In the Dark

Last week I rode in the dark...except it was still mostly light out.  The battery on my computer was dead, and when I took it in to charge it, I forgot and continued to forget it each morning.  Consequently I was riding without feedback from my bike.  No speed.  No grade.  No cadence.  No temperature.  No distance.  No timer.

For the first couple of days I was kicking myself within the first 100 feet away from my driveway.  Then again after the first 100 yards.  Apparently I look at my speed and time often while I ride.  By mid-week I was looking less, and was not kicking myself so hard because I didn't miss the digital feedback so much. 

Yes, I still missed the speed read-out, but I paid greater attention to my internal feedback.  As I listened to my legs (as opposed to the Jens Voigt approach) I found a slightly different position to ride in that gave me more strength and better endurance.  I found gauging myself was a little easier.  I'm not a racer, but I do compete with myself, and I returned a little bit to enjoying the ride and not worrying so much about the time-trial version of commuting.

Now that "actual" darkness is creeping in (with the change of season), I'm looking forward to pulling out The Commuter.  My commuter is  a single-speed.  Which means I get to sit back and enjoy the ride a little more.  This past week "in the dark" reminded me that the non-competitive season is worth as much as the competitive.

By the way, I was only 10 seconds off of my fastest time this morning!  Despite the lack of light.