I've been working longer hours lately at my real job, which means that I am constanly driving or riding to and from work in the dark. One of the more pleasing trends in Auckland has been the increasing number of people I see out riding in the dark. Either training or more likely than not, riding to work.

However, what I have noticed is the number of people who ride without lights on their bikes. These people are either very stupid or very poor (or conceivably both). It's bad enough riding around Auckland on a day when the majority of motorists can see you and line you up properly. At night, while they cant see you as well, it does provide a great excuse if they do give you a nudge.

By my reckoning, most people riding without lights will get hit sooner or later due to their stupidity. All this for the sake of $60 for a pair of lights. Essentially these people are saying that their life is not worth $60, as they cannot be arsed paying that much in an attempt to prolong their existence on this planet. Maybe this is a unique form of genetic selection helping us to weed out those not desirable for the gene pool. Or perhaps they just happen to come from a country like the old Czech Republic, where the value of life was below $60 when evaluating the benefits of new roading projects.