Cycle61
What the shit is this...
Off to a good start! Couple of questions...what were your ISO and f-stop settings?
Challenges with night photography, once you've got a solid tripod, are composition and focus. Usually there's some light, enough to compose by, but once in a while it's just freggin black, and you have to either guess or scout your shot in the daytime. I usually bring a flashlight to help the camera get a solid focus lock on an object. Often you'll have to do it manually if the camera won't lock focus in the available light.
And then time. Any exposure longer than 30 seconds is mostly going to be educated guesswork, or painful calculation. Don't be afraid to turn the ISO down to 100/200, tighten up the aperture to F/8 or whatever, and let it sit open for minutes on end.
For example, from a couple years ago. These were something like 10-12 minute exposures, out on Calaveras road. Different trees, different nights.
That's awesome. 
