I am keeping my promise to myself and have started going for very early morning bike rides. I have outfitted my bike with all of the requisite lights and reflectors. I’ve been getting up at 5:00 on the days when I do not have the children and get home about 6:30. I feel great! Its a bit colder than I anticipated and I am going to need to get some warmer bike clothing.

I am not a hard core biker by any stretch of the imagination, though I do love it. I find that when I am riding, it is not with the joy of someone who is working out hard and getting in shape, rather I feel the same playfulness I felt when I was twelve years old and riding around the corn fields of west Omaha. It’s great.

As I cruise home, the sky is just turning pink and I can switch off my lights. I ride down the humble main street of small town Novato and a few shops have their lights on as owners get ready for their day. Workers are ambling down the sidewalks carrying their lunch coolers on their way to the construction site down the street.

So I miss a little sleep. I start every day happy.

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