Shek's Footprint

This is the last post on this blog.

On 30 September 2010, I had the most relaxed motorcycle commute to work. The morning air was a crisp cool and the mostly southbound ride was accompanied by a gentle tailwind. The traffic was light and the engine felt nimble. Cruising at a steady speed under 50mph, the motorcycle disappeared in sensation. All that was left was the feeling of propelling through the morning mist…like flying.

The same tailwind had grown in might in the afternoon. Now, a heavy headwind, the commute back only affirmed my decision of giving up motorcycling. That Thursday was the last day I rode my motorcycle as a primary mode of transportation. Now with an expired tag, it sits in my front yard awaiting a novice motorcyclist to buy it.

I rode my xtraycle to work on Friday, thus closing the week and the two years of my car-free existance. Early morning Saturday, I juggled the local JTA bus transit and picked up my car from my friend. I had already purchased the car earlier that week and let my friend, the seller use it till Saturday before he bid adieu to USA and moved to Brasil with his family.

I started this blog when I went car-light and supplemented my commutes with my bicycle. I went car free on 17 October 2008 and it has been a heck of a ride since then. This blog has been instrumental in channeling my thoughts and ideas on transportation in general and bicycling in particular over the years. Now that I am back to depending on a car full time, it is only apt to shut down this blog.

I will continue to ride my bicycle to work a few times a week.

I will also continue blogging on Finding Mukherjee | Blog. You may subscribe to my universal feed here.

The real world is a combination of what we are supposed to do and where we do it. It generally involves buying a car and a single family home with fake grass and a barbecue grill in the back yard. I put that concept of the real world to a test. In May 2008, I started riding a bicycle to work and grew independent from the car. In October 2008, I sold my car and went car free. In September 2009, I gave up dealing with insolent motorists in suburban Jacksonville and decided to move to Riverside, a part of town built on a human scale.

Motorcycle Ownership

I had decided to not own a car for as long as I could manage it. A voluntary car-free state is a protest against the city of Jacksonville’s mandate to buy a car. Being car free allows me to be more environmentally responsible. To be able to commute from Riverside to work, a distance of 12 miles, I decided to buy a motorcycle. Not wanting to pay too much of the car tax, I bought the cheapest motorcycle in the market. To keep my mode of transportation reliable, I bought a brand new motorcycle. In December 2009, I moved to Riverside. I have been commuting on a motorcycle and sometimes on a bicycle from Riverside to work every day since the beginning of 2010.

Benefits of the Motorcycle

I get around 80 miles per gallon. My carbon footprint is very small and I fulfilled my life long dream of owning a motorcycle.

Drawbacks

This is a very light motorcycle and Jacksonville is fairly windy. At even a 10 mile per hour wind, the motorcycle gets pushed around on the road. This is similar to the feeling if you were to ride a bicycle and someone pushed your shoulder to the side. It gets difficult to keep my position on the lane. I generally drop speed to gain front tire traction to be able to steer myself back to where I was. This gets worse when it is windy and rainy. Most of my commute is on Phillips Highway. It is an old road and the center of each lane is very uneven. When I get pushed from my left half position into the center of the lane, the motorcycle gets even more unstable. This results from the weak forks and fork mounts.

At short stretches of highway, the grooves cut on the surface tracks the front tire giving the motorcycle a mind of its own. This gets worse crossing the tall Acosta Bridge which has rain grooves and higher wind speeds.

Maintenance cost of motorcycles is very high unless you can do it yourself.

Seven months of Riding

By the first three months till March 2010, I was considering moving to Belize. It was the coldest winter in Jacksonville in decades. It was extra cold for me on a motorcycle. Some mornings, the wind chill would be around 15 degrees. My fingers have been so cold that I was unable to remove my gloves and unstrap my helmet.

When it started warming up, the weather was perfect for motorcycle riding. This lasted probably 3 weeks till the pressure system in the Gulf started working and the winds picked up. I remember my first time in a 14 mile per hour cross wind taken by surprise not knowing what to do. I remember struggling to keep my lane position and doing everything in my power to not end up in the ditch where the wind was taking me. Between April and July, there have been only a handful of days where motorcycle commute was fun. Mornings are usually uneventful but it is the afternoon commutes that create stress. Continued added stress leads to fatigue.

