Ice Fog On Your Visor

A cool, foggy morning greets me as I put on my helmet and stare into a fog shrouded rising sun.  The Tiger starts with a willing snarl, burbling in its strange triple way, eager for the off.

Condensation immediately coats my visor as we leap into the morning's ground clouds.  The roads are dry but beads of condensation constantly reappear to be wiped away by a quick hand.


A cold, morning ride is a glorious thing.

Full of oxygen and surrounded by the smells of the world waking up to the first touch of the sun, I'm just another empty thing being filled.  Cold wind presses around and my heat bleeds away making me even more a part of the scenery.

It's all especially sharp because I know that this can't last for long.  Soon enough the roads will be covered in ice and salt and I'll be trapped in a shiny metal box, trundling to work, removed from the world, wrapped in metal and glass.

I pass through empty countryside soaking up the rising sun and wiping away the never ending dew.

The camera struggles to capture this moment hidden as it is in the clouds.  Moisture streams from the lens as the camera tries to blink away its tears, but even blurry images of this ride resonate.  

Don't fight the lack of clarity, embrace it, let it be.

I'm dripping with morning mist when I slowly dismount with icy joints at work, but my eyes have filled me with delights.  I leave the Tiger steaming in the glorious, golden haze and walk inside.

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!