Get out and ride: Tuesday is Ride to Work Day

I say "not the same" because a few things have changed. On a most basic level, the date. Originally it was the third Wednesday in July, and later it moved to the third Monday in June. Now, it's held on the second Tuesday in June to avoid ever conflicting with the Juneteenth federal holiday.

That means Tuesday is annual Ride to Work Day. So you should ride. Even if you're not going to work.

That's another way that Ride to Work Day has changed in the last few years. Fewer of us are making a daily commute, since the rise of remote work during the pandemic. But you don't literally have to ride to work to contribute to the goal of Ride to Work Day. The real purpose is to raise the visibility of motorcycles. If you're out and about on two wheels, you're contributing to that. So why does that matter, you ask?

Why Ride to Work Day matters

I've written many times over the years about inattentional blindness, the very real psychological phenomenon that leads car drivers to pull in front of us, sometimes with deadly effect, when it seems we are perfectly visible and obvious. We inadvertently contribute to that effect by not being very numerous on the road. It may just be a drop in the sea, but if we all got out and rode on the same day, our greater numbers could make an impression on the subconscious of car drivers, reducing the likelihood of inattentional blindness, the cause of what are called, in some parts of the world, SMIDSY crashes (Sorry mate, I didn't see you).

Our scarcity on the road is a direct result of U.S. motorcycle culture, which is different from most places. While in many countries motorcycles are the predominant form of daily transportation, and even in more developed nations they are seen as a viable transportation option, it's different here. Most people see — and use — motorcycles as recreational vehicles.

That's why most people ride so few miles per year, because the bike is only used for fun, when the mood and weather are right. That's why you see so many low-mileage used motorcycles for sale with ads reading "No time to ride." I never need more spare time to ride because life requires me to go places and I go to them on a motorcycle. But that's atypical in this country.

Aerostich founder Andy Goldfine, one of the long-time forces behind Ride to Work Day, recently pointed out to me that there are clear reasons behind the U.S. motorcycle culture. In the early 20th century, you could buy a new Ford Model T for about the same price as a new motorcycle and get more comfort and practicality. That wasn't the case elsewhere in the world. The masses rode motorcycles or bicycles to get about and moved up to cars as wealth grew. Here, people skipped right over motorcycles.

I'm the first to admit, motorcycling isn't for everyone. But I also recognize that we'd all be safer on the roads if there were more of us and we were therefore a prominent and expected part of the transportation stream. And of course our industry would offer us more of everything from choices as consumers to employment opportunities if it were larger.

Ride to Work Day may be such a small contribution to that alternate reality that it has to be considered a purely symbolic effort. Maybe. But I'm fully behind it anyway. Join me in spirit and let's take a ride, Tuesday, either to work or wherever you're going.