Solving the wind problem

Between the motorcycle’s weight of 300 lbs and mine of 220 lbs, the center of mass of the two of us sits fairly high up. This makes it easy for the wind to create an impact on the direction of the motorcycle. Scouring numerous forums and blogs about people facing similar problems with the wind, I discovered that no one faces this at under 20 mph winds. They all ride heavy motorcycles.

Therefore, buying a heavier motorcycle with thicker forks, sturdier fork mounts and thicker tires will greatly solve my woes. Alas, even a used heavier motorcycle (650 cc to 800 cc) costs between $3,000 and $4,000. Incidentally, a coworker is moving to Brazil and is selling an old Toyota in great shape for under $4,000. I am jumping on this opportunity.

The Real World

This marks my re-entry into the so called real world. It starts by buying a car. The feelings associated with buying a car now are so different than the feelings I had when I bought my first car in 2006. Now, I view a car as a bloated and inefficient tool that is unofficially mandated by the city. Back in 2006, my car was a toy, an extension of my limbs and a mode of transportation to the nearest money-draining chain restaurant.

I re-enter the real world with desperation and need of a car, not a want. I re-enter the real world with open eyes, not eyes masked by social norms designed to impress faceless members of society. I will always regret that I wont be car free anymore.

Seven people showed up, including me. The excellent company made up for the lack of participation by far.

The ride was promoted paper free. No posters and leaflets. In the age of blogs, RSS feeds and feed readers, it is pointless to print posters. Ride information was shared on Urban Core and Bikejax, both very  popular websites. I also created a facebook event where 30 or more people agreed to attend in spite of the Tour de Cure going on. Lakshore Shwinn, a local bike shop that carries xtracycles also sent messages on twitter and facebook.

Many people who missed the bicycle ride are probably at work watch oil spewing out of the extraction site on bp’s live feed. They shake their heads in disappointment to bp’s lack of proper oil spill containment and to the damage done to sea life and beaches. They may even shed a tear at the sight of oil drenched birds. They prepare to end their work day and make their way home in the comfort of their gasoline powered cars. Over the weekend, they will probably make their way to the grocery store or a restaurant in their cars, run into friends and talk about boycotting bp, then drive their cars back home.

I like to hope that people would do something to lessen their usage of gasoline. It causes pollution, spills and war. It also supports the car tax. I hope they replace some of their trips with a bicycle. Even a short trip.

I have been riding two days to work and am upping it to three. I am supplementing my bicycle commute to work with my motorcycle. 14 miles is quite long.

I am also drooling on the pictures from the Cargo Bike Race in Copenhagen.

There I was enjoying a simple home cooked dinner with my friend Elisabet and she drops a bomb on me. “My friend and I are riding our bikes to Gianesville. Would you like to come?”

The first subjective thought was a resounding “Yes!” The objective engineer in me promptly took over and started analyzing this offer.

• I have not been riding regularly.
• Elisabet and her friend have been riding less than me. They work out though.
• We need someone on call either in Jacksonville or Gainesville or both in case something un-repairable breaks on the trip, namely a Plan B.
• It is 70 miles away. We are not even used to riding a third of that regularly.

I have always wanted to tour. The three people whose tours encourage me are Ken Keifer, Russ Roca and Laura and The Stouts (who tour with two toddlers). I was skeptical about going on my first tour alone. This tour is an opportunity to have company and do a short trip. I also had some strong candidates for a Plan B.

Between the conflicting subjective and objective thought processes, I managed to find quality in this adventure. First thing the next morning, as early as it is allowed to send text messages, I replied,” Fcuk it! I am doing it”.

Desperate emails were sent to Russ Roca and Jack “Ghost Rider” Sweeney. Their tips are very much appreciated and summarized below the map.

We leave on Saturday morning, reach Gainesville by evening, rest, then leave the next morning and arrive in Jax the same day. This is the route that we have decided on.

