Magic hour or golden hour is a great time to be out riding or doing just about anything outdoors. It's commonly defined as just before sunset or just after sunrise. I experienced a pretty different kind of magic hour on my first coffeeneuring ride of the season last Sunday. The ride was like a lot of my coffeeneuring season rides over the years - me going for a ride and getting some coffee on the way. That also describes many of my off season rides, too. I have my best chance to get in rides in the early morning - I get home before anyone really notices or cares that I am gone. During a decent part of the year that means that it's dark out when I start my rides and that was true on Sunday - I left over and hour and a half before sunrise.
I'm always a little ambivalent and very cautious when riding in the dark, especially early morning rides. While I prefer early morning to late night rides because there are a lot fewer people out who may have a measurable BAC, those under the influence in the early morning hours may be really tired and with a higher BAC so I keep my eyes open. I can't have eyes in the back of my head but Sunday was a case where I really didn't need to. For whatever quirk in everyone's schedule, no one passed me from behind before sunrise. That's right, I rode 16 or 17 miles and was out for over an hour and not a single car was in my lane. And to top it off, not many cars, maybe 15, passed me in the other direction. That was incredibly calming for a road ride. But that didn't make it a magic hour.
What made it magic was the quiet whenever I stopped. It was just a calm, quiet night, late enough in the year and early enough in the day that birds and bugs were also quiet. I stopped at one point and looked up in the sky and saw that the moon broke through the low clouds. Every road was a calm, quiet place and some of the narrower roads seemed more like paved trails through a forest. As the light increased closer to sunrise, I would turn off my lights for a second or two to experience the quiet, smooth roads in a very soft light. It really was magical for me.
The sun rose eventually, although I didn't see it right away. I made my way through Great Brook Farm Park and then south into Concord where I made my coffeeneuring stop. I made it to Haute Coffee not long after it opened but there was already a longish wait for coffee. I had a granola bar and an espresso. I was at Haute Coffee the previous week and was there later and ended up enjoying coffee and conversation with 5 other guys out for rides. This time I was the only cyclist and the only person eating outside. It made for quiet coffeeneuring but also a very calm stop after a very calming ride.
Some pictures from the morning:
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The moon breaks through the clouds. |
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Lights were required. The brighter light is dynamo powered. I've also been using a small, battery operated one on steady for rides like this. I also have a second battery powered light in reserve. The reserve light and the dynamo powered light also have integrated reflectors. You can see the white light of the dynamo powered headlamp. I also have a 350 lumen rechargeable headlight in reserve. I was wearing reflective ankle straps and a reflective vest and have reflectors on my wheels. So I was legal by randonneuring standards and Massachusetts laws. |
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That's what I saw of sunrise at Great Brook Farm Park. Not much to see that day. |
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Roads like these, at least at this hour (maybe 7:45) on a quiet Sunday. |
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Coffeeneuring proof 1. |
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Coffeeneuring proof 2. I originally intended to ride the previous morning and had rain gear packed. So when I warmed up, my sweater had to be tied onto the saddlebag. I also intended only a short ride on Saturday so I had only a single water bottle, which was just enough to get to Concord. |