Hi {{contact.first_name}}, September is when DMV riders finally get their reward. The swampy summer humidity breaks, the crowds thin after Labor Day, and the Blue Ridge starts getting ready to turn. Out here we chase the mountains west and the river parkways close to home, and September and October are the two months that make riding around Washington worth it. Get out early, beat the Beltway, and enjoy the best riding of the year.
Ride of the Month: Skyline Drive and Shenandoah
105 miles of ridgeline, overlooks, and the best fall color in the region
Point it west out of the metro to Front Royal and pick up Skyline Drive, the spine of Shenandoah National Park. The road runs 105 miles along the Blue Ridge crest with more than 70 overlooks looking out over the valley on one side and the Piedmont on the other. It is smooth, sweeping, unhurried riding at a park pace, and by late September the color is starting to climb the ridges. This is the ride the whole DMV points its bars toward every fall.
Go on a weekday to beat the leaf-peeper traffic, pay the park fee at the gate, and mind the 35 mph limit and the rangers. Watch for deer, black bear, and gravel at the overlook pullouts, and dress in layers because the crest runs cool. Drop down at Thornton Gap or Swift Run Gap and loop home.
Closer to home, the George Washington Parkway along the Potomac and the roads out to Great Falls give you a quick, gorgeous fix. Maryland riders have Sugarloaf Mountain and the roads around it, and the Harpers Ferry and Antietam battlefield country is a beautiful half-day loop where three states meet. All of it is best early, before the weekend crowds and the leaf traffic build.
Early-Fall Safety: DMV Edition
September in the DMV is the handoff to fall, and it brings mountain traffic, wildlife, and short days.
- Leaf traffic and mountain gravel. Foliage season packs Skyline Drive and the Blue Ridge roads with slow, distracted, out-of-town car traffic, and runoff drops gravel and wet leaves into the shaded curves. Be patient behind the cars and give the blind corners an easy line.
- The deer are moving. Rut season is ramping up on the Virginia and Maryland countryside roads. They are out at dawn and dusk. Scan the shoulders and tree lines, cover your brakes, and never swerve blind across the line.
- River fog and short days. Cool mornings settle fog along the Potomac and in the valleys, and sunset creeps earlier all month with the low sun right in commuters' eyes. Run your light and ride like the car turning left has not seen you.
- The Beltway never quits. Back in the metro, the Beltway, the Mixing Bowl, and DC's traffic circles stay brutal and unpredictable. Keep your lane position where you always have an out, and watch for the sudden lane changes this region is famous for.
Know Your DMV Law
- The 1 percent rule can end your claim. DC, Maryland, and Virginia are all among the few contributory-negligence jurisdictions left in the country. If you are found even 1 percent at fault, you can be barred from recovering anything at all. Fault is everything here, which is exactly why insurers fight so hard to pin a sliver of blame on the rider. DC softened this for cyclists and pedestrians, but that carve-out does not cover motorcyclists.
- Everyone wears a helmet. DC, Maryland, and Virginia all require riders and passengers to wear a DOT-compliant helmet, and a non-compliant helmet gets used against you.
- Lean on UM/UIM. Minimums vary across the line (MD 30/60/15, DC 25/50/10, VA 30/60/20) and all three require uninsured motorist coverage. In this traffic it is your real backstop.
- Your deadline depends on where you crashed. Generally three years in Maryland and DC, but only two years in Virginia, with short notice rules for government defendants. Which side of the line you were on matters, so do not wait to get advice.
Ride Nation DC Metro
The local chapter is where DMV riders post weekend miles, call out gravel, deer, and which Blue Ridge roads are turning from Skyline Drive to Sugarloaf, 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 changing lanes into you on the Beltway. A deer on a Shenandoah back road. A distracted commuter who never saw you at a DC traffic circle. If you ever go down in the DMV, remember one percent of blame can bar your whole claim, so you want a lawyer who rides these roads and fights the fault game hard.
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