The Joy of Riding your Bike at Night

It's funny, but sometimes you can ride your bike to and from work every day for 4+ years, and a simple jaunt around the block at night can make you laugh like it's your first time on two wheels.

That's what I love about biking - there's so much room for unexpected joy. Things you wouldn't see, places you wouldn't go, if you weren't on a bike. Last night, for example. I had gone out shopping with my wife and came back with a new pair of Under Armour Speedform Apollo Running Shoes. They're super comfy and lightweight, and I wanted to see how they felt on the bike, since that's an important factor for most shoes I wear (I use old-school platform pedals, not toe clips or clipless pedals, which is the subject of a future post). My new shoes are very flexible, which is perfect for running, but less than ideal for cycling, so I wanted to have a go with them on my bike to see how they felt. I laced them up and pulled out Amelia to go on a quick test-loop around my neighborhood.

I quickly realized that the shoes were great on a bike - surprisingly, despite being flexible enough for running, they were firm under the ball of my foot, where it really counts on a bike, making them perfectly comfortable cycling shoes. But then something happened. After I realized the shoes would work just fine, I stopped thinking about them and was just enjoying the ride. It had been a while since I'd done a night ride, and I had forgotten how exhilarating it can be. There's something about flying down a quiet street, with no traffic and only the streetlights for company, that puts a smile on my face like nothing else. I ended up doing a second lap, and then a third. By this point I was laughing out loud at the sheer joy of flying down the street, the wind in my face. It was magic. What began as a test of a new pair of shoes turned into pure, childish delight at the joy of a night ride.

I ended up doing five laps around my neighborhood and pulled into my driveway sweating, grinning like an idiot, and feeling like a little kid. That's what I love about bikes - no matter how old you are, no matter how long you've been biking, there's always a new adventure; a new surprise. I can't think of many things better than that.

Now go ride.