Riders embrace a lifestyle of foot power over horsepower
By Bob Purvis
Posted: April 14, 2005 They come from all over town.
Unassuming people that could be sitting next to you at this very moment.
Aside from an occasional case of helmet hair and completeindifferenceto skyrocketing gas prices, they blend right in. You'dnever suspect thespecial relationship they have, the one that getstheir blood pumpingand puts a smile on their lips.
They're your neighbors. Your co-workers. The guy getting you a cup of coffee.
They're in love. In love with their bikes.
Milwaukee bicyclists, especially those who take the plunge andturntheir backs on their cars, even to commute, say they are proofyoudon't have to be Lance Armstrong to know the joy of two-wheelin'.Theyare saving time and money riding to work, and staying physicallyandemotionally fit in the process.
Some have been riding foryears, others are just getting started.But they say that once they wentbike, they'd never go back ... todriving, that is.
mke talkedto a few of these bikers about what it is that got theirspokes turning,and put together some advice for those who might beinterested inscratching that biking itch.
Maurice Williams Jr.
Age: 40
Bike: Alternates between a mountain bike or a retired European racing bike
Advice to motorists:"It's my impression that motorists getin a hurry. ... They want you tomove as fast as they do. They don'trealize that you may be avoidingdebris or that there may be a sewergrate that can give you a flat."
These days the only way Maurice Williams Jr. knows the going ratefor agallon of gas is by hearing someone else complain about theskyrocketingprices.
Williams juggles responsibilities as the director ofcommunitydevelopment at the Urban Open Space Foundation and as an airmanagementtransportation specialist for the Wisconsin Department ofNaturalResources. He racks up roughly 10,000 miles a year riding towork andrunning errands on his bicycle.
He has a car, but the last time he used it was to make it to a bike race in Madison.
"It will take me sometimes over a month to use a tank of gas.Sometimes,I can't remember what the price of gas was the last time Ihad to fillup," Williams said.
From his south side home at 47th Street andOklahoma Avenue nearAlverno College, Williams pedals 7.5 miles to hisoffice on the eastside.
When it comes down to it, biking is an easy way to stay fit, Williams said.
"I am 40 years old, and it just keeps me in great shape. It'sthefountain of youth. ... The big thing is I enjoy it. It's easy forme,and it really keeps me healthy."
Casey Masterson
Age: 25
Bike: Fixed- gear KHS track bike
Advice to motorists:"Be safe and slow down ... because it'sjust going to cause problems andslow people down (if you're in arush). Just be respectful of everyonewho's on the road, because we'reallowed to be there."
CaseyMasterson would be saving a lot of money biking from the 3000block ofLake Drive to his Third Ward office if his seldom-used carsittingoutside his apartment wasn't racking up so many parking tickets.
Still, the Web designer says non-monetary benefits outweigh hissizeable contribution to the city's transportation budget.
"Every single day, it kind of floors me how good I feel to be outthereand riding and exercising at the same time," Masterson said.
For Masterson, who says he isn't much of a morning person, ridingtowork year-round gives him a boost that no espresso can touch.
"Being outside, I am forced to just breathe in the fresh air,lookaround and not have to listen to the radio on the way to work.Itdefinitely helps me to kind of wake up," Masterson said.
Asmuch as the ride in helps him gear up for the day, the trek backhome isa welcome opportunity to blow off steam and leave work at theoffice.
"When I leave after working nine hours a day ... it's just relievingallthe stress of your work day ... starting the rest of my daywithoutdriving in traffic and sitting at stoplights," Masterson said.
Traffic can be frustrating at times, but overall, it's not as dangerousto ride in as some might think, Masterson said.
"For as manyhours as I do ride in traffic, it's safe," saidMasterson, adding thatsticking to residential or city bike routes isone way to avoid heavytraffic.
That doesn't mean he hasn't had his share of near misses and a few hits.
He once flew over the hood of a woman's car after she cut him offwhilechatting on her cell phone, and he hit a car once, but he admitshe wasprobably at fault for that one. In both cases, he was luckyenough towalk away with minor scrapes.
Jessica Wineberg
Age: 24
Bike 1986 Pink Peugeot 24-speed road bike
Advice to motorists:"Bicyclists are traffic, and we have aright to the roadway. ... I'mworking my ass off and not polluting;don't you think it makes sense toyield to me?"
