So I commuted home last night at about 8:30pm taking the Mt. Vernon Trail from its start in Rosslyn to Old Town Alexandria. In preparation for the late commute I purchased a headlamp (36 lumens) and attached it to my helmet. It worked great and I was pumped to try it out on the trail, but the actual commute was TERRIFYING!

First of all the majority of the trail is unlit, so I had to rely solely on my headlamp. That's not a problem, but the majority of the trail is also along the northbound side of the GW Parkway, so going southbound on the trail you get all the cars' headlights in your face. I almost ran off the trail a number of times because I couldn't see the upcoming turns.

Second, while most people wear either reflective clothing, lights, or both, there were actually some people running/walking without anything but their plain clothes. 36 lumens seems like a lot when you're running around your basement with your helmet on, but damn these unlit pedestrians pop out of nowhere!

Lastly, the insects were insane. I didn't need to eat dinner when I got home because I had already filled up on assorted flying bugs. Also, not too far into the ride, I noticed a dark object moving alongside my front wheel. By the time that I realized the dark object was a huge rat and had time to grab my brakes, the thing ran straight under my front wheel with a sickening crunch.

So my first night time experience on the MVT was pretty scary. And I'm planning on doing it again tonight. I must have been dropped as a child...