WESTERN SKIES - September 1, 2005

*** COMMENTARY: PEDAL POWER ***

ERIC WHITNEY: Hurricane Katrina may not have threatened Colorado directly, but it sent oil prices spiking above seventy dollars a barrel, a new record high, and that affects plenty of people here. But high gas prices don't bother Commentator Pat Cook Gulya too much, since she doesn't burn any on her daily commute. Gulya rides her bicycle most days, and considers it more of a treat than a chore.

PAT COOK GULYA: With gas prices climbing each day, I am happy that I commute to work on my bicycle. After six years, I still look forward to the ride. Initially it was a novelty, but then I got hooked. I ride the nine and one half miles every possible day. In December and January I hurry home to beat the darkness.

I love riding to work. The morning ride takes ten minutes longer than driving, and when I arrive, I'm fully awake; all my body parts have snapped into place and the kinks have been worked out. The ride home takes twice as long. The twelve hundred foot elevation gain forces me to discard the stress from my workday.

I understand why more people don't ride their bikes to work. You have to plan ahead and put up with helmet hair and wrinkled clothes. I plan what to wear in advance and take clothes to my office ahead of time. The helmet doesn't ruin my flat hairstyle. When you need to travel off site, having a bicycle for transportation can be a problem.

What about traffic? Riding a bike in a sea of cars is intimidating, so I travel on a designated bike route with speed bumps that discourage car traffic. I'm extremely careful to evaluate intersections before I enter them and to anticipate the movements of vehicles. Bicycles aren't easy to see and the morning sun can be blinding, so I try to be visible to cars.

The smell of bacon, toast and pancakes makes my taste buds weep as I cruise by houses. I feel warm and cool air pockets that linger in low areas. In spring and summer I watch flowers bud, bloom and die. I hear the chirping of the birds as they hop on the lawns and fly into the trees. In the fall, I crunch through the leaves with my tires. Dogs bark and squirrels see me coming and scurry out of the way. On winter days I bundle up and ride quickly to stay warm. I nod to other riders and say "good morning." I always feel alive and in the moment.

Over the years I've met some rude drivers, but I think that drivers have become more courteous during the last six years, or maybe I'm just smarter. One morning I rode through a crime location and watched police with loaded, pointed guns slowly entering a backyard. Last fall I rode past a large bear sleeping in a tree. I can carry my bike through most road construction sites, so detours don't affect me.

Riding provides me with peaceful thinking time. As I ride, I appreciate the beauty of the mountains and the warmth of the sun. I'm glad to have a strong, healthy fifty-five year old body that endures and thrives on my choice of transportation.

I like to imagine what our city would be like with more bicycles on the streets. Our streets would become more bicycle-friendly and mental satisfaction and physical health would increase. Pollution would decrease and maybe road construction would diminish too.

Bicycle commuting may not work for you, but why not try it? You may get hooked, too.

WHITNEY: Pat Cook Gulya works in M.I.S. for School District Eleven and teaches Yoga.

That wraps up this edition of Western Skies. Stephen Raher is our Associate Producer, Delaney Utterback is our IT wrangler. I'm Eric Whitney. Thanks for listening.