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.

The yike bike made it to the invention of the year in TIME magazine. It is a battery propelled penny farthing looking machine designed to be a folding motorized people carrier.

I am a little perplexed about the engineering aspect of the Yike Bike that TIME was so attracted to. It is an electric bicycle without the ability to pedal if you were to run out of power. It does not have any fancy gyroscopic technology to keep upright. It is very light but I’d rather not see it hit a bump on the road, send the rider flying forward while the carbon fiber shatters into pieces. It is designed for urban environments, no? So, why is TIME awarding this pseudo electric bike such honor as vertical farming and bladeless fans? Does this indicate that America is interested in transportation without any physical activity?

The Yike Bike is electronically limited to about the same speed as a Segway. It does not improve the health of the people by making them pedal. It costs more than an average city bike. I guess to justify a Yike Bike, one has to understand the mentality of the people who like toys like the Segway. I don’t see the Yike Bike being used in malls, airports and amusement parks, since one can not just stand on it without movement. Therefore, it will only be used by commuters.

In fact, it would be ideal for my commute to work and back, twice a day except, I will be less visible since one sits so low on a Yike Bike. incidentally, Yike Bike manufacturers think one is more visible on it than on a bicycle. Also, I wont be keeping those pounds off that I normally would riding a bicycle. I am sure my wallet will feel a lot lighter too, since my mode of transport costs over $40 to own. Yes, my daily commuter dutch bike cost me $40.

The Yike Bike will successfully segue between lycraed roadies and techie geeks, bypassing pedal power for transportation. It will be hope against human powered mobility initiatives, namely walking and bicycling, with a recurring non-renewable energy requirement. It will be the new vehicle of choice to go to the next World of Warcraft convention.

At least it encourages people to live in urban environments because one cant really get anywhere important on a Yike Bike in the suburbs.

I have been partly ashamed to post here and partly have no material to write about bicycling or conservation. I am ashamed because I have bought a motorcycle. Though the justifications are solid, it has taken me away from bicycles. I have barely ridden a bicycle three times since I bought the Kawasaki. This is in stark contrast with my car free life since November 2008.

I am very close to moving to a part of town with a walk score of over 80. That will allow me to have a high quality bicycle usage than my current suburban hell hole. Moreover, that part of town recycles.

Since September, I have not ridden the motorcycle to any place other than work, errands between commutes to work and a friend’s dinner party so he could see it. I did ride to Downtown once to see how the longer commute would feel. I am not comfortable cycing in this zip code yet.

As time passes, I get closer to my move and a new life, namely a new life surrounded by beautiful historic houses with tons of character and the friendly people who live and walk in those neighborhoods. I will be closer to my friends and Laya will have access to several parks and barky friends.

Getting over 65 miles per gallon on the motorcycle is not bad either. As the engine breaks in more and the carburetors get smoother, I hope to reach the 80 miles per gallon mark.

Things to notice are the traffic lights, car parking, car traffic and intersections on this road.

A majority of complaints made against this segregated type of infrastructure is the dynamics of intersections  between bicycle path and motorised traffic. Remember that due to this infrastructure, a majority of people are on bicycles, not in cars, thereby reducing the volume of cars on the roads that lead to the supposedly friction at intersections. Moreover, there are laws in place to reduce this friction leading to one of the lower bicycle accident rates in the world.

Another complaint made by some Vehicular Cyclists is that this system gives cars and wealthy car owners more superiority. I dont know if car owners feel superior in this video but a substantially large and growing number bicyclists seemed to be enjoying a high quality commute involving zero emissions, absymally low financial burdens and a healthy body.

Note a woman with a small child on her bicycle pedaling down the street with no worries. This sight is almost never visible in USA where Vehicular Cyclists demand we rightfully take our position on existing roads with traffic. I have asked this question before (link) and continue to wonder why a mother would not ride her bicycle on car-traffic-laden-infrastructure-less streets with her new born!

