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Feeling unsure about commuting to work on 2 wheels.

I used to commute through LA everyday. Oof, those were my early 20s. Wouldn't do that again unless I absolutely had to. I'm glad my last commute was in a relatively not heavy section of the 405 in Orange County from rush hour and wasn't that bad.

Hell, I don't even like riding through LA anymore commuting or not. Last few times I needed to be in LA, I just drove or took the train.

NorCalBusa said:
Good posts and I agree. I'd just add you need to "own" the ride. Be highly aware, purposeful and directed- put the bike where and how you want it- make good judgements before and during the ride. Do not ride as a victim looking for something to happen to you. Own it.
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Cosign on that. I have a real peeve about friends that want to get into riding and come to me for advice and I'll help as much as I can. Some listen some don't. But more often than not, when they get into their first accident, even a small one with minimal damage to them, then they decide motorcycles are too dangerous and want to sell it. Drives me nuts... I always tell them if they haven't made peace with the possibility of pavement surfing at some point, don't ride.

Slight tangent from just commuting but still related.
 
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I've been commuting on two wheels for over a decade. It just so happens every company I've worked for has been based in the south bay so I ride down 680 almost daily (basically daily now with my new job) to San Jose, Santa Clara, Mountain View, etc.

I've had various bikes to commute on either, so I'd say choosing the right bike also changes your perception of your commute. Before, my Monster 1100 was my only bike and I did everything on it. Later, I started branching out, and as my garage started to multiply, I started picking up specific bikes for commuting - Honda VFR800, Multistrada, etc.

As others have pointed out, your mental state has a lot to do with it. Bikes like the Multistrada have a lot of creature comforts so that on a morning like today, that was 35°, you're comfortable and can concentrate on awareness. When it gets hot, sometimes I'll find an excuse to kill time at the office or grab dinner with friends before I head home to let the traffic die down or for the temperature to drop below 100°, if I can't wfh or bail early to avoid stagnant traffic. Auxiliary lights also help with making sure people see me, but they aren't silver bullets. I still have to assume no one can see me because even on a massive red Ducati, people don't make room or check their mirrors.

Some days I split more aggressively than others and it all depends on what's on your mind. When my mind is light and I can have a higher degree of focus, I go faster. When it's been a rough day or just a lot of things are on my mind, I chill.

I continue to do it because I get hours of my day back, and when you extrapolate that across a month or a year, that's days to weeks back instead of sitting in traffic. I'd say probably 25-30% of my daily commute is lane splitting.

If you don't have a lot of experience or confidence in your low speed maneuvers, I'd also suggest practicing those.
 
I've been moto-commuting full-time along 85/101/280 to various points between Sunnyvale & San Francisco for the past ~10 years (with a ~6-month covid break).

My decision criteria:
- Time benefit (factors car congestion and "safe" filtering opportunity)
- Mental/psychological benefit (factors my own stress/frustration from driving. Riding has for me always been a net benefit mentally/psychologically)
- Road conditions for that route (if it fits do I splits)

One thing I DON'T factor in is driver patterns. I just assume that every situation entering into or within contact distance with other vehicles is risky. Calculation of and response to those risks are covered elsewhere.

Given above, for me it's been very much worthwhile to moto-commute when I have. When I've chosen to drive at least one of the 3 criteria favored it.
 
I didn't frequently commute when I worked down south, but I would take my bike on occasion and even on fun rides you can run into rush hour traffic that needs to be dealt with. I always try to stay alert, ride my ride (aka I don't split if I don't feel comfortable, even if others are). I also like to think, how fast do I want to crash when splitting as a means to help me keep my speed in check.

There will always be risks, but if you stay zoned in and in control of your speed you can keep them at a minimum.
 
Thank you for the feedback everyone- appreciate all of the input.

Maybe I'll stick to leisure riding for the time being until my gut tells me otherwise. My commute isn't terrible (it's still under an hour which is good for the bay I guess).
 
Greenhorn said:
Thank you for the feedback everyone- appreciate all of the input.

Maybe I'll stick to leisure riding for the time being until my gut tells me otherwise. My commute isn't terrible (it's still under an hour which is good for the bay I guess).
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When I began riding, this was my intention too. I did ride to work one day to show my friends my new bike and while it felt alien and dangerous to ride in traffic, it was hard to ignore the time savings of even cautious lane splitting at stoplights.

