treehugger

I started bike commuting to work (about 7 miles) this summer (with much help from reading this forum) and have been absolutely loving it. The school year has started up and my schedule changed. I am now either leaving or arriving at work at 11 oclock at night. I have looked at some threads on night riding, and I feel ok, if not great, about the dark. (I am brightly lit up, so are the cars, there are not as many cars.) I feel pretty safe when I am riding, but if there were any mechanical mishaps, even just a flat, I would feel like I would be in a really precarious situation. I can't decide on what side to err. I don't want to let fear rule my life, but I'm not crazy about acting more naive or something than I am, either. I really don't want to depend on my car anymore. I am busy, and its one of the only times I am able to ride that far. I can't decide if I am crazy for trying it or wimpy for making a big deal out of it. What do y'all think? I would especially love to hear from other women dealing with these sort of calculated risks.