* * Slip-sliding around on two wheels

I’ve loved motorcycles since I was a teenager.  Today, I’m a regular, avid motorcycle commuter. Motorcycles are more and more popular these days. They’re fun and economical. On summer evenings, I pass quite a few on my way to and from work. This all changes in winter.

Last Saturday it snowed.  Most riders have the good sense to park their bikes over the cold weather months. Not me.

By Monday, I was back on the bike on my way to the office. It was cold, about 23F. I went to the public library first to trade books. A man spoke to me as we walked inside together. He was a rider, too. I guessed him to be about my age. He said, “I don’t ride when it’s cold. The blood thinner I’m on makes me more susceptible to chills.”

I showed him the cord to my electric vest, which uses the bike’s battery to energize coils within the fabric that generate heat and ward off the chill. I also told him about my bike’s heated grips. “When your hands are warm, it really helps,” I told him. “Heated grips only cost $30 or so. I can’t imagine any rider not using them. They even help when its 50F because you can use summer gloves, which provide better feel and control.”

On the way to the office, I stopped at an intersection. A child in a car beside me gave me the once-over. I waved. She waved back instinctively, but then withdrew, fearing I suppose a rebuke from mom behind the steering wheel. She looked back and I waved again. She would only be able to see my eyes and not my expression, heightening the mystery. After watching the mist roll from my helmet would she see herself on a bike someday? Or more likely, would she think I was crazy?

The next day it rained hard on the way home. I left the office before sunset to avoid riding in the dark. My riding suit is great at warding off both the cold and the rain.  Plus, it provides impact protection, something I’ve learned from tearful personal experience. As with heated grips, I can’t imagine anyone riding without a good suit. But visibility is a problem in the rain. Water drops on the face shield refract incoming light and make seeing traffic and other hazards more difficult. Darkness makes things much worse, so I avoid the dark when it’s raining.

My commute between Blacksburg and Christiansburg is heavily traveled, so I’m less concerned about stray deer than on the country roads. But they’re always a hazard. I saw a car hit one a few weeks ago, and my gut is still shaky from the sight. Impacts do serious damage to cars but much worse to bikes.  My riding buddy almost hit one on a recent Sunday, and it really scared me. Many of my friends have hit them, and they say deer aren’t as soft and cuddly as they look.

My commuter bike is a 1989 Honda Hawk GT, a 650cc V-twin. I bought it in 1993 with 9000 miles on it. Today it has 69,000 miles. I spent $2800 to buy it, and it has required little maintenance. It gets 50-55 miles per gallon. It is economical transportation. I’m parsimonious as heck, but I don’t just ride to save money. I enjoy riding. There are some days each year when I’m on my motorcycle and wish I were in my car. But not many. There are more days I’m forced typically by the need to carry big things to be in my car and wish I could be on my motorcycle. Riding my motorcycle is not a hardship.

By Wednesday morning, the air was so still that a feather dropped at waist height would have hit the ground directly below. But it was so foggy I could barely see beyond my dashboard. The fog put more moisture on my shield than rain, and I was constantly wiping it off with my glove, straining to see. By the afternoon return trip, the sky cleared but the wind was fearsome. Interestingly, the wind was more of an issue when I stood immobile at traffic lights than when in motion.

Sometimes it seems I’m trading one challenge for the next.

I’m sure to many people, my addiction to riding seems reckless at worst, quirky at best. But I’ve been doing it for a long time and it works for me. I wish it worked for more people.