Night Ride to Jebel Jais — Twisties in Total Darkness

Jebel Jais by day is the best motorcycle road in the UAE — a ribbon of perfect hairpins climbing the country's highest mountain. Jebel Jais at night is the same road with the lights switched off. No street lamps. No moon you can count on. Just nine PRG riders, a briefing, and several hundred curves of committed darkness.

An Eventful Departure

I left home at 9 PM and had a very pleasant almost-accident with a fellow Silicon Oasis resident before reaching the first junction. I briefly considered abandoning the bike for a jog. Manchalee lured me back — the things men do for women. After filtering through heavy traffic to the Sharjah meeting point, we rolled out nine-strong around 10:30.

The Climb: Second Gear, No Heroes

At the foothills we got the night-twisties briefing, which I'll compress for fellow beginners: stay in second and third gear, know your limits, and take zero risks — the mountain doesn't grade on a curve. Then began the barrage of switchbacks and climbing U-turns, including one so dramatic you can spot it on Google Maps.

This ride doubled as a gear test, and the verdict was unambiguous: my LoneRider MotoLights transformed the night. The BMW's OEM lights alone leave the road edges in darkness — where the animals and the debris live. With auxiliary lights, the whole corner exists.

If you ride a GS at night, fit auxiliary lights. It is the difference between riding a road and guessing one.

Camera nerd note: I ran a GoPro Hero 11 and an Insta360 X4 side by side, and in low light the GoPro absolutely outclassed the 360 — sharper, cleaner, better colour. (Insta360's newer X5 supposedly fixes this; my gear reviews page tracks the full kit.)

Midnight at the Chill Point

The summit Chill Point at midnight was as busy as a Dubai mall on Friday — and it produced a channel milestone: my first live subscriber. A lovely family walked up, we chatted, and they spelled out M-O-T-O-M-O-K-U into the camera. That's how you earn subscribers: one karak at a time. Then Dr Farooq, a senior PRG philosopher, delivered his celebrated lecture on how men over 50 can change their lives — mostly their wives. Scholarship of the highest order.

The Part That Actually Scared Me

We left at 1:35 AM, 29°C. I stopped to adjust my camera, the group pulled ahead, and suddenly I was completely alone on a pitch-black mountain — no street lights, no tail lights, nothing but darkness and an imagination working overtime. Every frightening creature I'd ever heard of (plus the in-laws) visited my thoughts in those ten minutes. Even the MotoLights couldn't light up courage. I gathered myself, reached the main road, and filed the lesson permanently: never ride these mountains alone at night.

Planning your own Jais run? It headlines my best UAE motorcycle roads guide — go at dawn the first time, with friends.

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