My English teachers clearly stated this is wrong. It is purely a play against using “he” which means male, female, or any of the other dozens of genders on any given day.

I got my education in the 1960s, well before “the current thing”. Do I believe you and Wikipedia or my English teachers and textbooks.

99% of APC users are lurkers (not counting bots). If somebody starts a discussion, conversation will happen and that's often of use to the silent majority even if the vocal few don't see it. I see it because I access the admin statistics, and we actually get emails from folks who appreciate the balance we try to strike here (otherwise I wouldn't be wasting my time).

Some general sharing on a topic doesn't have to directly revolve strictly around the OP's narrow specific needs, even if he made them crystal clear which he did not. It's a conversation, not a transaction.

Not sure what happened to this thread but I’ll chime in on topic;

I rode my bike (2009 Er6n) to work for several years out of LAX. I would 💯 recommend for LAX pilots who have to drive more than 30-45min in traffic because;

-no traffic (lane filtering is not only legal but encouraged/accepted in CA)
-bikes get to park in the terminal garage for free. Princess parking, no employee bus, right out front. You can’t beat that.
- weather is rider friendly, especially near LAX. Always cooler than inland.

I used 3 tie down straps for my bike; roller behind me with one strap sideways, 2 straps in-line with the bike that crossed each other. Then my other bag I attached with bungee cords.

I had a Givi storage box on the back where I’d put my shoes, and hat (and uniform shirt/jacket on hot days). I’d leave all my gear on the bike (it has hooks). I’d also use a bike cover cuz the bike would get dirty if I didn’t.

Once I got good at it, it would take about 10-15 min front end, 5-10 min back end to get the bike ready and leave.

I had a 35 mile commute; in traffic with employee parking, that could easily be 45min to 1hr20min drive plus 20-40 min for the bus. On the bike, 50-60 min from my house to the gate

All of this is true. But you still have to deal with generic LA drivers, overloaded trucks from down south running on bald recaps, drunks, dopers, reckless thugs doing 100+, etc. And a lot of construction zones with poorly marked random lane shifts (never know if the cagers will follow the temp lane lines or original lane lines which are only partially obscured).

Might be OK at certain times of day, but if your intent is to lane split to beat rush hour traffic that looks like false economy to me.

Lane splitting in SOCAL will catch up with you and if it takes my decades of experience to recognize that so be it. Your gopro won't generate a bubble of invulnerability either.

I use a Kipling rolling backpack on a Zero motorcycle into KHVN with Avelo. Fan-****ing-tastic parking at the airport with day trips.

I was gonna say. There are some brave souls in this thread if they actually want to ride a motorbike in LA or NYC traffic. You couldn't pay me enough to take that as an option to commute.

This is a fascinating thread.

It depends on seniority. If you are senior to me then I would highly recommend riding a motorcycle to work. It’s totally safe, especially during rush hour.
Also have some extra salt at dinner and look left when crossing the street in London…..

did s/he ask you to voice his/her option? Seems the OP could handle the butthurt his/her self.

FWIW I want to ride my bicycle to work, alas, we dont have showers at my base so probably no bueno out of respect for those sharing my office cubicle

to quote Rick:

If somebody starts a discussion, conversation will happen

riding bikes is self-selecting; some have it and some never will. I’ve been riding for 13 years, 11 of which were my only vehicle. Riding in SoCal is not as alarming as some would make it seem. No, you’re not in a car with all its protections and complacency, but you can be safe on a bike. I learned SoCal drivers habits pretty well, and they differ depending on which freeway you’re on.
my commute was 10-605-105; double white-line barrier between carpool and the other lanes the entire time. Easy commute. All you gotta do is pay attention near interchanges cuz you will inevitably and consistently have the “oh shoot that’s my exit I gotta switch 5 lanes right now”

LA drivers are pretty predicable IMO; they swap lanes the moment the lane next to them is moving 1 mph faster. if I was LAX I’d still be riding without a doubt

Learned something (surprising) today. This amazes me. Encouraged/accepted by whom? Is there at least a legal limit on the speed differential when passing between cars in line abreast?

In NoVA I-95 traffic, I've never seen a motorcyclist do this in a way that even appeared to be responsible and safety-conscious. They always seem to be traveling at least +30+ mph as they zip by between cars, and I never see them coming until they are passing (startling) me. I actually see it more when traffic is moving smoothly but at/under the speed limit, more-so than stop-and-go bumper-to-bumper. (If the argument is that it would be done safer if it were legal, I think that's a stretch....)

Personally, I don't think it's safe (for either of us) regardless of the speed differential, as the mass of moving metals is just too unpredictable, and it only takes one car (which could be me) swerving at 40 mph to miss a road alligator to ruin both our days because he needed to pass me at 70 mph to save 5 minutes on his 45-minute daily commute.

