I personally believe that anyone who has this many close calls is simply not paying enough attention to their environment! Period!

 

You can not Live to Ride if you are not alive.

No matter what anybody says: If you are not comfortable or not confident do not do it.
Riding smart means knowing your limits. If you can not tolerate being on the freeway do not do it. I would much rather wave to you on the back roads then read about you in the paper.

Advanced MSF course, YES. Even if you never return to the freeway this is a good idea.

Plan another route to work if you can. I just got my FXDB a few weeks ago and am still getting acustomed to it. It is a much different machine then what I am used to riding. I time leaving to and from work to avoid the rush and I also take the long way home to avoid a few spots I am not comfortable with. I am still taking right turns too wide.

 

This is what I have been doing...screw a ticket, much prefer that.

 

On the highway I ride in the far right lane and just do the speed limit or 5 over.

Only time I move is when someone is merging on from a ramp, I'll go to the next lane to the left until I clear them or they clear me, then back to the far right lane.

Always look ahead and be mindful of what's around you....always anticipate a way out if something was to happen.

I have never ever had an issue on the highway.

 

Very good points, I try to use left lane as much as possible (if there is one) even in town.
I didn't start out this way but any more the highway feels like the safest place to ride. Everybody going the same direction, roughly the same speed, nobody trying to turn left comin' at you, nobody pulling out from a side street. Plus I can out-accelerate, out-manuver & out-break just about any cage on the road, so re-positioning to a safer spot when things get wierd is pretty quick & easy.
I've also learned in the last 3 yrs that, in a big way your ride is what you make it. Looking back at every close call I could see a way I could have avoiding it.

 

I'll avoid freeway riding through the city @ all costs...not because I'm scared...just don't want to deal w/same thing you're experiencing (crazy cage's coming from everywhere, trucks, debris, etc.). Another reason I keep the bagger on rural hwy & retired in suburbia. Sux OP has to deal w/the environment & don't think changing work commute time(s) would help??? Maybe depart 15-30 min sooner both ways? I know the roads in Omaha change drastically from 0630 to 0700...worth a looksee.

 

I ride So Cal freeways every day as well, but have you considered commuting using the Metro Rail Gold Line from your area (Pasadena)? Whenever I have to go to downtown LA I normally take the MetroLink from Fullerton into LA Union Station then switch to the Metro Rail Red Line which goes through downtown all the way to North Hollywood. An all-day MetroRail pass is only $5, it's a whole lot less stress, and there are a number of stops in Pasadena (from east-to-west: Sierra Madre Villa / Allen / Lake / Memorial Park / Del Mar / Fillmore / Mission / Highland Park / Southwest Museum / Heritage Square / Lincoln-Cypress / LA Union)...anyway, just a thought.

 

Hi Tracer,
Yes, i have considered it, and even tried it a couple of times. Here is my gripe with it though, it takes me about 45min to an hour to get to work because of the stops the gold line takes and having to wait for a shuttle to then take me from union station to work. If i ride my bike it takes me about 15 minutes, and about half hour if i drive.

 

Living here in Southern California, I read obituaries of motorcyclists almost every week. Most of the deaths take place while riding at night, the others primarily on the freeways.

As a surfer, I'd rather not surf surrounded by sharks, same goes for riding the freeways. At freeway speeds, any accident is going to be serious.

As for riding at night, fugeddaboutit, unless absolutely necessary.

John