My first commute in total darkness
 

I've been commuting for a little over a year straight now. This morning was my first trip in total darkness. I started a new job 3 weeks ago. It's 9.5 miles one way and I had to be there at 5am today. I left my house at 3:55am in the darkness.

At first it was kind of creepy (I'm a girl :p ) , then it was eerie and finally I decided it was very relaxing. I liked the minimal traffic and I felt safe as far as visibility....rear blinky, front light to be seen, a reflective vest and a bright Cygolite to see. I didn't have any problems seeing where to ride and there was a lot of debris from last night's high winds. I never realized that there are almost no street lights on the majority of my route.

I won't be working that shift often, but now I feel confident that I can do this commute in darkness (my last job was much closer to home....only 1.6 miles IF I took the direct route).

Glad you are comfortable with that hour.
When I had weird hours, I preferred the commute. It was so quiet the few cars/people that I had to deal were so easy to keep track of. Very safe. Diametrically opposed to what Rt.30 was at 5:00pm rush hour, like a crazy free-for-all. Over time you will remember the big potholes and stuff like that and it will even get easier. I also found that this little cheepo LED flash lights you can get at CVS for $5.00 make great lights to augment your lighting set-up if you have no aversions to hoseclamp or electrical tape mounting :p
Be safe :beer:

Ironically I feel a little more safer in the dark. Figuring my lights show up a lot better so I feel more visable. It seems people giveyou more room too. Although my wife hates it when I'm riding in the dark.

Those Cygolites are great lites at night. I ride with a 400 on the helmet, and a Bell headlight on the front, a Bell tailight and a Thunderbolt light both on at the back of the bike. Riding at night is fun!

It's been ages (years) since I've ridden that early in the morning...and, yes, it's awfully nice to have the world to yourself.

I love my morning commute at 3:30 am. My ride is 18 miles in the morning. I get in at 4:45 for 5 am. It is so nice to have the entire road to yourself. Any traffic I do encounter has the entire road to move around you as well. I will say that 4:30 is a very different ride than 4:00 am. The peacefulness tends to evaporate the later in the morning it gets.

It's the weirdest thing, I started off commuting at night because i felt more comfortable with less cars on the road, even though when you tell people they think you're crazy for riding a bike on the roads at night
:thumb:

I am a big fan of the early morning commute in the dark. I do a double light on back just to be sure visibility is there.

Here in DC I really enjoy the quiet streets before the city wakes up.

I work graveyards, my commute into work is at 23:30. Except for weekends when I have to go through frat row at the local university, it's a nice stress free route. I actually feel safer at night, as I feel like my femininity is more invisible, so I don't get the gendered BS flung at me that I do during my morning commute back home.

I also noticed that the cars have more room to get around me and that they use it. I do enjoy that.:thumb:

At night times, when there are very few cars, I feel more relaxed; CREE XML T6 1200 front, CatEye rapid 5 tail, reflective vest with reflective armbands help keep me visible. Plus, it is really pleasant at night times because riding on a summer day in New Jersey is HELLISH. You've just gotten outside and you are already sweating.
The only problem I have encountered is people. Bike riding (especially night bike riding) is a priori considered to be extremely dangerous, although yet all the drivers I have seen were really nice to me biking.

Oh, and also I had not heard so much crap when I was getting a tattoo, as when I decided to commute using a bike.