Jessica Wineberg is admittedly a little biased when it comes to talking about the benefits of bike commuting.
Wineberg, a project manager for the Bicycle Federation ofWisconsin,moved to Milwaukee from Chicago in November and has biked herway fromher Riverwest home to the federation's Brady Street office eversince.
After six years of on-and-off commuting, this was Wineberg's first winter riding to work.
She worked as a bicycle ambassador for Chicago's DepartmentofTransportation before taking the job at the federation, where shehelpsorganize bicycle education classes in Milwaukee and programs suchasBike to Work Week, which starts May 14.
When asked toestimate the benefits of riding to work, Wineberg borrows a little helpfrom MasterCard's advertising department.
"It's priceless,"Wineberg said. "Honestly, the main benefit ofriding to work is I amawake, happy and excited when I get to work."
And it's easy to leave work behind and focus on fun when you bike home, she said.
"At the end of the day, if you've had a rough day, you get home sofastbecause you are working out all this frustration," she said.
She keeps a car, a Mini Cooper, but only uses it to drive back to Chicago with her dog on the weekends.
Her bike, beyond riding to work, is used to walk the dog and run errands.
"If I didn't have the dog, I would probably sell the car," she admits.
She also takes it on "urban adventures" with her women's bicycleclub,the Pedal Pushers, 11 women, mostly from Bay View, who head outon ridesthrough the city looking for fun.
Ward Fowler
Age: 40
Bike: Three-speed Soma cycle-cross bike
Advice to motorists: "Basic rules of the road in dry weather, I think, are obvious. Be aware and give the bike some berth."
Ward Fowler gets an extra kick in the morning on his way to work, and it's not just from his coffee.
Fowler, an owner of Alterra Coffee, rides four miles to work at thecafeand offices on Prospect Avenue on his bike five times a week fromhishome in Shorewood.
Most days his 4-year-old son tails him in a trailer before Fowler drops him off at day care.
Most Milwaukee motorists are pretty considerate of bicyclists, Fowlersaid, especially when he has the little guy on board.
"In town,the drivers are super accommodating. ... Without fail whenthey comeupon me they pause, and when there is an opening, they goacross intothe center lane and they pass me," Fowler said.
And in return, when a line of traffic is building up behind him, he'll pull off to the side until it's passed.
For Fowler, a father of three and small-business owner, biking toworkis a surefire way to fit exercise in his hectic schedule.
"I can wail in on my bike and get a good workout. If I don't get to ride in, I feel it," Fowler said.
Last year, he put less than 5,000 miles on his car. Based on the40cents a mile he reimburses his employees for travel, he estimateshe'ssaved about $3,000 on the 7,000 or so miles he puts on hisbikeannually.
"I take some amount of pride in putting very fewmiles in my car, and now with gas prices higher, you notice it," hesaid.
Jen Singer
Age: 31
Bike: Cruiser
Advice to motorists: "Thanks for driving in a normal, predictable way and remember that we cannot always see you as well as you see us."
Jen Singer rides her bike so much that when she needed to rush hercatto the veterinarian's office this winter, she temporarily forgotsheowned a car.
"I was looking up a cab online and remembered, 'Oh yeah, I have a car,' " Singer said.
Singer, an international admissions specialist at UW-Milwaukee,makesthe 3-mile trek from her home in the north end of Shorewood totheuniversity campus at least four days a week.
If it's raining particularly hard, she'll take the bus.
She started biking two years ago when she moved to MilwaukeefromMissouri, thinking it would be fun to take a cruise along thelakefront.
Soon she was riding to work and discovering it had all kinds of benefits.
"Parking at UWM is an absolute nightmare," she said. "If you areluckyenough to find a space, you can count on a ticket by the end ofthe day."
Besides the gratification she gets from eluding meter maids, Singerandher husband have been able to avoid buying another car to replacehers,which is not the most dependable, saving a sizeable amount ofmoney inthe process.
"I have thought about how scary it would be if Ihad to buy a car,"Singer said. "Let me put it this way: My bike was$300, and I have acan of WD40, and that's (all my expenses)."
And the physical and emotional benefits of starting her day on her bike are invaluable, she said.
"It's a wonderful way to wake up. When I get on the bike to work, Iamusually half awake, and by the time I get to work, I am up andmoving.... I am at the point where, when it's raining, I amdisappointed that Ican't ride."
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