As he turned the corner from Violet Avenue to Pine Street on his bike, Mathematics Faculty Dan Reid was cut off by another Nobles student racing to make 8:00 a.m. assembly. Slamming the brakes of his bicycle, Reid’s front tire came skidding out, sending him crashing to the ground and leaving him with a concussion. You might think this encounter would deter Reid from getting back on the bike, but for Reid and many other Nobles faculty, biking is their chosen mode of transportation to school.
However, Reid sees biking not just as a way of commuting to school. For him, it’s a lifestyle. “I started biking in high school just out of raw cheapness, not wanting to pay for gas,” he said. But after nearly 20 years of bike commuting, biking has evolved from a practical habit to a genuine passion. Before joining Nobles, Reid spent several years working as a bike mechanic, an experience that enables him to customize his bike to meet his exact needs. Additionally, biking is a means to spend time with his family, do his part for the environment, and exercise. Reid said, “I don’t have time to exercise externally to commuting, so I have made my commute my exercise.”
This exercise is no light matter, and Reid’s setup is elaborate. On his way to school, he carries his two children in seats on the extended back of the bike, as well as one child in a seat on the handlebars. “I enjoy riding the bike, and my kids prefer it to the car. If I ask my kids if they want to go by car or on the bike, it’s always ‘BIKE!’” His bike is also customized for all conditions and seasons, featuring studded tires and over-mittens to shield his hands from the cold. “There’s no such thing as bad weather, just improper clothing,” Reid said.
To Reid, biking is also a statement of independence. “There is a certain conservatism in the fact that I can do it myself; therefore, I will. I don’t need to pay anybody for oil or gas,” Reid said. “I understand why people don’t do it, but if climate change is real, I don’t know why everyone else is not doing it. Climate change is kind of an existential threat, and I feel like if you can, you should.”
Environmental motivation seems to be a universal sentiment among Nobles bikers. “If I bike to school, I am not using gasoline. I am not even indirectly using fossil fuel from a power plant to charge up my plug-in hybrid car,” Science Faculty Deb Harrison said. While Harrison’s primary motivator for biking is protecting the environment, bike commuting has also brought her a great deal of joy. “I just love getting going, moving on a beautiful day. It’s an exhilarating way to start the morning,” Harrison said.
Harrison’s two-mile bike commute also allows her to slow down and connect with nature. “My ride is through a pretty town, down streets with old houses. It’s peaceful. Once, coming in the back entrance, there was a Pileated Woodpecker flying above me, and I loved following it along the road through the forest.”
Archivist Nadine Richardson shares this love for mornings spent outside. “Biking only takes me about twenty-five minutes, and I felt like something was missing from my day,” Richardson said. “I really enjoy the slower pace of the world. I felt like I got to watch each leaf on my ride to school change this fall. I would definitely recommend biking. It’s a great boost of serotonin in the mornings. It gets you going, and I truly believe you connect with the world in a unique way.”
Although the Nobles biking community may be small in numbers, it is a community large in enthusiasm. Biking to school is a choice that, although not practical for all, has some evident upsides. Whether you are looking to save money on your commute, reduce your carbon footprint, or simply spend a little bit more time outside, it may be time to consider the bike commute
