Commute cycling, we had planned for everything except the night

Monday, November 9, we are back on the bike to commute. Frépillon to Saint-Denis, the office not far from the Stade de France. This is our first round trip since the time change. In the morning, we think about gloves, the jacket, and tire pressure. In the evening, leaving the office, we remember there was something else to check. The light.

By Jeff Tatard – 3bikes.fr

On the way there, we had everything planned

When you prep your commuter bike, you dress for the moment you leave the house. You wonder if your hands are going to be cold, if your jacket will be too warm after half an hour, and if you remembered snacks or drinks. You even take a look at the tire pressure. You might well have checked it the day before, it still gives you something to do.

The ride back gets filed under “the exact same thing in reverse.” On the map, it works like a charm. Except that the route we planned in the morning, we are going to ride back in the dark. The time change happened two weeks ago. Apparently, we needed a round trip to Saint-Denis to finally process it.

The Stade de France doesn’t light the way all the way to Frépillon

Around the office, near the Stade de France, visibility is still great. You can put on your gloves, find your jacket zipper, and see exactly where you parked your bike. You could almost think the lighting question was sorted out. Provided the last streetlight in Saint-Denis agrees to escort you all the way to Frépillon.

That is when you remember the little light that lives under the saddle. Because it is always on the bike, you vaguely feel like it is always ready. With the water bottle, bizarrely, we figured out ages ago that it needed refilling.

The funniest part is that we can debate two tenths of a bar on a gravel tire with a seriousness that would probably worry our loved ones. For the tail light, our technical inspection boils down to one gesture. We press the button, look for a red reflection on the wall, and if we see one, we are happy. How long is it going to last? Ah yes, good question. We could have asked ourselves that right next to an outlet.

The next day, we are still thinking about it

What we easily forget on a bike is that we see cars coming very clearly. They have two headlights, sometimes a bit too bright for our taste. But you only have to drive a car on a rainy evening to change your perspective. Behind the windshield, between oncoming headlights and reflections on the road, you realize a bike can blend right into the scenery. Even with the jacket you spent ten minutes choosing that morning.

Before grabbing the bike to go to work, we often ask ourselves the same question. Do we have everything for the day? Laptop, charger, office keys. On Monday, we could have added three words at the end. And for the ride home?

Next time, we will plug the light in at the same time as the bike computer. It should take about four seconds, which is way less time than we spend deciding whether to run 1.7 or 1.9 bar in a gravel tire.

And you, is your tail light charged? We will let you answer that. We are going to check ours.

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