Red Bull Night Riders: Are You Afraid of the Dark?

The Red Bull Night Riders event is a yearly staple at Jacksonville Beach Pier. Crowds gather at the shoreline, and industrial-sized lamps light up a small chunk of the ocean. East Coast stalwarts like Eric Geiselman, Cory Lopez, and Balaram Stack get a well-needed jetski assist to launch off tiny North Florida kickers. Oh, and don’t count out the Thompson brothers; those boys got a serious home-field advantage.

But this year, due to COVID, things were a bit different.

The crowd-less airshow was moved to the ‘top secret’ Mush Beach. It’s an interesting place—the road to get in winds through a miniature forest. There are two exits before the park entrance. The first is for the Officer’s Club. Sure the girls in there might wearing police caps and putting handcuffs on people, but it’s not actually a police station, and they’re not actually cops. About a stone’s throw away, the second exit is the carpool line of an elementary school. A real yin and yang sort of situation.

There are other things to do in Jacksonville besides surf, of course. Editor of Void Magazine, Matt Shaw, takes us on a tour through Duval County’s cultural landmarks, including popular live music venues, local eateries, and more.

I doubt Shaw remembers, but a few years back, he sold me my first twin fin. It was a Craigslist meet up in front of the Bold Bean. I brought a pocket knife just in case the transaction went south. Luckily, I didn’t have to use it.

The board was a royal blue 5’6 fish, shaped by Sean Piper of Ghetto Surfboards. Thicker than a snicker with some glassed on keel fins, ooh wee this baby flew. By that I mean it went really fast. I never got the thing above the lip. 

But I digress. The only flying you really need to worry about in Jacksonville lives above. Also, the CH-47D Chinook military helicopters flying overhead. Definitely keep an eye out for those too.