Even if you're not a regular motorcycle commuter, "git on yer bike!" next Monday the 15th for the 18th annual worldwide Ride to Work Day. This year's motorcycle and scooter commuting demonstration is expected to be more than double as many riders become two-wheeled commuters to help demonstrate that riding is an efficient, economical form of personal transportation which makes parking easier and helps traffic flow better. According to Ride to Work, a non-profit advocacy organization: "Riding to work on this day shows the positive value of motorcycles and scooters for transportation. For many people, riding is an economical, efficient and socially responsible form of mobility that saves energy, helps the environment and provides a broad range of other public benefits". Motorcycle and scooter enthusiasts and rider organizations worldwide encourage their members to ride to work on this day.

According to the United States Census Bureau and the Department of Transportation, over eighty million cars and light trucks are used for daily commuting on American roads, and about 200,000 motorcycles and scooters are a regular part of this mix. On Ride To Work Day, the practical side of riding becomes more visible as a larger number of America's 8,000,000 cycles are ridden to work.

Let's hope the weather next Monday is a little better then recently.  I commuted in the wet all last week, including a ride home in a thunderstorm /windstorm that was sufficiently nasty that when I got home the Weather Channel was doing a live report on it!  Not that it wasn't fun on some video-game-like level dodging all stuff flying by: tree branches, roof shingles, Smart Cars, old ladies in rocking chairs (cue Miss Gulch's theme from Wizard of Oz)...