Mom and Dad, fearing traffic conditions of Bombay, never bought me one. After laboriously evaluating every production motorcycle in India through magazines and internet, I had zeroed in on the Enfield Bullet 350 as the object of my affection. I got to ride a 1971 Royal Enfield Bullet 350 on the closed streets of Godrej & Boyce manufacturing campus. Even though I ended up pushing the heavy kick-start bike back to its owner for a quarter mile, consumerism was taking over. I wanted to acquire motorcycles from everything like the Enfield 350 to the over powered liquid cooled V4 engined Yamaha V-Max. Frugal options like 100 cc to 150 cc commuter motorcycles legendary for their reliability, affordability and fuel efficiency were not on my radar.

Others: Get what you really want. You will grow tired of this in three months.

Me: But I don’t have $9000 for the Triumph America. I want to keep my operating costs low.

Others: Put it on your credit card. Ask for an extension on your limit. Get financing. (in other words, get deeper into debt like the rest of us)

Me: I get 90+ miles per gallon. Insurance costs only $181 annually for Liability and Comprehensive.

Others: You will grow out of it soon. Get what you really want.

Me: I just want to commute. Not really worried about speed.

Others: You’ll think your bike is too slow in 3 months.

I am in a position where only time can tell if I grow tired of this bike quickly. Till now, my top speed has been a modest 30 mph on slippery rainy conditions with slippery new tires. I plan to own this bike for two to three years till I can afford to own and maintain a bigger motorcycle without going into debt. I am not, however, excited about being pulled into the rat race of traffic and commute. Owning a motor vehicle is one step closer to being another brick in the wall.

Calling a much slower instrument a vehicle and placing it on the road with much larger vehicles only with a thin shear blanket of a law is lazy. I am of the opinion that the definition of bicycles as vehicles is flawed. If the law and motorist’s courtesy is all that sufficiently protects a cyclist on a road, then let’s remove sidewalks and place the pedestrians on the road as well. They can use the shoulder and save bucket loads of money on concrete sidewalks.

Projecting a vehicular cyclist logic forward, cars, motorcycles, buses, trucks, tractor-trailers, bicycles, wheel chair bound disabled people, pedestrians etc. will all be called ‘widgets’ and all widgets will share the road with each other. Why should pedestrians be separated from the road to make it easier for vehicles to travel safely? Why support vehicular superiority? Vehicular Cyclists do not aggressively support Shared Space (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shared_space), making their arguments hypocritic and selfish.

Living in any sprawled area with no infrastructure but the blind principles of John Forrester makes life friction-full. Yells and honks start becoming an itch that wouldn’t cease so much that you would wish to cut off your limb to ease the pain. Initially, optimism and gumption help overcome the constant reminder that you as a bicyclist are unwanted and unwelcome on the road. The hammering does not stop, not till a large organization (Eg. a government) recognizes it and makes plans to stop it. Such efforts are usually graced with positive and constructive outcomes as seen in the cities of Portland OR, Davis CA and New York City NY.

I have decided to stop getting hammered. I am buying a motorcycle and moving to a bicycle-friendly neighborhood further away from work. I am moving from the top of a pile of bicycle commuters to the bottom of the pile of motor-vehicle commuters. In my efforts to latch on to a higher dynamic quality, namely car-free bicycle commuting, I am degenerating to an activity of lower quality, namely motorcycle ownership for commuting. I have kept gas bills, insurance and depreciation on the motorcycle to a frugal low of $100 a month, which used to be my taxi fare budget.

Lastly, the people who continue to bicycle commute here, Jonathan, Jose, Rebekah and the couple others who I haven’t met, are bigger people than I am. They are true heroes.

Posted via email from shek’s posterous

Posted via email from shek’s posterous

I have chosen to move to another part of town 13 miles away. A bicycle friendly and socially active part of town. I therefore need a motorcycle to commute to and from work. I would have done it on a bicycle but I have a dog to take care of and it is not fair to leave her in a room for 12+ hours while I am away.

My goals are to keep my expense at a minimum, gasoline usage low and not much insurance to pay. I have been looking at commuter motorcycles for a while. These are the options I am considering:

My route includes 12 miles of Interstate 95 and State Road 202 where the average speed of travel is 65 mph.

