I commuted in real dark, as opposed to just dusk, for the first time on Friday. And I liked it! I do wish I'd had a better light with me -- my bike was in the shop all week and I picked it up that morning, but I forgot to bring a light so I had to use the extra one I keep in my desk. It's fine but it doesn't illuminate the road at all, and the streets are still a mess from last week's storm. So it wasn't ideal.

But it was still pretty good. In some ways I feel more visible in the dark than at dusk, because my lights show up better. There was not much traffic. And I felt so much safer leaving my office on a bike at night than I do on foot. They've redone our doorways so I can just take my bike out the front of the building at the main entrance now, which dumps me onto a well-lit sidewalk that then goes straight onto the street I use to ride to home. In the past, that front door was locked at night, and in order to exit that way you had to unlock a very difficult deadbolt, which was hard to do while balancing a bicycle. So I had to exit into a dark alley ... which pretty much meant that I drove the car any time I had to work late.

Mostly I commute on foot, but I am really happy to have another way to get to work in the winter. Because my neighborhood is fine for riding through after dark, but not so much for walking.