Wow, different perspective here. Summer is so hot that I am generally sticking to shorter rides. I enjoyed some really nice long comfortable rides around the December holidays. As I post, sunrise is around 6:30AM and sunset around 8PM - and it's still HOT so it seems unfair to need lights also. But in the winter we do have a little more daylight hours than up north.

The daylight thing - I was able to use a "follow the sun" work flextime schedule last winter and do some work from home or work extra hours on non-bike days. I have HiVis jackets, illumiNITE tights, reflective vests, construction worker mesh T's with broad reflective striping, and lots of lights. I enjoy riding in the dark on quiet streets, but it can make poorly-lit wide intersections particularly scary-creepy. It is easier to see cars that have their headlights on. I don't commute downtown, so most of my route is not well-lit with streetlights.

I strongly advise both a headlight on the bike AND a helmet mount light. I've had lights fail halfway home and was grateful that I had extra batteries and more than one light. Past commutes on a blacktop country road were so dark that even with a $60 headlight I still could not see the edge of the pavement; it was like trying to balance with my eyes closed and was very disorienting. So I velcro an extra light to my helmet - small very bright and expensive-to-run 3"-long flashlight that throws a LOT of light just for special cases - it costs $10 in non-rechargable special lithium batteries for 2 hours use, so I only used it for a few blocks at a time.

Speaking as a car driver, recently some kids rode their bikes across the street in front of me after dark. They were otherwise utterly invisible but those dorky-looking reflectors attached to the bike spokes immediately caught my attention and made it very clear that bikes was moving across my path.

Each season has its ups and downs, try to enjoy the best parts of each one and ride when it feels good.