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I was able to get out for a bit today and head up Hwy 14 towards Stevenson, Wa. It was a beautiful day to ride in the PNW. The sun was out and the roads were pretty empty. I also managed to get WA1, my first memorial for the @tourofhonor it was a 9/11 Memorial and I was reminded of all the emotion and horror of that day. I also thought of the thousands of families impacted by those terrorist attacks. I look forward to doing many more of these Memorials.

Just throwing this out there. Motorcycles make me happy! There is something incredibly therapeutic about riding. Even if it involves mind numbing traffic. It’s so fascinating how much less stressed I feel after a ride. Who else finds riding therapeutic?

May is motorcycle safety month. There are two main areas to focus on 1: Rider education. Always be looking for ways to improve your skills. 2: Public education. Start talking to those around you about the importance of watching for riders. Think about ways that you can make others aware of riders.

Ride safe,

Brady

Today on the way into work my bike rolled over 1000 miles. For any new bike this is a milestone. However this small milestone got me thinking about how last summer I did even more miles then that in 16.5 hours. How , if all goes well, I hope to do 1500 miles in around 24-30 hours. Miles are such a fascinating thing. They can lead you to so many places. In the IBA there is a ride called the 50CC and the 100CCC. In these rides people are riding from the Pacific to the Atlantic Oceans in 50 hours! In the 100 is to the opposite coast and back in 100 hours. When I think about what others have done my little 1000 miles feels pretty small. However I’m still proud of those miles. I hope to put many more on this year.

Since Dec 2016 I have only worn my Aerostich R3 suit to ride. Before that I wore Firstgear. Rainer Jacket and the HT overpaint. Today I wore that set up to work. Wow. It was a very interesting experience. I can’t say enough about the quality of Aerostich. I’ll still wear my 2 piece gear on occasion but today certainly made me excited for when I can afford a Darien jacket with the AD-1 pants. It’s hard to beat Aerostich quality. This by no means a knock on Firstgear. They make good product and I was happy with them for year. However compared to my experience with Aerostich there is no going back. For me there are two major things. First is that Aerostich custom builds their gear for each rider. For my suit I went to a pop up. Got measured and spent about an hour walking through with a consultant around the fit. I had actually been trying the Darien/ AD 1 Combo out and went with the suit. Anyways the service experience was great but then when i received the suit it fit perfect. I’ve been riding for 20+ years and have owned a lot of gear in that time frame. Nothing has fit me like my suit does. The second thing is the quality of materials they use. I can relate it to bikes. If all you’ve ever ridden is a early 1970s bike and that’s been your reality you think it’s great. And it is. It will do everything you want it to. However if you then ride a new 2016 FJR your reality changes and your eyes are open to what else is out there. For me Aerostich was that type of experience. The fit and finish of their products is excellent. That said don’t take my word for it. See it there are any Pop ups close to you or heck plan a road trip and go to Duluth. But if your looking for gear I would encourage anyone to try a Aerostich. Yes they are expensive but to me I ride a lot and I think if it in an investment in my safety and my comfort.  #aerostich

Each week work day I ride to work, as do many people.  I live in East Vancouver WA, and work in NW Portland. Distance wise its about 20 miles however traffic makes it about a 35 minute ride in the morning and 45+ in the afternoons. I’ve ridden a fair amount in this great country and must say that Portland traffic, especially I5 North is some of the worst I have encountered outside of California. Lately I have noticed an interesting trend. It seems like more and more riders are spiting lanes to try and beat this sludge of traffic hell.  This troubles me. I am a huge proponent of legal lane sharing. I think it should be legal and promoted in all 50 states. I have traveled in Europe and the Middle East. I have seen first had what successful lane sharing can look like.  However, the fact remains that it’s not legal in either Oregon or Washington currently. My concerns with riders using the shoulders and lane splitting boil down to a few main points. A few definitions from my standpoint. Lane Sharing is defined as “the practice of operating a vehicle in a traffic lane in a manner that allows other traffic to use the unused portion of the lane, or to pass slower traffic in the lane by using an unused portion of the lane.”  To me there are guides to lane sharing and that is one of the issues.

It is unsafe when drivers are not accustomed to such actions. This is each rider’s choice but as a former MSF instructor and motorcycle safety advocate I hate seeing riders taking unnecessary risks. When drivers don’t expect a bike to be next to them people can get hurt. Also they can get angry. Road rage is real and bikes cruising by

It casts a poor light on other riders. I was recently talking to some co-workers and the topic of traffic came up. Pretty shortly they were talking about how much they disliked motorcycles. I inquired why and they went on to talk about how they felt the riders thought they were “special” and “above the law”. I personally disliked being grouped into this category. I’m a responsible rider that chooses not to split lanes. However, in the eyes of the general public we are all “riders” and the actions of some could impact others.

I worry I that these actions dilute the work that is being done to make lane sharing legal in Oregon and Washington. It’s hard to get laws passed when people have a prior negative experience.

I know traffic sucks> I deal with it daily but I encourage riders to think before buzzing between cars.

Ride Safe,

Brady

April 1st kicked off the start of the Tour of Honor. This is going to be my first year doing the tour and I’m excited to be apart in a great event. As I looked over the list of 14 stops between Oregon and Washington I’m excited. There are a few that will be a challenge like the one in Gold Beach and the other in Anacortes. These will take a bit more effort but I’m confident I’ll get them all. My goal for this Tour of Honor is to get all 7 each in both Oregon and Washington. If I’m able to get any others then that will be a bonus. I also want to complete a SS1K with the TOH. This involves visiting 5 Memorials while sticking to the Iron Butt rules for a SS. This also will be tough but I have a fair idea of how I’m going to do that. I hope that this is a great riding season and that these fun rides will be a nice compliment to the daily commuting. 

Yesterday I rode to work for the first time. I recently changed jobs and am now working in the NW region of downtown Portland.  I5 is notorious for how awful the traffic can be however they have an HOV lane that motorcycles can use. The ride down was easy. No issues at all it took me about 25 minutes to 18 miles. I parked in the very nicely provided covered  motorcycle parking located in the front entrance.
 The ride home was a bit more adventurous. I check my maps via my phone and it said 55 minutes to go the 14 miles I need to go in order to meet my wife for dinner. I left work and got on HWY 405 E. It quickly backed up into a parking lot with the gridlock of a sunny Friday afternoon.  I very slowly made my way to I5 N. The HOV lane is about 1mile after the interchange and this short distance seemed to take an eternity. After about 15 minutes of very slow moving I finally made it to the HOV lane and it was a very slow go. That said it was much faster then not haveing the HOV lane. I look forward to many more combat commuting adventures. 

I was able to get out for a little bit today. The weather was decent and he rains stayed away. My gear worked flawlessly! Aerostich has done a masterful job of profecting riding gear. Wether it’s the R3 Suit or the amazing fleece base layers. It all works excellent. I was also able to use the new pair of Olympia cold weather gloves ( review in the future). 

I headed out from my home towards I-205 N from there I connected to I-5 and away I went. The roads were dry and there was only slight traffic. I exited at Woodburn and headed East towards Cougar. The road to Cougar was empty which was a pleasant treat. Typically these roads are busy with vacationers visiting all the local lakes in the area or heading to see Mt St Helens.  After about 25 miles the weather stared turning worse so I turned around and headed home. It was a great time to get out and enjoy the amazingly beautiful natural beauty of the region.