Ride early and ride often!  Seems like pretty sound advice, right? Well, as we are now rolling into the glorious 9^th month of the year, early doesn’t really fit as far as riding time of the season.  A vast majority of events have come and gone, and most that are left are not in Iowa…at least anything more than one-day or partial-day types of happenings.  It is not a bad thing that most events are in our rear-view mirror, as I hope you have acquired as many cool memories and racked up some miles, but just noting that we have to make sure we get out as many times as we can on the few remaining days of the 2026 riding season that we have left. As always, I will keep hopping on as long as possible and never really “winter” the bikes, but the chances to be able to go for a full tank ride are getting slimmer by the day. Get out and about on two wheels and enjoy the sometimes hot as hell days, and cool evenings while we can!

Riding this time of year is sort of bittersweet, with some great riding conditions, but also some significant things to keep in mind when twisting the wick. When you do get out and about on two or three wheels in the month of September, make sure that you are watching for all of the road hazards we encounter this time of year. As harvest gets into full swing, we always have to watch out for slow-moving vehicles including, but not limited to agricultural equipment on the roadways.  That equipment sometimes drags mud, dirt, and field debris onto roadways which can also be hazardous. When the crop-eating machines are running around the tillable acres, the wildlife becomes uprooted from their feed plots the farmers graciously provide, so keep an eye out for critters on and crossing the roadways. As always, watch out for the dipshits driving distracted in normal vehicles as well.  Ride defensively, ride safely, and keep your head on a swivel. Also, plan for at least three seasons worth of riding in a single day, because it is September in Iowa.  We can see cold, great temperatures, and hotter than Hades as well as the entire gamut of wet to dry all within a single day.  Gear up and ride accordingly.

Also, in September this year I am turning 55 years old. It doesn’t seem possible to have acquired this many tic marks next to my age, but here I am, still acting like I am five years old most days, just ask Melanie and she will tell ya! With the ability to attain this age, I am even more thankful and blessed to have so many people that I love and cherish to be a part of my world.  I have acquired more love than years in this lifetime, and for that I thank each and every one of you for being a part of my world. I dig what we have built here with Thunder Roads Magazine of Iowa over the last 17 years and also the last nine years at Thunder Guns and Thunder Guns West.

I don’t know exactly what I am going to do to celebrate the anniversary of my birth this year though, as usually I do a birthday timeframe 1,000-mile ride.  I want to keep doing those as long as I can, and have done more than a couple of dozen of them in my life.  This year though, I checked that off early in May when my boy Matt and I rode to DC for MRF Bikers inside the Beltway.  Maybe we can do another one when we ride to Milwaukee at the end of September for the Motorcycle Riders Foundation Meeting of the Minds?  It is only half way to 1,000 though to get there, would have to make one hell of a detour.  Maybe on the way home on that Sunday we can do that? Weather this time of year is always a factor though, so we may have to play it by ear.  At least I don’t have to worry about getting one done this year, and don’t NEED to make it happen. I hope that I can see some of you in Milwaukee September 24^th through the 26th at Meeting of the Minds.  If you are at all concerned about our rights as motorcyclists, and you certainly should be, this would be the place for you to be! More information and registration information can be found at mrf.org under the events tab.

Be safe, enjoy this glorious month of September!

Vernon

This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

Proud Editor/Owner Thunder Roads Magazine of Iowa

Proud Owner Thunder Guns West and Thunder Guns

IMDA Board Member

Iowa COC Legislative Officer