I rode to work today!

[Serendipity]

So I begged and pleaded, finagled some and got Tailwheel to meet my best friend at I-95 with the Little Visionary in tow to trade off so she could take him (along with her own son) to their summer camp so that *I* could ride to work. Normally I have to drop him off so I, until I get a sidecar, can't ride to work.

But Tailwheel and Amanda indulged me and I had the most wonderful ride to work in my LIFE!!! I actually stopped at my parents house first on the way, (they've never seen me in all my gear) then onto the gym, and then into work. It's about 26 miles total, light traffic (all 2 lane roads) most of the way but the last 6 miles is pretty busy so it was *very* important for me to stay on my toes, which I did and did just fine. Just went with the old motorcycle adage that "I am invisible, and if they can see me they are out to get me."

There is a small chance of scattered showers this afternoon (it's FL!) so I'm going to keep and eye on the weather and leave a little early or late depending on what the weather is doing. I know riding to work is so not a big deal to most of you guys, but being a newbie this is a *major* milestone for me.

Go me and my bad self!

[hfarley]

LOL! I remember my first ride to work, and then one of my first times dropping the bike as I was showing it off to my boss. LOL! It is a major milestone! Congrats! Like I said before, little by little. Go at your own pace and celebrate every accomplishment! Hey have some chocolate! I think a woman loves any excuse to have some chocolate and what better than riding all the way to work.  ;). If it does start to rain and you need to ride home just take it slow. Try to wait until at least 10-15minutes of rain before you leave though to get some of the slickness off of the road. If you need to pull over then do so. You will be amazed at how well you do in the rain even the first time if your careful. Good luck and congrats again!!
-Heather

[dj]

Congrats on the first ride to work!  That is a "big" milestone in your biking career.  I can still remember the first time I rode to work.  The drive into work is so boring in the car, but it is a great ride on the bike.  There are a few s corners on the way and it is great to practice my cornering.

I have been riding the bike full time since the start of the season.  Rain or shine!  I love riding the bike on rainey days a rubbing it in the face of the so called "hard core harley" guys that I work with that are to worried about getting there bikes wet.  ;D

[Serendipity]

HFarley: Yum chocolate!!! Good suggestion girlfriend!! :) But actually I have been doing Weight Watchers since back in Sept (lost 65 lbs so far, going for another 20) so instead of the chocolate I think I just may reward myself with some sushi from the place across the street!!! It's just as much as a treat for me as chocolate and lot more forgiving. LOL

I hear you about the rain. I'm hoping to avoid it all together, but no major biggee....gotta get wet at some point, eh?

Dj: I soooo wish I could ride to work more often, but with the aforementioned little Visionary it's just not possible as Dave works way north of home and I work south, where Holden's pre-school/summer camp/grandparents are.....but I'm sure I could swing it every once in a while. :)

[zore]

I ride everyday rain or shine, as long as it's above 35f or so.  I don't know if i could do my 120mile round trip commute in a car everyday.

[haunter]

HFarley: Yum chocolate!!! Good suggestion girlfriend!! :) But actually I have been doing Weight Watchers since back in Sept (lost 65 lbs so far, going for another 20) so instead of the chocolate I think I just may reward myself with some sushi from the place across the street!!! It's just as much as a treat for me as chocolate and lot more forgiving. LOL

I hear you about the rain. I'm hoping to avoid it all together, but no major biggee....gotta get wet at some point, eh?

Dj: I soooo wish I could ride to work more often, but with the aforementioned little Visionary it's just not possible as Dave works way north of home and I work south, where Holden's pre-school/summer camp/grandparents are.....but I'm sure I could swing it every once in a while. :)

congrats!  the rain isnt soooo bad as long as its not raining really hard

[dj]

speaking of riding in the rain.  We need to have somebody come up with a small "windshield wipper" type thing for motorcycle helmets.  I hate having to keep wiping my visor off with my hand on the rainey days, which happens to have been everyday for the past 11 days or so.

[Rikard]

speaking of riding in the rain.  We need to have somebody come up with a small "windshield wipper" type thing for motorcycle helmets.  I hate having to keep wiping my visor off with my hand on the rainey days, which happens to have been everyday for the past 11 days or so.

I put some automobile wax on the visor. That way, I can just turn my head sideways for a fraction of a second and most of the raindrops just peel away. The wax makes it much easier to remove bugs as well. (Hey, this is just the type of stuff that could actually go into the newly started motorcycle handling / technique / tips / QaA thread someone (cough) just started!)

/Rikard

[dj]

nice plug!  ;D

that sounds like a good tip.  I'll have to try that.  Has anybody tried the rainx stuff on the visors? Is it okay for the material that the visors are made of?

[Rikard]

One tries.  ;D

I'd recommend testing whatever chemical you're applying somewhere up close to the hinge of the visor, just in case it reacts with the plastic. That way you won't have to replace the visor (unless it eats right through the material of course).

