Daily Commute?

[Madguitarist!]

How many of you use your ride as a daily commute? I;m hoping to be able to do that once I start working (last semester at uni) and was curious abt dressing up with our riding gear and all that stuff.

Hopefully I'll get a job that doesn't require the 'dress up' syndrome but....... :confused:

[outlawtorn]

I use my little GZ250 for communting and the odd weekend ride. In terms of clothing, as long as you have wet pants which you can put over your normal pants when it rains and get yourself a decent warm, padded, waterproof jacket. Don't forget to buy a neck warmer for winter, you'll need it. I don't wear any biker boots, I have a pair of 10 hole Doc Martin boots which do the trick for me.

[marty]

I use my little GZ250 for communting and the odd weekend ride. In terms of clothing, as long as you have wet pants which you can put over your normal pants when it rains and get yourself a decent warm, padded, waterproof jacket. Don't forget to buy a neck warmer for winter, you'll need it. I don't wear any biker boots, I have a pair of 10 hole Doc Martin boots which do the trick for me.

commuting on the TL has fucke the back tyre - there is just not enogh twisties.....i'm going into boyds today for a new tyre.

or maybe that's wheelies. i dunno....:ar15:

[marty]

oops kant spel

[Aaron]

Have been commuting since the day after getting my bike, only driven twice in those six weeks :D

(Actually I'm still wearing pants and boots now - casual dress code :2thumbsup )

[jrandom]

Have been commuting since the day after getting my bike, only driven twice in those six weeks :D

(Actually I'm still wearing pants and boots now - casual dress code :2thumbsup )

I have it lucky with my job, dress-code-wise.

I'm wearing ragged board shorts, my KB T-shirt and bare feet.

So is everyone else in the room. Except for the obvious variations in T-shirts, and the occasional presence of jandals or cross-trainers.

[moko]

Mine gets used every day,if you know your stuff and filter you can maintain a decent speed.Best to wear the best protection you can whenever you ride.I wear Docs or Cat boots as well,prefer them to bike boots.If you ride in traffic treat every other road-user as a complete idiot and dont take any chances.Always look at the driver in front,you`d be amazed how many are on the phone,playing with a baby/dog or are incapable of talking to a passenger without looking at them.If they`re not paying attention then be ready for anything.You`ll pick up all kinds of stuff after a week or two,stay alert,be observant,dont take chances and you`ll be fine.

[Pwalo]

Mine gets used every day,if you know your stuff and filter you can maintain a decent speed.Best to wear the best protection you can whenever you ride.I wear Docs or Cat boots as well,prefer them to bike boots.If you ride in traffic treat every other road-user as a complete idiot and dont take any chances.Always look at the driver in front,you`d be amazed how many are on the phone,playing with a baby/dog or are incapable of talking to a passenger without looking at them.If they`re not paying attention then be ready for anything.You`ll pick up all kinds of stuff after a week or two,stay alert,be observant,dont take chances and you`ll be fine.

Second that. It's a bit of a pain but wear the best protection you can get - believe me it's worth it. I'm lucky enough to work for a company that has a casual dress code, and my own desk where I can hide all my gear. (Oh and also off street, covered parking - sweet!!!).

[White trash]

I'm wearing ragged board shorts, my KB T-shirt and bare feet.



What about your WMCC T-Shirt?! You didn't even have to buy a friggen bike to get it!

[Big Dave]

I don't own a car - no option but to ride - it can present some challenges. Since I became the 'snr' guy i have just turned up in 'biker neat and casual', Draggin jeans are great.
But i have had some gigs where tidy is mandatory. Editorial meetings (not at Kiwi Rider) and sales work - That's what lockers are for. Change when you get there - and always wear safety gear to and from. regardless.
chz
bd

[jrandom]

What about your WMCC T-Shirt?! You didn't even have to buy a friggen bike to get it!

It's in the washing machine or summat. The thing that happens after I take it off and drop it on the bedroom floor, and before it reappears in my shirt drawer.

[Wolf]

When I was commuting I kept shoes at the office and rode to work in motorcycle boots with my Dririder gear (jacket and leggings) over my work clothes, that was generally sufficient to keep me dry even in torrential rain (drier than my cager workmates who got saturated crossing from the car to the building bwahahaha). Decent gauntlet-style gloves are a must, don't feck about with an open-faced helmet, in my opinion - arse-ended a car once and really was glad I was wearing a full-face lid as I slid up the boot.

