Lorelei is a lot of fun to ride to work in the from Fall to Spring, and I often do. Summer is untenable because when you’re not roasting under your helmet, you’re getting poured on. Not that I’m diametrically opposed to riding in the rain, mind you, but I don’t like riding in the rain on the way to work. From work? Not so bad.

Sadly, Lorelei–a 1999 BMW K1200LT Ikon with 120,000 miles on her–reminded me how long in the tooth she is: I took her down to Key West a few weekends ago; the ride was as silky-smooth as it always was–a hallmark of BMWs in general and the K1200LT in particular–but there were little telltale signals that there are far more long-distance rides in Lorelei’s past than there are in her future. Rarely do I get sentimentally attached to a machine, but I gotta tell you, though: I love that bike like a member of the family. When it comes time to put her out to pasture, I’ll be more sad than I can imagine right now. Eleven years and 120k on the clock is old for a daily rider, and there comes a point where the machine is simply unsafe to ride without a major overhaul–something which is more expensive than replacing the bike with something newer.

What’s wrong with taking Lorelei to work? I would think, money wise, break even with public transport, but time wise a much better deal. Say, 441 south to Glades (not a bad ride), Glades to the Turnpike, Turnpike the rest of the way.