first off, let me start this post by saying i am adamantly opposed to owning a car. they eat money, are impossible to park (especially in the city) and, in general, suck. since going car-less eight months ago i can literally count on one hand the times i've missed having one. and i would still be able to give you a peace sign.
i am, however, extremely glad to have vixen. i have thought numerous times over the past few months about the logistical advantages of selling the bike and going completely vehicle-less. it would be cheaper in many ways (tabs, gas and insurance do add up), and i don't ride that much anymore, unless i'm going to hurling practice, which i could, in theory, take the bus to. but there are several reasons i keep her.
one, i loathe the bus. i'm not opposed to the idea of public transportation, per se (specifically, efficient public transportation), but here in seattle our options are woefully pathetic. the buses don't run very often and they don't always go where you need them to. especially at night. i don't like having to wait an hour for a bus after 7pm. and they're slow. i mean, it takes me 20 minutes on the bike to get from capitol hill to manguson park which, on a bus, can take up to 90. hardly what i would call efficient. and, in general, i hate being reliant on that kind of timetable. if i have to take the bus i'm always checking and rechecking my watch and the bus schedule and worrying about my potential punctuality. i can never relax and rarely enjoy myself when i know i have to eventually rely on a bus to get home.
two, having your own form of personal transport, whatever it is (motorcycle, bicycle, llama), is vital for spur-of-the-moment adventures. randomly heading out to the locks or the park or (like last night) the mama's house for dinner and olympics viewing would hardly be possible if i were reliant on public transportation (see above). it just wouldn't happen. i would resign myself to another depressing night in rewatching californication (nothing wrong with that in principle, mind you) and wishing i could afford beer. yesterday being sunday, i would have had to have waited probably 45 minutes to get on a bus and taken another 45 to get to mama's house in kirkland. without vixen i would not have enjoyed a delicious flank steak and salad, or seen michael phelps win his 17th olympic medal.
and this brings us to three. last time i mentioned that jumping on the bike these days often just feels like getting from point A to point B, without that lovely bliss of a good ride. well, last night, after deciding 30 seconds beforehand to head to kirkland for dinner, i jumped on the bike and had an immensely lovely ride across I-90 (tolls are for suckers). the sun was just above the horizon, giving just enough warmth to keep things comfortable, the sky was clear, the mountain was out and it was fantastic to just be riding. it took me right back to the best mornings from the trip and the feeling of having nothing to do the entire day but ride. it was exactly that feeling that makes me realize i will never be able to go without a bike again, even if i hardly make use of it. that perfect feeling of blissful freedom is worth just about anything.
so i'll be holding onto vixen, thank you very much, and hopefully i'll be able to find more moments like last night, wherever they may be hiding.
rftc,
scott
Monday, July 30, 2012
Monday, July 9, 2012
claustrophobia and consistency
it's been a while since i've posted on this thing, almost 3 months from the look of it. there are reasons for this, some of them good, some of them pretty sorry-looking. let's start with the good:
first off, having a full-time job certainly takes up a lot of one's time. yeesh. don't get me wrong, i'm enjoying the gig (and the money), but it's time consuming. almost 40 hours a week! what with that and my social life (ha!) i haven't had much free time. being walking distance to work, riding isn't so much a necessity these days and, until someone decides to bankroll my next trip around the county (or beyond), that means motorcycling unfortunately falls into the "free time" category.
secondly, gas is expensive! even on my days off, i have to think twice about taking a joy ride. seattle is a good bit further away from fun, windy roads than bellevue was, and using a full tank of gas every time i have a couple of hours is not in the budget at the moment. again, waiting for that sugar-mama to take on my riding habit. anyone?
i have been riding, however, mostly to hurling practice and occasionally over to the eastside for dinner with the folks. i don't know if i've mentioned this before, but i'm really not a fan of public transportation (especially OUR public transportation), so if i can take the bike without too much extra effort (read: money) i usually will. 520 being a toll bridge now, however, i do have to stick to I-90, even when i'm traveling to kirkland. i never liked taking 520 anyway, though. it's a narrow-laned bridge with too much construction and people speed like motherf@%kers. Not very bike-friendly.
