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I commute by bike once or twice a week. I like the variety of it. If I did it every day, it might start to feel like a grind. My other commuter vehicle is a ferry from Larkspur, Marin to San Francisco, paid for by my work. Not everything in my life is perfect right now, but when it comes to commuting I'm a lucky SOB.
Rear-end collisions are a constant worry, especially when "freeway" traffic yo-yo's between 70 mph and a dead stop.
Yes, except when the roads have ice.
In most cases, I can't see advantages over a used Honda Civic. Throw in the cost per mile in tires, and the math don't add up.
I have a 100 mile round trip commute from east Texas to my workplace in Dallas. I do it every work day, year round, regardless of weather. On the few occasions when it's too bad for me to ride to work (ice storms, hail, tornados), I figure it's too hazardous to drive the car too, so I stay home.In addition, I travel a lot for work, and if I can get there in a day's ride, I'll always take the bike. Houston, Austin, Beaumont, even New Orleans. Heck, a few times I've even done work trips to Atlanta on a bike. If I have to fly somewhere, I'm still riding the bike to DFW airport, which is about 65 miles from my house. Why do this? Mostly because I love riding, and on many days the two best parts of my day are the ride in and the ride home. It is a very reliable stress-reliever. A long commute on a motorcycle is a pleasure for me----the exact same commute in a car is simply torture.I think this started for me 30 years ago when I was in my late teens and early 20s. I had a 90 mile round trip commute to college, I owned a good motorcycle, and I did not own any cars. Just got in the habit I suppose. I'm not sure there's a huge financial savings in commuting by motorcycle, as least compared to driving a beater Corolla. On the other hand, I've already invested a lot of money in bikes and associated gear, so I might as well get the use out of the stuff I've bought anyway. Financially, I've chosen to have some nice bikes for my commute, and I have not purchased nice cars for my commute--so I'm really just spending "car money" to enjoy something better, like motorcycles. Secrets for success? You need great gear--I've got Sidi waterproof boots, Aerostich pants and jacket, good gloves and rain covers for the gloves. Electric vest for winter. I also think it helps if you just dedicate yourself to doing this. I don't have a daily debate about the weather or consider other factors while trying to decide "do I take the bike in today?" No, it's just a given that I'm riding. If it's always a day-to-day decision whether to take the bike, you wind up taking a car most of the time because it's hot and you prefer A/C, or it might rain, etc. Safety is the only serious downside for me. Cell phone and text use has gotten noticeably worse. On the other hand, I've strategically chosen the safest possible route to my destination, and I've made it my mission to carefully "study" that route over the years so I know exactly where the usual trouble spots are, where my escape paths are, etc. Maybe I'm deluding myself, but I feel that I keep myself pretty sharp by riding all the time, and objectively speaking, I almost never have what I would describe as a "close call" when it comes to traffic. What mostly worries me about my commute are more "freakish" accident scenarios---a deep jumping out at dusk, or me not seeing some spilled diesel on a wet road.
Very glad to be "retired" and once again working in a home office.
So, does this mean you commuting by motorcycle again?
In most cases, I can't see advantages over a used Honda Civic.I consider commute miles to be "crap" miles as in most cases the same route is taken day in and out. Half that time in the dark, dicing it out w/ pre- occupied sleepy cagers running late..Throw in the cost per mile in tires, and the math don't add up.
I commute in the Metro DC area so it is on occasion not a lot of fun. I try and plot my route home on Google Maps before I head out of the office to avoid sitting in 8 Lanes of bumper to bumper traffic.
Unless you're going in to work at 5:00 AM and leaving before 2:00 PM, I don't see how that's possible in any direction .... ? I've only been under GPS control once up there; a friend had one to get us to the downtown Mall area from Manassas one morning, and it took us down every residential street, redirected us everywhere, and finally dumped us into 8 lanes of stop-and-go traffic.Otherwise it's just jam-packed all the time. If I thought I had to commute into DC every day in my job, I'd quit and take that job as towel boy on Turkish tramp steamer that I've heard was open .....Lannis
Oklahoma? Ice?!?Try riding in Edmonton!