Bike commuter reveals a secret:
It's more fun than it looks

Motorists may pity the cyclists they pass, especially when it's clear the folks on the bike are not on their way to pick up ice cream. Those who choose to commute by bicycle may strike drivers as masochists, weird fitness freaks or possibly suicidal.

It probably never occurs to the people behind the wheel that the people straddling the wheels are having a good time.

A really good time: "If you get any sort of aerobic exercise, you get enough endorphins, you get like a buzz," said Steven Roach, two-wheeled commuter. But it's more than just that.

Roach, 48, is a lawyer at Miller Canfield in downtown Detroit. Several times a week, weather permitting, he leaves his car at home and commutes from his Grosse Pointe Park house to his office by bicycle. The 8.5-mile route carries him into decaying neighborhoods, over broken pavement and sometimes through sweltering heat, but all of that doesn't bum him out. Exercise is its own reward.

"It occurred to me that it takes me at least 20 minutes to drive (to my office), and I started thinking I bet I could ride in 30. I'm able to clear my head and enjoy it. For an extra 20 minutes of commuting a day, I get an hour's worth of exercise."

Bike commuters have issues drivers don't. Roach is able to shower at his office before he starts work, and he keeps clean clothes there. A sudden thunderstorm at quitting time means he either has to wait it out, catch a bus or get wet.

Detroit's flat terrain, wide streets and relatively light traffic make the area "a terrific city for cycling. ...There are nice places to ride, interesting things to look at." All of which adds to the enjoyment of getting to work through pedal power instead of horsepower. But the biggest satisfaction, for a busy professional like Roach, is the ability to tune out the working world, if only for a little while:

"Just the ability to be away from a phone, to be away from e-mail, is important. (Nowadays) you're supposed to be in constant contact, but your mind really isn't meant to be used that way. It needs time to run around and frolic."

For the warmer months of the year, commuting time is frolic time.
 

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