Distance Vs Risk - Daily Commute

[SS HSV]

I have a new job which I have started in Basingstoke and today was my first day and I took the car. It is 44 miles each way and roughly an hour from my house, mainly round the M25 for a couple of junctions then all M3 and a few roundabouts and I'm there.

The question is: Who does a long daily commute on their bike and what are the other factors thats either allow you to justify using the bike or not. I have a Frank Thomas one-piece rain-mac type thing which does not leak, but I also have to wear a suit for work and look sensible as I have a lot of responsibilities Fortunately there are a few bikers there so I am looking forward to breaking the ice.

I love taking the Holden but I cannot allow Mr Repman to large-out his Audi on my bumper so the enevitable bye-bye occurs as does the £20per day fuel bill which is what it will cost me if I use the car.

So working on the 'more time on the road = equals bigger risk theory' who does large biker mileage here and what stories/advice can you share?

[SS HSV]

Hooli said:

16k miles since passing my test in january. to be honest id say short journeys are more dangerous, i tend to race short distances but cruise longer ones.
can you leave your suit at work & just take a shirt in a tankbag or similar?
tesco £25 suits survive rather well under textile gear if your interested. i went to work everyday on the bike from late january to march when i quit like that - about 15miles each way.

I don't think I could do the shirt in a bag thing as I would have to iron the damn thing when I got to work and thats a I hate ironing at the best of time but to have to do it at work

Biker's Nemesis said:

I nearly died commuting to work on a bike. I use the car now, my bikes are for fun only now 7-8 thousand miles per year on the bikes.

This is my concern - it's not about dying on the bike it's about dying on the way to work or on the way home for that matter. If you're gonna go out at least do it in your own time and not while trying to pay bloody bills

F.M said:

If you start early..the commute can be a joy...flat on the tank into the rising sun....in rush hour it can be filtering & avoiding lane changers who forget they have mirrors..but you will save loads of time.

Time is the other problem. I start at 8am which means rush-hour and guess what? I finish at 5pm so rush-hour again although I could just stay late

The old CBR has done 52000 miles and is still as strong as ever. It owes me just over 1000 bloody quid for it, and thats with mot, tax and insurance so its the ideal nail for the job. BUT, when the performance is used it will easily gobble up a tank on 100 miles (3 gallons) so thats about £10 per day on average if I don't live my life on the limiter. So for saving £10 a day to arrive dry and relatively composed I don't think its worth the extra risk, which is the answer I didn't want to arrive at.

Still if they give me a car allowance I could buy a new Busa and then it would be