Emily finally found the bike she’s been looking for. On Saturday she picked up a white Gixxer 600 over at Chaparral Motorsports in San Bernadino.
She’s been looking for a white one for quite sometime. Fortunately Chaparral had one. What tops this one off is that it comes with white wheels which has a nice sporty look to it plus it seems pretty rare to find.
I just got back from the first long-distance MotoSGV ride down to San Diego. This was the first trip where we actually rode somewhere and stayed over night. The ride to and from LA to SD was tough because of the long distance and the heavy traffic (most likely caused by Comic-Con event).
11 bikes in a compact parking spot. We know how to pack them in.
After getting down to SD on Saturday, we hung out with Vic’s cousin John and a few other friends at Mission Beach for a BBQ and Volleyball. After that we had more BBQ at a famous SD spot, Phil’s BBQ. Their BBQ ribs and chicken were amazing. I’d love to go back and pay that restaurant a visit again. The following day we did some kayaking in the morning before we headed back; unfortunately this part of the trip didn’t get documented because I didn’t have a waterproof camera.
Anyway, the briefness of this post can give you a clue of how tired I am from the ride back. We’ll hopefully have another trip in the future, but it’ll have to be after my butt heals.
It’s never been easy getting around in Los Angeles without a car. Unfortunately, it’s getting even harder with gas prices at record levels. With premium gas hovering around $4.75∼5.00 per gallon, I’m paying upwards of $50 a tank on the MX5 and $15 a tank on the Gixxer. Now I think twice about flooring the throttle.
In an effort to start saving money at the gas pump, I’ve been looking at alternative methods of getting to work. My daily commute is approx. 50 miles round trip. I get roughly 23 mpg on the MX5, which isn’t too bad compared to some other “sport vehicles.” If you crunch the numbers, the MX5 cost roughly $10.00/day just with gasoline consumption. I’m sure maintenance and wear-and-tear nearly double that amount.
There are other problems I get when commuting with the MX5 and Gixxer. For starters, the MX5 is NOT made for commuting. The small compartment and close proximity to the shifter make the MX5 an awesome track/weekend canyon driving car. But meandering through bumper to bumper traffic inside the compact MX5 cockpit make the driving experience super annoying.
Then there’s the Gixxer. It’s literally an edge of the seat riding experience when crossing through Los Angeles traffic. I feel constantly high-wired and stressed when trying to keep my eyes on the vehicles around me. I always have to make sure that other drivers don’t decide to swerve right in front of me. Fortunately, there still is a low cost and less stressful alternative to commuting in Los Angeles.
Up to this point, I’ve always been skeptical about Los Angeles mass transit. I thought that it would be too troublesome to use. I figured I’d have to learn all the routes it would take to get to my mid-Wilshire office. Yet, after snooping around and looking at maps, there is a public transportation option that makes a lot of sense.
The Sierra Madre Villa Station in Pasadena is only 5 miles away from my house in Temple City. This station is part of the Gold Line that leads to downtown Los Angeles’ Union Station. From there, I can transfer over to the Purple Line and get off at the Wilshire/Western stop. Then it’s a short bus ride to my office near Wilshire/Fairfax. And all this at a cost of $5 per day (or if I decide that I really like this option: $3 per day when pre-paid monthly).
I’ll need to start looking at this alternative option to my commute. Some benefits I can already see:
Tomorrow will be the first day I give this new option a try. Hopefully it will be all that I’m expecting.
My weekends have been very busy lately. May has been jam packed with weddings and parties. It hasn’t left much time to mess around with the Miata or Gixxer. Yet after some convincing from Em, I made time to have a little fun and take the Gixxer out on a cruise with the MotoSGV group. We had a few newbies that came along so we planned an easy cruise in the Azuza canyons. Was a great way to spend the Memorial Day morning.
This morning, Jim and I decided to hop on the bikes and head up to Angeles Crest Highway. Although the sun was barely peeking out and we were freezing our butts off up in the high altitude canyons, the roar of the engines ripping through all of the serenity made it all worth it.
Unfortunately the cold weather and last nights drizzle left the roads icy and treacherous. We didn’t come close to hitting up Newcomb’s so we turned around and went to Alta Dena to get breakfast at Fox’s.
Although the conditions weren’t the best, I still had a fond appreciation of my bike and hitting up the canyons. There’s something about listening to the sound of your engine hum at a lowly 4,000 rpm and then scream at +12,000. When riding through the canyon, it sounds more like a symphony. Turn by turn, you hear the highs and lows generating from the exhaust pipes. It’s a completely hypnotic experience.