My troll this morning through the pre-dawn, subsequent brightening and daylight was quiet and magical in many ways. Now that the dawn is getting earlier I have been able to strike further into rural countryside.
Riding in the dark has never been an issue for me, but there are some country roads that present a few risks that even a decent headlight can't offset. Now, by the time I reach the risky sections, the faint and flat light that seeps around for sometime before sunrise allows me to ride these.
Heading out the door as most of the world sleeps is a strangely perverse luxury. The riding through deserted streets and being untroubled by traffic and most other hazards is worth every minute of curtailed sleep. It is a feeling of having the world to yourself, hard to capture in many other ways in an urban environment.
This morning as I headed out along the bikepath beside the Norwestern Motorway I was taken with Mars, clearly visible in the moonless sky, the Red Planet. I had seen it earlier in the week when I was out near the airport, and as it was this morning, it was simply brilliant.
Watching dawn creep is always a pleasure, best seen on the water's edge or from a raised vantage point like a hill or ridge. This morning's ride provided uncluttered elevated views at various times of the brightening skies, but the highlight came when I was back on the flat.
As I approached the western end of the bike path, the sun had just risen. The sky was quite hazy, a faint pink like a young snapper, the city was silhouetted across the silver harbour and rising up through this was a pearly disk. For a minute or two the haze made the sun quite distinct and pale, then rising a little higher it could no longer be watched directly.
On a side note the the International Space Station is visible throughout the day in New Zealand as it orbits overhead. Go Here to find out viewing times.
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