Hi {{contact.first_name}}, September is the month Chicago riders live for. The summer humidity finally breaks, the lakefront turns crisp and clear, and the first color starts creeping into the river valleys downstate. Our season is short and we all know it, so the smart money gets the miles in now, before the deer get thick and the first cold fronts roll off the lake. Get out early and September hands you the best riding weather of the year.
Ride of the Month: Starved Rock and the Illinois River Valley
Sandstone bluffs, canyon overlooks, and the best backroads within reach of the city
Point it southwest out of the metro toward Utica and the Illinois River, where the flat prairie finally gives way to sandstone bluffs and wooded canyons at Starved Rock. The two-lanes along Route 178 and the river through the I&M Canal country roll and bend past the locks, the overlooks, and the little river towns, some of the most interesting pavement inside a two-hour ride of Chicago. In late September the bluffs and bottomland start to turn.
Go on a weekday to beat the park crowds, watch for gravel and farm traffic on the county roads, and stop in Utica or Ottawa to let the bike cool. Loop back along the river or up through the countryside with the color coming on behind you.
For bigger scenery, run northwest to Galena and the driftless country along the Great River Road, where the Mississippi bluffs give you real hills and sweepers. Closer to home, the Lake Michigan shore north into the Wisconsin Kettle Moraine is a classic half-day. All of it is best before the leaves drop and the fronts move in, so do not wait.
Early-Fall Safety: Illinois Edition
September in Northern Illinois is the handoff from summer to fall, and it brings a whole new set of hazards.
- The deer are moving. Rut season is ramping up on the county and river-valley roads downstate and out in the collar counties. They are out at dawn and dusk. Scan the shoulders and tree lines, cover your brakes, and never swerve blind across the center line.
- Wet leaves and the first cold rain. Early leaf drop plus the season's first cold rains make the shaded curves and painted lines greasy, and the expressway grates and bridge decks turn slick. Give them easy throttle and long following distance.
- The days are getting short. Sunset creeps earlier all month, and the low sun sits right in the eyes of the commuters behind you on the east-west roads. Run your light, wear something bright, and ride like the car back there cannot see you.
- City pavement and congestion. The Kennedy, the Dan Ryan, and the Eisenhower stay packed and pockmarked, and the potholes and expansion joints hurt more on two wheels. Keep your lane position where you always have an out and watch the surface.
Know Your Illinois Law
- Fault gets split, and there is a cutoff. Illinois uses modified comparative negligence. Your recovery drops by your share of the blame, and if you are found more than 50 percent at fault, you collect nothing. How the crash gets documented decides the number, and insurers push blame onto riders.
- Illinois has no helmet law, and that cuts both ways. Illinois is one of the very few states with no helmet requirement for any rider. That is your choice to make, but going without gives an insurer an opening to argue your injuries, so gear up and ride like it matters.
- The minimums are low, so lean on UM/UIM. Illinois requires only 25/50/20 in liability and mandates uninsured motorist coverage. Uninsured and underinsured motorist coverage is your real backstop against the many uninsured drivers on Chicago roads.
- You have two years. Illinois generally gives you two years from the date of the crash to file an injury claim, with shorter notice rules when a government entity is involved. Evidence and witnesses fade fast, so do not sit on it.
Ride Nation Chicago
The local chapter is where Chicago riders post weekend miles, call out fresh potholes, deer, and which downstate roads are turning from Starved Rock to Galena, 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 Milwaukee Avenue. A deer on a river-valley backroad. A distracted commuter who never saw you on the Kennedy. If you ever go down in Illinois, you want a lawyer who rides these roads and knows how the fault rules get used against riders.
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