OK, clambering into and out of the protective gear twice a day can be time-consuming at first but once you get used to it you'll be able to shed or don jacket, leggings and boots in pretty short order. When I first got all the kit I was thinking, "shit, what a rigamarole" when I was kitting up for a ride, now I can just throw the gear on and be out the door scarcely breaking stride.

[mouldy]

commuting on the TL has fucke the back tyre - there is just not enogh twisties.....i'm going into boyds today for a new tyre.

or maybe that's wheelies. i dunno....:ar15:
buy a shitter to commute on, my cb250rs cost $500 3 years ago about the same as a set of tyres for my fireblade , does 20 mile each way of aucklands clogged motorways every day and doesn't frighten the constabulary .Has easily paid for its purchase and upkeep in money saved on fines gas and tyres
:banana:

[Lou Girardin]

I commute on the bike. (Don't want a car) Wear full gear unless it's warm, then I wear jeans instead of the Spidi pants.
Auck gridlock would drive me nuts if I was stuck in a cage. It takes me 1/3rd the time to travel twice as far as my wife in the mornings.

[vifferman]

Yeah, my bike is my communterer.

I wear full gear, and get changed at work, because (a) my bike pants are too hot to sit around in, and (b) I have to wear 'business attire'. WTF for, I dunno, as I don't see any clients or anything, and my computer seems indifferent to what I'm wearing....

[Biff]

Communte? Yep, I do. (Deja vous?, shit - I'm a poet too, double shit - I did it again!!).

Cordura over my work clothes and I always wear swanky suits to work. I tend to put my tie on when I get to my orifice though.

Do you know why dickie bows are called as such?
Because they're normally wrapped around pricks.

[Wolf]

I have to wear 'business attire'. WTF for, I dunno, as I don't see any clients or anything, and my computer seems indifferent to what I'm wearing....
Now, now, don't go assuming that your computer is oblivious to what you wear just because it hasn't said anything - it might just be "being polite".

Ya need a job like mine (IT Support) where you can get away with wearing anything but your birthday suit (except on "casual Fridays" when you could probably get away with that on fine days)

[Madguitarist!]

All right, I guess I really need to look for a job that:

- has casual dress codes
- isn;'t along the the Auckland gridlock!
- provides lockers for me gear
- covered parking for me ride
- PCs that don't mind casual dressing, or is just 'being polite'

hmmmm........... I'm sure I can find something that fits! :banana:

[vifferman]

Now, now, don't go assuming that your computer is oblivious to what you wear just because it hasn't said anything - it might just be "being polite".
I don't think so, because it's a right c*nt, and quite rude about other things. :ar15:


Ya need a job like mine (IT Support) where you can get away with wearing anything but your birthday suit (except on "casual Fridays" when you could probably get away with that on fine days)
"Casual Fridays"? What's that? :spudwhat:
We have two days a year we can wear casual attire: picnic day, and the last work (half)day before Christmas.
After many years of wearing stupid 'business attire', I don't care any more. It means I don't have to agonise over what I wear in the mornings. The only thing that pisses me off about it is the managers' attitudes to it, which are totally illogical, and inconsistent. One of these is that guys have to wear business shirts and ties, whereas ladies can wear just about anything. On a few occasions I've worn smart shirts without a tie, and been told off for it, even when they were expensive shirts designed to be worn that way (e.g., smart short-sleeved shirts, or those with a mandarin collar.)
ANother dumb things is the business consulatnts can wear polo shirts and casual slacks if they're visiting clients who have casual dress code, yet guys like me who NEVER meet clients or go out have to be well-dressed all the time.:confused:

[Wolf]

re parking, we bikers are lucky here. There are limited slots available for cages in the underground carparks (and you can lose them to someone else deemed "more important" than you) but there are areas around the walls between some support pillars and the wall that can only accommodate a 'bike so we can park there freely (not enough bikers here to make parking an issue).

This means we get to park our rides outta the rain in "parks" that will not be reallocated to the "PA to the Boss's PA" and any cage that tries to clip the bike will have to get through a substantial reinforced-concrete pillar first (or somehow drive through a lot of dirt and a concrete wall...)

