Reminder: Ride to Work Day
Hey folks, this is just a reminder that next Wednesday, July 19th is Ride to Work Day.
If you visit the parent site for this blog, you know all about this, of course. However, for those of you who don’t, RTW Day is all about showing our presence out on the roads, making people aware of how many of us ride, and giving them food for thought on the future of their own commuting modes.
On motorbikes, we have a smaller footprint in traffic, we use less gas, we pollute less, we cause less wear and tear on the roads… the list goes on. If you haven’t already, please visit the main Ride to Work site for more info.
This weekend…
Tonight I will be prepping Frogwing for an expedition into the Iron Range country of northern Minnesota. My cousin Eric Lexvold lives in Chisholm, MN, and he is going to guide me on a ride around some of his favorite roads up there. Yes, he is the same Eric whose blog is linked on the sidebar here. Frogwing and I will be spending the weekend with him and his bike Gypsy. It should be fun for you all to read the duelling blog entries when I return home.
That’s all I have for now… hope to see all of you out on the road next Wednesday.
July 13th, 2006 at 8:07 am
“On motorbikes, we have a smaller footprint in traffic, we use less gas, we pollute less, we cause less wear and tear on the roads… ” and we need to be allowed to filter. Legalise filtering for all!
July 13th, 2006 at 9:07 am
Mad: Hear, hear! I completely agree. Maybe if enough of us get out there on the 19th, it will give some impetus to several “lane-sharing”, or filtering bills now before various legislative bodies. Maybe…
I find I have less and less faith in our so-called government these days. The democratic process has been corrupted to the point of irrelevance, and the apathy of the average citizen is completely to blame. We still get exactly the government we deserve.
If The People don’t educate themselves and get involved in their government soon, we are in for some very dark days indeed.
Ride well,
=gc=
July 13th, 2006 at 9:25 pm
“we pollute less”
Um, I wouldn’t be so sure about that. As I understand it, until very recently EPA emissions standards for motorcycles hadn’t been updated since 1981. There are new regulations in the last couple years, which is why more bikes have catalytic converters these days, but most older bikes put out far more smog pollutants than even a large SUV.
July 14th, 2006 at 6:22 am
Andrew: Are you sure you thought this through completely? When you consider pollution output, you also have to think about volume, which is directly related to engine displacement. While pollutants are measured in parts per million (ppm), you must realize that cars, and especially SUVs, put out many more millions of these “parts” than does the average motorcycle.
Of course, there are bound to be exceptions to the rule, with the ever-increasing displacement of engines in some classes of motorbike. But by-and-large, the motorbikes used for commuting are going to pollute less than the average automotive alternative.
Thanks for writing, and…
Ride well
=gc=
July 14th, 2006 at 11:55 am
Wow. I stepped away for a few days and you throw three new great entries in there!
The ice cream run with Emily sounded like a really good time. There really IS something to be said for those scooters, huh?
And I really liked the entry about your own personal independence day. Those are the kind of rides that I live for… just exploring and not really having a plan or a destination.
And of course, thanks for the shameless plug of my blog! I’ve been pretty bad at updating mine this summer too. The riding has been just too good to sit at the computer. I do have a sad confession to make. I actually washed Gypsy the other day in anticipation of the ride this weekend. Oh the shame… at least I didn’t make it rain! Nothing wrong with some road grime to show the world that you’ve been out there enjoying it, instead of sitting at home polishing the ride. But that firecracker red paint sure looks nice when you can actually see it too.
Anyway, see ya later tonight. I know for a fact, that the mexican place over in Virginia is calling our names.
Later,
EHL
July 14th, 2006 at 8:19 pm
I’ll be out there riding and advocating for more two-wheeled riders. Having spent the vast majority of my life commuting by four-wheeled machines I can say I wish I would have made the decision to ride by two-wheels long ago.
Less enviromental and economic impact is one reason but for me the injection of a joy and passion into my life is the real payoff. Life shines brighter on two-wheels!
steve
July 15th, 2006 at 7:16 am
I am a STRONG ADVOCATE of ride to work day. There would be so much less congestion and traffic would flow so much better. I think a lot of riders are afraid to commute for fear of getting injured or killed, at least in my neck of the woods. And on that note, I like what the ama is doing, regarding pushing for stricter penalties in the case of a injured rider.
later
jim
July 17th, 2006 at 3:05 pm
I’ve been enjoying this blog since last winter. I figured that it was about time that I chime in. I am an equal opportunity two-wheel rider. Today was my first day of commuting via motorcycle, but I have been commuting via scooter (Honda Metropolitan) and bicycle for a while. The scooter and MC prove to be my favorite means of transport. The bicycle is great, but you think a MC doesn’t get respect… just try decreasing your imprint even further.
Keep the rambling coming and thanks for the encouragement!
July 17th, 2006 at 4:57 pm
Well, looks like you folks have been busy while I was gone…
Eric: What can I say here that I won’t say in the next entry? Thanks again for a wonderful weekend.
Steve: “Life shines brighter on two-wheels!” -Indeed.
I couldn’t have said it better myself.
Jim: Yes, things are a bit more dangerous here in the USA. That, I think, is because so much of people’s ego is tied up in what they drive and how they drive it. They feel safe behind their steel and glass armor, enough to pull all sorts of jack-assery that they wouldn’t dare on a more exposed vehicle.
SAM: Thanks for writing in! I know about the hazards of bicycling, as I raced mountain bikes for a bit in the late eighties, in California, and I commuted by bicycle year-round for awhile in the early nineties. Yes, it can be nerve-wracking, but then that’s where I developed my comfort with going off-road whenever the situation demanded it.
How do you like your Metro? I know you can’t go wrong with a Honda…
Ride well,
=gc=
July 17th, 2006 at 11:49 pm
Gary: I know it is very surprising, but yes, the average motorcycle produces three to fourteen times more smog pollutants per km than the average car. It’s only because there are relatively so few on the road that their impact is considered negligible. Here’s an Environment Canada tidbit: http://tinyurl.com/n2kz6
A detailed EPA document on the topic: http://tinyurl.com/ej7tx
“today’s (2003) motorcycles produce more harmful emissions per mile than driving a car or even a large sport utility vehicle (SUV).”
A shocking example they give is a 2002 Ford Expedition 4×4 which produces 0.15g/mile of hydrocarbons vs a 2002 Yamaha YZF-R6 which produces a whopping 4.19g/mile. The 2003 YZF added fuel injection and a cat converter, but is still several times the emissions of the Expedition.
I feel guilt every time I fire up my 1975 Honda, but at least I can feel ok about it being better than a car in terms of global warming.
Keep up the good writing.
July 18th, 2006 at 2:20 pm
Gary, prior to my motored wheels it was my Gary Fisher mountain bikes that quenched my need for two-wheeled fun. I really enjoy a great single track mountain bike trail or a good urban trials session!
The Metro is a lot of fun to ride at 25 mph. We can’t fault the 90 to 100 mpg it gets. The battery seems to be the only weakness to-date.
We bought the bike used earlier this summer. It has sat in the shop the last couple weeks waiting for a new battery to be delivered. We tried to buy a battery for it at Batteries Plus only be be told two weeks after ordering it that they wouldn’t order it. Something about them having to order 500 lbs of batteries at a time from the distributor. Sounds to me like they need a new distributor. The Honda dealerships don’t even carry the battery. It worked for a while on the old run down battery, but now we’ve been without “Scoot” for more than two weeks. Grr.
On a side note, I took the Suzi GR 650 from my apartment in Roseville to White Bear Lake and then to Stillwater last night. Great ride, I’m loving this ugly old bike. It rides great.