There are certain mornings when you can just feel the season beginning to change — and this was one of them.
I headed out early on the Yamaha XMAX for another ride through Hot Springs Village, and the temperature was a crisp 66 degrees. After months of warm Arkansas mornings, I made the mistake of thinking 66 wouldn’t feel all that chilly.
So I left the jacket at home.
That was a mistake.
Once the scooter was moving and the cool morning air started hitting me, 66 degrees suddenly felt considerably cooler. It was easily the chilliest morning ride I’ve taken as we approach the fall of 2026.
But it was also absolutely beautiful.
The early morning light coming through the trees, quiet roads winding through the Village, and that unmistakable coolness in the air offered the first little hint that summer won’t be with us much longer.
One of the things I enjoy most about living in Hot Springs Village, Arkansas, is experiencing the changing seasons. We get plenty of hot summer days, but eventually mornings like this begin showing up. Before long, the leaves will start changing, temperatures will become more comfortable, and one of the prettiest times of the year in the Ouachita Mountains will arrive.
And riding the XMAX has given me an entirely different way to experience it.
From inside a car, 66 degrees is just a number displayed on the dashboard. On a scooter, you experience every degree of it! You notice the temperature, the smells, the sunlight, the shadows through the trees, and all the little changes happening around you.
So come along with me for fall’s first chilly ride through Hot Springs Village. It may still be August, and summer certainly isn’t finished yet, but this morning provided a little preview of what’s coming.
And next time the thermometer says 66? I’m wearing the jacket.
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