I enjoy riding to work early in the morning in the winter. The sun is yawning over the horizon and the world is covered in a crystalline dust, and it's so quiet I hear nothing but my tires rolling over frozen things. I'll drift by a field and realize I'm being stared at by two dozen eyes: deer. Then I arrive at work, awake and cheerful, while my coworkers are, at least mentally, still asleep in their warm covers at home.
I also love riding at night. I love coasting through the dark neighborhoods in almost complete silence. The only sounds I detect are dogs barking in the distance and the faint hum of cars droning on the main roads. Through the shadows I can see dim, blue light from enormous television sets flickering in the houses, they probably wondering how anyone would want to be outside when they could be watching movies indoors, and I wondering how anyone could stand to be indoors on such a crisp, quiet evening.