That said, never had any problems with what I use ( a Swedish brand (I think), Sonax, "floating hard wax". Just put on a thin layer, let dry (like 20 seconds), wipe off  excess with soft cotton rag). It leaves a really smoothe surface, rain just doesn't stick to it. Turning my head is only needed in _heavy_ rain. Which I encountered last summer, without any rain gear - man was I cold before I got home. Wind chill when wet can be a bear.

/Rikard

[kiawrench]

dipity,,, time to get that lil visionary a helmet, take on to school anyway---  can hear it now   "my mom can beat your mom"    "so what !! my mommie is a biker ,and she will do a stoppie on your mommies laundry!!!!"   and lastly ,,, "my Mommie went on a trip, and she got to ride the dragon,,, now she has to get a tattoo to go with her bike sticker "



    Congrats on the ride to work,, now let's see if you still like cars after that !!

[YellowJacket!]

I've been riding to and from work as much as I can and riding my V whenever I can.  Although my commute is only 14 miles round trip, the cool air in the morning wakes me up and the warm breeze in the afternoon refreshes me and clears my mind of the busy day I had.  There are days when I have to use my car and despise it.  Fortuantely for me, there s almost no traffic on my route in the morning and light traffic in the evening for my 12 hr shifs, moderate traffic at 3pm on my 8hr days.  I like the invisible/out to get me thing...I'll keep that on my mind.  One of my favorite things is having other bikers wave.  Whether they are on a Harley, riceburner, scooter, Goldwing or whatnot, they almost always wave.  The only waving I see in my car is fingers...usually the middle one.  :-(

David

[ps2/bikevision]

thats awsome, the first ride is the best. big sh*t eatin grin from ear to ear. wish i had a normal job where i could ride to work. but dont think i could pull the campers with the vision. and i dont trust the drivers to leave the truck there over night or the vision out there during the day.

[h2olawyer]

Almost makes me wish I had a commute.  Working from home is great.   ;D   Also, being my own boss is allowing me tons of time to spend with dad & help out mom.  Even without commute mileage, I've been averaging over 100 miles a week for the past two years (when it's riding season, April - November).

H₂O

[Serendipity]

Kia, funny you should mention the Dragon t-shirt. I noticed one of the websites sells a "My Daddy Rode the Dragon Faster Than Your Daddy" shirt....but no Mommy!!!!! Humph! 'Course truth be told, when we do the Dragon in July or August I most definitely will be getting the Turtle Award, so it wouldn't apply anyway....but a plain old "My Mommy Tamed the Dragon" would be nice. (assuming I do) :)

Oh, and by the way, the Little Visionary is only just going on 3 this summer, so no riding for him for *quite* awhile. Though I have no problem with Dave giving him a ride around the yard now, but surprisingly Holden isn't interested. He will sit on his tricycle, twist his right wrist and yell "Vroom! Vroom!" all day long but he won't get on with either of us yet. Go figure.

Incidentally, I had a very pleasant, uneventful ride home last night from work. Though I have to admit in the future I will leave earlier or later than 5:00 on the dot. Way, way more traffic than in the morning. Nothing bad happened of course, but the first 10 miles was a little less relaxing than the AM with so many more potential left handers. Thankfully, my son (who my best friend was watching so I could ride) behaved himself very well. We ended up going to dinner last night and she said we need to do this little arrangment more often as her son *really* enjoyed having mine there. Really? You say? I do believe that could be arranged! LOL

[zore]

I think after 12 years of riding, I have figured out that getting from point a to point b safely is more important that worrying about how fast you are going.  Just check yoru mirrors periodicly and let the faster people get by and you'll be just fine.  I also recomend staying clear on saturday and sunday if you can.  During the week is the best time to go.

[hfarley]

Serendipity, I did weight watchers for awhile and then quit. I need to start back up again though. But if I remember correctly those 3 Muskateer mini's are only like 1 point each. Hey when ya gotta have some chocolate one will find the way to do it! LOL!
-Heather

[Serendipity]

Believe me I know what you are saying in regards to finding the low point versions of the stuff you *really* want.  :D

Btw, if you are wanting to get back into WW, I can give you some websites that really helped me out a lot. Just PM me about it if you're interested, wouldn't want the guys falling asleep at their keyboards now, would we?? LOL

[MotorPlow]

How many points is a cold beer in a frosted mug? Are refills equal in points?  ;D

[YellowJacket!]

Believe me I know what you are saying in regards to finding the low point versions of the stuff you *really* want.  :D

Btw, if you are wanting to get back into WW, I can give you some websites that really helped me out a lot. Just PM me about it if you're interested, wouldn't want the guys falling asleep at their keyboards now, would we?? LOL

ZZzzzzzZZZZZ  ++++creamouffs++++ ZZZZZzzzzzZZZZ Juicy hamburger ZZZzzzzZZZZZZZ ...fudge....ZZZZzzzzzzzZZZZZ

Oh, um....was somebody saying something?  I was dreaming about food...


David