I thank the Lord for the night time
To forget the day
A day of up, uptight time
Baby, chase it away
I get relaxation, it’s a time to groove
I thank the Lord for the night time
I thank the Lord for you

Neil Diamond wrote those lyrics in 1967 and they still ring melodic today.

Night time is one of my favorite times for riding the roads, both in a car and on a motorcycle.  Had a meeting in Roanoke Tuesday and I went down the mountain on my Harley-Davidson Switchback mid afternoon after a day covering court for The Floyd Press.

A crisp, cool night awaited after 8 p.m. when I stopped for some food to take home for Amy and topped off the gas ($2.22 for premium) before heading up Bent Mountain up U.S. 221 and home.

Safety for night time riding is much improved nowadays because of three, extra-bright, “Daymaker” high-intensity lights showing the way on my bike.  On high beams, the lights throw an extremely long and wide swatch of light out in front of the bike.

A fun ride up the twisties up Bent Mountain and then the relative straight, and mostly empty road on in to Floyd County greeted me. The only critter alongside the road was a dead deer just north of Copper Hill.

This was a first tide on the Harley after spill three weeks earlier which left me with a badly sprained ankle and bruised right leg.  The leg was a little stiff but no problems handling the bike for the trip down or the one back.

Pulled into the driveway just shy of 9:30 p.m., eased into the garage and listened to the bike idle for a little bit before shutting down for the night.

Thank you Lord, for the night time and for a great way to enjoy it. 🙂