Commuting - have I forgotten anything?

[HEsch]

I am taking the bike to Auckland in the *veeeeeerrrrry* near future, and stopping this hideous public transport bullshit. Wahoooo!

What do I need to enjoy my commute? 15km door to door. I can go via the rat race, or I can get onto the motorway about 1km from my flat and off about 1km from work. I tend to leave the house early (at work by 7 if I drive my car, or catch the 7am bus) so not in rush hour traffic.
I have... leathers for nice weather and synthetics for the other 364 days of Auckland rain. Top box. Bike. Helmet, gloves, hi-vis, layers. Parking across the road from work (wooooooo).

Is there anything I don't have that is going to make my commute any better than it's about to become? (ps, I h.a.t.e. buses)

[GazzaH]

An excuse to take the long way home

[HEsch]

Well I don't have a gps for the bike and I can't look at my phone when it is in my pocket so I might get lost a bit on the way :yes:

[nzspokes]

The best thing you can do is get good observational skills. Look as far ahead as you can so you see hazards before they are a problem.

[Moi]

Although you already do the commute in your car, I'd suggest at least one dry run on the bike on, say, a Sunday morning. This will give you a heads-up for anything that might cause a possible problem on the bike that isn't evident in the car.

[Jeeper]

Painted road markings and manhole covers behave very differently when one is in the car versus bike, particularly when emergency lane change is required. Also, you will develop a new hate for buses as Auckland bus drivers go to the same driving school of not indicating as BMW drivers.

[Jeeper]

Thats from my experience of last six months of commuting on a bike as a new rider.

[TheDemonLord]

So, I've been commuting on 2 wheels for nearly 4 years now in Auckland (87,000 Km on the 'Busa and rising daily)

Scottoiler - if you are riding daily - doing 30 Km (there and back) - a Scottoiler will really start to pay for itself - especially when a chain and sprocket set is $2-300 (or more depending on bike), and without a scottoiler, you'd be looking at replacing it around every 20-30,000 Km - With a Scottoiler, some people are reporting 100,000 + Chain life.

The best wet weather gear you can get. Especially in Auckland - I've worn through 2 Alpinestars waterproof inner liners, same with my Revit trousers - consequently, if it rains now, I get bloody wet. So good quality Wet weather gear is a must.

Be prepared to love your Mechanic and buying Tyres. Commuting means you are going to hit the 6,000 Km service interval for your bike really quickly - at my old job, I was doing this every 3-4 months. So being on good terms with your Mechanic is a good thing - or Learn to do a basic service yourself (Oil, Filter, etc. etc.)

Axle Stands - for when you need to adjust your chain - they make life so much easier, and since you will be riding lots, you should be regularly inspecting and adjusting your chain

Riding Course - I don't know what your level of riding is, but I found the rideforever course a good thing for my riding, whilst most of it was stuff I'd learnt whilst commuting, was still good value.

tinted visor - ideally one you can toggle between clear and tinted - especially since you are riding at 7:00 am - sun glare isn't fun and can really kill your hazard awareness

Pinlock for your visor - stops your visor fogging up - is worth it's weight in gold when the weather is muggy and wet.

Good Rubber - as above, you are going to start going through tyres - so buying a good set of dual compound will help - my last set were flat in the middle, with about 3-4 mm on the sides (I don't get a lot of time to chase the twisties :( )

I would also suggest some form of Helmet Camera - mainly so that if you are in an accident where the Driver was at fault but they try to pin it on you or simply lie through their teeth, you've got the evidence. Just don't fall into the Motovlog trap of riding like a fuckwit in order to get 'close calls' footage.

Finally: practice your emergency stopping, regularly - I've had at least 2 occassions where I've had the rear wheel get very loose under heavy braking thanks to fuckwits being fuckwits. I've also had a couple of close calls in the wet were good, progressive braking was the difference between staying rubber side down and ending up a gooey mess.

[spanner spinner]

I have... leathers for nice weather and synthetics for the other 364 days of Auckland rain.

