Confessions of a Commuter

[NorthernPete]

meh..you dont need all that...





My wife has told me he cant go on the bike with me til hes 10.

[Myself002]

lol i didnt see the kid for the first 10 looks at that picture

[Nalian]

And people complain about Britney Spears! Yeesh!

[CNF2002]

Friday
Miles: 7,112
Mood:

Confession #29- The City Transportation Department hates me.

It is the week of June 26, 2006. Surely you remember this date for all of time, and tell of it to your grandchildren, because this is the week that Superman Returns has hit the big screen. Now you won't remember it for the movie itself, perhaps, but rather because on regular television every single station has some kind of documentary or behind-the-scenes look or interview with someone involved in the new Superman movie.

I know, because last night I had the rare privilege to watch television for nearly 3 straight hours (which is more TV time than I usually get in a month) and I ended up watching nothing but shows about Superman; not just because I was interested in seeing random clips from the new movie but because it took up the majority of programming and well, I'm a sucker for democracy.

Having been immersed in Superman-dom all of last night, I wondered what it would be like if we all dressed in tights and a cape and wore our underwear on the outside. I also realized that a 1950 TV show with a budget of ten bucks and a painted glass plate could come up with better plots than a 2006 movie with a budget of $250 million and 15 cray supercomputers churning out the latest photorealistic action sequences. Anyway, surely if we had Superman's fashion sense and we wore our initials on our chest, working in a downtown cubicle would be far more entertaining. Especially when the boss lands a stack of paperwork on your neighbor's desk and he jumps up arm outstretched and declares, "This is a job for Frank!"

Along the side of the highway this morning the city of transportation had set up one of those trailer-type speed monitors. You know them, the ones that show your speed as you pass by.

Thanks, City of Transportation Department, for reminding me that I'm in a traffic jam traveling 20mph. Had it not been for your strategically placed signage, I surely would have exceeded the 75mph speed limit and run over a family of quail crossing the road. Nevermind that there are 40 cars crammed into a 10 square yard space of asphalt around me. I suppose it never occured to city officials that placing a speed sign in a traffic jam wouldn't really be all that effective.

Surely the Department of Transportation hates me, because it wants to remind me that it takes me 30 minutes to travel 15 miles, all highway. To add to the insult, they put it right smack in the middle of the giant 50 yard median that everyday I cry to look at thinking of all that wasted space when they could easily slap on a nice HOV lane.

Alas, city planners would prefer to wait until the highway is so jammed that it takes a good 2 hours to travel that 15 miles and would, in the process, proceed to tear up the entire road and add another lane instead of a center HOV passage so that, by the time they are finished, we're just back to the same traffic problems we had before.

Although, I do get a little solace knowing that the SUV next to me just spent about $20 more than I did to get to work today. Yes, other's misery gives me comfort.

[CNF2002]

Thursday
Miles: 7,112
Mood:

Confession - None.

A week of rain and holidays has made motorcycle commuting difficult, to say the least. Perhaps if tomorrow is a brighter day, or if I finally resign myself to purchasing minimal rain-gear, I will be back on two wheels.

[Myself002]

rain gear works so well, 20 dollars worth is all you need and it keeps you dry and comfortable.

[Z (fka Sweet Tooth)]

Thursday
Miles: 7,112
Mood:

Confession - None.

A week of rain and holidays has made motorcycle commuting difficult, to say the least. Perhaps if tomorrow is a brighter day, or if I finally resign myself to purchasing minimal rain-gear, I will be back on two wheels.

No Confession? Say it anit so We've had a ton of rain here as well... can't complain though, we had our share of fires a few months back. Hope it clears up soon for you.

[CNF2002]

Friday
Miles: 7,151
Mood:

Confession #30- I was lied to!

I was so excited this morning. I woke up, threw open the curtains and was greeted by the most incredible sight...sun! Not a cloud in the sky! I bobbed around the house getting ready for work like a little kid on Prozac about to go to Disney Land. I kissed my wife goodbye and in one swift movement from the bedroom to the door I had showered, brushed, clothed, and geared up.

After such a long time without riding, I checked my tire pressure and determined it was due for a trip to the convenience store. So I headed out, thrilled to be on the bike again, eager to get out onto that freeway. I navigated through the neighborhood, landed at the convenience store, and inflated my tires. I swept out of the parking lot, raced towards the freeway, and...well...

Remember when your parents told you were going to Disney Land, but you found out 2 miles down the road that they were really taking you to the Dentist? Okay, resurface that emotion and hold it while you read on.

Somehow, amazingly, between the garage and the gas station with a huge neighborhood in between and 1 mile heading to the freeway I had failed to look NORTH.

North; at the big luminous rain cloud hanging over the entire city.

"I need rain gear!" I whined for the 12th time to my wife the day before as I grudgingly reached for the SUV keys.

She just smiled. "Is that before or after you buy a boat and learn to fly a plane?"

I just skulked.

No matter, today it wouldn't phase me. Wet or not, I was pressing on. With my impending doom looming ahead of me, I decided to entertain myself by looking for the hot chicks.

I was lied to. I was lied to by every 50's biker movie and all of the commercials. As soon as I got on a bike I was supposed to be surrounded by hot chicks, and they were supposed to be flashing me on the freeway. A full bus of college cheerleaders are supposed to leap from the emergency exit in the back and land on the back of my bike while I did a wheelie into the convenience store to harass a shopkeep.

I've had my bike for a year and I can tell you, such a thing has not happened. Not once! So yes, all of my preconceptions before buying a bike have been lies. They are clever marketing strategies that have been insidiously winding their ways into our culture from the dawn of industrialization, from the dawn of the motorcycle! All lies!

Anyway, I made it to work without getting wet. So I consider that a victory, even if I didn't see two ladies in a convertible ferarri initiate a wet t-shirt contest on my commute.

Maybe next week.

Note to readers: If anyone knows where a magical set of rain gear can be had for $20, please tell me. I have been to every dealer and gear shop in the city and on the net and have yet to find a set for so cheap.

[roscowgo]

This is Close to 20$ Wet stuff

[Myself002]

I just went to the local wal mart and into the camping section and got myself an xl jacket and pants. They fit over my normal gear so i can just pack it in my bag. Its small enough when folded that I can just keep it at the bottom of my bag(it should probally go at the top).

The link above me is pretty much what it is but I would probally shell out the extra for the bike specific stuff.

Originally I wasnt going to get rain gear but when my MSF course came up and it was pouring rain the entire class took a trip to walmart lol.