I'm in the Piedmont around Charlotte and have lights. However we don't have any bike lanes and the roads we ride on are pretty narrow. I'd be fine with commuting in the dark but not doing a 40 miler out on rural roads. Since my office is in my house I can commute by walking a few steps from my bedroom to my office.

Cars just would not be expecting folks to be riding around here in the dark and I'd be very concerned about becoming road kill. I too ride year round but for the 60-100 milers, those need to be done on daylight. We do have a decent option of a Commercial Park that has a nice 1.5 mile loop that is lighted and has bike lanes and it gets a lot of use December-February. However it is about a 30 minute drive from my house.

Here is a link to Reese Blvd in Huntersville via Google Maps. If anyone is in the are come on our on a Tuesday or Thursday night and just jump in one of the groups that fits your pace.

https://maps.google.com/maps?hl=en&tab=ll