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Few people are probably aware, because I don’t go out of my way to share every single thing I do and especially those things that I suspect with gather ridicule from friends and family. Having already received such derogatory remarks as “biker boy” and “donorcycle,” I’ve decided I don’t really care and people who want to deride me are pretty immature and close-minded. So without further ado: I own and operate a motorcycle:

I have several reasons to champion my choice. From the get go, a motorcycle is a more logical means of transport for a single (or even two) human-beings; there is no much point in dragging around 2000-4000lbs of car (versus 500lbs of bike) to move a 170lb man. Most of the traveling I do requires nothing more than I can fit in a backpack anyways. Because of the weight reduction, my bike has yielded me about 50mpg (mixed commuting and recreational riding) versus my car that is lucky to do 20mpg in the same scenarios. That’s 250% savings at the pump!

Another benefit is available parking in downtown Bloomington and particularly near/on-campus parking for the IU campus is extremely limited for cars. In the two years I have been here, they have dramatically reduced the number of available parking spaces for non-instructional graduates and staff. I’ve rode the bus most of the time I have been here, and I estimated that I lost about 1.5hrs/day (attributed to walking, waiting, and riding of buses), and if I went home for lunch, closer to 2hrs/day. This is in contrast to the 0.5hr/day if I was lucky enough to find a parking space. I have yet to do a fall or spring semester here, but in the past I noted that demand for motorcycle parking is well below available space, thus I have gained back at least an hour per day (priceless). An added perk: the motorcycle spots are not graded. A graded motorcycle permit merely allows you to use one of those spots if no motorcycle parking is available; in other words, I can save almost a $100/yr on not buying a full-fledged parking permit. (I suspect in the winter I will upgrade and in the spring downgrade so I may not get the full difference in price, in the end.)

Finally, the best benefit is that it is fun! I’ve never much enjoyed driving my car.. for the most part, it’s uninvolved and mindless, so much so that I have actually fallen asleep driving (and even kept driving down the road). I suspect I could derive the similar enjoyment from a manual sports car. Realistically, a car that has the same sort of performance as my bike would cost more than 10x as much as my bike, and I am only a poor graduate student. More importantly, the actual sensation of wind blowing by, leaning into the corners, and intensity of not being trapped inside of a cage is unmatched.

Nevertheless, I will stop trying to convince you that I have sound reasoning skills. I’m sure I will continue to hear protests about my safety, but I feel no less safe on a motorcycle than I do in my car. Some people would argue that motorists don’t notice bikes, but I think motorists just don’t notice anyone; I see cars get cut-off and turned-in-front of all the time, so why would it be any different with a motorcycle? The big blue station wagon didn’t deter the guy that I crashed into, so I expect nothing less. I was already a paranoid driver and I am just as paranoid on a bike, and I could make the argument that I am controlling a more agile piece of hardware now. Besides that, I am not a squid and I wear appropriate protective gear, so accident statistics don’t apply since so many riders are unprotected and doing inappropriate things when they crash.

ATGATT.

Friday, August 1st, 2008 at 12:43 am.
Filed under General, Photos, Ranting.
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