National Ride your Motorcycle to Work Day

I noticed a few more motorcycles on the road to work this morning, and when I pulled into the parking garage, the area reserved for motorcycle parking was nearly full (there are usually only 3-5 bikes down there on most mornings).

I’d almost forgotten that today is National Ride to Work Day.

Of course for me and thousands of others, everyday is ride your motorcycle to work day.

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The Ride to Work organization advocates and supports the use of motorcycles for transportation, and provides information about transportation riding to the public.

Ride to Work.org has a list of reasons to ride to work today:

I have ridden my motorcycle to work today because:

• Riding to work is fun
• Riding to work reduces traffic and parking congestion
• Riding to work uses less fuel than an automobile
• Riding to work leaves me alert and energized
• Riding to work results in less pollution than commuting in a larger vehicle
• Riding to work is less destructive to road surfaces, bridges, etc.
• Riding to work gets me to work (and back home) faster
• Riding to work demonstrates motorcycles as a social good

To that list I would add:

• I rode to work today because I ride to work almost everyday.

Anyway…to all of you cagers out there — pay attention to the motorcycles around you. Not just today, but everyday. Most motorcycle accidents are not caused by careless riding, but rather by an idiot or unaware cager.

Here are some things that you, as a cager, can do to make motorcycle transportation safer for the motorcyclists around you:

• Turn off that damned cell phone. Or at least get a hands free device. When your phone is pressed to your left ear, your phone and your entire forearm blocks your entire peripheral vision on your left side. Which means that you won’t see me when you decide to switch lanes into my motorcycle.
• Look in your rearview mirror. If you see a motorcycle, please do not use your windshield wiper washers while we are riding behind you. Wiper fluid tastes like ass and messes up my goggles. And be careful what you throw out your window — not only is it littering (illegal), but if your cigarette butt hits me in the face, I will follow your car until you stop, and then I will pull you out of the drivers seat by your ears and beat you about the face.
• Don’t tailgate. If you rear end another car who had to unexpectedly stomp on his breaks, most likely you’ll both end up on the side of the road swapping insurance info before you both drive away. If you rear end me on my bike, you’ll probably kill me. If you don’t, I’ll probably try to kill you when I pick myself up off of the pavement.
• Use your turn signals. Always.
• Do not pull out in front of a motorcycle. If you can see me coming, than I am way too close for you to pull out in front of me. Wait an extra couple of seconds for me to pass.

I’m still a little miffed that their is a huge tax credit for people who purchase and drive hybird cars. My motorcycle gets at least as good of as mileage as the best of hybrids (I get 53 mpg on my bike consistently), and leaves a significantly smaller “carbon footprint” during the manufacturing process and the life of the vehicle. And yet, I don’t qualify for the same tax credit.

It’s a load of shit (actually, I’m not advocating that motorcycles get the tax credit. I’m advocating that hybrid owners don’t get it. The government shouldn’t be subsidizing our purchasing decisions.)

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