Achievement Unlocked: Rode to Work

Rode to work on the bike for the first time on Tuesday. It wasn't completely smooth, but I made it. I left early to try to beat the traffic. That worked out decently well. I avoided some, but not all the traffic.

The whole trip was about 14 miles each way. Three major streets, and 2-3 smaller streets in between. The 3 major streets all had a max speed of about 50 mph in certain parts. Two involved decent hills, and all were very busy. I had to sit in traffic on the way to work and on the way back ( with the way back being much worse). I lucked out a few times, in that when I got to an intersection, it was either green, or just happened to have no traffic at that instant.

Good:

• Engaging: Because I'm riding to work, the whole trip has your full attention. Whereas if I was driving, I'd basically just be annoyed at the traffic, or hoping to find a path to get to where I'm going as quickly as possible, when you're riding your thinking of everything all the time. This keeps you very alert, and its never boring. 
• Riding: After all is said and done, I'm riding to and from work on a motorcycle. That's pretty cool no matter which way you cut it. 

Bad:

• Heat: Even though it was a cool morning, by the time I got to work I was still decently sweaty. Same for the trip home. It had rained a bit, and cooled down, but having to sit in traffic, I was in need of a shower by the time I got home. Any warmer and I might not have been able to get home!
• Traffic: Sitting in traffic is horrid. The normal annoyances of being in traffic, plus no AC, plus having to feather the clutch and throttle, plus making sure not to get run over by inattentive drivers. I now know why motorcycles all seem to filter to the front of the line during red lights. Its not just to avoid waiting, its to keep themselves cool (by moving), its almost necessary. The slow meandering in first gear is much easier to do than the constant stop and go required for siting in traffic. I'll have to learn this skill soon.
• Versatility: I had to walk to get lunch, simply because it wasn't worth riding. Bringing the food back to work would have been difficult, even if I brought the backpack. Having a mesh of some sort might have helped the situation, but having to ride through the area just for food was still a chore. Walking to lunch resulted in me being sweatier from the walk than the ride to work!

All in all I had fun riding to work. Its different, and I have much much to learn still. I'm not sure if I'll ride to work again this week. The earliest I'd be able to is friday possibly. But with the amount of work needed, and me possibly having to stay late, I might not have the energy to ride back home.