View Jax to GNV by bike in a larger map

Some good advices:

• Take three spare tubes
• Make sure the valves on the tubes match the air pump
• Start with a big breakfast which will help you power through the first twenty miles
• Stop every ten miles to snack
• Eat apples, peanut butter
• Plan for a good lunch that you can look forward to
• Use padded mountain biking shorts

Medical: sun block Tylenol Antacid napkins after-shave (disinfectant for cuts) bandage

Gear: 1 padded mountain biking shorts (wash and dry upon reaching) 4 t shirts 1 long pants 2 compression underwear 1 pair of boxers rain jacket safety glasses (for riding in the rain or in the dark) sunglasses iPhone iPhone charger extra batteries for headlight and tail light rag cycling cap Dr. Bronners liquid soap (good for washing face, hands, hair, plates, clothes etc) paper map (in case technology fails)

Tools: duct tape swiss knife 2 adjustable wrenches 13 mm wrench bike pump 3 tubes Nylon rope

Food: 3 bottles of water museli cheese (Brie) trail mix roast beef sandwiches sweet potato chips Hot/Cold insulated bag (folds flat and lighter than a cooler) Spoon

I plan to buy a cup of yoghurt and blueberries to eat with muesli Sunday morning before riding back. This I will do once I reach Gainesville.

I will try to post pictures on this blog as we go through our journey.

A tax is something that one is compelled to pay to be able to live a problem free life. We pay taxes to the government who spend it on schools, roads and public safety. Sometimes we resist with tea parties to the extra dollar they they raise in taxes. Once that paycheck hits our banks after a methodical deduction of taxes, we pay our rent or mortgage on our home that puts a roof over our heads and protects us from elements. We pay for utilities and for basic groceries to feed us and keep us nourished. These are means of existence. We absolutely can not survive without food and shelter. These are necessities.

In order to pay for these basic necessities, we have devised a system of compensation for work or service that creates a product that other people want to buy. We go to work everyday, get paid, pay our taxes and so on. Sometimes, we have money left over that we try to save for a rainy day or retirement, take a vacation, sponsor our hobbies or just plain consumerism. These are indulgences.

A car is something we buy to commute in a safe and protected way, though the safety of commuting in a car is questionable. When you are made to buy a car due to the design of the city’s infrastructure, the car becomes a necessity. It is not a cheap necessity either. A brand new car kept for 10 years with insurance and gas will cost over $200 a month, usually more than utilities to power your home. That is $2,400 a year. Most people do not keep their car for 10 years. For the first five years, that car costs over $500 a month or $6,000 a year. This car puts us in a random environment of traffic, made random by the presence of other drivers. Random = increased risk of an accident.

Mass transit, though costs extra tax revenue, and in turn the payment of extra taxes take the human element out of the commuting equation resulting in a safer method of commuting. The absence of mass transit or an effective mass transit will compel people to have to spend on a car. Such is the case with the City of Jacksonville. They provide an infrequent bus service with insufficient routes to conquer the vase expanse of the city. They also insult us with a skyway system that starts at a parking lot in the middle of nowhere and takes you to a convention center with ample on site parking, a college and a few other businesses. It does not even take you to the sports arenas.

Therefore, the citizens of Jacksonville FL, mostly republican, pay the car tax because it is a necessity, a need, not a want any more. No one protests at a tea party.

The struggling citizen who work hard to make a living are left behind to fend for themselves. They have to chose between a budget for either gas, car payments and insurance or quality food to feed their children. They choose the high-fructose corn syrup laden preservative infused cheap foods. They would like to pay premium for food not car but they don’t have a choice. They are not given a choice. Who cares about them anyway?

Some people understand the severity of this issue and protest on a very popular website namely metrojacksonville.com. I wish to protest by not owning a car. I moved recently to a walkable part of the city that put me out of bicycling range to work but I did not buy a car. If I was to pay a tax and had the choice to decide how much to pay I will try to pay the least. I wanted my mode of transportation to be reliable and requiring low maintenance. I bought the cheapest motorcycle in the market for $3,000. The insurance on that cycle is $20 a month. It gives me about 70 miles per gallon. The monthly cost on the motorcycle is $100, including depreciation. This is my protest to the city. This is my protest against the car tax.