. . . sort of

With over 2800 miles under his belt Commuter X is the clear leader as tabulated by the Car Free Calculator. For the Calculator, for us at BikePGH he’s sort of a cross between Racer X and Steelers perennial All Pro linebacker Troy Polamalu. We have the likes of alucas, marko82, trabbit, urbanrider, and tperlaky to mention as well, really all of the the nearly 300 people that have signed up for the Calculator are making an impact, but the mark of Commuter X had us wondering if this guy was for real.

His round trip is a little over 31 miles. He bikes it every workday from February through November. He does the ride in the winter too depending on the weather. At some point the joy of riding is eclipsed by the lack of daylight and the dread of having to keep his machine clean.

Aha,  it’s a riddle

He’s been bike commuting since 2003 when he experienced his first of, not one, but two epiphanies. The first occurred during the final phase of a storied road construction project that had gripped the region when another interesting character, Cone Man first appeared. Commuter X was scouting alternate routes from his house and he realized that they were actually pretty good bike routes, so on nice days he committed to try something other than driving alone to work, largely to make up for the mountain biking he wasn’t able to do as much as he liked. Commuter X quickly found out that his car commute and his bike commute took about the same amount of time. Cycling to work became his preference almost immediately.

The second “aha” moment happened in 2008 when he purchased a cyclocross bike with fender mounts. The clouds parted, the sun shone down on him, and the angels sang. At last equipped with fenders, described by Commuter X as a real “eye opener,” he has since commuted by bike 10 months a year.

His commute to work has six major roads that start with the letter “B”. It includes a lot of up and down for an invigorating start to his day until he arrives to his destination that he shares on a steep perch with nut loving creatures at one of the city’s most storied intersections. When things wind down for his return trip to a place that has initials well known in the West Coast, he prefers to climb only one hill. This puts him on a road that he shares with a lot of motor vehicles. It gradually begins with a climb but it is relatively level for the ride back home. Commuter X doesn’t see many kindred spirits on bikes along his travels.  He’s had crossing guards tell him that there are a few people out there, but he doesn’t see them very often, except in the mornings for a CAT 6 Racer he runs into on one of  the “B” roads.

Of his bike commute Mr. X says he’s in better shape today than he was anytime during the previous two decades of his life. He adds, “I get at least two hours of cardio exercise every day commuting by bike. If I didn’t commute [by bike], I’d be spending those two hours sitting in a car, in traffic, burning gas and money.” Commuter X concludes our conversation before heading off into the enchanted hills by saying, “Anybody who has ridden a bike can tell you that it’s a great stress reliever,” and in the blink of an eye he was off.

Win a prize!

Weaved into this blog post, but not directly stated are the starting and ending points of Commuter X’s weekday journey, including the major roads along his routes. The first person to answer all the questions correctly wins a Car Free Fridays prize.

• Where does he start in the morning?
• Where is his destination?
• What are six “B” roads on his route to work?
• What large hill does he climb and primary road does he take for his return trip home?

Send answers to carfreefridays@bike-pgh.org

Bikepool Extravaganza this Friday

Twenty Bikepool leaders are ready to share their ride with you! Check out the map to see if you’re able to join one. Please fill out this form so we know to expect you. Also sign up for CommuteInfo’s bikepool matching service to connect with people in your neighborhood who one day may want to share the ride.

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