[madboy]

I'm a suit boy, but I leave my suits/ties/shoes at work. I wear my shirt under the jacket, it gets a little rumpled but... and usually unless it's really hot wear a sleeveless vest ($10 Warehouse job) under the jacket to stop the black collar of my jacket rubbing off on the expensive non-black collar of my shirts. Dunno if that's a cheap jacket thing, or just the norm. I always wear proper armoured pants, bought a proper set of sports boots a couple months back and wear them too. The way I look at it, I'm just as likely to can off commuting as I am going hard on a back road, and I'd be real pissed sitting in hospital looking at the bandage where my knee/ankle/foot was knowing that I coulda saved it if I'd just worn the gear I had sitting at home. I seldom get wet, but keep a spare set of underwear and socks at work. In the last year I've used the socks twice (both pre-sports boots), underwear nil. ANd my bike gets parked for free at work, unfortunately not covered like some lucky sods here, but free and off street!

Only problem I have commuting is making sure that when I lane-split that I calm it down near senior management as I pass them on the way... Haven't had a comment from the CEO yet when I blitzed his M3 the other day :)

And murphy's law - never walk into work and make a smart comment about the traffic/lack of... cos those cagers will be the first to send you a smart card as you're lying in hospital after some tosser didn't indicate/look for a lane change!!

[vifferman]

re parking, we bikers are lucky here. etc. etc...
Yeah, same here, except now we have our own parking area, in the gargre in the gargre (yes, we actually have one inside the other!) But when I first started, I had to get board approval to park in the one available triangle of space that wasn't taken up by car parking. Happily, it was closer to the stairs than any of the parks! :2thumbsup And the gargre has security doors and cameras, so my bike's nice and secure, even left overnight (which I've done a couple of times).

[vifferman]

The way I look at it, I'm just as likely to can off commuting as I am going hard on a back road....
Nah, you're MORE likely to can off commuting. I've never ever crashed on the open road, but have while on the way to work (2) or going somewhere at lunchtime (3). And all these crashes were in D'Auckland, in the last 5 years.


Only problem I have commuting is making sure that when I lane-split that I calm it down near senior management as I pass them on the way...
Told one of our directors off one morning for cutting me off, and one of the senior consultants on a more recent occasion. Don't give a toss who they are - if they drive badly, I'll let them know!

[ManDownUnder]

I commute on the bike. (Don't want a car) Wear full gear unless it's warm, then I wear jeans instead of the Spidi pants.
Auck gridlock would drive me nuts if I was stuck in a cage. It takes me 1/3rd the time to travel twice as far as my wife in the mornings.

Yup.. what he said!
MDU

[Wolf]

Nah, you're MORE likely to can off commuting.
Yep. I've had a hell of a lot more close calls commuting than on the open road - insane lane-changes, usually - like the dick that came flying past in the right-hand (straight ahead only) lane crossed in front of me (in the left turn/straight ahead lane), missed my front by literally three inches (prompting me to jam on my brakes, inexperienced as I was, and causing me to fishtail wildly for a bit), then shot around the left hand turn. Fortunately for me I wasn't going very fast at the time as I was already decelerating and braking - I just started braking harder at that point.

And why was I decelerating? Oh, yes, because the fucking light was red at the time!

And then there was the person on a packed Victoria Street (all four lanes full, 2 North, 2 South, for the sake of "foreigners") who was so eager to buy some booze at the off-licence (years ago, there's an Emergency Centre there now) taht he slammed on his brakes without even indicating. Considering I was extremely inexperienced back then and had a mate on the back of the bike, I'm amazed that I avoided the accident. Still don't know what I did - either my subconscious took control or the Goddess of Motorcycles took direct intervention.

Open road riding might have higher speeds but I've encountered less threats and there are generally more options. The only times I've binned on the open road (twice) it was my own fault with no one else involved - inexperienced, going too fast on a corner and going off into the gravel on the shoulder.

Don't do a lot of motorway riding so I can't really compare - most the times I've ridden on the motorway it's been off-peak so it's been a pleasant ride on well-maintained roads.

[Aaron]

I'm lucky enough to work for a company that has a casual dress code, and my own desk where I can hide all my gear. (Oh and also off street, covered parking - sweet!!!).
Great ain't it :D

Maintanence guy just came and asked if I wanted to move my bike out of the sun, he's cleaning the gutters and doesn't want to fling crap all over it. She's back under cover now :niceone: