Riding into Light: Riding into Darkness

My bicycle is my most reliable vehicle, a fact which proved true yet again today.

We are a one-car family. When the family car needs service, I put my bike in the car and drive the car (if drivable) to the automotive repair shop. From the auto repair place I bike the eighteen miles to work. Today the car needed service, so last night I put my bike in the car and got my biking clothes ready.

I had looked at weather forecast which predicted 28 degrees Fahrenheit in the pre-dawn hours I would be biking, but it also predicted that the temperature would rise about 10 degrees during my ride. So I tried to choose my kit so that I was neither overdressed nor under-dressed. I did pretty well with insulated bib tights over a base layer and two pairs of socks, a mid-weight long sleeve jersey, nylon jacket, head sock, gloves and liners.

Next time I will also use shoe covers. My bike shoes have a lot of mesh for ventilation - not the greatest thing when the temperature dips below freezing.

In addition to clothes I made sure I had decent safety lights to wear. I got together three flashing red lights for the back and two flashing white lights for the front.  I got up in the morning at about ten minutes before five and was on road by five-thirtyish, arriving at the mechanic's shop at about six o'clock.  I parked the car, filled out the key envelope and dropped it with my car key through the mail slot.  Then I put on my biking shoes, glasses and helmet and made ready to go.  

The temperature was already in the low thirties, so I did not find the temperature uncomfortable at all. Our mechanic's shop is in a busy section of Natick and the traffic was commensurate with the busy-ness, but I am comfortable in multi-lane traffic. On the drive there I had noticed that a key bridge on my usual route was under repair, so in my head I devised an alternate route past Lake Cochituate, which reflected the first light of dawn as I rode past.

Because of the difficult light of dawn, I needed to be very mindful and present, concentrating as much as possible on the road immediately in front of me, because obstacles - pot holes, manhole covers, drains and the like - were hard to see. The level of concentration combined with the fast rhythm of my pace (I wanted to stay warm and I wanted to get to work fast) to drive all extraneous thoughts away, such that I felt almost in a meditative state. It was very peaceful as I rode through Natick, Wayland, Wellesley, Needham and Dedham.

As I rode into Westwood, the sun broke over the horizon and lit the tops of the autumn trees afire. They were so beautiful I had to stop and take the picture below.