Last night, ten Poky Pedalers got a taste of bicycling at night, as well as some sweet treats, on the TGIF Dessert Ride. Although the weather forecast over the past few days had shown an uncomfortably high likelihood of precipitation right around the time we met, the raindrops stayed away during our ride.

This was the first nighttime Poky Pedal in PPSP’s four years of Bike Fun. Bicycling at night has its own special aura that is hard to describe. You simply have to try it out to feel it. Last night’s TGIF Dessert Ride gave us a splendid opportunity to relish such an experience.

Bicycle lights and reflectors are all aglow in the twilight at the start of yesterday’s TGIF Dessert Ride

We met at the Stevens Point downtown square right around sundown. From there, we rode our usual route to the path through Pfiffner Park and then along the Wisconsin River to the loop around the Bukolt Park pond. We started riding in twilight, and it gradually became darker as our ride proceeded. Our stream of headlights and taillights created an attractive display to offset the darkness enveloping us.

Because of the heavy cloud cover, we missed out on observing any lovely post-sunset colors over the western skies. The partial moon to the west was also hidden, and not a single star was visible. Nevertheless, we enjoyed our Bike Fun on our 3-mile loop to Bukolt Park and then back the way we had come to our dessert destination, Square Scoops, which is footsteps from our starting spot.

Square Scoops was our shining light as darkness settled on our Bike Fun

At Square Scoops, we enjoyed their yummy desserts to complement the always-delightful company of Poky Pedalers. I want to thank Square Scoops for pleasantly accommodating our large group of dessert eaters just before their closing time.

As we polished off the last of our sweets and hopped on our bikes to head in our respective directions, a drop or two from the sky could be felt. Ten minutes later, a light drizzle was falling. So we were fortunate that the rain held off just long enough for us to share our Bike Fun in dry conditions.

The inevitable change in seasons is upon us, yet there is still one more Poky Pedal to enjoy, the annual Maple Ride on September 26, before any precipitous drop in the mercury occurs. The 2015 Bike Fun Calendar and the Upcoming Poky Pedals webpage have all the details. Keep an eye on the PPSP blog as well, since that is where I’ll announce any weather-related schedule changes.