With the end of Daylight Saving Time comes the depressing darkness that paves the way to winter. The ride home from work at the end of the day is darker, cooler and more likely to provide interactions with deer. The mix of darkness and light is definitely not working in my favor — one more seasonal change to adjust to.
Until it gets really cold the evening can look pretty at times as everything lights up, at least until I hit the more rural stretches of road. Most evenings have been in the forties on the way home and that’s just fine. I don’t really start to moan until the temperature draws near the freezing point. A few weeks of that and I’m good until things drop below 10 degrees.
I can’t believe it’s time to even think about such things.
One positive aspect of the end of Daylight Saving Time, at least for awhile, is that it’s not dark in the morning on my ride to work even when the sky is heavy. The past few mornings have been nice rides with interesting skies — like something out of Mad Max.
I don’t remember any Vespa scooters in that movie.
With the work day normally consuming the time from 7am until 6pm there isn’t a lot of riding light left during the week. Sneaking a few extra miles into the commute can be enough to quiet a noisy mind or drain the frustration of poor planning and vision.
Maybe it’s time to take some lunchtime rides…
Yeah, nothing about Vespa scooters really screams post-apocalyptic dystopia.
Although… Seven or so years back, when I was still kicking around on an ’05 GTS 250 (I really enjoyed that scoot), I rode a few times with a kid on a weathered, and I mean WEATHERED, late ’60s Vespa. There was something genuinely punk about that two-stroke smoke belching, wheelie-popping noise-maker of a machine. Not mod, but real punk. It demanded respect.
It’s been a long time since I’ve seen a two-stroke scooter but I know what you mean about the respect they demand. The people who ride those things are committed!
If I were regularly doing 11 hour work days, I’d be taking several hours off in the middle of the day…
Friends tell me I should adjust my schedule for mid-day rides. But the light is so bad for pictures…
Hate to say it but we’re coming into summer down-under. No need to adjust schedules but early mornings are best. However I love your photos of autumn and winter and on that I cannot compete.
I told my wife yesterday that I missed most of the autumn riding because I’ve been so busy at work. She said I still have time. I take that as an endorsement to hit the road!
Can’t say I’m too excited right now at the approach of colder weather and shorter daylight…