Only I95 has a minimum limit of 40 mph. It is recommended that to ride a motorcycle on a roadway, one should at least ride at the speed of traffic with some reserve power left to accelerate away from danger. I have heard stories from friends about how they were able to wring the throttle to escape an accident. It is not a common occurrence but it only takes one accident. This renders the Eliminator and the Suzuki not worthy of the interstate.

The motorcycle culture in USA, much like the bicycle culture is very much biased towards recreation. I have been battling this consumerist materialistic more-power-is-never-enough attitude for a few weeks. It is time to define my goals strongly and move towards a decision objectively.

Kawasaki Eliminator 125: I have been a secret fan of this bike in India where it is sold with a 180cc engine. It maintains its styling nicely even with a smaller engine.

Pros:

• Low styling (low center of gravity)
• High gas mileage (low carbon footprint)
• Least cost of the three (more money saved to replace my dying laptop)
• Low desirability (for theft)
• Low insurance ($181 per year includes comprehensive and liability)

Cons:

• Not worthy of interstate riding (Elongates my 15 min one way trip time to 30 min)

Suzuki TU250X: This reminds me of 70s style motorcycles I grew up watching. I like the sit-up styling unlike the foot-forward cruiser styling of the Eliminator.

Pros:

• High gas mileage (low carbon footprint)
• Low cost (more money saved to replace my dying laptop)
• Low desirability (for theft)
• Low insurance ($171 per year includes comprehensive and liability)
• Electronic Fuel injected

Cons:

• Not worthy of interstate riding. It will struggle to keep up. (Elongates my 15 min one way trip time to 30 min)

Buell Blast: This single cylinder has a reputation for hit-and-miss reliability. Some people seem to not have any problems with it while some complain. It was designed to be a maintenance free beginner bike.

Pros:

• Interstate ready. I wont have to take alternate routes on slower roads.
• Low center of gravity (muffler is tucked under the engine)
• Belt drive

Cons:

• Lowest gas mileage of the three (though very respectable)
• Hit and miss reliability in reviews
• High cost (low value for money)
• Highest insurance by far ($497 per year includes comprehensive and liability)

Conclusion:

The utility of these bikes goes up only with the Buell which allows me to keep pace with interstate traffic and have plenty of juice left to pull away from danger. Other than that, I don’t really see any extra utility. I will spend an extra 30 minutes (15 each way) by commuting on Phillips Highway but I am usually in no hurry and always have time. It fails to justify the cost over the Eliminator and the Suzuki.

I will get to ride the likes of the Eliminator and the Suzuki during my Motorcycle Safety Training Basic Rider Course. The final decision will have to wait till then. I am leaning towards the Eliminator though. It can provide the joy of cruising along at my own pace at a very affordable price. It is also a good step towards upgrading to a classic styled bike in a few years…like this one.

“What is Bikejax?” we get asked numerous times at the bike valet. Newbies at the Riverside Arts Market (link) wonder if we are a shop or a club. “Neither” we reply.

Bikejax started as a blog that talked about bicycling in Jacksonville. It mirrored the likes of BikePortland.org by putting a spyglass on the almost invisible community of bicyclists. Bikejax caters to a specific community of cyclists, namely the utilitarian kind. ‘People on bikes’ is what we like to call them. They are not ‘Bicycle Lifestylists’ or ‘City cyclists’. There is no hint of consumerism attached to the definition of this community.

The aim of Bikejax has been to promote bicycles as transportation. Soon after getting tired of bitching about the deplorable conditions of bicycling in Jacksonville, Matt Uhrig decided to ruffle some feathers. The phenomenal success of the night ride (link) was a beginning. Then came the ghost bikes, the MPO meeting participations, Vision 2035 participations etc. Only a year after its inception, Bikejax has been on TV (link)(youtube link), raised awareness on bicyclist deaths through ghost bikes(link)(link), participated in and organized one of the most fun rides in the history of Jacksonville (link)(link)(link) and finally started and consistently maintained a successful and free Bike Valet service (link) which has few rivals in the entire USA.

The informal saying goes, “Bikejax has achieved more in one year than most formal bicycling clubs have in decades”. Though all these tasks have been possible through the support and dedication of countless volunteers, merchants, City officials and FDOT officials, the one man that needs to be thanked is Matt Uhrig for his idea, relentless gumption and perseverance.