Hi {{contact.first_name}}, August is the top of the season up here. The evenings are still long, the lake keeps the afternoons honest, and every county between Buffalo and the Southern Tier has something going on. Fair season is here, harvest is starting on the rural routes, and the best riding weekends of the year are right in front of us. Here is where to point the bike this month and what to watch for while you do it.
Ride of the Month: The Niagara Wine Trail Run
Vineyards, orchards, and open lakeshore road
Head north out of Buffalo and pick up the Lake Ontario State Parkway, then drop onto the back roads of the Niagara Wine Trail between Ransomville and Burt. This is farm country at its best in August, fruit stands, vineyards heavy with the coming harvest, and long straight runs with the lake off your shoulder. The pace is easy and the scenery does the work.
Run Route 18 along the shore, cut inland on Route 425 through the orchards, and loop back through Wilson and Olcott where the harbor and a cold drink are waiting. It is a relaxed half day and a completely different feel from the Southern Tier hills.
The Erie County Fair in Hamburg runs the second week of August, and the roads around it turn into a rider scene in the evenings. Ride the Boston Hills south of the city on Route 391 for a quick set of sweepers, or make the longer haul out to Chautauqua Lake and loop the Amish back roads around Leon and Conewango, where the traffic is farm wagons and the pavement is yours.
Late-Summer Safety: Western New York Edition
August looks easy, but the season is starting to turn. Ride the month smart.
- Harvest equipment on the rural routes. Slow tractors, wagons, and produce trucks pull on and off the Southern Tier and Niagara county roads all month. Give yourself room and expect a combine around the next blind rise.
- Low sun at day's end. The sun drops earlier now and sits right in your eyes on the west-running roads at dusk. Drivers cannot see you into that glare, so ride like you are invisible in the last hour of light.
- Pop-up afternoon storms. August heat off the lakes builds fast thunderstorms. A blue sky at noon can be a wall of rain by four. Check the radar before a long loop.
- Fair and festival traffic. Hamburg, Ellicottville, and the lake towns fill up on weekends. Watch for distracted drivers, sudden stops, and cars nosing out of packed lots.
Know Your New York Law
- Helmets are mandatory for everyone. Under VTL 381, every operator and passenger must wear a DOT-approved helmet, no exceptions for age or experience. New York is a universal helmet state and the police enforce it.
- No-fault does not cover you. New York no-fault law specifically leaves motorcycles out, so PIP does not pay your medical bills the way it does for car drivers. The upside is you can pursue the at-fault driver directly for full pain and suffering, which a car occupant often cannot.
- Comparative fault, not all-or-nothing. Under New York pure comparative negligence (CPLR 1411), you can still recover even if you were partly at fault. Your award is reduced by your share, but it is not wiped out.
- You have three years. New York gives you three years from the crash to file an injury claim (CPLR 214). Evidence and witnesses fade long before that, so move early.
Ride Nation Buffalo
The local chapter is where riders post weekend miles, call out fresh gravel and harvest traffic on the back roads, and share the photos 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 it.
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.
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A car turning left across your lane. Harvest gravel on a back-road corner. A distracted driver who never saw you. If you ever go down, you want a lawyer who actually rides these roads.