commute week

This week I started commuting to work on the bike. With just 3 miles to the office, I thought it would be a good starting point in dealing with street traffic. I also decided to leave the house after 9am and after 8pm from the office to avoid heavy traffic on the road. Yes there were some crazy/tailgating driver. But it’s a difference of dealing with 1 versus a handful. It has worked quite well so far.
The leather pants I ordered online haven’t arrived yet. So I am on jeans and that makes me nervous (breaking knee caps, road rash, etc). I then dig up the pair of knee shields I used for rollerblading and wear underneath. The shields look sturdy and I feel less nervous by wearing them for my 35mph commute. It’s definitely better than no protection at all.
As for the ride, I need to work on the consistency of cornering. I shift more smoothly now and memorize what gear I am in. The problem I am having is I am not always accelerating out a turn. That’s because I mistook the advice from some web article that I should be on the clutch friction zone while turning. I think what they meant to do was for a low speed cornering, like after a complete stop or a U-turn. I am going to try just covering the clutch, not pulling in, while exiting a turn. That should keep the acceleration more consistent.
In addition, I am going to set up a series of low speed exercise I will practice on the weekend. Just keeping up my skills. That should keep me busy before I leave for Japan.