My 100 mile commute - 1 week in

[ZesPak]

So, I accepted a project some 100 miles from where I live (abroad).
There are some limitations, cars are a no-go, as it's a very crowded city and not possible to place a car there in any reasonable manner.
Public transport is great there, but from where I live it would take - and I kid you not - 6 hours. (I live next to the train station!)
So there were a couple of alternatives:

1. Drive to a place where it'll be easier to access public transport and have a good line towards the customer. This would cut time to 2,5h if traffic is ok.
2. Take the bike and do between 1,5 and 2h.

So, being used to commuting (usually less than half the distance though) by bike, I went for it.

The first day was pretty bad. Because of the rain, I thought putting my cell phone away (gps) and try it by spoken instructions. Missed an exit and did a 15 minute detour. All this while there was a constant rain and loads of wind. On the other hand, when mounted on my dash, CoPilot (Android/iOS) has been utterly brilliant, especially in "bike" mode.

The rest of the days however, being 11-13°C and dry, were surprisingly easy. Main thing I know from commuting is dressing up for the cold (Buff/scarf, good gloves, decent boots,...).
The VFR is a monster in this, eating up the miles like it's nobodies business. For the occasion I did attach the panniers. They work fine at ~100 but at ~130 they start to develop a very noticeable resistance, which in all fairness is plenty fast so no real problems. My two year old bike is now well past 30k miles as well .
A tank of gas barely gets me home, but even on the fastest day I didn't have to push the bike -yet-, so that's a bonus. Don't think it needs another 10 miles though.

In the end, if the weather is bad I'm going to have a problem. I wouldn't want to do it but I've got no real alternative. I dread the day it's going to be really bad weather.

As for the bike, the VFR maybe isn't "relaxed" enough to do this day in day out.
I know this is only temporary (a month, tops), if it wasn't I would be looking at either a full-on tourer (Pan or the like) or a ~600cc Maxi scooter . I have to say, I've yet to have a neck/back/arse ache on the VFR so it's been brilliant, but the riding position just doesn't make it the sofa you would want on a 2h trip on the bike. On top of that, the other two will probably be a lot better on fuel/tires.

Anyway, any of you do similar commutes? Out of necessity for traffic/parking? What machine are you using or what would you get?

Edited by ZesPak on Friday 24th October 09:09

[ZesPak]

creampuff said:

Where are you?

I'm from Belgium. So 100 miles in any direction would get me out of the country to be fair .

[ZesPak]

black-k1 said:

I don’t fit my panniers in order to make filtering as easy as possible and instead I use a waterproof bag on the pillion seat to transport anything I need. The one expense I did incur was to purchase a Garmin 660 to give me clear directions, even in heavy rain, and to act as a management point for my phone. It was expensive but has proved its worth over the last two years/36k miles.

I've fitted the panniers to be able to put in my helmets/boots/trousers. At this particular customer it would be very cumbersome having to take them inside :/.

Yeah, these gps's are quite costly and I can see their benefits. With my summer gloves, I can still operate the phone but otherwise I can't.
I've got a small waterproof bag here somewhere as well though to put the phone in . Anyway, I didn't really need it anymore this morning as I knew my way by now.

[ZesPak]

LeadFarmer said:

zespak, get a Gaucho and a pair of muffs fitted to your VFR (made by Tucano Urbano). You will look a complete idiot, but you will arrive at work warm & dry even on a cold wet rain day. Ive been using them already for winter....

http://scooter-wear.com/tucano-urbano-gaucho-motor...

Thanks but no thanks, if I go that way I'll go all out and get a maxi scooter

abarber said:

Assuming it's a 750/800 VFR, you can add ~3cm bar risers very cheaply and easily. I put some on my father's VFR800, you just fit them under the existing clipons as they mount onto the yokes, 5 mins each side.

It's a VFR1200F.

abarber said:

On longer trips, it makes quite a difference together with a taller screen.

I've got the optional double screen, got no neck pains and minimal wind on my helmet so it's all fine and dandy in that aspect .

Slohmo said:

I found it too tiring, especially in bad weather.

Also, bikes a very expensive to run.

You'll soon get bored at the expense of having to change your rear tyre every month or so.....

And servicing the bike every 3 or 4 months.

I would say an absolute maximum of an hour each way on a bike commute is just about tolerable - more that that and it's a chore.

I agree on the last part, though my last rear (PR2) has lasted over 11k miles, and my PR3 is well past that with little show of wear.

As for the last part, it's a temporary situation and I'm glad I've got the experience. The bike is the lesser of the evils to face (staying overnight, having a 3h commute) so again, glad to have the option even though it's not the most comfortable thing I've ever done.

Again, would love to have the opportunity to do this commute on a big maxi scooter (eg Burgman 650) just to see how much better/worse it is, would the relative lack of power be offset by the comfort?