I ended up having to work two hours late at the office. On the ride back I home I slowly realized that rush hour traffic had subsided and my ride was very relaxing not having to deal with the usual trouble spots.

On the other hand I didn't run across any other cyclists, and the quiet stretches of my ride seemed even more desolate.

But all in all it was pleasant and relaxing.

If I leave after dark, the head wind has died down. It's dark, but the lack of wind is a nice change.

My commute home starts shortly after 11:30 at night. What is this rush hour traffic you are speaking of?

my last employer let me shift my work schedule so I could arrive & leave an hour earlier to avoid traffic. later would have worked too but earlier let me shower & change before anyone else arrived

I could never commute during rush hour where I live. Bad enough during the downtime hours! Having a job that gets me in and out at quieter hours is essential to me as a bike commuter. Couldn't have it any other way where I live.

One of my sons worked restaurants. He hated the 2 AM rush hour when bars closed

One of my commute routes goes past two call centers. There's a fifteen minute period where traffic on that road backs up a half mile or more. You'd think they would stagger shifts a little to avoid the aggravation.

The thought of being on a fixed schedule sounds horrible. My company runs on flex time. There's core hours they want you here, but there's plenty of wiggle room. If I could get my butt out of bed earlier I'd be happy to leave nice and early, but that rarely happens.

I've had the same experience on a number of occasions. A little compensation for having to work late.

At a former job we were occasionally required to stay late, like after midnight. There'd always be a concerned coworker who would try to insist on giving me a ride home and would never believe me when I would try to explain that it was much safer and more pleasant than riding home at 5:30.

I am amazed by even just moving the time through the tough spots by 15-25 minutes makes.
heck sometimes 5-10 is all it takes to have a totally more relaxing ride.


this morning I was 2 minutes earlier maybe than yesterday but there was barely any traffic on the roads on the way in.

A noted, just a few minutes can make a big difference. I don't mind heading to change at 5:00, even though it gets me out the door at 5:15, because few people are left, and they tend to be more relaxed about going home. Makes for a nice ride (until I get downtown).

This time of year it's dark when I leave at 5:30. But thanks to smaller LED lighting, I carry my main light in my backback, so that even if I have to work late other times of the year, I still have my main headlight.

ordered a new battery for my headlight cuz it died. gonna take 8-12 days to get it. if I ride before then I'd better be off the road before 4:30pm or break out the older lights & backup lights

Never forget having to work the Gravy Yard shift. (Many years ago with another company.) Never got use to riding up at 11.00 P.M. and starting work. Thank goodness for good lights!

I have left work occasionally in the early evening and was surprise at how much lighter the traffic is at that time. I think, though, that many of the roads I ride on are the commercial/industrial areas where people work 9-5, and so by 7PM they've all gone home for the day. Kind of nice, actually, compared to the usual 4:30 ride when everyone is getting off work and coming out onto the main roads.

My regular shift ends at midnight; after giving report to the employee who relieves me and then changing I am typically on the road by 12:40ish. This is a college town with a 1am-ish last call, but I have yet to experience anything near a rush-hour.


Bicycling in the early am hours around here means that the roads are nearly empty, and I find that drivers treat me much, much better than when I pull the occasional day shift. They give me much more room on passing, oncoming turners tend to wait until I pass them, people almost never run reds/yellows/stop signs, and it seems like they all tend to stick closer to the posted speed limits. I find that when there is traffic drivers get aggressive while competing with each other, and it really pisses them off when you impede their path to getting a car length ahead or beating the next yellow.

My lights are good, but I feel like I am much more visible at night. Most of my cycling clothing has reflective stuff on it, from shoes to jacket, and then the lights seem to show up much more. I will agree with the aggressive drives, they are more prevalent during the day when you might be holding them up from getting to that stop light or sign a few seconds faster.

My office tries to maintain 8:30-5:30 hours, but find my commute is happiest with 9:30 arrival and 7ish departure; most of our bikers seem to agree as a rule.

I miss rush hour most of the time and find things to be much more relaxed that way.

My favorite time to ride through the city is late at night...

It has a calming effect doesn't it? I have gone for late night solo rides that don't start until 1 am, on purpose. By the time I get to the downtown area, it is completely deserted. Several roads are 3-4 lanes wide with smooth pavement and flashing yellow lights at the intersections.

I like riding at night too, it's great having the roads all to myself.

My current employment has me working a 3-11:30 PM shift, and I find that's about optimal for cycling of all types: leaves me the morning for fun rides before work, then I go to work before there's too much traffic to deal with, and have the city nearly all to myself when it's time to go home.

I would not want to commute home during rush hour if it were dark. Seems too risky to me. When I was commuting in both directions, I liked leaving after 9 pm when the roads were practically empty. I also love going out on night rides in the summer. I can bike on roads too dangerous to bike during the day because they are lined with businesses and much traffic.

I used to commute 14 miles across downtown Indy at 0500 and home at 1600. I used to tell people the morning was beautiful, bird singing, light or no traffic, cooler, no headwind, just pleasant...and the ride home was kinda like combat. I do like late night, early morning riding.

Huh... One of my major reasons for bike commute is to go by the traffic when I'm commuting at peak times. At peak times, it doesn't take any more time by bike, but I guess I'm fairly lucky that most of my route is pretty quiet.