I ride my bicycle at night

I ride my bicycle at night, so I can - so I can -
make my way back home from work.
And I ride my bicycle at night, so I can - so I can -
grok the sublime empyreal heights.

I'm one of those people you shake your head at driving home, either feeling for their safety or their sanity. I just started this endeavor this fall and it is a transcendent experience. I feel the firmament vaulting above me. It's like walking into an unexpectedly huge room. Suddenly I'm unconstrained, existing in a larger sphere, no longer tied to the little boxes with heat and glowing light that comprise civilization at night. It's a breath of true freedom, and it's exhilarating.

Sometime last fall before the time change, I expressed an interest in continuing my bicycle commuting beyond the days of 5 pm daylight. My wonderful husband bought me a 4-LED, purportedly-900-lumen flashlight and a mount to attach it to my handlebars. He also picked up a red taillight with 5 flashing lights in 5 possible configurations. I wasn't sure how comfortable I would be with night-time commuting, in part because of the cold, but mainly because of the safety. Both turned out to be non-issues.

Here in southern Illinois, the cold is not strictly dependent on the time of day or night. Last night at 8 pm it was 46, Thursday at noon it will be 16 if we're lucky. I've found that with a pair of long john bottoms, three light layers on top, two silk scarves and a ski-worthy glove set, I'm toasty for my 3 mile ride. Usually these clothes are sufficient on the bike even when they are not quite warm enough for a walk across campus. So far this winter I've ridden down to 18 degrees.

Carbondale is a small town, with a population of about 30,000. The ride home from campus is fairly well lit and I could see to do it without the incredibly bright flashlight at all. But the flashlight itself is awesome... it has heft enough to be used as a self-defense weapon and casts a bright light far enough for use on the blackest of nights. For the most part, its main use is to make me *be seen,* but it has also been the agent of my freedom. Without a light I would never have undertaken this endeavor.

The really scary thing is that now I see why people do brevets.

Cheers,
Audrey