Ah, the smell of leather in the morning...

"Found" image from Google Images, chosen
because my best memories of motorcycling
include having Pillion along.

For quite a few years now, my riding apparel has consisted primarily of textiles, and mesh/vented textiles at that. Living and riding in the Southeast, there are many, many more warm humid riding days than there are dry, cool ones; so mesh technology has been a great boon to my increased riding comfort. While trading off the ultimate protection of road-grade leathers, armored textile riding gear still provides very good protection, while also being much lighter, cooler and in some cases, more waterproof than leather.
But with the cooling temps approaching as we head into fall (my favorite season by far!), I pulled out my old classic Schott "Perfecto" leather jacket for the last few rides. Still fits great, and the sheer weight and thickness of it makes me feel invincible, like I'm wearing mithril from middle earth. But the best part is the smell of it as the jacket heats up in the sunlight. That classic leather smell, mixed with the aroma of burning petrol as I cut a few curves this morning, took me right back to my early riding days, learning to ride and wrench on my '78 CB750. The feel and smell of the Schott, and the memories it revives, and the very experience of remembering, are just more reasons I love riding.