Pharmacist advises 2-wheel daily dose for commute

Stuart O'Brochta of Redmond didn't think of himself as a cyclist. Growing up in California, he used his 10-speed bike to get around. After college, he barely touched the bike, save for the occasional hourlong spin around his neighborhood.

One morning last April, something shifted.

Fed up with gas prices and egged on by the promise of a free breakfast, O'Brochta, 43, got on his mountain bike and pedaled from home to his office on Capitol Hill, crossing the 520 bridge by bus.

He was surprised to see he even beat the bus on that route.

Wheels began turning in O'Brochta's head. He formed a team to compete in the Group Health Commute Challenge — which the free breakfast kicked off — and members set out to ride as many miles of their commute as possible in a one-month period. (Participants must commute a minimum of five times to be eligible for prizes.)

Before long, O'Brochta, a clinical pharmacist, discovered the prescription for his commute: Take two wheels to work.

On using the bike, he said, "My commute is a fun part of my day instead of a drudgery."

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O'Brochta became one of Group Health's cycle ambassadors — employees who help others get started with bike commuting and who are "really over the top with their cycling," he said.

For this year's challenge, he's aiming to rack up 1,000 bike-commute miles by the end of the month.

Some days he extends his route by riding north around Lake Washington on the Burke-Gilman Trail. He's gotten on the road as early as 5:30 a.m. in order to get in 50 miles before work.

Group Health installed a closet in his office so he could keep extra sets of clothes. There's also a shower and lockers, and he was able to shift his schedule slightly so that he would return home at the same time each evening as if he took the bus.

Instead of his mountain bike, O'Brochta now gets to work on a new Tommaso road bike, a fancy Italian model outfitted with the famed Campagnolo parts.

"I don't like people ever to pass me," he admitted.

He keeps it in his office, where it has become a conversation piece for patients.

By riding to work, he said, "I'm kind of setting the standard."

People ask him all the time what the prize is for making it that far.

Nothing, he says, unless you count two extra hours of exercise per day, better sleep, a lower weight and the more than $100 a month he saves on gas.

Like O'Brochta, Patrick Ford of Sammamish is also an über-commuter. He rode his bike to school from middle school right up through college at Oregon State University in bike-friendly Corvallis.

Ford is still riding his bike to school — Beaver Lake Middle School in Issaquah, where he teaches electives such as metals, woods and Web design.

It's a quick five-mile ride, but he doesn't go it alone. He hauls the school's mascot — a 45-pound female bulldog named Buddy 2.0 that is also his pet — in a trailer designed for kids.

At school, the racks are jammed with bicycles, which pleases Ford, though he knows that by high school many students will start to drive.

By then, Ford said, "They don't ride the bus; they don't want to ride a bike. They're too cool."

Early warning

Bellevue: A section of 102nd Avenue Southeast between Main Street and Southeast Third Street will be closed from 7 a.m. to 6 p.m. Monday and Tuesday for utility-service work at the Bellewood Condominium project.

Throughout the week, drivers should also expect daytime delays at the intersection of Coal Creek Parkway and Forest Drive as workers perform maintenance on the pavement on Forest Drive.

Redmond: The Tour de Cure Bicycle Ride begins and ends at Marymoor Park near Redmond on May 19. Drivers should watch for bicyclists on streets in Redmond, Woodinville, Snohomish, Granite Falls and Monroe.

Mercer Island: Expect some westbound lane closures overnight on Interstate 90 over Lake Washington each night next week — beginning with overnight total closure of a stretch of westbound lanes at 11 p.m. Monday and Tuesday — for work that will ultimately yield a new HOV lane and ramp. All lanes will reopen by 5 a.m.

Snoqualmie: From 9 p.m. to 5 a.m. Monday and Tuesday, crews will close the onramp to westbound I-90 at Highway 18 to place drainage pipe.

Monday through Thursday, crews will intermittently close lanes in both directions of Highway 18 at I-90 from 9 p.m. to 5 a.m. the following day, also for pipe work. At least one lane in each direction will remain open at all times.

Kirkland: Expect daily closures of the northbound and southbound HOV lanes, except during rush hour, while crews work on the new HOV ramps north of the Northeast 128th Street Bridge. Monday through Thursday, workers may close up to three lanes in each direction near Northeast 116th Street to rebuild the median shoulder. Drivers should also anticipate lane closures between 9 a.m. and 3:30 p.m. throughout the week on Totem Lake Boulevard and Northeast 128th Street for drainage and utility work.

Amy Roe: 206-464-3347

or aroe@seattletimes.com