Motorcycle Lust.

WARNING! Motorcycle talk ahead. Ignore post if you have no interest.

Recently re-watched Long Way Round and currently watching Long Way Down, documentaries of Ewan McGregor and his buddy Charley Boorman travel long distances on BMW GS series Adventure motorcycles. Lightning Quick Movie review by yours truly to follow soon!

I'm sure you wouldn't be surprised if I said now I want a motorcycle. As much as I'd like one of those BMW GS Adventures in the movie or even one of BMW's smaller adventure bikes, they are a little pricey for me and let's be serious - I am unlikely to be traveling offroad or on long trips anytime soon.

After a lot of dreaming and deliberation of actual needs, this is what I've come up with:

The Yamaha WR250x. It's basically a street legal 250cc dual sport bike with road tires. Under 30hp, 70mpg, 300lbs, 85mph top speed. So it's kind of a modest but really fun bike.

Issues and potential solutions:

Foul and cold weather. Well, wear rain gear and cold weather gear that I already have.

Cargo. They make really cool aluminum panniers, which are metal boxes that go on either side of the bike, typically for long trips or expeditions. This could hold groceries or daily gear. If this was my only form of transport and I need to carry something bigger (relatively rare occasion) like a trip to Home Depot, I would probably rent or borrow a car. If I have to take a cat to the vet I honestly don't have a problem with strapping a cat cargo cage to the back of the bike. Or I could walk or borrow a car. I would most likely need a car to take the dog to the vet.

I own a car that is not worth selling so would prefer to wear it out. The price of the Yamaha plus luggage would equal an decent used car which is admittedly more practical. I would prefer not to own two vehicles.

Maybe I need to wait for this car to wear out (10 more years or so!), then get a bike for awhile until it gets annoying to only have a bike then get a used car that will complement the bike.

Gas-saving tips

Here you go - the obligatory how-to-save-money-on-gas article everyone does when gas prices go up. Here is mine.

1. Pick the right car. Choose wisely from the start. Buy a car that has the best mileage for the cheapest price. Hybrid, diesel, or 87 octane. Remember some cars recommend 93 octane but can use lower grades. But if the manual says 93 REQUIRED, stick with it.

2. Maintain the car. Oil changes, consider changing oil and transmission to synthetic to reduce friction, air filter, tire pressure, no extraneous cargo in the car, take off roof rack when not in use. buy tires with low rolling resistance. Don't buy big, heavy wheels.

3. Live close to everywhere you need to go. Tough for most people but if you live close to work, grocery store, etc you will spend less on gas.

4. Don't drive everyday. Consolidate errands. Carpool. Walk. Bike. Scooter. Bus.

5. Driving style. Drive gently - gentle acceleration and deceleration. don't race to each stoplight. try to time the lights. coast in gear. avoid traffic or high traffic times. avoid accidents. some gps will provide this info. don't go through drive thrus. don't get lost. use cruise control. don't speed - higher speeds use more gas due to increased wind resistance. Please don't drive like a jerk just to save gas though.

New Sandals

While my girlfriend and I were in Whole Foods to buy some $7 ginger snaps, I spotted some Feelgoodz flip flops. I've been keeping my eye out for some sandals for awhile. As you can see in the above photo, my leather Banana Republic sandals are starting to wear out after hard use for about 5 years. They are mostly superglue and gorilla glue right now but I love seeing the rich finish of the leather as it breaks in. Still, I decided I needed some sandals to wear in wet conditions. I had been looking for $8 (on sale) Havianas and have been avoiding the cheap eva sandals made in china and available everywhere.

The Feelgoodz (dont like the name) cost me $20, are all rubber, and made in Thailand. They are supposed to be environmental and biodegradable. The company says you can bury them in the ground when you are done with them. Hmmm....I wonder if biodegradable means they wont last very long but we shall see. The construction is typical flip flop, with the straps pushed through the sole and seated flush. I have some doubts about this construction but I am also hard on my sandals, wearing them everywhere and using for all activities.

They are very comfortable although on my first long walk there was a little rubbing on the strap, but I think they will break in nicely. I still like leather sandals but this should do well for the beach. On a side note I'm falling a little out of love with my Vibram Five Fingers, but I have not run in the woods with them yet so I may change my mind. I plan to keep my leather ones around and maybe even resole them.

The Best vs. Good Enough

As a consumer and as someone interested in design, I think it is a fun challenge to find my sweet spot for any product category. It is relatively easy to find the best or cheapest of an item, it is harder to find the point of diminishing returns for more money spent.

CHEAP. Want to find the cheapest of some product? Easy - I can go to Wal-Mart and find something for about as cheap as I can get in this country. Most likely it will be made in China and most likely I will wear it out soon. No problem right? Just throw it away and buy another one. Except I'm contributing to a throwaway culture, wasting resources, and often I may be spending as much or more than if I just bought a higher quality item in the first place. I can get some beach sandals for $2 and when that plastic strap breaks toss it in the trash and buy another pair. There is also no satisfaction of using a quality product.

BEST. Finding the "best" of some product is pretty easy too. Spend lots of money! When there is an unlimited budget, it is easy to get the highest quality, top performing product. One can also spend the money to maintain the item.

GOOD ENOUGH. The hard part is recognizing that I can spend more money but past a certain point there are diminishing returns. I first need to define what I am looking for in an item. Hmm, let's use cars as an example. What is the sweet spot in buying a car? I want a daily drivable car that can seat four people comfortably occasionally, a roof rather than convertible in case I want to use a roof rack, as light as possible, reasonable gas mileage (30 mpg hwy), low maintenance, can carry a fair amount of gear, and fun to drive (defined as an involving drive). My current thoughts is that a used 5th Generation four door, manual transmission Volkswagen GTI is the sweet spot. It has the performance, efficiency, and practicality I need. It also has the luxury features found on more expensive cars. The only question mark is reliability, based on VW past performance. ANYONE HAVE A BETTER SUGGESTION? I also like the Mini Cooper S but it is less practical.

Again, the hard part is recognizing that sweet spot and not spending more money.