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A Tale of Two Commuters The Occasional Commuter

Posted on: Monday, 19 September 2005, 21:00 CDT

For Melanie Kiper, riding her bike from her home near Immanuel Medical Center to her office at 49th and Farnam Streets is a good way to train for the cross-state bicycle rides she and her husband enjoy.

Kiper said she usually bikes the nine-mile route about two dozen times a year. Her rides have been less frequent this year, however, because she hasn't been preparing for a long bike trek. Lots of rain early in the year and heat during the summer also set her back.

But she plans to continue her bike commutes. With gas prices high, she and her husband staged a no-drive weekend over Labor Day, going out only once by car. Any other trips the conservationminded couple took were by bike or on foot.

"Probably throughout this fall we'll do that more and more," said Kiper, a community service associate at the University of Nebraska at Omaha's Cen- ter for Public Affairs Research.

Kiper counts herself lucky because she can ride about seven of her nine miles to work on the Keystone Trail.

Her building has a shower in case she gets too sweaty, and she keeps a change of clothes on hand. But she usually gets by wearing a jersey and casual slacks and putting bands around the legs. She avoids riding on days when she must attend out-of-office meetings or run a lot of errands.

"You kind of have to pick your days carefully."

The frequent rider

Mitch Kline rides nearly five miles from his home near 156th and Q Streets to his job in customer support at PayPal at 126th and Harrison Streets at least a few times a week. He does it winter and summer, rain or shine, mostly on city streets.

Because he leaves work about 3 p.m., he often cycles home, hitches up a bike trailer and picks up his 20-month-old daughter, Izabella, from her child-care center -- weather permitting. His wife, Elsa, occasionally takes the toddler to the center in the trailer as a pre-work workout.

"If you don't have time to work out, it's a perfect way to get the workout in and save money," Kline said. "And it's a good way to clear your mind after work."

Kline got started commuting by bike as a student at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln. Later he lived in Minneapolis. For one job, he had a nine-mile commute. He later rode 25 miles one way to a suburban office -- 70 percent of it on trails.

In addition to an extensive network of trails and bike lanes, Minneapolis has bike racks on buses and on a new light rail train, meaning people can ride part-way to their destination and pedal the rest.

In Omaha, his bike commute takes about the same amount of time as if he drove -- about 15 to 20 minutes. Kline carries a backpack with his lunch and clothes and adds waterproof gear in inclement weather.

"It's good," he said. "I love it."

-- Julie Anderson

Source: Omaha World - Herald

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