Night Riding!!

Well with the daylight savings time change it is now officially dark at 5 PM and needing lights after about 4:30. Since I have been trying to commute to work by bike as much as possible the darkness poses some challenges. I hadn't ridden since mid-September due to Michelle being gone, my parents here, and then plain laziness. I am lucky enough at work to have a friend that use to race and has lots of fun bike gear. He has outfitted me with a nice headlight system and prodded me back into riding. I haven't done much night riding, but around here, it is kind of necessary. Since Boston is much closer to the start of the time zone relative to where Salt Lake City sits in the Mountain time zone, we get light earlier and subsequently dark earlier. Last night was my first commute home in the dark. Things went well although I did hit a big pot hole after being blinded by some car's xenon lights going the other way. I found that cars are much more cautious in the dark and I felt much safer that during the daylight. Cars that normally would pass me with only a 12-18 inches gave me 3 feet. It is nice to get back on the bike and hopefully I can continue to do so until it snows and the roads become significantly narrower and full of sand. Of course the best part of the bike commute--passing a mile worth of backup going to Route 2 and avoiding the long line of cars waiting to get onto the base. You have to take advantage of the perks of riding your bike.