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Feeling unsure about commuting to work on 2 wheels.

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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IDK, if I rode to work the best part of the day was commuting home via Penngrove, Petaluma Hill Road to Roberts Road, to Sonoma Mtn Road, to Bennett Valley Road and then on in to Santa Rosa.

In the AM I ususally just blasted down 101, but not on the way home.
 
When I was commuting I’d take Calaveras Road most days in both directions, rain or shine, light or dark.
 
dravnx said:
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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100% with Dravnx here. What I love about riding to/from work is that it's like a meditation. There's no room for anything but thinking about the ride, and that gives me a crucial reset both to and from work.

If you can't achieve some kind of focused flow state when riding in traffic, I'd suggest staying away from difficult commutes until you can. And any day you have concerns about riding, don't commute via bike that day.

I've been commuting rain or shine via moto for 30+ years, with distances varying from 10 up to 50 miles each way (though less often since Covid times). I once calculated I'd covered more than 20k miles just commuting across the Bay Bridge. I'd take public transport before I'd commute via car. Just don't have the patience for it.
 
I rode from Vallejo to Roseville on Saturday and it reminded me why I stopped moto-commuting. 3-day weekend traffic felt somewhat similar to my old commute's traffic pattern. The 52-63 degree weather had us shivering and slowed reactions a little (I've always been a wuss in sub 60degree weather, not trusting my tires enough in cool/cold conditions). But what I noticed most was the erratic lane changes - no signal, barely a glance, and often into smaller gaps than in years past. People seem to just be more aggressive while simultaneously more distracted, post-covid.

While splitting, going in both directions, we held constant vigilance, keeping the speed delta to around 10-15mph, and still occasionally got caught off guard. I almost had contact with a driver on their phone on our way back, on 80 through Dixon. She drifted towards me as my front tire was at the passenger door, going 25-30, as I split by at ~40. Of course it was HER that got upset - I saw her shake her fist/finger and yelling at me in my rearview. So, to the black-haired lady in the white Jeep wrangler on I80 on saturday; sorry I scared you out of your daily Insabooktok-commute time, my bad for thinking you might have eyes on your surroundings. and hold a semi-straight line I'll be more careful to not use the road during your driving-while-online-time in the future....
 
I commute.

28 miles each way through Niles Canyon everyday. And everyday, it's the highlight of my day, twice a day.

At first, it's sketchy. And honestly, when you first start riding, you'll never be "comfortable"... DO IT ANYWAY. There's only one way to get "used to " it. Exposure therapy is the best way to alleviate the nerves of being a new rider. Soon enough, it'll feel just like driving a car.

Commuting is also the best way to gain experience and put on miles.
You'll no longer be the "weekend warrior"! You'll get miles under your butt, and gain valuable varied experience.

Lane splitting in the Bay Area can be pretty scary. But, you don't HAVE TO split. Just do it when you see a large gap, or not at all... Your choice.

ALSO, and this is the big one for me,... I give myself back between 30 minutes to 1.5 hours a day in commute time when I ride.



To Commute or Not to Commute, ....

I say, Do It.
 
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just dont be a carpool turtle, get passed in the carpool/fast lane then post on the www why the car passed you, then state that this happens very often to you.....

tbh you should review that reddit thread, it has alot of GOOD beneficial content as to why the rider riding mentality was flawed

I believe we even had a thread started on barf cuz of it

also finally reading the posts in the thread, is this a new job are you a 100% new rider? You should have enough miles under your belt - where riding the bike shouldnt be a suprise, like traffic and road conditions etc.

Law of tonnage applies here tremendously, you can die if your not alert 100000% of the time
 
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If you do decide to commute, don't do this ...

In 2000 (man alive, the years are passing) I was commuting in the fast lane of 880N on my 1999 Honda Valkyrie GL1500C when the small white compact in front of me slammed on his brakes and caught me off guard. I don't know if I turned my head for a moment, or I was checking my mirrors for a moment, but all of a sudden, his rear bumper is right there.

So I get on both of my (Pre-ABS) brakes and that's when it all went south. Maybe I did get on the rear brake too hard and too long, and maybe it was all Operator Error, but there are more than a couple subsequent reports out there of the Honda Valkyrie rear brake locking up way too easily. I dunno.

Anyway, that 730+ pound behemoth goes left, right, left, the rear tire hooks back up, and up and over I go in a classic high side. I'm lucky that whale didn't come down on top of me.

So there I am lying in the fast lane of 880N. I can't move, but I can wiggle my toes, so I'm thinking, That's good. At least I'm not paralyzed. And then I think, Yeah, but you are lying in the fast lane of 880N. So i guess it's been a pretty good life because this is it.

Fortunately, the car behind me was being driven my an ER Nurse who had her wits about her, got on her brakes in time, and didn't run me over. I wound up with a pretty good concussion (I couldn't tell the CHP what day it was, where I worked, or who my wife was), a broken collar bone, and bruises galore.

After a few weeks, I got back in the saddle and commuted for nearly another 20 years.

Anyway, if you do decide to commute, don't do that. :laughing
 
There's another possibility, which is not the perfect solution by any means: ride to work but avoid the highways.

The first week I owned a motorcycle, I rode 30 miles on the bicycle commute route back to my house. Going slower gave me more time to react, and given I had 10 years of experience biking on these streets, I knew them well.

I think crashing is more likely with street riding than the highways since traffic patterns, pedestrians and bicyclists make the streets more chaotic. However, if speed is your concern, then the streets is the best choice rather than doing 65mph.
 
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Back when I was in the bay area I commuted on my bike maybe half the time. Trading usually 10 to 15 minutes of time for quite a bit of risk, more than a few close calls, and the one and only time I went down, luckily no injuries.

Now, in Seattle area, I've never commuted to work on the bike, and you couldn't pay me too. Riding is for fun.
 
Bay Area Commuter for 15 years until 2021. Ran the gauntlet every day over the Bay Bridge. Two accidents, one resulted in titanium in my wrist - neither was my fault - upgraded my bike each time. You have to be full-on at all times. Be assertive, not aggressive, and don't pull jerk moves, which puts the whole community at risk from angry drivers. ATGATT.
 
You have to want to do it. Riding can be scary, it can be exhilarating. I've had some close calls, but i also try and anticipate what could happen with all the monkeys driving around me. Try it a few times and if you dont like it stop.
Id say 97% of the time when I arrive home or at work I have a big smile on my face. Heck there have been days where id start out to work, and not really gone in because I just kept riding and went someplace else for the day. :ride:thumbup:teeth
 
I commute on a cruiser bike (1200 cc) about three times per week, about 40 miles round trip on the I-280. Never had a problem with lane splitting; perhaps once, when a car blocked me and it was not clear if the driver was doing it on purpose or simply did not care. Get mentally ready, scan ahead aggressively and purposefully, and you should be fine. Better than commuting on a cage IMO. I wish there were more of us out there, I count less than 1 bike every 1000 cages on the highways.
 
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