in a lot of ways, vixen is becoming merely my mode of transportation, other than walking (which is still 90% of how i get around). it's a different mindset, to be sure. instead of the thrill of getting on the bike for a ride, it's just a way to get where i'm going. i don't know if it's a bad thing, necessarily. i'm getting extraordinarily comfortable riding in the city (and just about anywhere), i just don't want to lose that great feeling you get setting out onto the open road.
the other curious side effect of this is that i seem to have forgotten how to ride in cars. or rather, my body has grown unaccustomed to the sensation. i recently spent the day riding around with a friend from out of town (mostly in the back seat), and i was actually starting to get motion-sick by the end of it. on top of that, i didn't like the feeling of being boxed in like that, and don't get me started on the stale, recycled air you get in those cages. i was surprised at the severity of my reaction to being a passenger, but not displeased. it means my car-less experiment is going well, i think.
anyway, in terms of consistency, i'm going to try and post more regularly. i was initially thinking once a week would be a good goal, but there are literally weeks i don't get on the bike at all, much less have anything interesting to say or the time to write it down. i'm going to shoot for once a month for now, in hopes of upping it to twice a month if the urge takes me. i may be expanding the format a little, to include more general observations of being car-less, but i'd like to keep it mainly focused on motorcycles (and possibly other two-wheeled vehicles). wish me luck.
until then,
rftc,
scott
first off, having a full-time job certainly takes up a lot of one's time. yeesh. don't get me wrong, i'm enjoying the gig (and the money), but it's time consuming. almost 40 hours a week! what with that and my social life (ha!) i haven't had much free time. being walking distance to work, riding isn't so much a necessity these days and, until someone decides to bankroll my next trip around the county (or beyond), that means motorcycling unfortunately falls into the "free time" category.
secondly, gas is expensive! even on my days off, i have to think twice about taking a joy ride. seattle is a good bit further away from fun, windy roads than bellevue was, and using a full tank of gas every time i have a couple of hours is not in the budget at the moment. again, waiting for that sugar-mama to take on my riding habit. anyone?
i have been riding, however, mostly to hurling practice and occasionally over to the eastside for dinner with the folks. i don't know if i've mentioned this before, but i'm really not a fan of public transportation (especially OUR public transportation), so if i can take the bike without too much extra effort (read: money) i usually will. 520 being a toll bridge now, however, i do have to stick to I-90, even when i'm traveling to kirkland. i never liked taking 520 anyway, though. it's a narrow-laned bridge with too much construction and people speed like motherf@%kers. Not very bike-friendly.
in a lot of ways, vixen is becoming merely my mode of transportation, other than walking (which is still 90% of how i get around). it's a different mindset, to be sure. instead of the thrill of getting on the bike for a ride, it's just a way to get where i'm going. i don't know if it's a bad thing, necessarily. i'm getting extraordinarily comfortable riding in the city (and just about anywhere), i just don't want to lose that great feeling you get setting out onto the open road.
the other curious side effect of this is that i seem to have forgotten how to ride in cars. or rather, my body has grown unaccustomed to the sensation. i recently spent the day riding around with a friend from out of town (mostly in the back seat), and i was actually starting to get motion-sick by the end of it. on top of that, i didn't like the feeling of being boxed in like that, and don't get me started on the stale, recycled air you get in those cages. i was surprised at the severity of my reaction to being a passenger, but not displeased. it means my car-less experiment is going well, i think.
anyway, in terms of consistency, i'm going to try and post more regularly. i was initially thinking once a week would be a good goal, but there are literally weeks i don't get on the bike at all, much less have anything interesting to say or the time to write it down. i'm going to shoot for once a month for now, in hopes of upping it to twice a month if the urge takes me. i may be expanding the format a little, to include more general observations of being car-less, but i'd like to keep it mainly focused on motorcycles (and possibly other two-wheeled vehicles). wish me luck.
until then,
rftc,
scott
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