I decided that I wanted to commute but that my best bet was to become as good a rider as I could. That led to some track schools, racing and weekend sport riding. These experiences let me find out what the performance envelope of the machine (and myself) was, in a setting isolated from random traffic issues.

For a long and safe riding career in traffic, you pretty much have to be better than most drivers around you and must be prepared to take their share of responsibility for avoiding collisions.

Your plan to just enjoy your bike in lower stress situations is a good start. It may or may not lead to a decision to use the bike as primary transportation. Developing yourself as a rider opens a lot of doors for you.
 
tzrider said:
I decided that I wanted to commute but that my best bet was to become as good a rider as I could. That led to some track schools, racing and weekend sport riding.
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This is right on the money, for me. I did something similar.

When I first started riding, I was very uncomfortable riding in heavy traffic and on twisty backroads, because I felt like I didn't know the limits of the motorcycle, or myself. I felt tense and uncomfortable and nervous in those situations, and being tense and uncomfortable and nervous on a bike can be kind of a self-fulfilling prophecy. Plus it's not fun, and motorcycling should be fun.

Doing educational training stuff like track days, dirt bike schools, or gymkhana exercises REALLY helped me get more comfortable with how a bike handles under pressure, how hard it can brake, what loss of traction feels like, how far the bike can lean, etc. Once I did those kinds of training exercises, I felt like my active consciousness and awareness could be more focused on the traffic around me and the corners coming up than it was on being anxious about operation of the motorcycle.
 
Getting attention off of bike control basics is huge.

The other thing I noticed is that as my “envelope” increased (I had become more comfortable with higher forces), situations that used to feel like a close call became non-events.

I used to marvel at how two riders with the same commutes could have such different commute experiences. One rider seemed to have a near death experience every week, while the other guy couldn’t remember the last time he had a close call. That second rider had more attention available to allocate to traffic and anticipating developing situations and if something did happen, he was much more comfortable with higher braking forces or quick turns, to the point that he had no reason for concern.
 
tzrider said:
Getting attention off of bike control basics is huge.

The other thing I noticed is that as my “envelope” increased (I had become more comfortable with higher forces), situations that used to feel like a close call became non-events.

I used to marvel at how two riders with the same commutes could have such different commute experiences. One rider seemed to have a near death experience every week, while the other guy couldn’t remember the last time he had a close call. That second rider had more attention available to allocate to traffic and anticipating developing situations and if something did happen, he was much more comfortable with higher braking forces or quick turns, to the point that he had no reason for concern.
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This, all this. I commute 4 days a week from Santa Rosa to Novato. Heavy traffic, tight construction zones and beat up roads. I feel very comfortable lane splitting and zippering through traffic. It's a getting in the zone thing and my riding is entirely dependent on how my head is doing.
I rarely get surprised in traffic and never have near death experiences that are reported by others.
Oy, thats a kuna hura. My mom would be doing the 3X spitting thing if she heard me talk this way.
 
tzrider said:
Getting attention off of bike control basics is huge.
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Yes AND...

Get your head in the game. Be 100% focused on the task at hand. Don't think about anything else..groceries, co-workers, what you're going to do once you get to your destination, etc. Don't multi-task. Ride the motorcycle and do / think about nothing else.
 
Enchanter said:
Mad is on the right track here...

In addition to the road surface, also take note of the behavior of the drivers in specific locations. As an example, is the exit you would normally take crowded, many people cutting others off to get to that space? If so, would taking an earlier exit help you lower the risk?

Big Picture: You have many different paths / routes to take from point a to point b. Choose the path of least risk. If that requires an extra 5-15min...well, you get to ride a motorcycle for an extra 5-15min that day. Sounds like fun to me!
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+1

Know the route. Know which intersections/exits/splits are most likely to have drivers go OH NO I'M ABOUT TO MISS MY TURNOFF and cross over three lanes without warning.

Thankfully, compared to most, I've never really had much issue splitting lanes. I believe in 'be courteous and people will be courteous back' so I don't fly through cars (sub-15mph delta), drivers are good about letting me filter once they realize I'm there and when I do run across someone who just won't let me through, be patient. Wait 30 seconds and in between the ebb and flow of traffic the opportunity will present itself.
 
