlete and Moonlight’s head of marketing, Paul’s vacation is not your typical cocktail-on-the-beach relaxing time. “With ultra cycling, you don’t get to sleep, so you have more vacation time for free,” he quips. With Paul, you learn new KPIs like the average km per day of vacation or the percentage of commute to the office by bike—both of which could go up to three digits.

Paul’s Setup Leading to the Race:

Paul has been running ultras for years but never one this long in one go. It’s been a learning curve from A to Å, as we say in Norwegian. The race requires a gravel bike with fairly big tires; Paul chose a fast-rolling 43mm to tackle the rough paths of the route. He equipped his bike with aerobars, bike computers with navigation, MTB pedals, frame bags, and mechanical spares. “It’s summer in Norway, so I took waterproof wear and a down jacket. It’s pretty much daylight here, but if the skies are cloudy, you need a powerful lamp to see, especially when you get tired,  not to mention the long and dark tunnels,” he explained. “I wanted a light system I could trust and wouldn’t need to charge for up to 4 short nights”.

In summer, nights are extremely short here in the north part of the globe. At the Arctic Circle, at 66°North the sun will shine for 24 hours. Just below at 62.5°, in Tolga, a small village of 1500 we can expect only a few hours of semi-darkness - depending on the skies.

Here in Tolga, 200 riders meet to take part in The Bright Midnight, an unsupported bikepacking race covering 1,100 km and 20,000 meters of elevation across the Norwegian mountains and fjords—a “piece of cake”, like the ones we have daily at the office. Cakes are good. 

If the skies are not clear you should expect a few hours of complete darkness. 

I used the Bright As Day 800, the lightest one from our current collection. I’ve used it for many ultra-running races in the past, and I know I can count on it. Also, I can directly charge it with my spare power bank if needed. I used the blinking mode during the day for extra security on the road when there’s traffic. I used steps 1 and 2 on the climbs and full power (step 4) for the technical rocky descents.”

Early morning in Jotunheimen. 

"I felt like I was an explorer of an inhabited mineral planet."

The famous Tusenmeteren gravel climb is 100 years old! 

Paul, tell us more about your adventure. How did you manage the short nights? 

I had no idea how my body would react after more than a day on the saddle. so I prepared enough food and gear for any situation and went with the flow. It took me 78 hours in the end so I spent 3 nights outside with little sleep. 

Entering a tunnel in Eikesdal passed midnight. 

We started on Sunday at 10 AM and I rode straight the first 400 km. I got to ride the beautiful mountain pass of Aursjøvegen by night, which was the most magical highlight of the route for me. I was listening to music and film soundtracks by Hans Zimmer, it gives me motivation and makes me feel more adventurous. It was a moment out of time, I felt like I was an explorer of an inhabited mineral planet. But shortly after the route dove down to a beautiful valley where little by little I went back to reality when I saw a few farms on the side of the road. 

Around 3 AM the sun rose and I arrived near our office in Åndalsnes an hour later. I stopped for 3 hours for a shower and 2 hours of sleep. I was back on the road by 7 AM and felt amazing.

One of many petrol station break. 

The second day was harder. I encountered a lot of headwinds and broke my derailleur. I managed to fix it, but it wouldn’t work for the lowest gears. For the first time, the sky was clear, and despite the sun being warm and high, my mental strength was at its lowest. I decided to stop longer in Lom, at km 580, halfway. There, I stopped for 8 hours and slept for 6 hours. No night riding this time; I rolled out of the camping site at 4 AM, it was a cold and foggy morning. I focused on the beautiful landscape I was passing through. After all, this is a work holiday, right?

At this time I knew I would complete the race the next day, I just had to keep going and avoid any more mechanical problems. The thought of passing midway gave me so much strength and I considered pushing no-stop to the finish line. I rode until 10:30 PM where I got completely soaked over a mountain pass and got very cold. I finally decided to take the safe option to stop for a few hours before pushing for the 200km that night.  I booked a guest house and stayed for 3.5 hours, including a 1-hour sleep. I was surprised at how hard it was to fall asleep. My senses were very much awake despite feeling tired. I was both excited and intimidated by the last stretch. At 1:30 AM, my alarm rang, I rolled off the bed, packed my gear and  30 minutes later I was back on the road with my light on, determined to finish in the afternoon. 

It is raining and dark - No this Bright Midnight I have been promised. This morning I rode completely alone and spotted many deer, hares, foxes, and the usual sheep and cows moving freely in the mountains. I realized quickly I did not have enough food and that everything was closed, the sun was rising but I was not feeling good. I had no idea of the time of the day, it was bright but farms and villages were still. No sight of humans, even less of an open bakery… Where is everyone doing? No one is living here? I felt hungover, lost in the time.

A few wet climbs and a rainy steep descent later I finally reached the DNT Grimsdalenat Cabin at 7 AM. I was very well welcomed by the guardian and was able to take a warm shower and dry my clothes. I joined the breakfast with the local hikers and also took a 30-minute nap. I recovered a lot from it and finished without much more trouble later in the afternoon. 

Grimsdalen.

I finished with an incredible sense of satisfaction and peace after all these hours exposed to the beautiful Norwegian nature. “Long day at the office,” I told myself. In the end, I rode for 59 hours and was stationary for 20 hours. The winner of the race, Alex McCormack, completed it in 56 hours, including 2 hours of non-riding time!

A competitor taking a nap. 

Overall, I feel I had a great first experience with the lack of sleep. I didn’t feel so tired during the day. I think I could have broken down the amount of sleep more evenly. That will be for the next one! I was very happy with this adventure, getting a little bit of everything in a few condensed vacation days, and vacation nights as a bonus.