On the Ride to Work
It was pure coincidence that I rode to work on Ride to Work Day. After two weeks off I left early enough for a leisurely commute and stopped to make one photograph during a small rustic detour. At 7:30am the temperature was already above seventy degrees. It was a near perfect ride to work.
Ride to Work Day
Only later in the day did I realize it was Ride to Work Day. Judging by the small number of motorcycles and scooters I saw on the road today it’s hard to imagine there being much traction to the idea of commuting on two wheels. There are a zillion practical reasons why commuting in a car or truck is the common choice while the perception of two-wheeled commuting is inconvenient and downright dangerous. And motorcycles and scooters are, well, toys.
As long as the machines we love are looked upon by much of the public, and our elected officials, as toys and recreational vehicles, we shouldn’t expect much in the way of support or respect. Perhaps the Ride to Work effort will add to the voices of riders in America.
I know there are a few things I would like to see happen. Selfish things. Traffic lights that respond to a scooter. Paint used for road lines that doesn’t become slippery when wet. Parking spaces for motorcycles so I don’t feel bad taking up an entire space with my scoot.
Just to name a few.
Right on…no slip paint…yup
Light changing sensors that respond to two wheeled vehicles…yup
Parking spaces…not necessarily…let em bitch…helps them remember there are other vehicles out there…especially when you take a good one…
or slide effortlessly into a parallel parking spot…while an oversized SUV ties up traffic during their pathetic attempt to dock.
Ride on
On campus, we’re not allowed to park in spaces for cars and trucks. Only moto spaces of which there are far too few. In town there are plenty of free motorcycle spaces and you can park in regular spaces for a dollar an hour…
The loop detectors built into the road detect iron. I don’t have a problem with that on my Chinese Helix. It’s made from cast iron. It’s a problem for lightweight, exotic alloyed European products.
I think the best would be an option for cars that seeks out motorcycles with the new distance radar some have that then yells, “A motorcycle is nearby” Hapless drivers would no longer be able to say, “I didn’t see him.”
What a great idea — having the smart car systems warn of motorcycle riders. I wonder if the current vehicle avoidance systems in those cars sense motorcycles now when approaching on the freeway or doing a lane change?
This IS funny: as a freelancer, my work schedule is quite sporadic, and while I’ve relocated to New Jersey, about 95% of my clients reside across the river in Gotham. Normally, I make the short trip to the NJ Transit station here in Asbury Park by cab, a lift from Sig. Other, or, if it’s nice out and I get out of the house soon enough, walking. Yesterday, however, I had an important (non-work-related) phone session that required me to stagger my work day by a few hours, which I was reluctant to do, and was especially pissed when the other party had forgotten about session, which sort of left me dangling, because now the next convenient train I could grab was not in Asbury, but at the connecting station in Long Branch, 8 miles away, and Sig. Other was already off in her car to her workout session. What to do? Grab my tech bag, jacket, helmet, gloves and keys, and for the very first time do the park-and-ride thing on Melody. “Ride-to-Work Day?” Who knew? Not I.
Heading off to Gotham again today, but Sig. Other is heading the same way, so I’m leaving the driving to her this time. But it’s going to rain later today anyway. Which reminds me – Melody’s tank is nearly dry, and I need to run an errand. Going for gas right now.
Life certainly gets complicated between work and transportation. Put it in a metro area and it’s even more puzzling. Reading your comments I had to smile at the end when you talked about going for gas on the scooter. It seemed the high point of your day!
Ah, forgot to mention: Asbury Park has lots of PTW-specific parking in and around the downtown area, which is relatively cheap except during Summer (they’re not total dummies at City Hall), so if you ride, at least you’re acknowledged in these parts.
As I’ve said as a cyclist in Gotham, all I ask for is a tad more situational awareness from everybody , on four wheels, two wheels or no wheels; early-warning gadgets are cool, but like certain other safety devices they can lull the operator of the vehicle into a false sense of security, and unfortunately enhance a outsized sense of entitlement. To borrow a line from a famous old cop show, let’s all be careful out there.
Awareness on the road is essential. And it’s often overlooked.
I second the missive, “Let’s all be careful out there”.
I’d like to see buttons on our handlebars to allow us to ZAP distracted drivers into the netherworld.
BWAHAHAHA
That’s funny. I’ve actually wished for, imagined, and dreamed about a device that I could point at another vehicle and have their engine seize.
Man, I would straighten out the highways of America!!!
I’d love to see more motorcycle/scoot parking at public transit spots. I largely use mine when I’m not feeling up for the bike ride, but things tend to fill up after a certain hour. Given our relative packing density, I’m surprised that restriping a few spots isn’t a no-brainer.
Re-striping is easy. Giving up a car space isn’t. They worry about all those cold months when the spaces are largely empty.
Until there are a lot more two-wheelers commuting to work I don’t think we’ll see any dramatic changes.
Thanks for the link to the article. It was a fun read.
I didn’t ride to work on Monday. But didn’t drive or walk either…
Ah, the life of a retiree…
I was going to ride to work on Monday, but got stopped in my tracks by an epic episode of insomnia, I stared at the ceiling, walls, and clocks until 4:30am and up by 7, so just wasn’t feeling the moto groove.
Funny how waking tired can wreck the riding desire. I don’t suffer from insomnia but poor choices can have me waking with three or four hours of sleep. On those mornings the van seems like an extension of the bed…
All I really want is for the drivers to actually Drive their vehicles properly. If it could be somehow hardwired into drivers heads that they are piloting a multi-ton land-bound cruise missile that can, will, and has killed perhaps more actual paying attention and less fiddling about with electronic devices would happen.
Failing that…maybe if I could wave a magic wand and strip all the ‘nothing can happen to me’ safety gizmos out perhaps then they would pay attention to what they are doing.
/sigh…not likely, eh?
Wouldn’t that be nice if drivers were actually good drivers.
I don’t think any amount of gizmos, training or wishing will transform selfish, self-centered people into good anything. That’s a transformation of self-enlightenment that can only come from within. Sadly, for many I fear, it may never come.
Perhaps we’re looking at the goal wrong. Instead of people becoming better drivers, maybe we should hope people become more kind to each other. Out of kindness everything might just fall into place…