First commute to work

So, I recently completed my first commute to work on my 93 750f.
The commute is 50 miles door to door. 10 miles back road, 30 miles highway, and then another 10 miles back roads through a small town. It was a lot different than driving the car, I have to admit, it wasnt more fun. I think I am still too green of a rider to enjoy it, before today's ride in, I had maybe 15 miles ride time on the bike, now slap 50 all at once. I was still pretty nervous seeing as I had 0 miles 3 weeks ago. I figure 100 miles per day getting to work and back should get me used to it pretty quickly. I am looking at good weather today, thru thrusday, so there's 300 miles of a learning. I am glad I took the rider safety course, but again, that was 19 miles total, and all under 20 mph in a parking lot. oh, and on a suzuki 250, nothing compared to the VFR.

I need to get rid of the riser bar, I race bicycles and am used to being forward, and am finding the riser bar just too awkward.

Anyone use their VFR for commuting to/from work with a pretty good size distance?

Kevin

 

Used to ride to work on it all the time, got my smaller kawasaki to take some of the miles off the older honda. Its like the bumper says, "A bad day of fishing is better than a good day of work". Even if it sux out and its raining and there is traffic, its still a hell of a lot better than being stuck in my car. And I have ice cold air and a nice alpine stereo, the bike is still exhilirating after all these years and 200,000 miles of street riding. Its an accomplishment to ride to work, just be careful who sees you, they kinda get jealous that your living your life on the edge. F em all...keep riding. btw I recently got into road riding my bicycle, most challenging thing physically I have done in a long time. 13 miles this week on a road ride, cant wait.

 

I don't commute, but I do ride several hundred miles a week. I have always found that commuting is kind of a bore and that it goes against some of the best reasons to ride. Although in your case, as a newer rider, it's good experience. Just don't forget to put as many miles as possible in on those nice Vermont twisties, you'll learn more technique and have a better time doing it. Best of luck in both environments and keep the rubber side down.

 

Yeh you need saddle time and experience to read and predict what traffic is gona do. Lady luck dont hurt either. Sheeesh my last job was only 7 miles one way, I ended up not even riding there cause it was easier to take my car. I had some crazy ass commutes in the past, I tell you. Your in a cold climate so if your gona ride during the winter besides being cognizant about freezing road conditions, your gona have to stay warm. I used to use widder lectric vests and gloves along with a good snowmobile suit. That kinda took care of things. Good luck its gona be a hell of a trip remember that when your cold and miserable.

 

I ride to work almost every day, it is worth it. My biggest piece of advice for rush hour traffic is a day glow jacket; I have a mesh one for the summer and tourmaster for the winter. You will be amazed at the respect you get from the cagers when they can actually see you better.

 

yeh my last commute had me going autobahn speeds for 24 miles with 18 wheelers and one lane going in each direction. Lots of tomb stones on the side of the road. I bought an neon yellow Aerostich suit, one piece and it served me well in the year and half of commuting from rain to 100+ degrees. You can still be your own worst enemy when it comes down to it.

 

I hear you on that, I do have a jacket with lots of yellow on it, the helmet will be yellow as well.

On thing I have considered, and just am not sure if its a good Idea or not is using a clip on LED blinking light and attaching it to the back of me or my helmet, I am talking about the type of lights bicycle riders put on the back of their bikes for when they ride in dusk or dawn rides. Anyone have a thought about that? is it a good Idea or no?

Kevin

 

I am thinking all the time about can people see me...funny how when I am on the bicycle, I dont think about that at all...even after being hit a few times by cars, I still ride without worrying. maybe its the vast difference in travel speed. on the bicycle, I am trying to go as fast as I can but still thats less than the speed limit (most of the time). on the VFR, the speed is 3 or 4x greater...I guess thats where the nerves come in.
Most challenging thing physically, you got that right, most people when they think of riding riding bikes picture the leasure ride through a park, most people dont like pain, so they will only ride as hard as they can under the pain...I know this because my wife does it all the time. so when most people see others riding, they figure they are not riding very hard and then consider the sport soft and easy. I urge anyone to try to climb a 1 mile hill at 12% grade on a bicycle at 10mph and then tell me how soft and easy it is...most likely they wont be able to as they wont be able so speak. When someone decides to race bikes, they have to come to grips with the fact that there will be pain, lots and lots of it. but for some reason, it becomes a sick and twisted satisfying experience that once you find you can manage it, you wish to find out how much pain you can put on others, especially your close friends who do group rides with you...in a real race its total carnage, seeing who can manage the speed and save the pain for the last sprint.
Riding the VFR has been completely different, the achievement of speed without any real effort gives riding it an unattached feeling for me. During the rider safety course we were told to become one with the motorbike, well, I havent been able to see that possible as we are not paying any price for the achievement of speed, on the bike, if you want to go faster, you yourself need to provide that ability, you and the bike ARE one inorder to achieve the process, on the vfr, if I want more speed, i just twist a bit more and off we go. the connection isnt the same, Im just telling the vfr to go faster, I am not really MAKING the vfr faster. look at it this way, you can have a 2010 full carbon 15lb bike, and Lance Armstrong can ride up next to you with a 1983 full lugged steel bike weighing 26lbs, you both start, who do you think will get to the next mile marker first? Now motor bikes, you versus a motoGT racer...you have his bike, he has yours, who's gonna make it to the mile marker 1st? most likely you as his bike is so much faster than yours, even with his greater skill level, the power difference will overcome the skill level...this is the disconnect.

