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poll: ride/commute late night/early morning? (10PM-5AM)

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poll: ride/commute late night/early morning? (10PM-5AM)

Old 06-28-06, 05:23 PM
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do you ride/commute late night/early morning? (10PM-5AM)

serene peaceful time when all is quiet and no one is on the road?

or extremely dangerous timeframe when all the drunks, crazies, and sketchy people are out in full force?

I'm interested in everyone's opinion on this subject

Last edited by o-dog; 06-28-06 at 05:29 PM.
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Old 06-28-06, 05:27 PM
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no poll, mute button is ON
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Old 06-28-06, 05:47 PM
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The former.

I usually work 8:30 - 5:30 but for a couple of weeks each summer, I have to put in some late nights and I ride home after 10. Whenever it happens a well-meaning co-worker practically begs me to take a ride with them because there are crazies/drug addicts/drunkdrivers/whatever out on the roads at night.

But after commuting for a few years, I would rather ride through the bar district at 2am than a school zone at 7:45 am
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Old 06-28-06, 06:07 PM
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Im out the door for my 12 miler at 5:00 am.
Perfect time of day for me !
If I go through r0tland I get some traffic n busy Rt. 7
but generally they are respectful. If I go 7b I wont see a
car for 6 miles or so
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Old 06-28-06, 06:15 PM
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Originally Posted by caloso
The former.

But after commuting for a few years, I would rather ride through the bar district at 2am than a school zone at 7:45 am
I'll second that!!!! Nothing worse than a mom in a huge SUV or a minivan that's dropping her kids off for school, running 20 minutes late for an important meeting and putting on her makeup while taking a conference call on her cell phone, while her coffee spills in her lap!
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Old 06-29-06, 03:11 AM
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serene peaceful time when all is quiet and no one is on the road ... except newspaper delivery people who drive on the wrong side of the road and are not expecting any traffic - much less a biker. I ride near the center of the road so I can dart either way.
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Old 06-29-06, 04:34 AM
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It depends on the area. I've ridden some great rides late at night in areas that were well lit and saw nobody.

But the area I live in now is more commercial, with a lot of bars and strip malls. During the day it's not too bad, but at night it can be a little scary. The kids are out, driving way too fast. One of my riding buddies got nailed at a 4 way stop last year when a kid blew the stop sign and took a right turn doing some drifting. Never saw my buddy until he nailed him. He stopped long enough to see my friend laying in the road and then he took off.

And from my bar band days, I can tell you that a high percentage of drivers late at night, and especially on weekends, are impaired. Some nights it seemed like almost every car was a drunk or a cop.

Obstacles also become a problem as they're much harder to see.

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Old 06-29-06, 05:14 AM
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My favorite time to ride is early morning (5-ish) when the roads are clear and the only sounds you hear are due to nature.

Serene and peaceful.
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Old 06-29-06, 05:59 AM
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I work from 6am till sometime after 3.
I leave at 5:20am and have had no problems. It's nice, a little chillly for my tastes though.

One week I had to work from 3:30pm till 11am(support I'm the low man on the totem pole). I had no problems leave work at 11:30 that week until I was run over my a drunk(pretty sure since he tried to stop hit me and kept going) driver.
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Old 06-29-06, 06:04 AM
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Originally Posted by caloso
But after commuting for a few years, I would rather ride through the bar district at 2am than a school zone at 7:45 am
Talk about a direct hit. I'm surprised so many kids survive the school bus and suv ride to school in the mornings. I also agree that the school zone is the most dangerous part of any bike ride I have done. "No one" is paying attention.
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Old 06-29-06, 02:56 PM
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I've ridden at at 4 am, except for my crappy cheap headlights it's been pretty good.
The best rides are between 5 and 6 am just as the sun is coming up, I'll run mostly back roads, sometimes I'll see a dozen or so deer and hardly a single car. I vote for just as the sun comes up to be the best time to ride, that is usually the high point of my work day.
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Old 06-29-06, 10:25 PM
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I did my 15 mile commute to work at 3:30 am a couple of weekends ago (with a good headlight) and it was the most amazing ride yet.
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Old 06-30-06, 05:35 AM
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hrm...
I work from 5:00pm until 6:00am (13hrs) 4 days a week based on an 8 day week, so I work 4 days then I am off 4 days etc. I perfer my morning ride from 6:00 until 7:00 because I get to see the sun come up over late St. Clare as I get closer to my neighborhood on my easternly route.
On rare occasions I get off work at 3:00am. Now that is a fun time to ride.
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