Low sun on the way home: check direction as well as time

Check where you'll be facing as well as when you'll be there. A dry afternoon can still leave you riding towards low sun, and a long café stop can move the last hour into fading light. Plan the return before leaving home, then check it again before getting back on the bike.

Put the sun on both sides of the day

Trace the outward and return journeys separately. Note long stretches facing roughly east in the morning or west later in the day, then check the sun's position for the actual place, date and time. The road will turn; a general heading is a prompt to investigate, not a glare forecast.

In this example, reversing the journey doesn't remove the question: the sun has moved too. Include the roads after your last stop, rather than checking only the café and home. Our outward-and-return weather guide explains how to give each journey its own departure time.

Read sunset as a planning reference

Look up sunset for the place and date you'll ride, and check which time zone the service uses. If it also shows twilight, read the label. Twilight is the light before sunrise or after sunset; it isn't a promised extra period of clear riding visibility.

The U.S. Naval Observatory's explanation of sunrise, sunset and twilight describes calculations based on an unobstructed horizon and assumed atmospheric conditions. Cloud, the visible horizon and local conditions affect the light you actually have. Hills can hide the sun before a published sunset time.

Use those times to question a late finish, not to set a universal “fine until then” deadline. Check the weather and the actual view too. Waiting for glare to ease may leave you with a darker return, so work through that consequence before choosing to wait.

What an earlier return actually changes

Here's a fictional day on one date in one time zone. The ride home takes 70 minutes, and an open westbound section starts 20 minutes after leaving. Your pre-ride light check flags that section for a closer look later in the afternoon. These are invented planning times, not a forecast for a real road.

Leaving an hour earlier moves both checkpoints an hour earlier. It doesn't prove the glare will be better. Check that earlier window, the rest of the weather and whether you can really finish the visit in time. If lunch runs past the earlier departure, recalculate from the time you can actually leave; don't try to recover it by riding faster.

A shorter route is another option, provided you've checked its own direction, conditions and finish time. If neither return works for you, change the outing or arrange another way home before committing to it.

Check the view before leaving

Inspect and clean your visor as its maker recommends. The Highway Code's motorcycle guidance calls for checking visor condition before each journey and notes that scratched or poorly fitting eye protection can limit your view, especially in bright sun or darkness.

Make any route or equipment changes while stopped somewhere safe. If sunlight dazzles you on the road, the Highway Code's advice on bright sunlight is to slow down and stop if necessary. Choose somewhere safe and permitted to stop; the timetable doesn't take priority over what you can see.

Keep this beside your daily navigation card, so the alternative is easy to find when you need it.