Year 'Round Commuters

[Eric L]

OK on my 22 mile each way commute down to about 20 degrees. But ice and snow put me in the cage.

in coldest weather, I am in the roadcrafter and heated gear.

 

[Fred W]

I commute everyday roughly 35' from my kitchen up to my office over the garage. But the bikes are sitting underneath me in that garage so does that count?

More to the point, I don't know if I would commute on a bike year round, or even in the best of weather, if I had one to make. I drive in my car (company supplied, so I have to use it) any time I'm on the road for work. With the ridiculous antics I see commuter drivers making all the time around here, I'm pretty sure that I would not want to be involved in that on a 2 wheeler, even for a daily adrenaline boost. Maybe it's a better deal elsewhere?

Now, if we remove the "commute" requirement and just talk about being silly stupid and riding a motorbike in all kinds of weather, then I'm your man. For the past two years (I know, not so long) I have resisted the urge to hibernate and just kept riding on the days that look like they are nice. Of course that means getting caught out in ice and snow (rain is a given) occasionally, but that risk seems well worth the rewards of those crazy great days in mid-February riding down the dry, but salty road with a reckless grin plastered across your face.

 

[DennisJ]

Ice, snow and frost stop me from my Mercer Island - Redmond (by City Hall) commute. Otherwise I ride. I don't like to start out from home in the rain but will do it when the urge is strong enough. Seattle area weather can change dramatically in a short distance, especially as you get further north into the convergence zone where it is hard to predict what is going to happen except is usually not good.

 

[PhilJet09]

I ride all year.

 

[majicmaker]

I don't "commute". My hangar is at the FXE Executive Airport in Ft Lauderdale. I don't go down there anymore. I manage everything by phone. I live in west palm beach. When I do have to go somewhere and knock out an inspection, I ride my FJR 99% of the time from my house. All of my equipment is small enough to fit in the side bags. Does that count as "commuting"?

P.S. I do that all year long. Winters are the best!

 

[escapefjrtist]

I ride year around as long as there's no snow and ice...'zat count? Work is only 17 miles away, about 22 minutes door to door but not very bike friendly. In the winter it's dark both ways, lots of critters most mornings (three deer this AM) and then there's the convergence zone. It generally sits right on top of my house.

Riding around the PNW can be sketchy, in one neighborhood would be fine go 5-10 miles and it can be totally different, freezing fog and black ice in the shady areas, inversion convergence zone up North.

No $hit...I can have 6" of snow at the house and just a few miles north or south there's nothing...makes for fun times!

--G

 

[Bungie]

Ya, no. I'd be dodging mooses with their tongues frozen to the road (those damn things love salt!) or getting molested by a polar bear waiting at a set of lights.

That's assuming I could get the Feej started at -40C.

 

[FJRBluesman]

I commute year round, but SoCal isn't much of a challenge in the winter.

 

[saread]

I walk out the door every morning and look up. If I get rain in my face I take the cage. Then I look down, if there's snow and/or ice, I take the cage. Otherwise it's the default: FJR.

 

[SeattleTy]

I ride year round. I leave my house around 7 A.M from Kent, WA to the University of Washington in Seattle (25 miles), get out of school around 3 P.M. and off to work in Auburn, WA (35 Miles), get off work at Midnight and head home Kent,WA (10 miles).

My total day commute is approximately 70 miles ranging from 1.5 hours to 2 hours depending on traffic conditions. Without the privilege of the car pool lane during these travel time, it could easily be 3 hours plus driving a car, another big advantage to riding a motorcycle is parking is much more convenient and navigation through rush hour traffic is less time consuming.

One thing I realized about living in the Northwest is it's going to rain a lot. I seldom check the weather report and make riding in the rain a normal part of my day. It's a little bizarre, I guess I've learned to not let the rain prevent me from riding. For me, the rain improves your riding skills and helps you appreciate the nice weather when its comes.

As far as warm weather gear goes. Since it rains hear a lot, I always have a lager light rain jacket over what I am wearing underneath. It helps keeps me dry and keeps my jacket underneath clean. If its really cold like in the 20's, I wear a Gerbing battery operated sweat jacket under my Gerbing heated liner jacket, attached to a Gerbing heated glove. I also gear up with Gerbing's Extreme heated pants with heated socks,riding cold is miserableness and can diffidently ruin a ride. In the winter I prefer to use my Rifle windshield vs. my V Stream, it shields the cold weather significantly better.

