oilfreeandhappy

I'm doing some training, so I'm on evening shift this week. I really enjoy the ride home about 11:30pm. It's dark and a little cold, but it's also extremely quiet. Next week I'm on midnight shift. Hope it goes as well.

derath

I just got some new lights for night riding. LOVE IT. So peaceful. And I am lit up enough that I almost feel more noticable than during the day.

-D

gear

You probably are; think of all the stuff a driver has to take in during the day and compare it to what they have to take in after sunset and (if you have enough lighting) you should be more noticable to them.

derath

Yea the rear strobe that I can see reflecting in signs 1/2 mile behind me doesn't hurt

ItsJustMe

I'm sure I'm much more easily visible at night than in the day. The only thing that concerns me at night is the increased probability of drunk drivers.

acidinmylegs

I really enjoy commuting late at night. It doesn't happen very often, but when it does it puts a smile on my face. There is hardly any traffic and I can just enjoy the ride.

BlkGuitarRedCar

i love riding at night. Me and a friend have taken tours of downtown at like 1-2 in the morning and its nice. no traffic good weather

badhat

i leave for work at 5:30 every morning so i spend the morning half of my daily commute in the dark. pre-dawn is even quieter than late night too. its great. and i work in loveland and live in FC, so most of that trip is on shields in the sooooper dark.

oboeguy

Night commuting is fun! I can't help worry sometimes, though, as the Hudson Greenway is a little sketchy at night.

hobbsc

I'm a huge fan of night commuting. Some mornings, if I rode the MTB in, I'll go rail around some local singletrack before dark. When the conditions are just right, I don't even get hot and sweaty, it's a really fun adventure.

Urban exploration is great in the early morning hours as well. Late night can be a little more busy.

buzzman

I commute at night quite a bit. Often very late- 1 am or so. Despite some anxiety about drunk drivers I appreciate having more of the road available. I take full advantage of it and with my bright orange reflective shirt, headlight, h-bar mounted light and bright rear blinking light and get right out there where they can see me but ready to bail if I sense a tipsy driver.

The MUP is empty and I'll see foxes (and rats!!).

And I love residential back streets late at night. I remember riding through a neighborhood at this time of year one year and seeing a whole family gathered at the end of a long Passover Seder, every generation represented, some laughing, some engaged in conversation and all of it in candlelight- it looked like a painting.

Riding a bike at night is a pleasure- you see and hear things you'd never notice in a car.

dmarcoul

I wait tables. So I ride at night daily and it is really nice. As has been mentioned the one big concern is drunk drivers but mostly I never see anyone and its free sailing. The other night it was sleeting very finely and I had the most novel impression of riding through crystalline sugar. Amazing.

bikedaddy

I think a snowy night is the best (as long as it is not icy) to bike around.

oilfreeandhappy

That's a fairly long commute, from the Fort to Loveland. I've made the ride on a number of occassions. Last year, a group was leaving from SW Loveland to go on a bicycling tour. I decided to ride down to the departure location with all my gear, including camping supplies. It was a lot farther than I thought - almost 20 miles. We then rode another 60+ on the tour later in the day. It was even tougher coming back, after 3 days of touring. Are you riding through the winter also?

oilfreeandhappy

+1 on this. It's really surreal to see all the snowflakes coming at you with the lights.

locky63red

Hi I also night commute all the time being a shift worker. I always make sure I have all my blinkies, bright yellow vest and leg and arm blinkies on. Friday Saturday and Sunday nights are the worst.I am also am extra carefull about watching cars approach in my mirror. My biggest worry is that some yobbo sitting in a car either passing or oncoming will throw a empty bottle out at me in the dark without thinking of the consequences? This would be a sure way to ruin a perfectly good night commute!! I also think that at night you are more visible to cars than at peak times during the day when there are lots of other distractions for drivers.

badhat

yeah i'm all season. this year my schwalbe snow studs totally saved my a$$.

i live near city park in FC and work near 287 and 34 in loveland. it works out to 15 miles one way. usually i take shields down in the morning cuz its quiet, then 287/mason/mason MUP in the afternoon so i can stop for groceries and errands and whatnot on the way home.