Commuting in the dark is a seasonal thing for me. Fall/winter months.

I used to ride in the dark 3 times a week most of the year because of shifts that ended between 8-10 pm. During the late evening the roads are much less hectic and I'd get home 5 or 10 minutes earlier than during rush hour. I think the earliest in the morning I ever left home with my bike was around 6:45 and it was still dark out but the sky lightened considerably during those commutes. Too bad I was too sleepy and caffeine deprived to enjoy them.

Yes, sometimes I do, and I love it. If I didn't live in the city, however, NO WAY!!!! I'm a big chicken...

I commute back home in darkness during standard time. Only during DLST do I ride exclusively in daylight.

I chose "Occasionally" but in reality it's about 1/3 of the year or so. Winter in Los Angeles it's dark when I ride home form work.

Only a month or so when it is not dark on my rural ride home. Not so sure I'd want to ride at night in some cities though.

that would depend on the city.

this is the city i ride through in the "dark" in the winter months. "dark" is in quotes because it never actually ever gets dark in chicago, just the ubiquitous orange glow of the sodium street lights.

http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3106/...7125bcba_o.jpg

^^^ Lovely pic! NYC has that same healthy glow at night, which is why I haven't invested in an HID just yet...

I too chose "Occasionally", but "Seasonally" would be a better description. Every commute home in after dark in Standard Time. In Daylight Time, twice a week for about a month or so before/after the switch to/from Standard Time.

Yes. I rotate to a shift where I get off at 10PM, every two weeks. SO I commute in the dark half of the time.

My coummute is at 4 am in the morn. I love riding then. No traffic its quiet and cooler(weather wise)

This is my answer too. I'll take riding at night over riding into the setting sun anyday.

Same thing with me. While I commute at night half of the year, it is not exactly "dark". More of a murky orange. I do love the LATE nights when I commute home at 1am. I almost have many roads to myself.

I commute in the early morning when it is still dark. There is a window of light for about 2 weeks in June, then it is mostly dark gray and finally dark again. We are already heading back into the darkness.

I work swing 12 shifts from 5:45 to 5:45, so yes, especially during the colder months with shorter periods of sunlight, I'm travelling in the dark both ways.

Do you ever commute at night?

I work night shift at a hospital, in Seattle. Most of the year my commute into work is in darkness. Sometimes my ride home in the morning it is still dark.

Dark and rainy, great combo!

http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4120/...b86827aa_z.jpg

I do it every morning. My commute starts at 4am. The temperature on this day was 10 degrees. The headlight is a Romisen RC-N3 bought in 2007. It's a great, cheap light for commuting at night.

Another seasonal night rider here. Once DST ends, it's dark morning and evening.

As changes come w/t seasons I find myself riding at least one leg of my commute in the dark. Worked 2nd shift for years and prefer it to any other. No waking to an alarm and the ride home always has less traffic.

Sometimes, when living urban I would just go for rides around the city for no reason other than to ride. W/a rural existence now I often take night rides on the Natchez Trace Parkway. It's a national park that's bike friendly and has a speed limit of 40 mph. When the moon is full one doesn't even need a headlight.

I am also one of those "Seasonally" guys. I need to be at work by 6:30 AM so during the dark portion of the year, I commute in the, well, dark.

In fact I'm thinking of doing an all night ride soon. Leave about midnight, get back around 6AM. Just a tour around the city. Have the road mostly to myself, get some nighttime pics, grab something to eat about 4AM. Not this weekend though, payday weekend and to many drunks on the road.