Night riding

I like riding in the dark. Especially during winter when it's freezing. There very little traffic at those times of the day and the air feels better to my lungs. I follow roads that I know like the back of my hand. My lights are way above average, they let the fear I once had at night go away. The lights show not only the road, or in most cases the cycle path, but also the ditches, the trees and sometimes another cyclist. Seeing another cyclist is very rare on the routes I take. I leave town as quickly as possible and pedal myself in to the darkness. My 'bents take me along quiet sceneries. Horses in a field or lonely farmhouse down a dusty road. There is nobody to slow down for, nobody to warn and overtake. And one of the best things is that there's nobody who ruins my cornering.

When the roads are dry and clean, nothing beats my Fuego. Nothing sprints, tours and corners like Yivalté does. I think I can say that if I only had summer weather, Fuego would accompany me on most of my rides.
When the roads are wet, or I want to ride through a forest, the Pioneer will do fine.
When the weather is like it's now, cold, wet, and snowy my velomobile can show where she's good at. VM's work in any weather condition, but they start to take a leap on all other bikes when the weather is trying to keep you indoors.

You can understand that I was very surprised when I met another recumbent rider on an otherwise deserted cycle path. I spotted the bike from far away, which is worth mention, as a lot of cyclist tend to ride without proper lights or reflection. He was one his way home, half way a 20km commute.

Later on, we both went our own way again. I was now approaching the TT circuit, south of Assen. The road was empty and my speed was building up. The radio provided a little extra energy and contributed to the car-ish feeling. The grey concrete in front of my wheels was brightly lighted by my headlights, the snow formed a little wall on each side of it.

I raced past the circuit and headed for the darkest road of the entire route, the old brick road past the cemetery. From there on I set course to the city centre, rode past the canal and I was home a few minutes later. Another 33km added to the odometer.