I'm anxiously awaiting the arrival tomorrow of my Terralux 220 lumen flashlight, which I plan to mount DIY on my handlebars. I've seen some really good comments about it in the Electronics forum. Less than $30 including shipping on eBay. At a manufacturer-claimed 220 lumen, it's about three times brighter than the NR Ultra Fazer 5.0 which claims 70 lumen. I'll be glad to provide a more complete report along with a thumbs-up or thumbs-down on it. (FYI, I ride the MVT from 14th St Bridge to 4 Mile Run and sometimes Old Town Alexandria. There are stretches of that where the path is completely unlit, which can be made worse by the blinding effect of headlights of oncoming cars next to the trail. So I figure if it'll work for me for that, it should be pretty good.)

On to my commute. Last night's commute was, shall we say, dark. I have a "be seen" Planet Bike 1 LED front light, which, until I have said flashlight, I am complementing with an LED headlamp we have for camping. The headlamp is woefully underpowered for lighting the trail, so the flashlight can come none too soon. Lots of times I had to go VERY slow to be sure I knew where the path was going, that despite the fact that I ride it almost every day!

What almost got me as much as my issues with my current light setup, though, was the number of ninjas! Come on, people, get some lights of some kind. Please. I beg of you! If you can't see the trail, that's mostly your problem. If no one else can see YOU, that's everyone's problem, and you need to use your brain and put on a light of some kind.

Lighting and ninjas aside, though, I really enjoy riding at night. It feels completely different than riding in the day. Must be like riding roller coasters - riding at night is a whole different beast.

Ride in this morning was nice. Brilliant sunshine, temps in the upper 40s. I was perfectly comfortable in my shorts, a tee-shirt, and my fleece for most of the ride.