Commuting on a Motorcycle

It isn't a giant commute - about a 15km round trip each day.  Our strangely summery autumn here in Ontario means I'm commuting on two wheels every day.  Over two weeks and ten commutes I've put over 150kms on the bike (I sometimes go the long way home).  What is commuting on a fourteen year old Triumph Tiger like?  Glorious.

In addition to actually looking forward to my commute each day, I (and the planet) are also enjoying the fact that I'm barely using any fossil fuel to do it.  In the past ten days I've used 6.88 litres (1.82 gallons) of gasoline to get to and from work; I've still got three quarters of a tank from my fill up two weeks ago.

The Tiger is currently getting better mileage than a Prius and didn't make anything like the hole in the world that the Prius did in manufacture.  My 0-60 in under 4 seconds Tiger is very nature friendly.

Other than a light rain on the way home one day it's been a dry time.  The bike has been fire-on-the-first-touch ready every day.  If I won't get soaked on the way in I'll take the bike (being at work with wet pants is no fun).  I could attach panniers and have rain gear with me (I've done that before on committed 2-wheeled commutes), but being only fifteen minutes from work means I and the Tiger travel light.  Riding home and getting wet means being uncomfortable for fifteen minutes, no big deal.

How long can I keep it up?  With the current forecast it looks like I'll be car-less until well into October.  The most recent forecast suggests a drop into the teens in the upcoming weeks, but I'll keep going until ice is a threat (I won't do that again on purpose).  Warm, never ending autumns are a lovely thing.

Unlike driving to work in the car, when I commute on the bike I arrive oxygenated and alert; it's difficult to cultivate the same level of alertness sitting in a box.  Showing up at work switched on and ready to go is a great way to start the day.  

With no morning radio I'm not as plugged in to the world, but that's no bad thing either.  Instead of pondering the latest human generated catastrophe (aka: the news), I'm gulping down morning mist and beautiful sunrises; it puts you in an expansive state of mind.

Soon enough we'll be into the long dark teatime of the soul (Canadian winter).  In the meantime I'm going to keep drinking from the commuting on a motorcycle fire hose.

Seven for Seven

Last week was a perfect 5 commutes on the bike.  This week I'm up to two already, though I got a bit wet on the way home.

If the weather holds I'm aiming for three weeks with the car parked!

A Glorious Morning

The ride to work -
fifteen minutes of
morning mist, 
warming sun, 
cool air,
filling my lungs
before the day begins.

Triumph Triples and Vulcan Bombers: Singing British Induction

I took a 360 video of our ride down the Forks of the Credit today.  

The video bit came out OK, but what was interesting was how well the microphone picked up the 955cc Triumph triple cylinder engine.  

Since it was out of the wind you get a front row seat to the mighty motor and its strange sonorous ways:

I've heard induction roar on a bike before, the Concours made a big whoosh, but the Tiger almost sings as it breaths.  It must be a British engineering thing.  Vulcan bombers used to howl when their air induction reached a certain point as well:

Why just make it work when you can make it sing?

Haliburton Highlands Fall Colours

With the weather beginning to turn we're in for a Canadian treat:  Fall Colours.  I think I'm going to aim for a couple of days out Haliburton way in October for a last big ride and a chance to soak up the colours.

Last time up that way I did Highway 60 through Algonquin Park.  This time I'm going to stitch together another route that is as different as possible.

Algonquin does a colour report that I'll keep an eye on and see if we can time a couple of days up that way when the colours are peaking.  Discover Muskoka does one too.  Last year we went up to the Kawarthas for Thanksgiving (early October in Canada): 

...and it was right before the colours changed.  Only the somac was in full colour.  I'll see if I can time it a bit better this time around at sync it up with a big last ride before the snows come.

Autumn on the Canadian Shield is a beautiful thing.

Waiting for it to Heat Up

It was a 6° morning, so I waited for an hour or so until the sun warmed it up to double digits.  The goal was to enjoy some curves on the last weekend before it's back to work.


I pushed north to Grand Valley and got a quick coffee at Brewed Awakenings before pushing on up past Shelburne and onto River Road out of Horning's Mills.  Finally, here were the twisty roads I'd been looking for.  South Western Ontario is a patchwork of tediously straight roads.  The exception is the Niagara Escarpment and this is one of the closest pieces of it.

Playing with vanishing point electrical lines

South out of Terra Nova Public House after a quick (and fantastic) bowl of hand made fish soup, I pushed south down the spine of the escarpment into Mono Cliffs and Hockley Valley.

By this point it was early afternoon and a warm, 22° late summer day.  Leaving the escarpment I pushed back across the barren desert of straight roads.