I am proud to share that I have a new career, and I’m joining the work force again as a shift worker.

What does working shifts have to with bike riding, you ask?

I first started thinking about the parallels of shift working and bike riding when a friend who works shifts at Austin’s School for the Blind mentioned that he rode home each night after his shift at midnight. My shift started this morning at 6:45 am, meaning that I was awake while most of Austin was still slumbering.

The thing that hooked in my intrigue is that being awake, and somewhat alert, and on the road via two wheels, at 5 am or 12 midnight, gives you a slice of bike riding in Austin that most other cyclists don’t get to experience. This is different than exiting 6th Street at 2 am. It’s the ease of the neighborhoods once you depart from the downtown area, or the embrace of the stop signs and traffic lights as it is just you and your bike at the roadway intersections.

There is a calm over the city in the wee morning or the late hours of the night. I get to ride through a big, silent sigh as Austin deeply exhales in her sleep, or I get the groggy rumblings as she slowly starts to rouse in the morning. The few day time exceptions to recreate the stillness of late and early shift worker quiet delirium is holiday mornings. Recreational bike rides on Christmas morning allows for perusing the streets while a collective hush has settled and diffused the caffeinated buzz of normal day-to-day ongoings.

Posted at a franchise shop in my neighbor was a big red and white sign that boldly stated Open Christmas Day! 10 am – 3 pm. I was borderline horrified. I understand the cultural connotations with Christmas, and I consciously choose to celebrate diversity and the wonderful variety of various cultures and holidays, i.e., I don’t expect that everyone actually celebrate the holiday of Christmas. However, I was appalled by the idea that this store front was stealing away the collective hush from Christmas morning. It’s the one of the last days of the year that relishing in the stalled-pace of life is formally allowed. With the shop choosing to be open, was that contributing to a crack in humanity’s wall that says “Quality of life is worth more than a few bucks of profit.”

I’m a firm believer in “If there’s a will, there’s a way.” And although I am currently brain storming ways to Occupy Christmas and clutch my Quality of Life with my bare hands, the remaining 364 days a year I’m grateful for the pre-dawn, rolled-out-of-bed bike ride opportunities. The silent roads are well worth the missing sleep. I am especially thankful for becoming a shift worker: I need the external motivation of a manager, co-workers, and clients counting on me to get me up that early, especially on rainy winter days. However, once I’m out the front door, and I’ve reached the top of the first hill by pedaling I realize that I don’t hear car engines roaring adjacent to me. I get goose bumps when all I can hear is my own heavy breathing amidst the rain drop symphony.