Now that the weather is warmer I'm riding in on my bike, only about 3 miles on surface streets. Bluerose, when i worked as a firefighter I saw quite a few bad motorcycle accidents and that is always in the back of my mind when I'm riding. I hope that makes my a more defensive rider. Good luck with the commuting.

 

Bluerose: So you are riding the infamous SR 118 over Santa Susana Pass to work. I am very familiar with that route, having been a charter bus driver in SoCal for 12 years before I retired. You already know how traffic behaves in both directions so you already have a "heads up", and you plan accordingly. I have found that the safest lane is the number two (counting from the center) because it gives you two directions to go to avoid a rearend situation, plus it has fewer folks making last moment moves to exit the freeway. When traffic slows to a crawl, you can safely lane split between the number one and number two lane without much chance of a conflict. Keep lane splitting speed to just over 15 mph faster than traffic flow. And anytime you can use the HOV lane do it.

I used to commute from Riverside to Orange along the SR 91, which was similar to the 118 for traffic, especially when it split to the SR 55 South and the SR 91 West at Anaheim Hills. I rode my Harley to/from work every day, rain or shine for over five years. The closest I came to a mishap was when a car in the number one lane wanted to move over to number two while I was splitting. I just moved over with him.

Go ahead and commute. It will keep you sharp, and you will enjoy the benefit of riding the motorcycle, and you can thumb your nose at the cars stuck in first gear.[&:]

 

Louisiana. I commute every day. Everywhere I go is on the bike. You just have to watch out for the "Black Hole of Calcutta" potholes that are never fixed by the crooked politicians in Louisiana. I have them all memorized now. It's like you've started a video racing game over and over and now know when all the curves are going to show up. The ridges crossing all the way over the lane that throw you up off the seat are the worst. These are never fixed either. The politicians are too busy giving all the taxes to their friends and getting kickbacks. The traffice is not bad except for the early morning moms busting the speed limits wide open trying to get their kids to school on time while they talk on the cell phone. Those are the ones that scare me and cause the most close calls. This morning was extremely foggy and 1/5 of the drivers did not have their headlights on or had their parking lights on.

 

Wow,just wow.SF is into the heart of the idiot driver.You have my respect.

I've ridden into Napa(hour plus one way)and I only was able to enjoy the ride home.Too many idiots out there for me.I usually have to take my work truck anyway.When I do ride in,we go in a pack,people get outta your way in a pack.

 

I'm always looking around for the cell phone soccer mom. Always. I'm a confident rider, but I look for anything that will bea hazard to my health.

 

Exactly what he said! Well, except that my bike is my toy and my transportation. I don't ride if I am sick though... sneezing in my helmet is something I hope to not repeat [&:]

 

Thanks for the encourgagement guys...been on a bike just over 1 1/2 years now and I'm still learning...I don't think its time so much as miles...

I mean so far I have just less then 6k under my belt (4k on the harley since last April) and I'm thinking that's just not enough yet....

I'll get there

 

I am just waiting for the weather to be good enough for my commute........unfortunately it is only 10 miles round trip, 20 if I go home for lunch

 

I commute everyday. The good is that I save two hours a day due to the car pool lane andsplitting, I mean "sharing", lanes. The bad is that my onlyfreeway choiceis the 91 fwy (40 miles worth one way) and it's been under repair since '99 therefore you loose the car pool lane for 5 miles so add extra time and adventures from the cagers to the mix. I was hit by a mini-van in October but was fortunate enough to have bumps/bruises & $4K damage to the bike - was splitting in stop/go traffic and was in first gear at the time. The other bad is after a hairy weekof commuting I'd rather drive the rag top or take my wifes bike on a "country" or surface street ride as opposed to freeways.

 

I feel for ya, but fortunately for me I live in a low population density part of WI (the northwoods) and I'm thus more likely to confront a deer than a traffic related problem. My suggestion is that if the commute is stressful for you on the bike, leave it at home. I safe assume that one of the reasons you bought the bike in the first place was because its a great 'stress reducer?' I'm fine with riding in heavy traffic myself, but would much prefer the open road, just like anybody else; but if its making you too nervous, I'd say park it and wait until you get the chance to ride it the way you want to.