I noted not that long ago that I don’t often ride at night these days. It’s partly a combination of circumstances and partly a healthy respect for the possibility of wildlife, which is always an option where I live.
I haven’t actually ridden the Hornet at night at all so I can’t make any comment on the effectiveness of its headlight though I’d be prepared to wager that it’s a darn sight better than the 24 year old unit on the VFR. Anyway, as it turns out, an opportunity to find out was presented to me in a most unexpected way.
A few nights ago, I had a message form my brother saying that he had been planning a twilight ride but had gotten too busy and the time ran out. A twilight ride? Wow, I haven’t done one of them for years, they were fun. Back in the early days of Illawarra Riders we used to ride at night quite a lot both when touring and just for the heck of it. One of our favourite night-time rides was a Harry’s Cafe d’ Wheels ride. We’d start out here in Wollongong, ride up the old highway to Sutherland and then wind our way down past the airport and come into Wooloomolloo from around the back streets.
A pie and a coffee at the iconic 1940’s caravan on Sydney Harbour would then become a ride back to the Domestic Terminal at the airports where we would have “dessert” at the local Krispy Kreme donut shop. All of this was accompanied by much mirth and hilarity as IRA rides always were and would conclude with the hot-shots streaking home down the freeway at ridiculous speeds and the rest of retracing our steps down the old highway and home.
So, I thought, why don’t we do a twilight ride again? Well, for a start, we weren’t going to go anywhere near Sydney. The big smoke can do without my presence until it’s a darn sight safer than it is at the moment. No, best start out with something less demanding and safer. So I posted up the Twilight Ride and duly headed off to the kick-off point to see what would happen. I’d only given a day’s notice so I wasn’t expecting a huge response.
Imagine my surprise when, by the time 1930 rolled around, there were 8 of us in the car park. And that wasn’t the end of it, another 2 riders turned up after we’d left and joined us along the way making 10 altogether.
The first half of the ride truly was a twilight ride, down through Jamberoo to Kiama where we agreed to stop at the ice cream shop and sample the goodies. Not long after we stopped, an 11th rider arrived, the biggest roll-up we have had for quite some time.
By the time it was time to head home the twilight ride had become a night ride and it was a huge buzz blasting through the night. I took the TEC position for the way home and it as a real thrill watching the tail-lights of all the bikes winding through the twisties. Wish I’d had my Go-Pro hooked up.
At Albion Park we split up and went our separate ways, an altogether satisfying evening in the saddle. And the Hornet’s light? Good, but not as great as I’d expected it to be. It’s not a real problem because, as I said at the outset, I don’t ride much at night any more.
Having said that, I can definitely foresee some more twilight rides coming up, it was great fun.
