Kawasaki staff "Blog to Work" as part of National Ride to Work Week

Monday 16 June marked the start of the annual Motorcycle Industry Association celebration of the many benefits of powered two wheelers, National Ride to Work Week. Kawasaki Motors UK asked staff to write a blog entry about their Monday morning commute; this is what they said.

Dean Clewley – Kawasaki Regional Business Manager - Do not be alarmed! Before I embarked on my early morning ride along the A3 bound for London City, I was alerted to my error of machinery and soon mounted the mind blowing bundle of technology which is my ZX-10R. The choice to use 2 wheels rather than 4 is one of logic that cannot be questioned! I leave my home later, I'll return home sooner, my drain fuel stocks is less as even the power house ZX-10R performs at 40+ MPG. Also those extortionate parking charges need not apply to me as this morning, I am a commuting VIP! But I have not earned these special treatments, oh no, these are simply standard issue to all those who choose to ride to work.

Dean has a choice of Two-Wheelers

Lawrence Griffin – Kawasaki Branch Support - The feeling of freedom you get on a bike is one I feel everyone must experience at some point in life. I rode from Farnborough for the first time today. 36 miles in the car takes me 1 hour 45 minutes to make it to work on time.. On the bike, a grand total of 40 minutes.  For some reason you also seem to get a very smug feeling when you see the faces of all the car drivers queuing while you breeze past the miles of stationary traffic.

Lawrence and his beloved Ninja

Steve Haswell – Kawasaki Technical Trainer - 

Commuting daily from Watford can be a joy or a chore.

Stuck in traffic is definitely a bore.

When I take the bike I'm stationary no more.

Steve - the Urban Poet

Colin Macdonald – Regional Business Manager - As a Regional Manager for Kawasaki, I cover a lot of miles.  From my home in Cheshire, getting onto the M6 in the morning can be time consuming because of several miles of single-file queuing traffic.  City centre congestion can also make arriving on time for business appointments challenging.  To get round this I take my bike whenever I can.   My Z1000SX cuts through the traffic and carries my Tablet and folio for that day’s business meetings.  Less time in traffic also means that I have more time to take the long way home at the end of the day!

Colin's bike saves him time

Andrew Squires – Kawasaki Europe Engine Department – I live in Aylesbury which might look close to Kawasaki in Bourne End but the traffic is quite often horrendous. Riding  to work and back cutting through the traffic is a perfect way to start and finish your day.

Andrew's Ayelsbury commute time is shaved with a bike

Ross Symons – Section Head – Technical& Customer Service - I commute on a daily basis from Aylesbury in Buckinghamshire to Kawasaki Motors UK in Bourne End. This journey is a 50 mile round trip taking approximately 40 minutes each way by bike. I do occasionally travel by car but try to avoid this as must as possible. I say this because when commuting by car I have the “joy” of queuing in traffic which can easily add 20 minutes or more onto my journey.  I enjoy my ride to work and it is good to know that my arrival time at work is always give or take a couple of minutes, whereas when in a car this can vary greatly.  I commute every day by bike as it far more interesting and exciting compared to being sat in a car going nowhere fast. 

Ross doesn't waste time in stationary traffic

Howard Dale – General Manager, Kawasaki Motors UK - It’s time for work – today is different I’m leaving the car at home and going to work on my Versys 1000, I bike I love but don’t get enough time to ride. The sun’s out as I roll through the countryside of Surrey Heath on towards Ascot and then Maidenhead where the jams begin for car drivers. But today IS different instead of a 30 minute crawl through the town, I’m though and out along the side of the Thames and into work at KMUK in just under 40 minutes compared to the hour plus my journey often takes – and – I’m smiling when I arrive!  

Howard has a passion for two wheels

Matthew Callaway – Technical Service Advisor - My journey consists of a 180 mile round trip into KMUK from the sunny seaside town of Bournemouth.  The majority of the route is motorway, which includes the dreaded M4 which seems to be the biggest ‘car park’ and the bug bear of my journey. Without the use of a motorcycle I would be considerably late for work every single day unless I leave at stupid o’clock in the morning.  When I’m filtering through all the stationary cars on the M4 with the majority of them just containing one increasingly frustrated and late to work driver it is clear what the best form of transport is, a MOTORCYCLE……..  

Matt does not have to leave home at "stupid o'clock"

Alan Lunn – Technical Service Advisor - Either a 25 minute ride from Reading to work or a 50 minute ride from Wimbledon. This is in comparison to a 35 minute or 80 minute car journey respectively. The main differences are obvious in the journey time and economy, but maybe the biggest difference is that I can leave a lot later and not be concerned with the ‘golden window’ of traffic opportunity. The time when everyone rolls out of their houses to join the ever increasing queue of cars that form our congestion ridden world. It is really nice to turn up for work bright eyed and bushy tailed.

Alan has the "choice" of two commutes

Richard Worth - My ride in starts at Yeading, Middlesex and heads out to Bourne End, Bucks. The commute is 19 miles each way and takes on average around 25 minutes on the bike. Traffic black spots tend to be all the small roads and roundabouts till I reach the M40 and then getting past the M25. Doing this trip in a car has taken 1.5 hours so the bike is the most sensible option and also the most fun regardless of the weather.

Richard's commute involves two grid-locked motorways

Ahsan Nabi – Sales & Market Analyst - I often am asked, "Why don't you ride your bike to work every day, it must save you so much time'. In truth I do not because I sometimes have to use the car for varying reasons, however when I do use the bike I can certainly notice the difference in journey times, fuel cost and my general mood for the day. I travel from West London to South Buckinghamshire utilising some main roads such as the A312 and A40 and the M40 motorway. The journey that would normally take me an hour by car is almost halved when using the bike. Also, on two wheels, I am able to filter through the traffic hot-spots that I would normally encounter on these roads meaning I have a stress free journey. Best of all is the cost saving; to travel to and from work each day by car for a week would costs me £85 in fuel whereas on the bike it only cost £25 a week.

Ahsan chooses a bike to save on fuel and time

Martin Lambert – PR & Communications Manager - Commuting – a word that conjures up images of traffic jams, people having to stand up for their whole train journey, crowded smelly buses and bad tempers; and that’s before work even starts ! For me the journey to and from Kawasaki’s offices is always more enjoyable on a motorcycle… but riding is only half the joy. Being able to leave for work later and still get in on time, to predict when you will arrive almost to the minute and enjoy the thrill that motorcycles deliver is what makes such a contrast to the drudgery that others endure each and every working day. 

For Martin enjoying the commute is essential

Richard Metcalfe - Technical Service Manager - Getting in to work early means I can miss the traffic when I'm driving but being in a car means I'm still sat in traffic on the way home after the office closes. On a bike I know both journeys will take the same time and the journey to and from work is a lot more fun as well.

Richard can predict his journey time

Ross Burridge - Racing Coordinator - "I live in Ascot, Berkshire, approximately 16 miles away from the office, and to be honest, being able to use a motorcycle to commute to work is a god send. There are so many points along my route that get congested in the morning rush hour, and my journey time is typically halved as I slice through the traffic on two wheels. Add to that the fuel costs that are saved on the bike versus my car makes commuting in this way so much more preferable."

Ross takes 50% off his journey time with a bike

All on bikes - All on time @ Kawasaki Motors UK 

Ride to Work web site