Total Motorcycle Community Forums

Tuesday
Miles: 8,481
Mood:

Confession #41- I'm close to leaving the cage behind.

A few days ago my wife and I had an interesting (albiet short) discussion. Should we sell the SUV?

Sure, its a gas guzzler. Sure, I don't drive it. Sure, it takes up the space in the garage where I want a boat to be instead. But its a reliable vehicle, runs fine, is paid for, and is comfortable to drive. Still, the thought got my wheels turning. Could I go without a car?

I have decided to initiate an experinment. As of this day, I will not drive a 4-wheeled vehicle. Well, unless I can borrow the wife's car that is. She still will not ride on the back for any practical purposes (save for a neighborhood joy ride). So here it is, my resolution; pretend that I do not have a car.

I will take the bike to run all of my errands, and any errands that require large bulky pickups I will wait until the second car is ready for my use. Rain or shine, I will ride. Be it a snow blizzard, or a hurricane, or a volcano eruption downtown, I will not take the car.

We shall see if the experiment works.

Perhaps I do not need a car.

At least then I can consider getting that boat.

can your car pull the boat?

rapidblue wrote:can your car pull the boat?

good point!

Boats that'll fit in a standard garage can probably be towed by a car....not always though.

I've been riding to work for about 80 (Calendar) days straight now....maybe 50-60 work days.

I did something similar when I figured out how well it would work... I certified "my" car was non-operational (like a temporary deregistration, maybe California specific) and cancelled the insurance. It's in my garage and can be road legal in a working day, but it isn't costing me anything but space and electricity for the battery. I still have access to another car, but have only driven it to Costco or the like on weekends. My car would be fairly difficult to replace (and I'd want to get the same make/model again) so it doesn't make sense to sell and get another later...otherwise it'd be gone.

I think it's great... not just for money reasons. Riding every day has changed many lifestyle factors... ATGATT discourages a quick lunch burger so I brought a propane grill to the office and a group of us have been having group grilled chicken (or fish) lunches. That wouldn't work most places...one of the advantages of being able to make your own rules. I've saved $$$, improved coworker relations, and actually lost about 10lbs since I started riding. I'm also home an average of an hour earlier each evening... of course, that's California of the split lanes... you don't get that benefit either.

Just make sure you have good cold weather riding gear... summer is pretty much over and at least around here it's $^&#* freezing in the mornings. I made the mistake last Monday of riding to work in just my JR mesh jacket and textile pants over office clothes...no insulation, no liners, etc... of course it was soaking wet (not rain but fog/low clouds) and not what I'd call comfortable at all. I went back to my cold-weather gloves and a liner/2nd jacket under the mesh and it's fun again, but I was so used to the summer heat that it took me a few days to get into the cold weather swing. I'm shopping for a warmer jacket or a jumpsuit.

dieziege wrote:Boats that'll fit in a standard garage can probably be towed by a car....not always though.

The things is also being able to pull it out of the water.

Sweet Tooth wrote:The things is also being able to pull it out of the water.

It's the little details that get us.

Ever since I got my bike a bit over a month ago I have also ridden it everyday no matter if it looked like rain or not. One would think the more you rode the less entertaining it would get, but I enjoy it more every day that passes. Having to drive to places used to be such a chore, but now I look forward to it.

You can pull them out of the water fine... at least I never had a problem...

Wednesday
Miles: 8,503
Mood:

Confession #42- I'm all alone...

There was once a rider who I saw on my commute home. He was there for a week, and is no longer. I surmise he either changed work schedules or simply doesn't ride to work anymore.

Okay, its hot, but shouldn't we be seeing the effects of all these 'motorcycle sale increases' due to rising gas prices? Sales are up, yes, but does that mean that motorcycle riding is up?

Thats a very good question. In my area, I would have to say no. Most of the riders I see are on the weekends or in the afternoons, well after the workhours. However during my commute, to and from work, I typically do not see a single bike. There are many cars that I see quite regularly, identified by their unique color or stickers on the back windshields (like the woman in the brown SUV with a 'soccer' sticker on the back window who drives like an impatient maniac). One would think that I would have similar frequent encounters with motorcyclists.

After all, sales are up. So where are all these bikes going?

They are going, I fear, into the garage. My best guess would be that as gas prices surge, people jump at opportunities to save gas. They buy scooters and bikes and accessories just for that purpose. They ride around, learning on them, have some fun...and then at some point return to their cars for 'every day' trips. The gas prices that jumped from 2.50 to 3.00 a gallon are no longer a shock. They applaud when they see gas for 2.96 and are happily back to feeding the SUV.

The American motorcycle is a recreational vehicle. Yet when gas prices go up, sales skyrocket. Still, no one uses them for regular commuting, which is necessary to do regularly and for a long time in order to recoup the financial costs of the motorcycle compared to the savings in gas and wear-and-tear on your more expensive vehicle.

So next time you see that news article boasting motorcycle sales are up, and folks are planning on riding instead of driving to save on gas...realize that its a short-lived fad...and its yet another example of the culture of consumption.

And on the ride to work, I feel quiet alone.

Maybe it's not that there are fewer riders but that you are matching the flow better.

... when I first started commuting I saw quite a few bikes every morning as they passed me or I passed them. After a few weeks I stopped seeing those riders. Stopped seeing many motorcycles at all. So I tried slowing down a hair (1-2MPH...tiny change) and suddenly they were back.

Thursday
Miles: 8,538
Mood:

Confession #43- If my shoes aren't black, they will be.

I confess that I sometimes wear tennis shoes when I ride. Yes, I have already made that confession. However I wish to add that often I also wear dress shoes. Not the shiny kind, mind you, but a dull black dress shoe with a boot-like tread. I think this is somewhat of a compromise, although my shoes will do nothing for me in an accident when they come flying off my feet.

That said, this is more of a tip to the would-be commuter. Do not wear white tennis shoes. If they aren't black, they will be. You use your toe to shift up, leaving grease and black rubber marks on the top of your shoe. Within a week your new white shoes will be ruined. Grease can also slip down from the side of the bike and stain the inner sides of your shoes.

And lets not forget your shoelaces. Should they come into contact with any part of the bike, they will soak up the grease like a sponge. This is not exclusive to riding; just mounting your motorcycle can leave your shoes in a disasterous state.

Next time you are in Payless, take your riding habits into consideration. Do you wear boots and change at work (who has time to do that?) or do you wear your black work shoes? Brown work shoes? Those are to be considered as well. They will also be ruined, but the marks will not be so noticable.

You could also just wash your bike, but who has time for that?