Quit Your Whining about Gas $$$$$$!!!!

American's continue to drive gas guzzling automobiles and then whine and complain when fuel prices sky rocket.  We sold our least fuel efficient car ( a PT Cruiser, not a Hummer), kept our Scion (30MPG +/- around town) and switched the bulk of our driving to motorcycles.  Yes, the prices still hurt, but even though our daily commute has dramatically risen, fuel prices are an inconvenience and not a crisis.  Still, America does nothing to combat our dependance on oil.  On a daily basis just over 1/10 of 1% of the population commutes on motorcycles or scooters (.11%).  I propose that the US government make driving more motorcycle friendly to encourage more drivers to communte on two wheels whenever possible.  Here are some incnentives I propose to encourage more riders:

• eliminate tolls for motorcycles:  allow us to travel for free on toll roads
• allow lane splitting in all 50 states:  California currently allows this and it works well, why sit in traffic when you can still move?
• provide a large number of motorcycle only parking spots closest to public buildings
• allow motorcycles to have a 10 mile per hour higher speed limit, nothing is worse in traffic for a motorcyclist than having tailgaters riding up on you
• enforce displacement restrictions on new riders
• eliminate fuel tax for motorcycle use until motorcycles ridership makes up 20% of the total daily commuting traffic
• stop passing legislation that hurts all riders to punish squid behavior:  sometimes a wheelie is just as incidental as chirping your cars tires and is no more unsafe, let cops use their discretion.

I know that politicians will worry about the loss of revenue from fuel tax, however, think of the savings that will occur from fewer road repairs.  Motorcycles would ease congestion saving time and fuel.  Keeping traffic moving reduces the amount of polution being pumped into the atmosphere.  Think about it, more motorcycles could go a long way in helping us combat the dependency on fuel.  To make it even better, we can do it TODAY for very little cost (actually what I propose will actually save money).  High speed rail?  Come on!!  It will cost BILLIONS, take years to implement, and no one will ride it.  Think about it.

Family Affair

Here we are as fam in the Waterford Lakes Town Center.  We LOVE riding together as a family.  The freedom of hitting the open road together is exhilarating.

Sugarloaf Mountain

A couple of week ago my wife and I went for a ride near Apopka. I'd heard that the Sugarloaf Mountain ride was nice. Imagine my suprise when we rode through an area that had the above signage. What was even more suprising was that it was accurate. It is the highest point in central Florida and the road is both curvey and hilley for about 10 miles. It more than lives up to its reputation. Definately a ride worth taking.

Beating the cold.

This weekend two mornings in the 40s. At 40 plus MPH on a 30 minute commute that is COLD!! The answer is to be found in two words: thermal underwear.

SOLD

The PT is gone! Yeah, I sold it about a month ago so it's for real now. I only drove it one time in the last 3 months, but still, it was there if I 'needed' it.

It's been a while since I last posted. Now that I've been at it for a few months (about 8,000 miles put on the 2 motorcycles by my wife and me) here are a few of my thoughts on riding daily :

• Monkey butt solved with Under Armour compression shorts on longish rides.
• Stinky helmet solved with 1) a new helmet, and 2) lysol spray on days I sweat. Turns out its bacteria that makes the stink and Lysol kills it. My old helmet is back to smelling fresh, but I don't wear it much as my new one is much lighter and has a built in sun shield.
• If your going to ride everyday be prepared to spend the money in order to get the right gear, if you're uncomfortable, you can't ride safely.
• Maintenance is more expensive on a motorcycle. tires replaced every 5 thousand miles or so - these are expensive. The good news is you only have 2 tires. Oil changes are about the same as a car. I do these myself. You need to tighten the chains every 1,000 miles or so. The point is, motorcycling uses less fuel and insurance is cheaper, but overall it is not dramatically cheaper.
• Riding is a great way to destress at the end of the day: no one can bother you while you are riding, it's just you and your thoughts.
• Rain riding is a great experience with the proper gear.
• Plan ahead for shopping as you can't carry much while riding. This has led to an unexpected bonus - much lower grocery bills.
• Leave early and arrive early - depending on the weather it will take 2 - 5 extra minutes to suit up and un suit. Once you have this down, you find that you are seldom rushed and this adds to the low stress.
• The more you ride, the more comfortable you get with the handling of your motorcycle. I now feel at one with the Nighthawk. I've ridden it for over 8,000 miles. I think you need about 10,000 miles on a motorcycle before you really 'know' it and can read all the feedback it gives you.
• Our fuel bill is really low (under $50 a week and we travel about 100 miles a day during the week between the two of us).

HOT!!

I've been riding everyday now for about a month. The most difficult challenge has not turned out to be the rain, but the heat. We ride everywhere. Now that my wife is getting more comfortable, we take the kids everywhere on our bikes. Last Monday (Memorial Day) we rode to Okeechobe and back. Nice ride down, but on the way back, we rode through pouring rain for 90 miles. It was miserable, especially for the kids. Since then, we have invested in rain suits for all which we put to good use yesterday afternoon on the ride home from I-drive.

The greatest challenge is the heat. The high heat (103 index yesterday) makes you sweat. A LOT. This, combined with rain and high Florida humidity leads to some unpleasent issues: namely stinky helmet and monkey butt. Stinky helmet I think we have solved (FYI: normal Febreze and air drying does NOT work.) I'll let you know when I have evidence for a permanent solution. Since the safety course, my wife insists that I wear jeans and a riding jacket whenever I'm riding. This combined with the heat has created some serious monky butt. Still working on this one. If you don't know what it is, look it up. Just know that it can make riding very uncomfortable. Here in Central Florida if you ride in the summer you are going to sweat heavily and often, so might as well get used to it.

O well, I knew daily riding would bring its set of challenges, but so far I'm still in it for good. The positives far outweigh the negatives.

Rode to church today. Very nice! It's great to ride with my wife. She's doing awesome!!