A big day

[Ulsterkiwi]

Well, after getting as much practice in as I could get on quiet roads, a few runs out on SH1 from home to Foxton etc and a run in to Wellington in the middle of the day; this morning I did my first commute in traffic.
I am still alive and the bike is undamaged, I guess that counts as being reasonably successful.
I am nowhere near confident enough to start lane splitting yet so it was with some jealousy I was watching other bikers filtering through as I joined SH2 from the gorge. Not that it made things easy, keeping the bike under control moving at 2 metres a minute is (as everyone will know) challenging enough.
There was a very patient lady biker behind me as I went through the terrace tunnel. She was clearly very much on top of her game and she provided a nice buffer between me and the impatient car drivers as we crept through the tunnel. Whoever you are....thank you!
I wasnt exactly in my comfort zone and I was not slick and smooth but that will come I guess with practice, however I arrived at work with a huge grin on my face. This was a fun way to get to work and did set me up for the day.
Coming home was much easier, I had a stop to make at Motomart in Lower Hutt to pick up something they ordered for me and I crossed over at Haywards out to Grays Road for the home run. Lots of fun and I had the confidence coming off the roundabout at Plimmerton to actually power up the hill and leave the traffic behind, FUN!!!!!
Had a smidgen of rain which was good to experience, no point planning to be a commuter and hope for dry weather all the time.
I guess after the traffic the gusting wind was the biggest challenge. Grip with the knees, look where I want to go and counter steer in to the gusts. Thanks to 1ofsix for the advice, worked well!
The day wasnt over. I pulled in to Twin Cam in Pram where Randall had a nice set of Oxford heated grips waiting for me. An hour later and they were fitted. He knows his stuff and has treated to this complete noob with respect and encouragement. Very decent bloke.
So with toasty hands I made the last leg home via the supermarket, my wife has figured out sending me out on errands is now much easier if I take the bike :-)
Hopefully my skills and confidence will build now with each trip. Why did I wait till my 40s to discover bikes! Ah well, better late than never!

[unstuck]

Well, which one was it.:msn-wink and a run in to Wellington in the middle of the day this morning

[Ulsterkiwi]

Well, which one was it.:msn-wink and a run in to Wellington in the middle of the day this morning

hmmmm, clearly in all the excitement, my grammar took a turn for the worse. Note to self, don't set myself up, that is for someone else to do.....

[unstuck]

hmmmm, clearly in all the excitement, my grammar took a turn for the worse. Note to self, don't set myself up, that is for someone else to do.....

Sounds like it was a good day for you, well done. Ride safe.

[paturoa]

Good report

You should hold off lane splitting until a lot later, and ask for some advice before doing that too. While you're working up your skills I'd recommend that you focus on developing a situational / spacial awareness habit and pretending that you are a car in terms of where you ride in the lanes.

You will be posting soon about some arsehole tail-gating you. It is coming, don't be intimidated, if you can safely, just change lanes or let them pass.

[Mom]

What an excellent ride report! Well done you for braving that trip and surviving

Thanks for sharing.

[Jantar]

Well done. It won't be long and you'll be able to keep up with the rest of the traffic at 2 meters per second.

OK, I really do know that was what you meant.

[russd7]

well done and welcome to the joys of motorcycling, dont worry about the sticky one from gore, he will set anyone up (onya darren, some people just need the piss taken )
keep up the riding and the rest comes with time

[unstuck]

well done and welcome to the joys of motorcycling, dont worry about the sticky one from gore, he will set anyone up (onya darren, some people just need the piss taken )
keep up the riding and the rest comes with time

Thats Mr sticky to you ya hairy bastid. All good humour I hope, I really hate to offend people.

[st00ji]

better late than never eh?

welcome to two wheeled life.

keep your wits about ya!

[Berg]

Wonders if the woman biker in the Terrace Tunnel might have been Mrs Berg (white GSR750) as that's her regular commute. Good on ya for the Kapiti-Wgtn commute though. More bikes equals less cars therefore less congestion. Also, more bikes doing Kapiti-Wgtn means more awareness by the regular car commuters.

[Moi]

Well done that man! The first time commuting is both terrifying and exhilarating - although you have many stretches of very ordinary road to ride there is that glorious pieces along the coast north from Pukerua Bay: the old Centennial Highway.

Ride well and safely.

[Ulsterkiwi]

Wonders if the woman biker in the Terrace Tunnel might have been Mrs Berg (white GSR750) as that's her regular commute. Good on ya for the Kapiti-Wgtn commute though. More bikes equals less cars therefore less congestion. Also, more bikes doing Kapiti-Wgtn means more awareness by the regular car commuters.

Dont think so, this was a blue bike and to my inexperienced eye was no bigger than a 400. In any case I was glad she was there!

Thank you all for your encouragement, the self preservation drive is strong with this one, will let you know how I progress!

Cheers!

[Juniper]

Well, after getting as much practice in as I could get on quiet roads, a few runs out on SH1 from home to Foxton etc and a run in to Wellington in the middle of the day; this morning I did my first commute in traffic.
I am still alive and the bike is undamaged, I guess that counts as being reasonably successful.
I am nowhere near confident enough to start lane splitting yet so it was with some jealousy I was watching other bikers filtering through as I joined SH2 from the gorge. Not that it made things easy, keeping the bike under control moving at 2 metres a minute is (as everyone will know) challenging enough.
There was a very patient lady biker behind me as I went through the terrace tunnel. She was clearly very much on top of her game and she provided a nice buffer between me and the impatient car drivers as we crept through the tunnel. Whoever you are....thank you!
I wasnt exactly in my comfort zone and I was not slick and smooth but that will come I guess with practice, however I arrived at work with a huge grin on my face. This was a fun way to get to work and did set me up for the day.
Coming home was much easier, I had a stop to make at Motomart in Lower Hutt to pick up something they ordered for me and I crossed over at Haywards out to Grays Road for the home run. Lots of fun and I had the confidence coming off the roundabout at Plimmerton to actually power up the hill and leave the traffic behind, FUN!!!!!
Had a smidgen of rain which was good to experience, no point planning to be a commuter and hope for dry weather all the time.
I guess after the traffic the gusting wind was the biggest challenge. Grip with the knees, look where I want to go and counter steer in to the gusts. Thanks to 1ofsix for the advice, worked well!
The day wasnt over. I pulled in to Twin Cam in Pram where Randall had a nice set of Oxford heated grips waiting for me. An hour later and they were fitted. He knows his stuff and has treated to this complete noob with respect and encouragement. Very decent bloke.
So with toasty hands I made the last leg home via the supermarket, my wife has figured out sending me out on errands is now much easier if I take the bike :-)
Hopefully my skills and confidence will build now with each trip. Why did I wait till my 40s to discover bikes! Ah well, better late than never!

Hehehe I know exactly what you mean!!! Every time I get to work I've got this huge goofey grin on!!

Low speed is a bitch to do. Go do one of those rider training things (oh god now I sound like everyone else lol) Even thought I only did half that slow speed stuff that I picked up makes commuting so less stressful. So useful for commuters. Hehe I went from waddling in neutral in rush hour to being able to not put my feet down.


Goofy grins FTW!
There is so much more fun to come!!

[russd7]

best slow speed training you could do is go work on a dairy farm and sit behind the cows for an hour as they slowly wander in at milking time, ya learn how to balance on a bike while pretty much stationary, also learn how to dodge cow shit on the tracks and learn how to ride in slippery conditions