August 6 - Morning Commute

Today's a first. I left the house at 04:30 this morning, in the dark. Riding in the dark is a blast, totally different from daylight commuting.

First, I don't recomend night riding for the week hearted or unlight rider. I have been riding the same route for 2 months and I have a pretty good idea of what the road conditions are along the way (i.e. where the "mother...." potholes are, road breaks, ripples, broken pavement, etc.). But in the dark, you don't see the road blemishes very well. It's a good thing to know your route well before trying it in the dark. One benefit to my ride is, because there is so much light pollution, there really isn't any strech of roadway you can't see except perhaps the surfaces that are in shadows - again a good reason to know your route well.

For safety, I wore a reflective vest and used 3-blinking LED reflectors (of course, I always wear a helmet). I am going to pickup a Cateye headlight on the way home today.

Regarding helmet use. About 12 years ago, a mentor in the consulting firm I was working in was riding his old black Raliegh home from the railroad station. A person delivering newspapers from their car was driving on the wrong side of the street and looking for house numbers, not looking at the road like they should have. Well Peter was hit head-on, thrown over his handle bars, and landed on his head. Peter wasn't wearing a helmet and died of head injuries. Peter was 64, a recent cancer survior, and 6-months from his retirement date. The driver of the car was found not guilty of anything and probably is still driving on the wrong side of the street somewhere. According to Peter's son and based on the type of injury, Peter would likely have survived had he been wearing a helmet. I now always wear a helmet - no excuses.