How attached to your synthetics are you, ie did you pay a shitload for them or are they middle of the road as the road grime off the motorway will destroy the liners in 1-2 years depending on there quality. Washing them regularly will extend there life but the oil, tyre rubber, brake dust, diesel fumes soot mix that comes up off the road surfaces in Auckland give the liners on all of the synthetics a hard time. I use to keep my expensive gear for weekends out of Auckland and buy middle of the range stuff for my commute. I was selling this stuff for a living so saw multiple other instances of the same issue of the liners leaking after 1-2 years. A lot of the time getting the customer to wash there gear with the correct detergent would return the waterproofing as the holes in the liners where so bunged up with this dirt mix that they would start working like wicks and drawing the water thru. Always use to amaze me how black the water was after washing my gear.

[Swoop]

A decent bike lock for when you park somewhere?

I got to the stage of just leathers 100% of the time and have a 2-piece rain shell sitting in the bottom of my backpack.

Tinted visor and also a pair of clear, lightweight, wraparound safety glasses. That gives you options of sunny days or getting caught late and having to ride at night, just flip the visor and use the clears (rather than attempting to cart a clear visor anywhere with you).

Keep an eye on the front wheel of cars. That gives you a better idea of what they are going to do before the metal bodywork starts showing you. Aucklanders can't stop at red lights or indicate for 3 seconds either...

[Berries]

Tinted visor and also a pair of clear, lightweight, wraparound safety glasses. That gives you options of sunny days or getting caught late and having to ride at night, just flip the visor and use the clears (rather than attempting to cart a clear visor anywhere with you).
That's a bloody good tip. Apart from a few weeks in mid winter I always have a tinted visor on but have never carried a clear one with me as spare. Should bang a pair of clear glasses under the seat for those those unexpected dark rides home.

[caspernz]

Some electrical tape across the top of your visor to act as a sunvisor, if you haven't already got this sorted.

The rest of the stuff has been pretty much outlined. Rider training and emergency stopping practice is what'll come in handy amongst Auckland commuters. First week is the hardest...:sweatdrop:2thumbsup

[Akzle]

Hthru. Always use to amaze me how black the water was after washing my gear.

gotta be good for your lungs and skin, eh?

but don't worry, blame fonterra for climate change and shit while fuckin townies spend 3 hours a day idling their SUVs.

[Honest Andy]

gotta be good for your lungs and skin, eh?

but don't worry, blame fonterra for climate change and shit while fuckin townies spend 3 hours a day idling their SUVs.

Yeah but they're really efficient environmentally friendly porche cocksuckers and Mercedes something-or-others so that's ok

And it's so important to have 4wd when you go through the shabby end of Ponsnobby

[HEsch]

How attached to your synthetics are you, ie did you pay a shitload for them or are they middle of the road as the road grime off the motorway will destroy the liners in 1-2 years depending on there quality. Washing them regularly will extend there life but the oil, tyre rubber, brake dust, diesel fumes soot mix that comes up off the road surfaces in Auckland give the liners on all of the synthetics a hard time. I use to keep my expensive gear for weekends out of Auckland and buy middle of the range stuff for my commute. I was selling this stuff for a living so saw multiple other instances of the same issue of the liners leaking after 1-2 years. A lot of the time getting the customer to wash there gear with the correct detergent would return the waterproofing as the holes in the liners where so bunged up with this dirt mix that they would start working like wicks and drawing the water thru. Always use to amaze me how black the water was after washing my gear.

Interesting, hadn't thought of this aspect, but very good to know. I think they are DriRider. I don't actually like my synthetics. I mean, they keep the rain off (currently) but I would ride in my leathers over synthetics if weather was not an issue. I have no problem replacing the synthetics annually/biannually.