on the bicycle, for me a 40mile ride is standard, there are times where less miles is done, but mostly thats because of time constraints. I am not one of those who do centuries, as I dont see the payback, no race that I do is more than 100 miles long in one day. Even if you race a 100k or 66 mile race in one day, trainning rides of 40 is adequate.

Funny how the wife will have no trouble letting me go for a ride on the VFR, before she considers me riding the bike, she says its because she knows the bike ride will be 2+hrs, but the ride on the VFR will be a lot less. She's right, i have to admit.

Whoa, ok, enough rambling...sorry about that.
Kevin

 

I commute about 100 miles every day then toss in a trip back and forth to the gym in there as well. On the bike the worst day is fun. In the car it's an exercise in frustration. You will get use to it over time and it will become enjoyable. I dread when I have to take the car.

 

On a curvy road that requires skill, skill will out do power every single time. As you learn to ride you will soon figure out that a motorcycle is only as good as it's rider and that PROPER, FAST CORNERING requires both mental and physical skill. A healty dose of testicular fortitude doesn't hurt either. Yes, anyone can twist a throttle or go fast on a straight stretch of road without much physical exertion, but that's not what many of us would consider riding. Straight line speed is not a goal, at least for a rider who wants to know what it's like to be a good motorcyclist. If you want to truly learn to ride and are always willing to push yourself and your ability, then lots of practice on the right stretches of tarmac should provide you with all the mental and physical challenges you'll ever want. "Becoming one with the bike" will happen as a result of needing to "feel" the motorcycle where handling and your own personel safety are concerned. Trust me when I tell you that if you have any desire to smoothly take a 40mph corner at 100mph, and want to do that for a 150 mile piece of road, you're going to be needing all the excersize that you're getting on that bicycle. This may be where you're missing the connection you're looking for. Give it some more time, and as your skills and courage increase, you'll see what I'm talking about.

 

What you have said does make sense, as you say its probably is too early for me to be able to get the connection, it will come with time and skill. I have been racing the bicycle for 20yrs so the foundation is there so solid, its not second nature, its first nature.
Kevin

 

I absolutely agree that with more time on the bike you will enjoy your commute. My commute is only 30 miles a day but its through the worst traffic and over a 4 mile bridge. You would think since everyone is going in one direction people wouldn't be so stupid! Rain or shine I still get to work 30 minutes faster on the bike compared to the car; and I don't have to pay for parking! Give it time... Concentrate on riding and improving your skills. Pretty soon you'll be arriving at work with a huge smile on your face and everyone will think you're crazy!

 

+1 to what's been posted. I use my 40m round trip commute to continually practice being smoooth, which is what I think havcar was getting at. On the highway, back roads or twisties, practice being smooth and alert, that includes moving through and around traffic. 50m of commute traffic is trial by fire for a new rider so take it easy for awhile, learn driver's habits and stay safe.

 

35 miles each way, half of which are santa cruz mtn twisties (very popular with squids on weekends).

The first few commutes were hell, and the freeway was the worst. It took a while, but as you get better at controlling the bike without active thought, and can spend more time thinking of what's around you, the easier it gets.

Keith Code has a great analogy. You have $10. You get to pick how to spend that $10, but it's all you have. Early on (say at the MSF), you're spending $9 just trying to keep the bike from falling over, stalling, etc. You only have $1 to worry about other people and where you're going. Now, you're probably spending $5 on just bike itself. And have only $5 for what's around you. After 8,000 miles, mostly commuting, I feel that I'm spending $1 or less on the mechanics of controlling the bike, and the rest I can spend on paying attention to my lines through curves, traffic up ahead, the idiot behind me, etc. Just like in a car. You don't need to think about how to drive a car any more, it just happens. And you'll get there on the bike, too.

