It's a day to celebrate,at 1747 UTM(GMT) the days light starts getting longer in the northern hemisphere. Have a good Winter Solstice day

Thank you… In the finest tradition of my ancestors, I am very happy that the Sun is not going to keep going further South and disappear completely. At least it never has yet, so we assume it won’t this time either… I don’t think I’ll be out tonight dancing around a fire to try and get the Sun to come back the other way, but if I thought that it would help spring and summer to get here sooner, I may be willing to give it a try.

The coldest of Winter is yet to come, but at least we are making that big U-turn in the sky (so to speak) and starting to head back the other way.

Does this mean that I can put the Knickers at the back of the draw now? Wore them for only the second time this year last Sunday and I am glad I did.

We would appreciate it if you kept your knickers on,Stapfam.

If you say so. I only opened this thread because I assumed from the title that it had something to do with Viagra.

When I was employed I used to worry and fret about this because I had to ride home in the dark. Now that I'm retired I ride in the middle of the day whether it's December 21 or June 21.
But I do feel bad for those still working who either ride home in the dark or do their training ride after they get home. There are quite a few of the latter around here and I see them heading out as the sun is setting.

Here on the west coast in California the 2009 Winter Solstice will occur about 9:47 a.m. on Monday, December 21, 2009. Today!
Even though that's the shortest day, the sunrise will get later and later here until about Jan 7. The good news is that sunset is already getting later.

In any event, we are ready for Solstice with celebratory lights on the commuter bikes. Here's Tricia with hers.

OK, gotta have some details on the wheel lights, please!

Yes we need details on those lights!!!

Those appear to be MonkeyLectric. A competing brand is Hokey Spokes.

Yes, they are indeed MonkeyLectric. We got them at the Maker Fair in San Mateo. They were an anniversary present for my sweet wife (her choice!)

And speaking of humps, there is a famous climb in Flanders called the Kemmelberg. So I have thought that every town or cycling area needs to have its own "Kamelberg," so named because it's one big hump.

L.

I tend to celebrate the winter solstice privately. My family told me they were tired of hearing me complain about the long, dark days. So, now I deal with it in two ways. First, since the advent of LED holiday lights that use 80% less power than traditional lights, I just light up my house and property to the max over the holiday season. Second, I mark the day itself with a bit of quiet time in front of the fire place with a snifter of good bourbon and the dog at my side. However, this year as I sat there I felt just a little sorry for our cycling brothers and sisters on the south side of the equator... just a little sorry.