Why Fall is the Best Time for Motorcycle Riding (And How Summer Nearly Killed My Passion)

There’s something magical about fall motorcycle riding that makes all the summer suffering worthwhile. As I sit here in my garage with a good cigar and a bourbon, looking at the cool September air outside, I can’t help but get excited about the riding season ahead. The dog days of summer are finally behind us, and honestly, it couldn’t have come soon enough.

The Summer Riding Struggle is Real

Let me paint you a picture of summer motorcycle riding that every rider will recognize. You wake up to a gorgeous morning, check the weather, and think “perfect day for a ride.” But by the time you gear up and hit the road, you’re already working up a sweat. By the time you reach your destination – whether it’s work, lunch with friends, or just a scenic stop – you’re absolutely drenched.

This summer was particularly brutal here in Pennsylvania. It wasn’t just abnormally hot; when it wasn’t scorching, it was pouring rain. The combination severely limited my riding opportunities, and honestly, the rides I did take weren’t all that enjoyable. There’s nothing fun about starting your ride already uncomfortable, arriving somewhere dripping with sweat, and then having to repeat the whole miserable process on the way home.

The worst part? Getting stuck behind school buses in 100-degree heat. Picture this: you’re suited up in full gear, the sun is beating down, and you’re crawling along at 12 mph while a school bus makes a dozen stops in three-quarters of a mile. Stop, wait, and bake in the sun. Get up to speed for maybe 30 seconds. Stop, wait, and bake some more. It’s torture, and it had me seriously reconsidering my route choices.

Why Fall Motorcycle Riding Changes Everything

But now? Now we’re getting into my absolute favorite time of year for riding. Those cool, borderline brisk mornings that warm up to comfortable mid-70s afternoons before cooling down again in the evening – that’s motorcycle weather perfection. You can actually enjoy the ride instead of enduring it.

Fall motorcycle riding means you can gear up without immediately regretting your life choices. You can take that scenic route without worrying about arriving somewhere looking like you just ran a marathon. You can actually enjoy lunch stops with friends instead of spending the entire meal cooling down from the ride over.

The only real downside to fall riding in Pennsylvania is hunting season. Deer start moving more, and they become a legitimate concern that wasn’t quite as pressing during the lazy summer months. But honestly, I’ll take deer awareness over summer sweat sessions any day.

When Everything Goes Wrong at Once

Of course, this year threw me some curveballs that made even planning for fall riding complicated. It’s like the universe decided to test my dedication to motorcycling all at once.

First, my MT-09 decided to play dead on what should have been a perfect riding day. I went out to the garage, ready to take it to work, turned the key, heard the fuel pump do its thing, hit the starter button, and… nothing. It would crank and crank and crank but wouldn’t fire. Even after charging the battery overnight, same story.

Turns out Martin Moto had to come pick it up for diagnosis. They discovered it was actually a bad battery – apparently showing 70% health but not delivering enough voltage to properly start the bike. Five hundred bucks later (including some maintenance and a state inspection while it was there), the MT-09 was running perfectly again. Sometimes the simple fixes are the most frustrating.

But that was just the beginning. About a week later, my 2013 Ford Escape decided to join the breakdown party. I was driving to work when it started whining, then bucking, and finally lost all forward and reverse gears at a traffic light. The transmission was completely shot.

When the transmission shop told me replacement would be $3,000 for used (with no guarantees) or $5,500 for a complete rebuild, that pretty much killed any dreams of adding a sport-touring bike to the stable. I ended up buying a 2021 Toyota RAV4 instead, which cost significantly more than that transmission repair would have.

The Gear Challenge Nobody Talks About

Speaking of work commuting, let’s talk about something most motorcycle content creators don’t address: the logistics of riding to work when you don’t have storage. With both the MT-09 and Ninja 400, everything has to fit in a backpack. Change of clothes, lunch container, coffee tumbler, hat to cover helmet hair – it all has to be packed perfectly or it won’t zip.

It becomes this daily game of Tetris just to leave the house. Then you sweat the whole way to work, unpack everything in the bathroom to change clothes, and spend the first two hours at your desk still cooling down from the ride. Only to repeat the entire process in reverse for the ride home.

This logistics nightmare had me seriously considering a sport-touring bike with proper luggage. I was eyeing a beautiful 2013 Yamaha FJR1300 at Martin Moto – pristine condition, reasonable miles – but it had a “deal pending” sign on it. That led me down the rabbit hole of online searching, but FJR1300s aren’t exactly common on Facebook Marketplace around here.

The Moto Vlog That Almost Was

The equipment challenges extend beyond just the bikes themselves. I recently had one of those perfect fall days where I decided to record a moto vlog during my lunch break. Fresh GoPro battery, nice weather, the Ninja 400 needed gas anyway – everything was lining up perfectly.

