28,000 miles

I rode to work today, after being out sick. I very rarely get sick, but when I do I try to get the rest I need to heal quickly rather than work through it. That approach accomplishes two things: makes the illness last longer, and gets my co-workers sick as well.

I heal quickly and felt well enough to ride today, the only dry day of the week. My bike is still filthy from the trip I took to Long Beach two weeks ago. I gassed up the bike and noticed that I was getting really close to rolling over 28,000 miles.

I'll hit that milestone about halfway home after work today. The bike has been rock-solid and given me nothing but smiles.

Hitting 15,000

My 2007 V-Strom 650 rolled over to 15,000 on the odometer yesterday on my way to a work-day lunch with a buddy. I purchased the bike on February 12, 2007, putting my average miles per month at just over 880, or 10,584 miles per year.

How does this compare to the rest of the riding world? According to the NHTSA (National Highway Traffic Safety Administration), motorcyclists in the United States average 160 miles per month, or 1,920 miles per year.

I'm riding 5.5x more miles per year than the national average.

This doesn't make me special by any means, and I believe that the average will go up -- way up -- now that people are buying motorcycles and scooters in record numbers to save money on their commute (due to high gas prices).

My annual miles per year will probably be higher in 2008 than it was in 2007 because I'm commuting on my bike more often and I'm taking more trips this year than I did last year. My V-Strom is not only an efficient way to travel (I average 53 mpg) but it's fun as well. I find myself wishing I had a longer commute.