South Sound bicycle commuters tout the benefits of two-wheeling it, while advocates urge newcomers to try National Bike to Work Week It began with a two-mile ride at lunch. Scott McElhiney then worked up to bicycling seven miles when he could steal a few minutes. Soon he was up to a 20-mile round-trip commute to work almost every day. And cycling became a new lifestyle for the 44-year-old Midland mechanic.

Statistics and anecdotal evidence show the number of bicycle commuters – although still tiny – is up around the South Sound as people search for ways to stay fit and help the environment. And bicycle advocates hope that with gas prices soaring, more will give riding to work a try during this week’s National Bike to Work Week.

McElhiney hadn’t ridden a bicycle in about 10 years when inspiration hit. He spent much of his time after work in front of his computer or the television.

“I felt like I might be dead in a few years if I kept at it,” he said.

Eventually he joined the Tacoma Wheelmen’s Bicycle Club on longer trips and began cycling to work in University Place, 10 miles from his home.

“It was a good workout that left me energized at the start of work,” he said. “And it turned out that my commute time by bike was within about 10 minutes of my car time.”

His waistline began shrinking shortly after he began biking. His blood pressure and pulse rate are down. His endurance is up. He’s 50 pounds lighter than when he started.

The exercise is nice, but that’s not why Kurt Fritts rides his bike to work. The 37-year-old Tacoma man rides downtown every morning and loads his bike onto a bus for Seattle. He then pedals from the Seattle bus stop to his office at Washington Conservation Voters. Environmental, financial and mental health concerns encouraged him to ditch his car on the commute.

“Doing the Seattle-Tacoma drive by myself every day would drive me insane,” he said.

“I much prefer to work/read/sleep on the bus than to drive by myself with nothing to do but stare at the car in front of me, even if it takes me an additional 20 minutes,” he said, adding that the bus is often faster during rush-hour commutes.

Fritts also calls driving to and from Seattle every day a nonstarter, citing global warming concerns. Using a bicycle saves gas money and parking money in Seattle, and has allowed his family to get by with one car – which means they pay less on insurance and maintenance costs.

Bike to Work Week encourages people who usually don’t commute by bicycle to give it a try.

Lisa Lawrence usually takes the Sounder train from Tacoma to Kent, where she catches a shuttle or a van share to her office at REI corporate headquarters.

On Friday, she plans to bring her bike on the train and ride to the office.

Work makes it easy for her to try bicycle commuting. REI offers storage and locker rooms with showers. It will offer free breakfast and a chance to win prizes for anyone who bicycles to work Friday.

“My employer encourages cycling among other environmentally friendly methods of commuting,” she said. “It’s part of our culture, so this event is a big deal.”

Carol Davis, the president of the Tacoma Wheelmen’s Bicycle Club, has noticed an increased interest in commuting by bike.

“Just from what I observe, there are so many more people out there commuting. I used to commute from Purdy to Bremerton on Highway 16. My husband would go the opposite direction and go to Tacoma. And we were the only ones on the road,” she said.

“Now, there are lots and lots of people commuting.”

Sharing the road with cars can be daunting for some who want to begin bike commuting.

“We all have the right to be on the road, and we need to respect each other’s rights,” she said. “The safety factor is probably the biggest drawback to commuting for many.”

Statistics show that less than 1 percent of Tacoma and Pierce County employees working at sites monitored by the state’s Commute Trip Reduction program use a bicycle to get to work.

The Washington State Department of Transportation monitors 1,110 work sites that account for about 20 percent of Washington employees as part of the trip reduction survey.

In 2007, 313 of 40,012 people surveyed in Pierce County – about 0.8 percent – reported cycling to work at least once a week.

At Tacoma businesses, the rate is lower: 152 of 20,902 people, or 0.7 percent.

Statewide, 2.1 percent of people reported commuting to work by bicycle at least once a week. That rate is 1 percentage point higher than the rate in a 1993 survey.

Tacoma and Pierce County’s growth has been paltry: The rate of bicycle commuters rose 0.1 percentage points in the county and 0.2 points in the city.

But Tacoma bicycle shops report an increase in sales, driven in part by people deciding to commute by bike.

“People come in and tell us, ‘I am selling my car and going to just a bike,’” said Alex Warren, the service department manager at Rainier Cycle Sports. “It happens probably once a week. It’s happening. It’s not huge, but it’s definitely happening.”

Most of the customers who buy bikes for commuting are in their early to mid-20s, he said.

Business is also up at Old Town Bicycle, assistant manager Ryan Harris said. Part of that can be attributed to the end of the rainy season – a natural time for many to buy or upgrade bikes – but a significant number want to ride to work.

“I’ve heard lots of people throw around the word ‘commuter,’” he said.

But for some, commuting by bicycle is nothing new. Carla Gramlich began riding to her job when she moved to Tacoma in 1992.

She bikes the 11/2-mile trip to her office at AT&T almost every day, regardless of weather – even if that means occasionally navigating ice and snow. It’s become a crucial part of her routine.

“If I have to use my car, I have to start taking things off the bike and put it in the car,” she said. “It’s become more of a hassle to drive.”

Scott Fontaine: 253-320-4758

blogs.thenewstribune.com/street

Six points to consider when biking to work

 • Wear a helmet. It’s the law.

 • Wear bright and reflective outerwear.

 • Use lights in the dark.

 • The route you drive might not be the same as the route you should bicycle. Look at side streets – they’re often more bicycle-friendly.

 • Check to see if your employer offers showers and bike racks to support your new habit.

 • You don’t need to ride to work every day if you find the weather intimidating. Many commuters bicycle seasonally.