faygate

Riding in the dark

So today was the first day, or should that be night, that I have ridden my bike home in the dark. With the change from British Summer Time to normal GMT there was no choice. I knew this day would come but that practising with the twilight, as we lost 5 minutes of daylight a day, doesn’t really prepare you!

So what was it really like? Well, actually, not that bad at all. I thought I might have come across the odd ninja squirrel, but in the end the only object that on the path that caused me to have a moment, was another cyclist riding along with no lights at all. Idiot.

Most of the cycle track was pitch black, but I was helped by the fact there was a small moon and the path was dry and clear of leaves (thank you Bath and North East Somerset council). What I did learn was that you do need to point your lights up quite high, other cyclists don’t have a dipped beam on their lights, and the sound of the wind in your ears drowns out any odd (i.e. scary) noises you might have heard in the dark.

I still think that someone will jump out in front of me, or I’ll come across someone or something suddenly in the dark. For now though, I’ve completed the challenge and it means I can carry on commuting to work on two wheels a bit longer. Yay! :)