Topic: Commuting on antiques

[snarferer]

I commute every single day on my little '73 CB350F.  It makes going to work a million times less painful.  Well.... I have to wake up and deal with misery  , but I get to ride there  Sometimes 10 miles each way (to work 5x a week) and 25 miles each way (to school 2x a week)  No windshield, fairing, etc.  People think I'm nuts taking my little girl out in all weather conditions.  (for me and the bike)  Who else is "crazy" like me.

[bunghole]

I wish I could ride everywhere.  I just haven't figured out a good way to do it because I have to wear my yuppie uniform to work.  I've thought about changing at the office, but that would be cumbersome.  I do ride Thursdays and Fridays, so at least I have that.

[Gordon]

In most cases, as long as there's not snow on the roads I'm riding.  The ones who look at me like I'm a freak just don't get it and never will, so I don't bother trying to explain.   

[mlinder]

I don't own a car. I ride every day. Rain or shine.
I wish my 350 was up and running with the current gas prices.

[greenjeans]

I'm a fair weather commuter.....don't mind the cold or heat as I have a relatively short easy commute - 3 miles.
On nicer days, I turn it into a 10 mile commute

[silentone]

I commute on my 77 550k about 8 miles each way, 5 days a week.  Seeing as my wife works 1/2 mile from the home, we're saving a decent amount of money in gas by me taking the bike to work ($4.40 - $4.80 per gallon for regular, depending on the side of town).  I also try to take it on any errands I need to run.

I prefer not to ride in rain (not that we get much here in Cali) and snow isn't something we've had since January of 99.  The worst we get is wind, which really can suck at times.

[Wayne Meuir]

I'm retired now, but for the last 20 year I worked, I rode to work every day as long as it was not raining when I got ready to leave home or the temp was below 20F.  Most of that time I was riding a big touring bike and weather protection was pretty good.  I still ride 12-14K miles a year and I have not been on but one week-end road trip since I retired in 2001, so all those miles are around town running errands and such.
I try to ride every bike I have that will run every week, right now, that is 4 bikes.

Wayne

[my78k]

Well my commute is about 40kms each way and I commute into the city where there is CRAZY traffic. I just can't handle sitting on the highway sucking exhaust fumes at a snail's pace for 1.5 to 2 hours each way!!! 99.9% of the time I take the commuter train in (helps that my work pays the $75 a week for the ticket!)

When I am working an afternoon shift to see my afternoon techs or night techs I ride in but that is about it...

Dennis

[smccloud]

if my baby was running, i would be riding it.  51 miles one way to work right now.  thankfully, i can "borrow" my dad's '79 750 to ride.

[WFO]

I go to work at 4:00 am so there is zero traffic and it's pretty cool to get off at 12:30 go home change and go for a 30 mile cruise up to the mountains and back, since i got my bike 3 and half weeks ago i have logged close to 1000 miles  . Now with gas prices the way they are it used to cost me 30 bucks a week in gas (just to go to work) now it costs about 5 bucks and 10 bucks to fill her up and i get about 180 miles out of a tank (me likey)

[joecool14u2]

i ride everyday, i swapped my fourwheeler for a '76 honda cb 550 k model, it had not run in 15 years, i had to rebuild nearly everything, that was February, since i have put 7000 miles on it, ride to work and every where else my truck blew engine and no money to fix it  

[medic09]

As long as there was no ice on the roads, I was doing about 130 miles round trip 5 days a week for about 2 years.  I don't have to commute anymore like that, but I would!  A bike is for riding. 

[MosquitoJones]

If it's above freezing and not snowing, I will ride.  I usually end up parking the bike from Dec - Feb.  Not too shabby.  I have a very short commute though (3 miles).  Right now my car needs work before it can pass inspection, so the bike is my only source of transportation.

[mattcb350f]

I commute every single day on my little '73 CB350F. 

I take mine 30 miles to the college every day that it's not raining.

I don't even enjoy driving the car now 

 Matt.

[Ryan 550k]

I don't own a car anymore.  My 78 550 is my main transport.  I ride 5 miles to work 4 -5 days a week and everywhere else I can!

[Tim.]

I can't claim to riding everyday rain or shine, but I do ride regularly to work.  It's 22 miles each way, and some of it on the 401, the busiest highway in Canada.  Doing the ton is pretty normal on a daily basis on my 1975 BMW R75/6.