[HEsch]

So, I've been commuting on 2 wheels for nearly 4 years now in Auckland (87,000 Km on the 'Busa and rising daily)

Scottoiler - if you are riding daily - doing 30 Km (there and back) - a Scottoiler will really start to pay for itself - especially when a chain and sprocket set is $2-300 (or more depending on bike), and without a scottoiler, you'd be looking at replacing it around every 20-30,000 Km - With a Scottoiler, some people are reporting 100,000 + Chain life.

The best wet weather gear you can get. Especially in Auckland - I've worn through 2 Alpinestars waterproof inner liners, same with my Revit trousers - consequently, if it rains now, I get bloody wet. So good quality Wet weather gear is a must.

Be prepared to love your Mechanic and buying Tyres. Commuting means you are going to hit the 6,000 Km service interval for your bike really quickly - at my old job, I was doing this every 3-4 months. So being on good terms with your Mechanic is a good thing - or Learn to do a basic service yourself (Oil, Filter, etc. etc.)

Axle Stands - for when you need to adjust your chain - they make life so much easier, and since you will be riding lots, you should be regularly inspecting and adjusting your chain

Riding Course - I don't know what your level of riding is, but I found the rideforever course a good thing for my riding, whilst most of it was stuff I'd learnt whilst commuting, was still good value.

tinted visor - ideally one you can toggle between clear and tinted - especially since you are riding at 7:00 am - sun glare isn't fun and can really kill your hazard awareness

Pinlock for your visor - stops your visor fogging up - is worth it's weight in gold when the weather is muggy and wet.

Good Rubber - as above, you are going to start going through tyres - so buying a good set of dual compound will help - my last set were flat in the middle, with about 3-4 mm on the sides (I don't get a lot of time to chase the twisties :( )

I would also suggest some form of Helmet Camera - mainly so that if you are in an accident where the Driver was at fault but they try to pin it on you or simply lie through their teeth, you've got the evidence. Just don't fall into the Motovlog trap of riding like a fuckwit in order to get 'close calls' footage.

Finally: practice your emergency stopping, regularly - I've had at least 2 occassions where I've had the rear wheel get very loose under heavy braking thanks to fuckwits being fuckwits. I've also had a couple of close calls in the wet were good, progressive braking was the difference between staying rubber side down and ending up a gooey mess.



Awesome suggestions, thank you, plenty to mull over, some I hadn't considered/didn't know. Hadn't thought about playing the tyres game, but I already do that with the SUV (which I need for towing and going off road, but spends 90% of it's life on the road).

For a bit more context - work are very flexi so I am generally in Auckland 4 days a week and the Tron on Fridays (except when I have unavoidable meetings that simply have to be scheduled at the end of the week). I'll be riding up and down so will get to take the bike for a bit of a blat (errr, a longer ride) at least once a fortnight, if not every week. My flatmate has had bikes and is very hands on so will be teaching me what I can do... I look after my vehicles because I need them to look after me (fuck getting stuck in the middle of nowhere, hours from home, no mobile reception, after a very long day riding, two horses in the float, and a vehicle that isn't going anywhere - at least with only a bike or car you can get a lift home - can't do that with nags on board).

[Jeeper]

Rather than carrying two visors, think about a helmet with builtin sun visor. I can drop it down when I need it, flick it back up when its dark.

[Ocean1]

That's a bloody good tip. Apart from a few weeks in mid winter I always have a tinted visor on but have never carried a clear one with me as spare. Should bang a pair of clear glasses under the seat for those those unexpected dark rides home.

If your helmet is sized right the bits that go behind your ears hurt after 5 minutes. Cut those suckers off. The bits, not the ears. Just leave, (checks) maybe 90mm of the arms and round the ends off nice and smooth.

Added bonus: if you're old enough to have trouble seeing the instruments you can get safety bi-focals from most engineering suppliers. The tiny lower lense is fucking useless for any normal work but happens to be smack in the right place for above use.

[rastuscat]

I go the same way to work each day. I divert from the route my GPS wants to go so I can avoid certain controlled intersections.

I prefer roundabouts to stop signs at 100 kmh intersections.

It's worth considering your route to see if a small diversion can increase your safety.