Commute (Pre Olympics) cont...d

Hey All.

i have some interesting developments within my own self discovery i would like to share. the main being that my journey is now down to 1hr 5m. i am 5 mins off my goal of an hour.

this is mainly because of my confidence on the bike and using the roads as my playground. i can control the bike much better without too much thinking now, although i have still managed to stall a few times at lights and through tight gaps.... LOL

i must admit it is embarrassing, but is mainlt because i try to accelerate too quick either in 2nd or in Neutral, then try to slip in 1st but miss the revs....

learning curve.... :)

i am becoming more bold with my positioning and speed as well, especially if it is dry, because i know the road has grip. i have even pushed the bike to 65mph which is its limit.

1 thing i would like to share is this. My journey is a tale of 2 halves. 1st being A-Road driving which has a speed limit of 50mph and is quite free flowing, and 2nd being inner London City roads..

on the A-Roads because my bik has an upper limit of 65mph it is not good for aggressive driving, as it has no power beyond 45mph.

0-40 is fast, and quick and in general beats most vehicles (except bigger motorbikes) from the lights.
40-50 is not bad, as long as the bike is not already in top gear.
50-65+ takes a while, and against the wind is slower still.

so in essence, when i am on the A-Road, if i am going 50mph, like most traffic i am stuck in the lane i driving in as i cannot be bold around the traffic any further. This is OK, as i accept this as the limits of the bike, but already my confidence is outstripping this limit.

for the 2nd part, the bike is perfect. It is small, nimble, light, and quick through traffic so is ideal for darting beside the queues to gain an advantage. this is where i am making up the time i think, becaus ei am learning where i can filter (outside, inside around etc) and what speeds i can get away with and the trouble zones.

overall then much better, and bike is acceptable for the type of journey i am doing, although i think a 250cc would be ideal, to accomodate the A-Road driving and still be small enough for the City drive.

we will see what happens. i said i would wait a year before taking my DAS course, but i need to chekc out the DVLA site, as i think the law is changing, so i might need to get in before then.

toodles..

Motorcycle Commute (Pre Olympics)

Right,

start of a new week saw a great commute this Mon morning, the rain held off and the roads were dry so excellent. also the traffic was well light this morning, so easy flick through the traffic.

i am also becoming more aware of how to filter properly and where i can filter on the roads used on my journey into town. so today Clock to Clock (door to door) 1hr 10 mins.. now that is cool especially as it involves time to lock/unlock the bike and walk to the office from parking bay (3 mins). so actual travel time is about  1hr.

now, this is the worrying bit. Next week sees the Olympic lanes being open and am totally uncertain how this is goingt oaffect my journey. it may not, as i can filter, but it is to the extent i am allowed to filter. because i will have to take a little space from the olympic lanes every now and then to get past the sumper trucks....

we will have to wait and see. i intend to go my usual route tonite on the way home, and hope that it will represent a full journey without making wrong turns, because so far i have not achieved a home journey in the same time span.

i will let you all know.