I'm glad I've made it to the summit by sunset so I can see that orange desert-sunset glow from above before it disappears. Now that I've finished climbing and sweating, I put on an extra sweater, my outer shell, and my booties, to keep my feet from freezing.
Headlight turned on. A few big slugs of water, and I'm ready to go. I switch into high gear and pedal easily to keep up 25 mph, and then it gets completely dark. With no other traffic and no moonlight, my headlight is the only light on the road.
Until, eventually a car does come up behind me and passes, its headlights casting a surreal bright light in the dark surroundings.
A little later, the blinding headlights of a lone oncoming car make it hard for me to see where the road is, so I pull over until it passes. When the car gets really close, I feel like it's coming straight at me like a bullet, a very eerie feeling. And then it passes and I return to my blissful, solitary world until I reach Baker, and its little glow of city lights.
Gee, that was fun.