Ride to Work Blog
This guy rides a scooter worthy of a man riding!
When I first heard Ride To Work mentioned on the radio, I imagined yet another liberal, anti-car movement. However, I heard its blogger interview on the radio this morning and decided to check into it further. From what I’ve read, Ride To Work is not against anything; it is for encouraging people to ride their motorcycles to work, for pleasure and for practicality. This guys blog entries so far are very entertaining:
Battle Damage
17 November, 2005 Temperature: 8 degrees F
I’ve got to take a moment here to tell you that I am really impressed with this Baron 150SX scooter. That little motor pushes us along at an honest 60 mph whenever asked, and it starts right up every time. Yesterday, when I went to leave work, I found that the battery had expired while sitting out in the cold all day. This was no surprise, because it wasn’t designed for these conditions. This also let me test the kickstart and magneto to see if they would get the job done in an emergency. Three kicks later, that little motor was purring like a kitten. I turned on the lights, and they worked at their usual intensity. Letting it run for a couple minutes while I put on the rest of my gear, I turned on the vest while watching the lights and there was no change in brightness. We had an uneventful ride home, on roads that were mostly clear of snow and ice.
Viewing the weather report on the news this morning, I thought, “Hah! Finally some weather I can sink my chattering teeth into.” It gets down into the single digits quite often during a Minnesota winter, so this is where the test truly begins.
Hurry Up and Wait
28 November, 2005 Temperature: 45 degrees F
First, let me tell you about a small change I have to make in this blog. I will be updating every evening, instead of during the day. It seems that I am violating internet protocol here at work by doing this during my breaks. We are approaching zero-tolerance these days for any personal internet use in the workplace. How sad. But that’s what the boss tells me, so that’s the way it has to be.
Now then…
Apparently it’s the monsoon season here in tropical Minnesota. I awoke this morning to the patter of rain on my south-facing bedroom window. It’s a balmy forty-five degrees outside, and I’m rummaging around for my Hawaiian shirt. Some Winter Challenge this is turning out to be.
Yes, things are getting weird here in the waning days of November. The Vikings have won four games in a row, and I’m riding through a misty rain forest on my way to work, four days into the Christmas shopping season. Strange days indeed.
Traction at Last
29 November, 2005 Temperature: 22 degrees F
After the river roads, we started to encounter streets which had been sanded, and the going got much easier. It took us a total of an hour and a half to get to work, in some of the worst conditions I expect to ride through. In the truck, it would have taken another fifteen minutes, because I wouldn’t have been able to sneak past the clueless non-winter-drivers. Where do these people come from? Surely they didn’t learn to drive here. My guess is they came here from warmer climates for the higher paying jobs and the mythical Minnesota Nice ambience. Perhaps we should make these immigrants take a driving test on an ice rink before they are turned loose on our winter roads. Just a thought./span>
Be sure to read the top eleven reasons to ride a motorcycle to work! Although I can see biking for errands, these two reasons would keep me from motorcycling to work:
ERRANDS.
Kids, groceries, shopping…you can use packs, courier bags, saddlebags, tank bags, bungees, and racks to carry a surprising amount. Most school age children can be readily transported by bike, but you’ll need to carry their gear (helmet/jacket/gloves) for them. Children of all ages are routine bike and scooter passengers in many countries outside of the USA. If you’ve been buying a month of groceries with your car, change to buying a week’s worth on your bike. [TK adds: what about the hockey bag?]
WORK CLOTHING IS NOT SUITABLE.
Keep a sport coat, suit, uniform or changes of work-suitable clothing at work. Or pack a change of work clothing along in a courier bag or duffel. Or wear a coverall-type riding suit. [TK adds: women in skirts, nylons and heels would require a complete change of clothing…can’t see doing this.]
Hat tip to Ian and Margery Punnett’s A Balanced Breakfast on FM107
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