This is the fourth of a five-part series from Coast Reporter and TraC (Transportation Choices) concerning commuter cycling on the Sunshine Coast during the annual Bike to Work and School Week, May 30 to June 5.
At 9 p.m. I have the full expanse of Gower Point Road to myself. A full moon throws a gleaming path across the Salish Sea, and a hush lies over the landscape, broken only by a few bird calls echoing in the trees. In half an hour of pedalling from Gibsons Landing to Bonniebrook, I see exactly four cars. None pass me.
As I approach Sunnyside Trail, a chorus of frogs rises ahead of me. The nearest ones fall quiet at the crunch of my tires on gravel, but when I reach the smooth shoulder of Chaster Road, I can glide so close to the croaks that I almost expect frogs to jump on my handlebars.
In a previous lifetime I was a city dweller. When I moved here I had to rediscover what the high beams on the car were for and learn to carry a flashlight because it’s dark at night. And it was years before I stopped assuming that cycling at night was scary and dangerous.
On the contrary, it’s liberating. Once the Queen of Surrey disembarks her last load, there’s virtually no traffic. All those car-choked roadways are suddenly mine, mine, mine! One heady night, just after King Road was newly paved, I coasted down the inky asphalt under an infinite canopy of stars and knew that I was flying.
I ride a little slower at night, but here’s the great part – it feels much faster! I’m in the night dimension, a world transformed by mystery and wonder.
Note: B.C. law considers bicycles to be “vehicles” and requires cyclists to have a front white headlight and a red rear light. I use two headlights. I mount a high-powered halogen light on my handlebars and clip a smaller light low on my front fork, where it casts the bumps on roads and trails into relief. A reflective jacket also makes me more visible, especially on rainy nights.
Come on, ride your bike to work! For free registration, go to www.biketowork.ca/sunshinecoast
