A Winter Morning and Evening:

Saturdays are among my regular commuting days.  To begin with, I work in a retail business, so most Saturdays are workdays.

A morning ride to work, on a Winter Saturday morning is usually pleasant, in its own odd way.

I am not fond of cold weather, but it does have its charm.  Early morning rides, on clear days, often show the lawns and fields dressed in a bright glittering frost blanket.  There is little in the way of traffic about in these early morning hours, no busses, no frantic cell phone chattering mini-vans and SUVs loaded with Mom-and-kiddies on the way to school, no big noisy commercial vehicles.  In short, the roads and the world are quiet.

Gone now are the songbirds, and the morning hustle of a Summer Saturday.  The occasional lonely crow can be heard in the distance.  I always think of Winter when I hear the crows calling.

I’m a bit cold at the start of the ride in.  This is not a worry, as I know I am dressed correctly, and the coming hills will warm me wonderfully.

An amazing thing happens on the trip in.  As I pass the point that marks a third of the trip, I am warming up, the sun shines down on me and adds to that, and the frost just disappears.  The act of cycling gets me breathing deeply of the cold crisp air, the coffee kicks in, and the world seems to come into a sharp focus.  I’m ready for the day ahead.

After the Saturday workday, the homeward commute takes on a completely different nature.  It’s already dark before I get outside.  Lights and reflectors are a must.  Traffic, for the first third of this homeward journey, is frantic and frenetic.  Total focus and concentration are required.  But then, there is that turn, and that intersection.  These mark a boundary of some kind.  I’m out of the bustle.

That last, if longer, portion of the homeward ride is good.  Again, quiet settles.  I see the occasional deer.  I hear the coyotes and foxes singing as I drop through one particular valley.  My pace slows.  I’m tired, but it’s a good tired, one earned.  Somewhere ahead is light, and warmth, and good food, and a rest from the week.

This is one of the good places that the bike takes me.  The place where I am me, and I am at peace.