Two Wheels Through Winter

I rode my motorcycle to class today. The high for today in Wichita was 24 'F and I've ridden both my bicycle and motorcycle in colder weather. When I lived in Boise, I would routinely ride by bicycle all the way through the winter. Boise is pretty dry so I rarely had to worry about snow and ice and since I was moving the whole time, only my fingers and toes would get cold. I would often end up riding with my jacket unzipped due to all the heat I was generating.

Now that I don't have a commuter-worth bicycle, I'm on my motorcycle all the time. Many people think that riding in the winter is crazy, it being so cold outside. It helps that my commute is only five miles or so and I don't ride with snow or ice on the ground. When the temperature doesn't rise above freezing, I would be hard-pressed to say I enjoy the ride or find it comfortable. Its over soon enough, though, and I can manage.

I was reminded a week or two ago why I do ride motorcycles when we spent over $1000 on car repairs: its cheap. $5 for fuel every two weeks, insurance is $100 a year, I can do most of the repairs myself and though parts aren't "cheap" they tend to be cheaper than a comparable part for cars. After paying $350 dollars to have the power window mechanism replaced, I get almost giddy when I think that this is a repair I'll never have to make on the motorcycle. No air-conditioning, no heater, one cylinder, four valves (which I just adjusted last weekend), one carburetor, two wheels. There's something to be said for simplicity.