This time of year, every year, I begin riding in the dark again. And every year it catches me (and everyone else off guard). Last night, I had to reattach all my lights to my bike, my wife had to work her way back into feeling secure about me riding in pitch black and I had to re-familiarize myself with that somewhat eerie feeling of riding through remote farm country with limited vision. It's the same every year.
But, 'tis the season for relearning it all. Time changes really jack with my night (or pre-dawn) rides. Give me a couple more under my belt and it'll be second nature all over again... until next year, of course.
Get out there.
Last night wasn't my first commute in darkness, but it was the first commute this year that I thought "Man, it's DARK," and actually considered that I was out in the great wide open in the dark all by myself. I'm long since being truly freaked out by that, and I had my amazingly bright headlight, but it's still odd.
ReplyDeleteI saw a coyote in the dark.
Yeah, that was my feeling, too. It felt DARK for the first time last night. I saw a cat last night... that's kind of like a coyote, right? :)
DeleteI get freaked out because around here there are elk, bear and mountain lions, and despite being in the midst of a big metro area there are frequent sightings of all three. I've seen plenty of elk on the bike path myself.
DeleteI find that I really enjoy riding at night, but riding home in the evening through what amounts to rush hour around here is not so much fun. I prefer the quietness of country roads, but put up with the cars of town.
ReplyDeleteAll of my commuting is in daylight but the early mornings can be eerie with the fog and stuff. I do go to the gym at night and riding in the dark with my bike light up like a space ship is kind of a hoot.
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