Night Rider

Technically, morning rider.  But "Night Rider" sounded better.  Either way, it's dark.  I have decided to start riding my bike to work again, a little earlier in the year than I had planned.  Why?  Well, because I don't want to pay over $3/gallon for gas when I am more than capable of peddling my way to work.

I have to leave my house at about 5:45 a.m. in order to get to my station in time (usually around 7 a.m.).  During the summer, it's no big deal because in Arizona, it's plenty bright by 5:45 a.m.  But in February?  Not so much.  It's actually kinda scary at times.  I'm not too worried about getting hit by a car.  If that's going to happen, there's not much I can do about it besides have lights on my bike, which I do.  The scary part is only seeing about five feet in front of me when I'm moving at around 18 mph.  That's not a whole lot of time to perform an evasive maneuver!  Because of this, I usually end up riding at just a little bit of a slower pace.

As I said, I do have lights on my bike, they're just not all that great.  I think I paid about $20 for the front light.  There are lights that light up what I'm sure is an entire football fields view in front of you, but those lights are crazy expensive.  And really, I'd only use it for a short period of time during the year.  Not really worth it in my opinion.  Maybe I'll change my mind if I end up crashing into some object on my way to work.

The other complication of riding my bike right now is what to wear.  It's still pretty cold in the mornings, especially on a bike.  When I head home though, it's usually around 8 a.m., which is quite a bit warmer than 5:45 a.m.  I'm going to try different options with the clothing to see what works best.  Next up is bringing along an empty camelback/backpack so I can put my extra jacket/pants in the bag on the way home.  Soon enough, though, it will be warm out again so it won't even be a problem.

So sorry guys, but I'm hoping for Summer to be here sooner rather than later.  Don't hate me, it just want it that way for my safety.  Now go buy yourself a bike and stop driving so much!  There's no excuse to drive when your traveling short distances!  (ok, there are some good excuses.  But most of the time, you don't need the car.  Your wallet will thank you!)

Oh yeah, Happy Valentine's Day to my wife!  And to the rest of you too!