The idea that one would think their riding experience with a particular area provides them with a matrix-like spidey sense to continuously sense and predict the actions of highway drivers? I sincerely wish your luck never runs out... because that's what you're really reliant on, whether you realize/admit it or not.

Even in California, I think it's a good bet that most drivers don't realize it's legal. Even if they do see you coming up behind, even slowly, I'd worry about that one ***hole that is already frustrated with traffic and life enough that he "feigns" a swerve just to mess with you.

(caveat: this is my opinion only, as I'm not a rider and never have been. admittedly, my comments are not transactionally responsive to the OP's query, but rather intended to be conversational.)

the law is to only filter when speed is less than 40mph and with only a 10mph differential. If you stick to that, it’s really not that difficult to see car movements.

When I was LAX/SNA/BUR/ONT based I would commute to day trips/turns on a bike. For longer trips I'd Uber, no realistic way to put a suitcase on an XR650R supermoto.
I lived in Inglewood so LAX was easy. The others took a bit more commitment.

I've been riding 40+ years, know some people who had bad outcomes. Even one on a cruiser.

Weekday traffic in LA actually is fairly predictable as you say, there's just a lot of it. It's on weekends and holidays where it turns into a real poop-show in my observation.

The rest of the civilized world does this, and it's fantastic. I wish the rest of the US would wake up, lose the "What's in it for me" attitude when driving, and realize that splitting is not only safe when done properly, it saves everybody time. The idea that a motorcycle has to take up an entire lane/space the same size as a car is ridiculous. Bikes filter to the front at lights or in slow traffic, allows more cars behind, and removes the rider from the dangerous position of being stuck between two vehicles when stopped.

The morons you see zig zagging through traffic at 100mph are not what we're looking to do. Go to England, Italy, Germany etc and you'll see proper lane splitting with proper discipline. The reason it won't work here is because we're not educated on it, and when you're on a bike, for some reason people will actively try to kill you without thinking they're committing attempted murder. In places like CA, the drivers are used to it and expect it. If you do it in another state, the driver won't be expecting, and if you have some dummy who wants to play "hero", they'll even actively try and hit you or block you. I don't lane split in my state because it's not legal, but once I had a bike that was overheating while sitting in stopped traffic, so I filtered to the front so I could get off the road. Before I made it to the front of the line, a truck purposefully turned to the right as I approached to block my path ahead. Those are the morons that keep lane splitting from being a thing here.

Flew with a guy that did this in SEA. When he mentioned he got front row parking for free in the garage I briefly entertained the fantasy of buying a bike and doing that just to avoid the fourth circle of heck known as the employee bus.

Then I remembered I live in Seattle and went back to my nice dry car.

There's nothing cooler than airline pilots.

Except airline pilots who ride motorcycles.

(I tried the motorcycle thing at Wally World Regional Airlines when I lived in a rented box apartment and made $13k/yr. Didn't work then, won't work now.

Why in god's name would a Delta pilot consider this? Just watch that Tom Hanks movie "The Terminal", live in the airport, and you'll have a smoking hot C Zeta-Jones fa eating out of your hand in no time.)

Some people enjoy motorcycling, and there are definite benefits in certain domiciles. As mentioned, in LA you get free covered parking immediately next to the terminal instead of a 20+ minute bus ride or mile walk. Combine that with a little bit of joy and the hassles can make it worth it sometimes

[QUOTE=AYLflyer;3683656]The rest of the civilized world does this, and it's fantastic.

Civilized world? I've seen enough motorcycle riders lying hurt on the highway in France to realize that its not civilized, its just riders started doing it and the law agencies didn't stop them.

Rickair7777 was only offering some personal insight for safety. I have no issue with that. I, too, have ridden motorcycles in Los Angeles on the freeway. The legal lane splitting is something I utilized sparingly. There are a lot of knuckleheads on LA freeways that have no regard for the solid white line and dart in and out of the carpool lane on a whim. Scares the heck out of me.
I noticed that the motorcycle parking at the LAX garages is very convenient. No bus ride to the terminal and a brief walk to the checkpoint.

When I rode, It was steel-toe boots, levis, and a leather jacket. Now in my old age, I prefer the air-conditioned comfort of my Mercedes, but I don't have to drive to LAX anymore. To each his own.

The cruiser/bagger riders have lots of bad outcomes. It’s usually not from high speed like the sport bikes, but from the culture where it’s cool to ride to a bar for a few beers, but not cool to wear a helmet, much less protective gear. Hit your head on the pavement at 40 mph with a helmet and protective gear and you’re probably sore the next day. Do the same without a helmet and wearing jeans and an t-shirt and you’re covered in road rash, that is if you’re alive. Motorcycles are like fast women. They’re both a ton of fun, but for god’s sake…….suit up.

