The selfish commute

Every work day, we are face with the typical routine. We can alter our get-ready routine: something different for breakfast, maybe brush our teeth after the shower, instead of before (dangerous living, that last bit). But once we get out of our house, we are forced into a proud tradition reserved for all of us living in an urban environment. The get-your-butt to work commute.

We are all conditioned to just accept this event as part of working. Sometimes we hear about it from our parents when we are children. It is possibly described as something traumatic; "Don't talk to your father right now, he's had a terrible commute home and a bit out of sorts". Comments like this always led me to believe a horrid commute is one of those horrible-yet-accepted facets of adult life. Like gaining weight or graying (or worse yet, receding) hair.

There are alternatives. There are some people who realize time spent in a vehicle is not a thing to be wasted, but can use the "downtime" to add extra hours of productivity to the day. You notice them all the time, chatting on a cell phone catching up with people in another timezone or applying make-up. Some of the more daring will actually leaf through a book or the daily paper. Finally, there are the high-adventure types who will tap out verses on their fully deployed, precariously balanced laptop in the passenger seat. It is very easy to spot them, as their cars are normally swaying within the confines of the lane they are occupying.

There is yet another set of individuals who seek an even more thoughtful use of the time normally used commuting. Not satisfied with performing feats of time-slicing on four wheels, this group has a completely different approach to making the required commute bearable. This group makes the commute shorter, saves fuel, and has a lower impact on streets and traffic. I speak of the highly misunderstood motorcycle rider.
California is the only state in which a motorcycle rider can "share" lanes. This allows anyone on a motorcycle to use the space between lanes of traffic, so long as the rider is exhibiting "safe & practical" behavior. The law is purposely left open to interpretation should a peace office deem your handling of the bike unsafe. In the seventy-three thousand miles logged on my current bike I have yet to receive a citation for unsafe behavior. Admittedly, I always tone down my speed a shade whenever I spy a patrol cruiser.

How about you? Would you like to get to your destination in about half the time it takes when traveling by car? Could you find a better use for the time saved by shaving off hours (literally) every week?

Sure, there are drawbacks: people who style their hair would need to have those sculpting gels and combs at work (I wear my hair short, so who cares), and id you are one to bring a lunch, you may have to get a backpack or saddlebags to ferry it to work. For me, knowing I can get home (and to work for that matter) on half the time make up for a bits of inconvenience encountered. All the while keeping an eye out for the person tapping out an email instead of paying attention to how well they keep the car in the lane.

Think about it.