Not too many people espouse the virtues of Daylight Saving Time, much less chose to write about it every bloody year. But Daylight Saving Time is my favorite day of the year, no question. Better than Christmas, Sinterklaas, or my birthday. Combined. The reason is simple: Daylight Saving is the day of the year when it becomes feasible to once again ride after work without headlights.

To be a Cyclist is to be a student of sacrifice; everything is given for the sake of becoming better at our chosen craft. We risk life and limb when we set ourselves upon the streets to take flight amongst the motor traffic like a gazelle amongst the lions. In winter, we often do this with the further risk of darkness, limiting our range of vision and our visibility to drivers who are much more likely to be texting than I care to imagine.

While there are some liberating aspects to riding and training at night, Daylight Saving Time frees us from the grip of darkness and affords us the opportunity train once again in afternoon daylight without requiring excessive amounts of Calendar Tetris in order to sneak out of the office while the sun still hangs above the horizon. From Sunday onward, it is Open Season on training and the path towards summertime fitness opens up before us.

Most crucially, Daylight Saving Time means the days lengthen enough to once again allow the afternoon training rides to become the karmic neutralizer of the daily grind. Vive la Vie Velominatus.