My route:

http://maps.google.com/maps?f=d&hl=en&geocode=1641653836940574457,43.644870,-79.456240%3B3703410921976772557,43.634746,-79.439682%3B18176221661265300155,43.631695,-79.431400%3B15138293168539543918,43.630888,-79.417094%3B9096783195548871508,43.638385,-79.392515&saddr=235+Fairview+Ave,+Toronto,+ON,+Canada&daddr=Parkside+Dr+%4043.644870,+-79.456240+to:Lake+Shore+Blvd+W+%4043.634746,+-79.439682+to:Lake+Shore+Blvd+W+%4043.631695,+-79.431400+to:Lake+Shore+Blvd+W+%4043.630888,+-79.417094+to:Lake+Shore+Blvd+W+%4043.638385,+-79.392515+to:43.643281,-79.37562+to:200+Consilium+Pl,+Scarborough,+ON,+Canada&mra=dpe&mrcr=0&mrsp=6&sz=14&via=1,2,3,4,5,6&doflg=ptm&sll=43.641479,-79.390039&sspn=0.052548,0.102224&ie=UTF8&ll=43.712805,-79.351158&spn=0.209942,0.408897&z=12

More common these days as yesterday on my way home (actually to a motorcycle parts place ) my 10 year old Civic's engine committed hari-kari.  Seized right up.  It's being replaced (the engine) as we speak.  I take the subway some days as well, but it takes 1 1/4 hours each way.

[GraveRobber]

Had a bus driver yell at me one day. "Hey, what year is that!"  Cool!

[psykod]

For me it's 20 miles a day each way on my '77 550F. 200 miles a week.  Not only do I save on gas, but I save at least 30 minutes each way in Dallas rush hour traffic by using the HOV lane (Not to mention the frustration).

[my78k]

Tin Tin, where do you work??? I used to work at Borough Dr right next to the Town Centre....you aren't one of those damned government workers are ya??? 

Dennis

[OldSchool_IsCool]

I wish I could ride everywhere.  I just haven't figured out a good way to do it because I have to wear my yuppie uniform to work.  I've thought about changing at the office, but that would be cumbersome.  I do ride Thursdays and Fridays, so at least I have that.

Bung,

I have the same issue, not easy to keep dress pants clean, 'zpecally with sohc/4 oil leaks!  But I found a solution.  I got a pair of over-sized nylon wind breaker pants at Dunham's.  They slip over my dress pants easily, even with riding boots on.  They keep my pants clean as does my oversized leather jacket keeps my shirt in good shape.  I did have to pin up the rear of the pant hem to keep it from dragging on the ground as I walked into the building.

[mattcb350f]

Doing the ton is pretty normal on a daily basis on my 1975 BMW R75/6.

The metric ton? 

[aaronk]

I commute 40 miles a day to work on my bike every day that it's not raining...  I can handle the cold, but not a fan of riding in the rain, if gas hits $5-6/gallon I'll be riding in the rain for sure!!  I'd consider myself lucky though.  I work on a farm and jeans and boots are standard attire at work, so I don't have to bring a change of clothes.  The commute out of the city and in to the country is very nice as well.  The only downside is that I can't drink my cup of coffee on the way in!

I bought a 2008 Toyota Tacoma back in February and since buying my bike I haven't really driven it that much.  I get kind of tired of suiting up for my ride every day and packing my lunch and thermos in a backpack to take to work, but then I think about how much money I'm saving vs. driving the truck and suddenly the extra effort isn't so bad anymore.

[flyin_]

Can't say that I ride the CB everyday for my commute but I'm on a bike at least.  I solved the rain/dirty clothes problem a few years ago when I bought an Aerostich Roadcrafter.  That with an electric vest and you have no other excuse but ice not to ride.  And you get the added bonus of being skid proof armored.

[UnCrash]

I ride every day that it's not raining on departure.  This is for work and errands.  I work 5 miles from home which makes it easy.   

[super pasty white guy]

I ride most days, unless there's snow/ice, it's really pissing down rain or there's electricity in the air.  Work's about a 20mi roundtrip, it's close to 40mi on days that I go to school first.  I'm in a uniform most days but overpants and a jacket takes care of most of the getting dirty issues.  Except when I didn't realize my mesh jacket's black collar was bleeding onto my shirts...  That jacket is now history.

spwg