Even though my day is 18 hours long, riding a motorcycle makes it feel like its only 12 hours because the amount joy I finding in riding. Its my time to relax, listen to music and watch the landscape change each day during the 4 seasons we have here in the Northwest.

I feel very blessed that I live in a part of the U.S. that I can ride year round.

 

[FJR Flyer]

Commute year round. Global warming has made the DC area winters pretty uneventful, aside from the rare 'snowmaggeddon'. 30 miles door to door, lowest I've seen on the bike has been 16 deg F. Have hit that several times.

 

[El Toro Joe]

I also ride all year...as long as the roads are passable on the bike.

 

[Lauren_TK]

I'm lucky that my commute is 6.4 miles . . . round trip. Although we're moving in February, and my commute will become 20 miles one way.

Having said that, I live right under the convergence zone. I've got good rain gear. I can put on enough layers that I'm rarely cold.

Riding the bike daily is one of the things I always look forward to. I hate the days like today where the bike is up on the lift for maintenance. I'll get the work finished up tomorrow morning, but it made a bummer of a start for Friday.

 

[AVGeek]

I live in Phoenix...and don't own a car or truck currently...

 

[bhendron]

Another Phoenix-metro resident here. I ride to/from work everyday. I look forward to it everyday. The three or so months of 100+ degrees everyday can be a drag and a real test of ATGATT, but it's still worth it.

 

[dcarver]

I'm 50 miles one way. Ride 90% of the time. Used to be 100% but now I have a $500 commuter car. Only time I don't ride is it's been raining alot - the dirt road gets snotty and/or if it's fog to the ground. I have a fear of getting clocked from the 6.

 

[luvtoride]

My favorite wet weather riding strategy: Waving @ the Harley riders hunkered under the overpasses in the pouring rain as I ride by jamming to tunes.

 

[frankenfeejeer]

I ride year round. I leave my house around 7 A.M from Kent, WA to the University of Washington in Seattle (25 miles), get out of school around 3 P.M. and off to work in Auburn, WA (35 Miles), get off work at Midnight and head home Kent,WA (10 miles).
My total day commute is approximately 70 miles ranging from 1.5 hours to 2 hours depending on traffic conditions. Without the privilege of the car pool lane during these travel time, it could easily be 3 hours plus driving a car, another big advantage to riding a motorcycle is parking is much more convenient and navigation through rush hour traffic is less time consuming.

One thing I realized about living in the Northwest is it's going to rain a lot. I seldom check the weather report and make riding in the rain a normal part of my day. It's a little bizarre, I guess I've learned to not let the rain prevent me from riding. For me, the rain improves your riding skills and helps you appreciate the nice weather when its comes.

As far as warm weather gear goes. Since it rains here a lot, I always have a lager light rain jacket over what I am wearing underneath. It helps keeps me dry and keeps my jacket underneath clean. If its really cold like in the 20's, I wear a Gerbing battery operated sweat jacket under my Gerbing heated liner jacket, attached to a Gerbing heated glove. I also gear up with Gerbing's Extreme heated pants with heated socks,riding cold is miserableness and can diffidently ruin a ride. In the winter I prefer to use my Rifle windshield vs. my V Stream, it shields the cold weather significantly better.

Even though my day is 18 hours long, riding a motorcycle makes it feel like its only 12 hours because the amount joy I finding in riding. Its my time to relax, listen to music and watch the landscape change each day during the 4 seasons we have here in the Northwest.

I feel very blessed that I live in a part of the U.S. that I can ride year round.

This is just about my day verbatim.

100 miles per day roundtrip. The weather doesn't keep me from riding at all. In fact, about this time of year I begin to miss the pitter patter of rain on my helmet and fighting the fog in my facemask. Ice is about the only ride killer I have encountered. Snow is ok as long as there are good ruts in the roads to ride in

This year will be the first year I don't ride over the winter, but that's due to reconstructive shoulder surgery next week, not the weather.

Get out there!! It's fun to battle the weather!!

 

[NW Jeff]

Let's put it this way. If I have to drive the car to the airport (because of snow or ice), you do not want to fly with me that day.

Luckily it's not everyday that I do the 40mi one-way to KSEA too.