Risk / Reward

18 cyclists have been killed in NYC this year, 3 in the last week, but my friends, the sheer joy of moving lickety split through the night in the part of Maspeth that's carless at 9p.m., bike lit up like a Christmas tree of self-preservation, and the weird community you build briefly on encountering a bridge blocked by barriers for no apparent reason, asking another cyclist to hand your bike over an obstacle after you crawl gracelessly under, doing the same for him, laughing inside a bit when he calls your precious baby "really heavy," and saying goodnight as you go separate ways -- again, lickety split.