This morning started out as all mornings do. Having gone to sleep before sunset, I was awaken with a head full of thoughts and a body fully of energy. It was early, before the sunset, after midnight. The sky was its normal color of dead blue and shadow black. The once illuminated colorful landscape that invited me out on to the day, as now a mixture of shadows and shapes one would find in a horror production. It would be easy to dismiss this setting as to dangerous. It was anything but inviting. What was lacking in vision and color, was made up by the cool night air. This was what drew me from my bed. This is what I sought as I slipped in to my kit. This excited me. This drew me in to the night. On the front porch, it was as good as I imagined. The nice cool night air was a welcome change from the humid, sticky, mess that would be waiting for me in the afternoon. As I started the ride, I imagined ways I would be saving myself from the afternoon’s heat. The air would be easier to breath. The breeze would be more inviting. The energy I would save not sweating but pedaling. The traffic would be the lightest. This above all else was a huge motivator. It is one thing to get on the road. It is quiet another to get on the road and deal with cars flying by at upwards of fifty-five miles per hour. Skill, time, effort and patience, take a back seat when it comes to a cyclist and a driver with a cell phone. To be on the road an not have this concern is more than freedom. The first part of this ride was a nine mile climb of both stairs and walls. Stairs being parts of the road where there would be a short incline following immediately by a shallow gradient. A few of these in sequence and it would be forgiven if they did not look like stairs. On the elevation map, from a distance these sharp rises and shallow flats are practically invisible. The incline is small and the shallow gradient look more like a piece of flat land. These features are swallowed up and hidden by walls. A wall is just what is sounds like, feature on the ride that has a deep descent followed by a steep climb. This is what you see in elevation maps. Sometimes called sharks teeth, these features are preceeded by a stair step, a seemingly deep descent where momentum is gained. This momentum is not enough to get you to the top, somewhere between the mid point of the climb and the summit, there is a need for a pedaling. If you do it right, you can overtake the summit with energy to spare. Do it wrong, best case you will be out of breath at the crest of the hill. Do it wrong, you’ll have to stop and walk before you reach the top. The night gave a different feel to the ride. Where my imagination would jump from natural disaster to all hallows eve cinema, my eyes remained fixed on the small cone of illumination that came from my bicycle headlight. My mind was a swarm of thoughts, fears, concerns and worries. Between wondering if anything was going to jump out from the shadow covered sides, to if the headlight had enough power, to the steep walls that I would have to overcome, it was like trying to see through a blanket of fog. The road that I knew, the landmarks that I had memorized, the stores, shops, gyms and malls that made up the shopping area of the city, all were cloaked in orange lights and shadow. It was like riding in a new place without knowing what lay beyond the darkness. Behind the mall, crossing the state road, the streetlights gave the road a new light. No more were there cones and swaths of light on the ground. Now where were wave and waves of light, enough to cover a barron sea of asphalt and paint. A place that would ‘store’ cars was the brightest place on this route. The bright neon signs that served as advertisements of the brand shone dim as I passed. The once multi colored music filled restaurants and babershops were a shell of themselves. Without the people rushing to spend time in there concrete caves, this just another landmark. A place to see that would be otherwise hidden in shadow. After the mall, I approached the biggest wall of the ride. This was the biggest feature. I approached the downslope with a firey determination. Spinning the pedals and shifting the gear to gain as much speed as I could. Between watching the road infront and taking the occasional glance behind, I had a reasonable confidence that this would be a clean descent. The city had recently repaved this part of the road. On rubber wheels, the asphalt felt like mirror smooth glass. The momentum to control as the wheels began to spin faster than I could pedal. I was descending, falling in to an abyss of darkness. I held control of the bike by tapping on the brakes. I held the speed as such where I could slip to the left or right if I needed or I could come to a complete stop by sliding the bike under my body. Its better to be in a little pain than dead, was my thought. From sailing down at upward of thirty miles per hour, I dropped my chest to the stem, lowering my center of gravity. This allowed the bike to hold on to the momentum longer I began the climb. TO my left and right were shadows covering grass, wild weeds, trees and what other small creatures would have their as their homes. It was safe. As the speed slowed, the wind in my ears fell to a gentle whisper. The effortless motion that I had enjoyed was falling away. My speed dropped from thirty plus to barely cresting eight miles per hour. I was climbing. Slowly moving upwards against gravity, scaling a wall whose summit was beyond sight. The crest of the wall led to a stair. From one stair step to another, I found myself leaving one baron feat of darkness for another. Here there are empty parking lot for stores, car dealerships, vape shops and electronics store. A stark difference from the large chain franchises that were behind the mall, these places were tucked away in the distance. Hidden between while growing plants and a busy state road, if their presence was not sought they would not be found. In the past places like these were the treasures of small towns. You could talk to the cashiers and managers, as they were your neighbors and community faces that you knew. Their parking lots like the big chains were lit to only illuminate a lane of cars as opposed to a sea. At the top of the stairs, was the last left turn I would take for the night. If the stairs and the walls were my payment, this part of the ride would be my reward. Slowly regaining my breath and strength, crossing the another state road, the momentum took the bike. The wheels spun so fast, the shadows of the spoke vanished. The blue and purple street lights gave my shadow sundial like half circle around me. I was descending. Flying on wheels, zipping past shadows, sailing through neighborhood, I could not pull enough light from my bike to see. The curves and twists in the road came in to sight fractions of a second before I could react. Had I not known they were coming a crash would have sure occurred. This was cycling. This is what we see. The quick descents, the fast motion, the nerves of steele, the intense concentration, this is what we are sold when we get a bike. This is what we can do. I was doing it. I was the guy in the photo flying past the camera. I was the guy, surrounded in motion blur. I was doing without thinking. I was doing it, and I was enjoying doing it. Just as quickly as the descent had started, it was over. A quick step over a small stair and I was less than 3 miles from home. I was done. I had completed the goal that I set out of the day. I didn’t get to keep the cool air the night promised. I didn’t get to have the car free roads that I expected. I didn’t even get to have the light bending speed that I had imagined. I did have fun. I did have a workout. I made use of the time that I had, and for now, that is more than enough for me.