One general downside to winter cycling is that it’s so often in the dark, with the sun rising late and setting early. However, in the weeks before Christmas, that darkness is a delight.
That’s another benefit of riding a bike – rolling by twinkling lights in the calm darkness and taking in the holiday spirit.
Just another work commute chez LGRAB. 
I’ve mentioned before that I live a couple of blocks from Elizabeth, a blogger at BikeCommuters.Com. We met by chance last winter on our way home from work in the dark and freezing cold. I was waiting at a light and when it turned green I told her to go ahead because she would be faster than me. I managed to stay with her about half way home and we chatted a bit before she dropped me and Oma
Elizabeth and Me
We met up last night for a beer (or two) in our neighborhood, and she had just attended a focus group discussion on women’s safety and security issues with bicycling and walking. I wanted to participate, but had a scheduling conflict. Elizabeth gave me her discussion guide print out and I thought I’d post some of the questions here to see what you all think. The focus group was women-specific, but I’m interested in hearing from everyone.
How safe do you feel in your residential neighborhood? Is it a comfort level that allows you to bicycle and walk at any time of day of if you chose to?
What are some of the things that influence your decision to bicycle or not to bicycle?
What do you see as major safety and security concerns?
My thoughts: I feel very safe in my residential neighborhood. Chicago is a big city and I’m sure lots of people don’t cycle for fear of crime, but I’m privileged enough to live in a fairly affluent neighborhood on the north side. Still, I don’t walk alone after dark. I feel much less vulnerable on my bike, so I will cycle alone after dark, but not later than midnight or so. I hate taking public transit alone at night – I don’t feel that the el trains have enough security. Overall, my major safety concerns deal a lot more with traffic (drunk drivers, dooring) than with crime.
How about you?
My fanciest ride was this weekend, to a fundraising gala for a domestic violence organization I volunteer with. Deciding to ride my bike was natural, as I have no car and taking a cab would have been lame when I live only two miles from the location. I was a bit worried about hurting my silk, lace and beaded Badgley Mischka cocktail dress and silk Anne Klein heels – my one and only black tie outfit. Turns out I had no reason to worry: the ride was effortless in every way!
Since I posted on Tuesday about riding in the dark, I have seen three cyclists out and about in Nashville riding on the street without a light or any reflective gear. Brave or suicidal? I guess a little bit of both! It does make me feel a little bit safer knowing these people have managed to survive. 
Between extremely cold temps and an actual cold that I’ve managed to acquire, I’m not sure I’ll have more new commutes to share this week (though I’ve got my fingers crossed for Thursday and Friday).
But! I do have some photos from my rides home last week, and I thought I’d use those to share some thoughts on cycling at night.
Hillsboro/Acklen at night.
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