I recorded about 30-40 minutes of solid content, covering various updates and just enjoying the ride. But when I reached up to turn off the camera, there was no camera there. I looked in the mirror and saw it dangling from the helmet, held on by a tiny strip of double-sided tape and the microphone cable.

The footage was completely unusable – just shots of my jacket and arm as the camera swayed around. It was frustrating, but it actually gave me the inspiration for this garage setup you’re seeing now. Sometimes the best content comes from the most unexpected circumstances.

Building Community Beyond the Road

That equipment failure led me back to something I’d been neglecting: the garage studio setup. See, many years ago, I started a cigar website called StogieReview.com with a friend. What began as a simple way to share cigar recommendations between the two of us grew into something much bigger, running actively from 2006 until it went dormant around 2019-2020.

But I still hang out with a group of guys regularly – every Tuesday (and sometimes Thursday) at our local social club. It’s usually four core guys: myself, Jim, Eric, and Mark, with five others who rotate in based on their schedules. One night it might just be the four of us; the next week, the stars align and everyone shows up for an amazing evening.

During one of these sessions, Eric jokingly suggested we should start a podcast. “You know, the four of us could totally do this,” he said, not really serious about it. But when I told him it could actually be arranged, and Jim pointed out my travel humidor with the Stogie Review logo, the conversation took a different turn.

The Smoke and Steel Podcast: Where Two Worlds Collide

What started as a throwaway comment has evolved into the Smoke and Steel Podcast. The goal isn’t to create some pretentious cigar show – it’s about recreating those authentic conversations you’d have in a cigar lounge, the kind of community many people don’t have access to.

In a good cigar lounge, you might find yourself talking to a judge one day and a janitor the next, with cigars being the common ground for conversations about everything and nothing. I’ve had some incredible encounters over the years – random conversations that turned into fascinating glimpses into different worlds and perspectives.

That’s exactly what we’re capturing with Smoke and Steel. It’s guys hanging out over cigars, talking about whatever comes to mind. Sometimes it’s motorcycle-related, sometimes it’s completely random, but it’s always genuine. The conversations flow naturally, people come and go as their schedules allow, and you never know what direction things will take.

From Simple Setup to Podcast Reality

What started as a simple test in my garage (which, let me be clear, is not exactly a beautiful cigar lounge atmosphere) turned into something more involved than I expected. My garage has motorcycles, cleaning supplies, oil, and general clutter everywhere. No heating or air conditioning – just five fans to move air around when it gets hot.

I initially bought a Zoom PodTrac P4 mixer, thinking four channels would be perfect for our core group. But we quickly exceeded those capabilities. One week we’d have five people with someone barely audible off to the side. The next week, six people with two completely unmiked. It was maddening trying to splice together audio from multiple sources.

Eventually, I upgraded to a PodTrac P8 with six microphone inputs, which should handle most situations. If a seventh person shows up, they’ll have to share a mic – I’m tapped out on equipment investments for now.

Looking Ahead to Peak Riding Season

As we head into peak fall motorcycle riding season, I’m excited about the possibilities. The weather is perfect, the bikes are running well (finally), and there’s something energizing about this time of year that makes everything feel possible.

I’m hoping to get back out with the riding group more regularly – those lunch rides with Goofy, Scott, and Trekkie that we’ve been doing sporadically this summer. We’ve been mixing up our usual Red Robin stops with local mom-and-pop restaurants, and it’s been great discovering new places.

There’s also the possibility of breathing new life into the motorcycle adjacent podcast format, maybe even bringing in some virtual guests or having local friends join in the garage. With this podcast setup, the equipment is already here.

The Community Connection

Whether it’s gathering with riding buddies for a scenic route and lunch, or sitting around with cigars talking about life, there’s something special about these communities that form around shared interests. Not everyone has access to a local riding group or a cigar lounge, but maybe we can bridge that gap a little bit through content that feels authentic and unforced.

The Smoke and Steel Podcast represents that philosophy – genuine conversations between friends who happen to enjoy cigars, talking about everything from motorcycles to completely random topics. It’s not polished or scripted; it’s just real people having real conversations.

Fall motorcycle riding season is here, the weather is perfect, and there’s a lot of good riding ahead. Whether you’re dealing with your own summer breakdown stories, planning routes around school buses, or just looking forward to comfortable gear weather, this is our time.

If you’re interested in checking out those authentic cigar lounge conversations I mentioned, you can find the Smoke and Steel Podcast Podcast at this Link. Even if cigars aren’t your thing, you might enjoy the random banter and community feel we’ve captured.

Now if you’ll excuse me, I’ve got some fall riding to catch up on while this perfect weather lasts.