Hi {{contact.first_name}}, September is the month New Jersey riders wait all year for. The summer humidity finally breaks, the Shore crowds thin out after Labor Day, and the first hint of color starts creeping into the ridges up northwest. The deer are stirring and the sun sets earlier, so ride smart, but a clear, cool September Saturday on a Jersey backroad is as good as it gets. Get out early and September opens the door to the best riding of the year.
Ride of the Month: The Delaware Water Gap and Old Mine Road
The Delaware on one side, the Kittatinny Ridge on the other, and history the whole way
Point it northwest to the Delaware Water Gap and pick up Old Mine Road, one of the oldest continuously used roads in the country, running along the river through Worthington State Forest and up into the Delaware Water Gap National Recreation Area. It is narrow, shaded, and quiet, with the Delaware flashing on your left and the Kittatinny ridge rising on your right. In late September the hardwoods start to turn and the whole valley lights up.
Take it easy, the road is tight, patchy in spots, and shared with hikers and cyclists near the trailheads. Stop at the Gap for the view where the river cuts the mountain, watch for deer and gravel in the shaded corners, and loop back over the ridge or down Route 94 through the farm country.
For more elevation, run up to High Point and out Skyline Drive over the Ramapos near Ringwood, some of the best sweepers in North Jersey. Prefer flat and open? Point it south into the Pine Barrens and thread the sandy backroads through Batsto and Chatsworth. Both are quiet and gorgeous in the fall if you beat the leaf-peeping traffic and watch for deer.
Early-Fall Safety: New Jersey Edition
September in New Jersey is the handoff from summer to fall, and it brings a whole new set of hazards.
- The deer are moving. New Jersey is one of the worst states in the country for deer strikes, and rut season is ramping up on the northwest and central backroads. They are out at dawn and dusk. Scan the shoulders and tree lines, cover your brakes, and never swerve blind across the line.
- Wet leaves and the first cold rain. Early leaf drop on the Water Gap and Sourland roads plus the season's first cold rains make the shaded curves and painted lines greasy. 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. Assume the car back there cannot see you, and run your light.
- Jughandles and turning traffic. Jersey's jughandles and heavy turning traffic set up the left-turn and crossing crashes that hurt the most riders. Cover your brakes at every intersection and never trust a gap.
Know Your New Jersey Law
- No-fault does not cover you on a bike, and that cuts both ways. New Jersey is a no-fault state for cars, but motorcycles are excluded from PIP, so there is no personal injury protection on your bike for your own medical bills. The upside is real: because you are outside the no-fault system, you are not bound by the limitation-on-lawsuit threshold, so you keep full rights to sue for pain and suffering.
- Fault has a cutoff. New Jersey 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.
- Everyone wears a helmet. New Jersey has a universal helmet law. Every rider and passenger must wear a DOT-compliant helmet, no exceptions.
- You have two years, sometimes 90 days. The general injury deadline is two years, but a claim against a public entity like NJ Transit or a town over a road defect can require a notice of claim within 90 days. Do not wait to get advice.
Ride Nation New Jersey
The local chapter is where Jersey riders post weekend miles, call out fresh gravel, deer, and leaf-slick corners from the Water Gap to the Pine Barrens, 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 crossing a jughandle into your lane on Route 1. A deer on Old Mine Road. A distracted commuter who never saw you on the Parkway. If you ever go down in New Jersey, remember no-fault does not cover you on a bike, but you keep full rights to recover, so you want a lawyer who rides these roads and fights for them.
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