Appreciating the Evening
As the daylight lingers a little longer each day the drastic cooling that takes place in winter and early spring slowly goes away. And suddenly I realize I’m riding on warm nights. Completely comfortable physically seems to allow more focused attention on the air — the warmth as it flows across my chest as I ride. It’s also filled with a vast collection of smells and fragrances — honeysuckle and Russian olive flowers perfume the evening air. And moving across the landscape I can feel the subtle changes in temperature as the Vespa scooter cuts through invisible rivers of air flowing downward across the valley.
A hand clad in thin leather feels the throttle directly, so different than winter with heavily insulated gloves. I feel myself flying, soaring, enjoying every moment of the ride, free from the past six months of battling the cold.
Riding on warm nights. I feel good.
I feel free.
You’re making me want to move to Florida.
It’s too hot down there. Plus you’re not at the top of the food chain. Alligators. Monitor lizards. Sharks. Pythons. I’ll stay here with the rare rogue black bear.
The older I get
The colder I get.
I second that thought.
Beautifully written, Steve. So very expressive. You are sending me out on my Vespa with a new sense of evening appreciation.
Glad to help Floyd. These balmy evenings are intoxicating. Last night I saw the moon rising over the mountains. Great to be outside.
My failing night vision aside, riding in warm night conditions is indeed quite pleasurable.
Night vision. I am seeing the same challenges. Eye doctor told me it’s typical for guys my age. I miss that clear night vision of youth.
Thanks Steve… great images. I don’t know why, but as long as I can remember a summer’s ride at night has had an ethereal quality about it, especially in wooded areas and with a bit of mist thrown in for good measure. Smells are more noticeable too, cedar and pine, and those big, luminous eyes along the roadside that reflect my headlight.
Your experience of the night mirrors my own Jim. I’m particularly surprised all the time at the intensity of the night smells and fragrances. Amazing time. And never experienced in the car. You need to be riding.
Warm nights usually means miserably hot days…
I pretend that’s not true Richard.
That bit about the gloves…man, you simply nailed it.
Plus: shedding that extra layer-or-two with the extra warmth in the air. The feeling of being just that extra bit lighter and looser. The first day I tossed the thermals and hopped on the bike, it was heavenly. Not because I necessarily felt awful before, but now I felt just that extra bit more limber, the equivalent of losing ten to fifteen pounds almost overnight, and the overall feeling being somewhat like the first time you rode a bicycle no-hands. A seasonal fountain-of-youth experience.
It’s a feeling of aliveness very much in tune with the budding and blossoming going on around us all. Yes, a hell of a thing.
A seasonal fountain of youth — what a great idea. That’s exactly the case. The shift from cold to warm is just amazing. At least for awhile until the summer heat overwhelms it.
As you are retired, would think the evening ride’s return home would be just slightly different; no compulsion to go to bed right then and there. Play with the dogs, maybe talk at length with Kim (or yourself; you are not alone!). Then do whatever and hit the
sack.
Incidentally are you the only year round Vespa owner/operator in your wide-ranging geographic area? Would expect such Vespa people during school term however
in the dead of winter.My local friend rides his Piaggio MP3 regularly, calls it his donkey. Utterly reliable however with quirks known only to said MP3.
Your Vespa is a continuous project of evolution; for
both the operator and its owner.
Retirement has definitely freed me from a need to get to bed. I fade away any time from 10pm to 5am depending on what I’m doing. It’s nice to not be so enslaved to the clock.
I see other riders from time to time through the winter. Only one I know rides year round. Saw her once at Kissell’s getting Heidenau snow tires put on her GTS.
There are a few other winter riders — riding when the roads are clear and no snow or extreme cold. But I’m pretty much alone when it really is “winter.”
In my youth my friends abd I would do night rides with our girlfriends in back. The highlight of those rides were the ice cream stops at the end. These days we’re all spread across the country and I don’t relish riding at night alone. I’m sure you left out the part about squadrons of bugs splattering your faceshield. My windshield has a permanent coat of bug splatter that I can’t remove easily. Also, in my youth we rode on Long Island where streetlights abound. Here in the Hudson Vally it’s dark and twisty with animals lurking everywhere waiting to jump out on the road. I prefer day rides in my Golden Years. I’m just not as advenurous as I was 40 years ago.
Riding alone at night doesn’t bother me. The animals lurking does. I generally travel pretty slowly at night and am not traversing great distances. Don’t want to have to ride fast — above 35mph at night for the reasons that concern you.
I also feel my willingness to adventure and embrace risk declining as I enter my own golden, or silver years…