Bike commuters save gas, get exercise

EAGLE COUNTY — It’s just another day at the office for Dominique Mohrman as she packs up the streamlined trailer attached to the back of her touring bike and rides down U.S. Highway 6.

In the morning and evenings, when most people are getting in their cars to go to and from work, some valley residents like Mohrman would rather make the work commute by bike.

Getting mileage and fresh air

Most days when the weather permits, Mohrman and her husband, Jeff, ride from their home in Avon to Eagle-Vail, where the couple runs Colorado Bike Service.

It is about a 15-minute ride uphill to the bike shop, Dominique Mohrman said.

“You definitely get a good sweat in the morning. It’s good exercise — the perfect way to balance out your workweek. You get some mileage and fresh air,” she said.

In her trailer, she usually carries a cooler with lunch and drinks, rain gear, 5 gallons of water and her business bag.

“People are always curious to see what kind of stuff I have in there,” she said.

She puts the bike and trailer away in the winter, but Jeff Mohrman said he has not missed a day on the bike for two years. He rides a road bike when the weather is nice, but he uses a mountain bike in the winter.

The two said they love riding, and commuting to work allows them to ride their bikes, not just sell and fix them.

“I commute because I’m busy, and I don’t get to ride as much as I would like. This is a good way to do it,” Jeff Mohrman said.

For some, riding to work is the only way to fit exercise into their weekday schedules.

Edwards resident Sue Torris said she has been a recreational rider for a long time, but she made a pledge this summer to do more riding.

However, with two children in school, a full-time job and classes at the community college, that was not going to be easy. She found commuting to Vail Valley Medical Center, where she works as a nurse, was the best way to fit exercise into her schedule.

“I sit at a desk most of the day, and I really need that exercise at the beginning of the day,” she said.

From Torris’ home in Singletree, the commute is about 1 hour, 20 minutes to Vail. If she is running short on time, she drives to the Meadow Mountain parking lot near Dowd Junction and rides from there, she said.

She makes the commute at least three times a week, carrying her scrubs, dry clothes for the ride home, gloves and a jacket in a backpack. She can shower at work and be fresh for the day, she said.

Bike commuting is doable with some careful planning, she said, especially as winter approaches. If it is too dark or the weather is bad when she gets off of work, she can take the bus back to Miller Ranch, where she sometimes parks her car so she does not have to ride back in the dark, she said.

Tips for bike commuting • Traffic can be busiest during commuting times. Be visible, and on narrow roads, ride just inside the traffic lane so cars do not try to squeeze past. • Always bring a jacket and gloves in case the weather is bad in the evening. • Roll work clothes instead of folding them to keep them from wrinkling. • For those short on time, drive to work with the bike and then ride home at night. Ride the next morning and then drive home. Repeat. • If a shower is not available at work, shower before the ride, go easy and keep baby wipes and deodorant at work.

Thinking ‘green’

Besides enjoyment and exercise, Torris said she was also inspired to ride after watching a Live Earth concert this summer. The 24-hour global concert was held to raise environmental awareness and promote efficient energy use.

“It brought me to want to be more environmentally conscious and do whatever little part I could,” she said.

As a bonus, she also saves $20 to $30 a week in gas, she said.

Jeff Mohrman said he also commutes for environmental reasons.

“It’s not only not to spend money on gas, but we do try to be as green as we can be,” he said.

Braving the winter commute

Bike commuters are scarce in the winter months, but some still make the trek.

Dawes Wilson, who works at Pedal Power in Eagle-Vail during the summer and is a ski instructor in Vail during the winter, said he rides to work from his West Vail home year-round.

The winter commute requires a bit of special equipment, he said. For snow and ice conditions, he has studded tires on his Moots mountain bike.

“You’ve got to have that in the winter if you want to arrive alive,” he said. “Anything slippery, and you’re going down.”

As far as keeping warm, he wears several layers and has an extra-large helmet so he can fit a hat underneath. The real key, he said, are the gloves.

He said he tried every kind of “lobster glove,” a three-fingered, cold-weather cycling glove, but still had freezing hands.

Now, he wears fleece-lined gloves under extra-large skiing gloves.

Wilson said that riding a bike in the winter actually gets him to work faster. It is a 20-minute bike commute, but if he drives his car, he has to scrape off the ice, drive, park the car and walk into the village, he said.

Wilson, who races mountian bikes, competes in Xterra triathlons and has done the 24-Hours of Moab, said he has been a bike commuter since the second or third grade.

“I’ve pretty much been commuting by bike all my life,” he said.

Staff Writer Melanie Wong can be reached at 748-2928 or mwong@vaildaily.com.