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From Lawyers to cashiers, biking to work is a happy habit for many
area residents
This week is America’s official Bike to Work Week, with Friday
being the nationwide Bike to Work Day; but like the saying “every
day is Earth Day,” for many, the same can be said about their
attitude toward riding to work or school instead of driving.
To pollute less; to get in shape and lose weight; to save money on
gas; to get in a good mood before work; to avoid looking for
parking downtown; to rehab a hurt knee … these are just a few
reasons people around Hood River gave when asked why they bike to
work on a regular basis. From office workers and lawyers to
teachers, store clerks, county maintenance staff and bike shop
employees, now that the weather is turning, more and more people
in town are starting to reap the benefits of grabbing handlebars
on the way to work instead of a steering wheel.
The chain on Lori Estes’ hard-tail Specialized looks like it has
been sitting out in the rain all winter, but its rusty coat is
from Lori riding to work rain or shine, in Rosauers’ natural foods
department.
“It just makes me feel good,” Estes said. “I feel happier and more
energized when I ride to work. Plus it’s kind to the environment,
which also makes me feels good.”
For anyone working downtown this summer, a practical advantage to
riding to work is not having a car to deal with on the
increasingly crowded streets.
“There is limited parking in town,” said Shane Blem, who rides to
work at the Dakine office on Columbia Street. “Plus riding your
bike is good for the environment, your car and your body.”
Up in Parkdale, kindergarten teacher Kathleen Welland is seen as a
little bit “nuts” by many of her co-workers. If she’s not
cross-country skiing out the door after work or kayaking at
Laurance Lake before work, she’s on her bike and at school faster
than her co-workers can cook breakfast.
“I guess I do it for the same reason as everyone else,” Welland
said from the halls of Parkdale Elementary School. “It’s healthy,
it’s good for the environment and it saves money on gas. Another
reason I do it is because I like to be a good role model for our
students.”
Hood River Valley High School teacher Cary Mallon has been riding
to work for decades, many years of which he could be seen at
sunrise, rain or shine, riding to work from his home on Trout
Creek Ridge Road in Parkdale. After teaching all day, Mallon would
then ride the 16 miles uphill to get back home.
“If someone was to ask me why I ride to work, or anywhere else, I
would respond by saying, ‘Why should I drive when I can ride?”
Mallon said. “For me it isn’t that I have to do it to save money
or stay fit or whatever. I get to do it … When I hear people say
they’d like to ride to work or school but they cite some barrier
to actually doing it, I say, ‘The only barrier is desire. If you
want to do it, you can.’”
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