Well I’m saying that as a rider who rode nearly every day for 10 years in SoCal, the majority of *weekday* work commuters do know and expect motorcycles to be splitting lanes between the carpool and #1 lane. It is routine to see multiple cars edge slightly to the left of the carpool lane to make additional room as a rider is approaching, and this usually dominoes.
Also, commuters on bikes are a lot more common in LA than other places I’ve been because it’s all-season riding. So it was not uncommon to be riding in a train of legit 3-5 bikes who just happen to be on the same freeway. Bikes are much more a part of freeway traffic in LA. It is a very different vibe than every other place I’ve been. The culture is different.

Yes there are the occasional bad drivers or even rage drivers (I’ve had both experiences and they get your heart rate up), but that can happen in anything in life. Even driving your car is a risk that most Americans blindly accept (40k die in wrecks a year I believe).

And for people who think lane filtering is just dangerous or reckless; there are way to lane filter. Ideally (per highway patrol guidance) you only go 5-15mph faster than the flow of traffic. This means that when you see a potential for a car changing lanes, you slow down so you don’t zip through their blind spot right when they’re turning. If there are no spots available for a car to change lanes, you can safely ride faster. Cars don’t often just randomly switch lanes directly into another a car so you can generally pretty much count yourself safe if you are between two cars.

This is very accurate. Weekday drivers kind of know the drill and it’s easy to expect what they’re gonna do. The weekend/holiday drivers are not as predictable and on those days I would filter at a slower speed.

Some people get lucky on motorcycles. Some dont. The simple fact is if you get hit you are naked. Period.

In the end that is the issue. I have had to many friends get maimed on Bikes. My brother raced bikes on the track and taught motor riding to CA police departments. He does not ride on CA streets. He says it’s not a matter of if but when you will get taken out. No one over 65 even sees a bike.
Post covid driving habits seem to make the issue worse. His name for bike riders is “Organ Donors”.

Buddy of mine did the motorcycle commute. Veteran rider. Crashed. Nighttime. Other driver didn’t see him. Out for four months, destroyed his luggage, flight kit contents all over the road. Put an end to that.

"I have had to many friends get maimed on Bikes."

I personally know five people that died. My uncle got tboned in his truck while i was in the truck with him and i rode with him once on his harley. He vowed to slow down at every intersection as careful as could be and then BAM hit my a auto parts delivery driver cracked his head open on the street and another rider held his hand and watched him die. Family tried to sue the parts company and the driver. Driver was an old man who didnt have anything. Wrongful death suit didnt pay them a dime. You can be the most defensive driver in the world IF you get hit you are most likely going to be a hurting puppy.

^^^^^^^

“Often times, the helmet can just option the family an open casket funeral”

-My Dad-

(Fireman/first responder”

I used to do it occasionally on turns when the weather was good. I enjoy riding, and parking is easier.

One of my sim partners yeas ago commuted on a Maxi-scooter, from the Woodlands, to Houston. His was a Suzuki Bergman 650 which has a huge secure luggage area under the seat, enough room for 2 full face helmets. He had a luggage rack on the back, where he put his Travelpro. His helmet and riding gear stayed stowed under the seat while he was gone.

There are several Maxi-Scooter brands. I have a Honda , but Yamaha makes one as well as Suzuki. They are very capable on the highway, they’ll all do at least 90mph, and have good windshields.

Weather is the biggest challenge that you will run into. Oh ,keep it covered while you are on the trip. The sun is brutal on bike seat and instruments.

Ha. Until you get creamed by a Lexus. Ask me how I know. My screen name might give a hint into what I enjoyed in the past for many years. Then the Lexus. My bike looked like it had been hit by a shoulder fired missle. Was a pretty bike too. Then after the freaking Lexus, looking at my kids when they were real young. Yea, the bike(s) had to go. You couldn't pay me enough to ride anywhere near the vicinity of any metropolitan area. Not a single person is paying any attention to anything besides their phone, and it's getting worse as the years tick over. They have zero SA, they cannot see you whatsoever, they could care less, looking down to text is way more important, you are literally invisible, I don't care what sort of hi-viz stuff you think you have on. Yea I get it, we could die just walking down the street to the coffee shop, risk and all. And I miss the bikes, the mechanical symphony that it was, I do. But riding on the street these days, especially commuting on the daily, screw that. That Lexus took one of my 9 lives that day.

Oh sure, a BMW. I rode them many years. Most of my old Harley buddies came over to the dark side. They got tired of Hog haters trying to hit them due to their dislike of biker gangs and wannabes.

All those big scooters have dry clutches too.

Yep. There are risks. Life is not without them and everyone’s tolerance is different.

I for example still ride and am not telling anyone not to. Just suggesting that commuting circumstances changes the fun/risk ratio.

I might have been a bit more into things from the 80's and 90's with an Italian flavor :) .......

Man I get tired of this - especially from people in the travel industry. It's a ROLL ABOARD!

Does roller board actually make sense to anyone?

Maybe it would of made sense if you're thinking was different irregardless its a mute point now since we all know what there point was.

I could care less.

If you don't mind sounding stupid, please proceed. It just puts one in the majority anyhow.