Hi {{contact.first_name}}, September is the Puget Sound rider's reward. The dry summer is holding a little longer, the passes are still open, and the light gets long and gold over the water and the Cascades. That window is short. The rains that define riding out here usually move in by month's end and the mountain passes start to cool off fast. So this is the time to get the big rides in while the roads are dry. Chase the last of the sun, and September gives you the best riding the Northwest has to offer.
Ride of the Month: Mount Rainier and the Chinook Pass Loop
Alpine switchbacks, glacier views, and one of the great mountain roads in the country
Head southeast out of the metro through Enumclaw and pick up SR-410 toward Mount Rainier. The road climbs through deep evergreen forest, then breaks out into alpine country at Chinook Pass, over 5,400 feet, with Rainier standing huge and white right in front of you. Link it with Cayuse Pass and SR-123 for a loop through some of the finest switchbacks and glacier views in the Northwest. In September the huckleberry and mountain ash start to turn and the crowds thin out.
Go early and watch the forecast, because the high passes get cold fast and close for the season once the snow comes. Fuel up before you climb, take the alpine switchbacks easy for gravel and frost in the shade, and drop back down before the afternoon weather builds off the mountain.
For a bucket-list day, run the North Cascades Highway on SR-20 before it closes for winter, some of the most dramatic mountain miles in America. Closer in, Chuckanut Drive SR-11 hugs the water south of Bellingham, and Stevens Pass on US-2 is a classic. Chasing the ocean? Loop the Olympic Peninsula on US-101. All of it is best while the roads are dry and the passes are open, so mind the forecast.
Wet-Season Safety: Washington Edition
September is the last of the dry, and out here the change comes fast. When the rain returns, the roads turn on you.
- The first rain is the most dangerous. After a dry summer, the first real rain floats months of oil to the surface and makes the pavement greasy. Give it long following distance and easy inputs for the first ten or fifteen minutes of any rain.
- Metal and paint are ice when wet. The grated bridge decks on SR-520 and the ship-canal bridges, the streetcar and rail tracks, and every painted line get treacherous the moment they are damp. Cross tracks and grates square and keep your braking and lean off the metal and the paint.
- Wet leaves, fog, and cold passes. Leaves are dropping, fog settles in the low ground and along the water, and the mountain passes get cold and can ice up overnight. Treat the shaded curves as low-traction, and turn around if a pass is socked in.
- Short days and gray glare. Sunset comes earlier fast now, and the flat gray light and rain glare hide riders. Run your light, wear something bright and reflective, and assume the car turning left has not seen you.
Know Your Washington Law
- Fault is shared, but never a wall. Washington uses pure comparative negligence. Your recovery is reduced by your share of the blame but never barred outright, even a mostly-at-fault rider can still recover something. That is more forgiving than most states, but insurers still fight to pin blame on the rider, so how the crash is documented matters.
- Washington is an at-fault state. There is no no-fault system here, and PIP is optional coverage you can add or reject, so many riders lean on health insurance and UM/UIM. The at-fault driver's insurance pays.
- Everyone wears a helmet. Washington has a universal helmet law. Every rider and passenger must wear a DOT-compliant helmet, no exceptions.
- You have three years. Washington gives you three years from the date of the crash to file an injury claim, with separate claim-filing steps when a government entity is involved. Wet-weather evidence fades fast, so do not wait.
Ride Nation Seattle
The local chapter is where Puget Sound riders post weekend miles, call out slick decks, fresh gravel, and which passes are still open from Rainier to the North Cascades, and share the shots worth putting your helmet on for. Post where you rode this month and tag us. It is your scene, run by riders who actually ride these roads.
Still Time for the $20,000 BikeWin Giveaway
You are on this list because you entered, which means you are already in the running for 20,000 dollars toward any motorcycle you want, drawn December 10. Got a buddy who would want a shot? The entry page is open and free.
Enter the giveaway
A driver turning left across your lane on Aurora. A slick grated deck on the SR-520 bridge. A distracted commuter who never saw you merging onto I-5. If you ever go down in Washington, you want a lawyer who rides these roads and knows how the fault rules get used against riders.
| Follow the firm |  |  |