It’s gotten to that time of the year again where it’s oppressively hot in the daytime and the increased humidity makes it all that much worse. The changing climate is not helping the situation, of course.
I reckon I have a fairly high tolerance for these sorts of conditions and I’ll just ride through it most of the time but the other day it took it’s toll and I decided to forfeit a planned ride in exchange for the breezy open windows and shaded patio of the great indoors.
That was all fine until the latter part of the day when the knowledge that I’d turned away otherwise perfectly good riding time began to bite. The whisper in my head turned into a stern talking to. I needed a plan. I needed to make things right again.
Night was approaching and it was going to have to be the thing I escape to. It was all making sense now. Night plus gentle breezes plus water mixed with a little exploration and excitement. It all added up to one thing – night fishing.
I wanted excitement but I also wanted some comfort so I wasn’t packing lightly. A couple of rods, a chair, the big tackle box, snacks, extra water. I was going to be taking the Yuba e-cargo bike.
Light was still present when I left. The electric motor sang beneath me as I slipped through the darkening bikeways and back streets. Twilight affirmed its presence as I sailed along the Redcliffe bridge with hazy air and a redish-orange sky marking the end of a very tropical day.
Dinner would be accompanied by the morphing artwork of the last of the sun setting over Bramble Bay as I sat on a park bench at Woody Point eating and watching the show. Then it was off to Margate to try my luck at fishing.
It was well after dark when my fishing lines were ready to wet. People passed by lapping up the breezy, warm summer evening on foot, on electric scooters, on bikes. A group on electric skateboards whooped as they cut through the evening air weaving and ducking. A background of warm lights glowed from houses and restaurants along the foreshore.
First cast…strike! A little Bream – almost legal size but not quite. He swam to see another night. A few more casts and a fat little Moses Perch fought me all the way to the beach. He was also a tad small so back he went. And that’s as big as my fishing tale got. The tide went out a little too much and I was left to sit back and take in the evening. Not a bad concession prize.
It was well into the night when I packed up and started rolling home. The streets were much emptier now and the foreshore took on a different feel. Back down through Woody Point and Clontarf I sailed along the water’s edge and along the Redcliffe bridge. This was quintessentially one of those night rides where I felt as though I was flying through outer space.
Almost home and almost midnight but hunger began to tap me on the should ever more insistently now. Just my luck – a late night pizza shop still open. A short wait for my supreme and well worth it. The ebike sang the final few kilometres home effortlessly helping me out now a little more than when I started out but, hey, over 60% battery remaining so why not.
Wow, what a great night. See you out there sometime.