Now, in the twisties, you really want that $5 on the bike, and the $5 on the curves. That extra awareness of the bike in the curves will keep you alive when debris/gravel/water/leaves show up unexpectedly in the next curve.

 

Very interesting. With acknowledgement to havcar's response, I agree, give it time. It took me quite some time to get comfortable, and feel so in tune with my bike that I achieved that "become one" feeling. In fact it may not have been until my 3rd bike! My first two were old junkers that didn't handle all that well, and were not sporty at all in nature.

I also agree that you'll need to start exploring your limits (and the bike's) on those fun backroads to begin to feel connected to it. In the city, you are just putting around usually and while that is decent seat time, it's not what riding is all about.
In urban traffic, any satisfaction I feel is being able to safely & smoothly navigate and not have any close calls, predicting other's movements and acting before reacting, all with a margin of safety, knowing you are ready for any emergency. This is more closely related to survival, and not real joy.

In the mountains, as you start experiencing good lean angles (most of the reason i ride!!), more aggressive acceleration and deceleration, choosing lines on the available roadway, and increasing corner speed, you then begin to feel the exhiliration. With experience you find that you are able to relax more and use your ever increasing skills and technique tools to be more involved with the nuances of riding, and spend less energy on the learning & nerve management aspect. You'll start to self-critique, and hopefully, seek out more info/education to keep improving your ability and confidence.

And then, there's always the relaxing ride on a beautiful day on a deserted country road where although you are still involved with the machine, you have enough attention left over to just enjoy the flowing feeling of bending into sweepers, while enjoying the scenery more.

Having ridden for 23 years, and gone through ~5 yrs of heavy track riding, I feel like I have plateaued in my skill. Yet I enjoy every ride. Just the feeling of getting on the bike and exploring, with as many corners thrown in there as I can manage. I can have whatever riding experience I want, based on my attitude and desire for the day.

As you said, as new as you are, you are still learning to make all these habits second nature. I think you'll enjoy the next level when you transition into it.

 

Yep all of the above, Would'nt trade all the great motorcycle memories for any amount of money. Live to Ride-Ride to Live...

 

Thanks for all the tips. The ride home was different from the ride in, I had some rain which I wasnt expecting nor wanted, but it wasnt as bad as I thought.
I will say that it is more work than I expected, I did feel it when I woke up this morning. Now, I rarely feel any of the previous day's bike ride effort in the morning. So I was a bit surprised, I figure its because of the large jump from longest motorcycle ride of 10miles to one of 50miles is the culprit. Today I am working from home, so the longest ride will be to the gas station to fill up for tomorrow's work commute.

I really do need to lower my bars though, the previous owner put risers on it, its putting me in a position, i just dont feel comfortable with, I am so use to be bent with the arms out front that on the VFR, when I bend forward to help on the highway, my hands are just too high. I was showing my vfr to a coworker who used to have a ducatti 996 but now has a BMW dual purpose, I was on the VFR and showed him where I felt the best with hand position, once he saw where I had my hands, much lower than where my bars are now, he said, thats where the bars are on the 996 or 748. I dont really have any plans to get a 748 as I just dont need the picky maintenance that comes along with it, I need something easy to maintain. But hopefully, I can get my bars back to where they were suposed to be or maybe a tad lower.
Kevin

 

On thing I have considered, and just am not sure if its a good Idea or not is using a clip on LED blinking light and attaching it to the back of me or my helmet, I am talking about the type of lights bicycle riders put on the back of their bikes for when they ride in dusk or dawn rides. Anyone have a thought about that? is it a good Idea or no?

I works for me. I bought a small round LED light thats pretty flat at REI for $15. Stuck it on the back of my helmet with sticky-back velcro for the times I have to ride home in the dark. Guys from work who ride behind me said it really stands out because of the head movement. I don't use the blink feature because I'm not sure how the LEOs would respond.

 

I commute year round on my bike. Daily commutes can be borish but since I am a field tech my commute differs. There are times I have to go to Ct or Pa from NYC and then come back into the City. Most of the guys have given the best of advice already. I do not have much fun commuting to work because I try to be extra careful since I gotta make it to where I am going and try not to get any tickets. I would suggest you get a spare set of warm waterproof gloves, rain suit, leather overpants, warm Textile waterproof jacket with lining and CE armour, good comfortable waterproof boots - double bubble windscreen also helps. Also, in cold weather make sure your helmet visor seals good and you have a helmet with good ventilation - a respro mask is a good idea in the winter. It is also good to have a nice tankbag and keep a cover at work for bad weather. I like having a alarmed disc lock with me also. Whenever you are riding alone in colder and bad weather try to keep a phone or something on you. Just my two cents - Be safe and enjoy.