Greenhorn said:
How many of you guys commute to work on your bikes?

Rush hour traffic is back and I'm thinking of jumping on the bike for work.

With all the stuff that's been happening lately perhaps I'm a little spooked about riding in heavy traffic. The road conditions and the overly aggressive commuters doesn't sound fun.

Please talk me in or out of this idea.
Thanks everyone.
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I did roughly 25 years of 100 mile round trip Bay Area commute. Would I want my kid to do it? No. Would I do it now? Also no.

These days I'd opt for letting the Tesla handle traffic while I rested / meditated. In the glove compartment I'd keep a stack of silhouette stickers depicting skinny-pantsed, ironically-moustached zoomers on scramblers, and I'd affix one on the door whenever Elonpilot took one out.

I think, five stickers and one is considered an ace? ... or perhaps ace-hole.
 
wfh has made me soft, I rarely moto commute now
one thing not yet mentioned is the speed differential in the split. Some riders split way faster than me in my comfort zone. Some riders are way slower or refuse to pass a particular gap in traffic that they for sure fit thru.
USE YOUR DAMN MIRRORS and move over for faster riders as soon as it is safe to do so

also , warm weather brings out the hordes of novice turtle speed riders, sport bikes and harleys alike
 
Don't commute, you'll end up riding when you're not 100%.
 
I spent a couple years commuting from south san jose to san carlos. I had a few rules for myself that I thought helped. I always gave myself enough time in the morning to take my car. Riding cut my commute significantly, but I didn't want to wake up tired, and be forced to take the bike to get to work on time. I also had to have coffee before I left so I was awake. Finally, I played by what I call the rule of 3's. If 3 things go wrong before the ride im taking the car. Wake up late, spill on my shirt at breakfast, realize I need to stop for gas on the bike unexpectedly....take the car. To be honest, the drivers have gotten so much worse since covid im not sure I would commute any longer, but if I did I would set some ground rules to make it easy to make a go no go call. Just my .02
 
I commute on my bike and in fact we only own one truck that my wife takes to work so I have the perfect excuse to enjoy my bike. I used to work all over the place in Santa Cruz mountains and it was a delight to go from place to place. 3 years ago I moved to Bakersfield and my commute was 30 miles on highway 99. Now I moved closer to work only 4 miles away. I advised you to watch a YouTuber called MC Rider for advice on road strategy. You might be surprised on how much you can “control” your environment when you ride a bike.
 
An earlier post mentioned making sure you’re in the right mindset. While I understand that to an extent, it never seemed workable to me in a commute context. While you might decide to take the car if you got up on the wrong side of the bed, what do you do for the homeward bound commute if you’ve had a bad day at work?

Enchanter’s post about making sure you’re concentrating on riding and nothing else is really the right answer. I’ve found that I can do that in most any mindset, having formed the habit of focusing on riding over many years. I recall it was fairly easy to focus on riding early on too, because the experience was so new and I understood what was at stake.

Cultivating the habit of maintaining focus is the only advice I can give on this, but there may be differences in individuals’ ability to do that.
 
tzrider said:
An earlier post mentioned making sure you’re in the right mindset. While I understand that to an extent, it never seemed workable to me in a commute context. While you might decide to take the car if you got up on the wrong side of the bed, what do you do for the homeward bound commute if you’ve had a bad day at work?

Enchanter’s post about making sure you’re concentrating on riding and nothing else is really the right answer. I’ve found that I can do that in most any mindset, having formed the habit of focusing on riding over many years. I recall it was fairly easy to focus on riding early on too, because the experience was so new and I understood what was at stake.

Cultivating the habit of maintaining focus is the only advice I can give on this, but there may be differences in individuals’ ability to do that.
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For me it was about assessing my day before it started. Big meetings, performance review, major project milestone meeting, I would probably take the car. Most days are fine, and on the few surprise bad days I would head to a Starbucks after work or maybe grab dinner somewhere to decompress. But I hear you, it’s definitely something to think about. I also wouldn’t Commute in the dark..so it wasn’t an all year thing for me
 
One of the reasons I enjoy moto commuting is that when I either arrive at work or home, I realize my mind is clear and I haven't been thinking of anything besides riding.
As soon as I throw my leg over the bike, my mind goes into riding mode and shuts everything else out.
 
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