St. Charles Residents Find Ways to Bike to Work

Three times a week, Jason Kulma, 35, leaves his house in St. Charles and heads to work in Chesterfield on his bike. 

Kulma, a database architect, works near Highways 141 and 40. The commute would normally be around 25 miles, but Kulma cuts the ride to 16 miles by taking a more direct path. He said biking to work takes about about the same amount of time it would take him to drive--slightly less than an hour.

“There’s a thousand things I like about it,” Kulma said. “I can almost always guarantee my commute, it’s great exercise, it relaxes me, you don’t have the environmental impact. The gas prices aren’t affecting me at all.”

Monday marks the first day of the League of American Bicyclists’ National Bike to Work Week, a holiday of sorts to promote a daily commute by bike rather than car. The official Bike to Work Day is May 20. More than 41 million Americans have participated in National Bike to Work Week at least once, according to a 2002 study by the National Sporting Goods Association.

The number of people who commute by bike in the region has grown during the past decade. According to a 2008 study by the League of American Bicyclists, bike commuting saw a 107 percent increase from 2000-2008 in St. Louis, earning it a rank of the 31st most bicycle-friendly city in the country.

Cyclists Tout Exercise as Major Benefit to Riding to WOrk

Francis Howell North senior Coleen Grone said she is looking forward to participating in National Bike to Work Week for the first time this year. She said that aside from her track meets in Troy, she will be biking everywhere this week. 

“I feel like I’m a step ahead of everyone else in fitness," she said. "Even though a lot of people make fun of me for it, I like putting in the extra work. I feel like it’s more of a challenge for me to ride my bike everywhere, and I love myself a good challenge. Plus it’s a perfect week to do it.”

However, Grone said the city could work to make the roads more friendly to bicyclists, either by extending the shoulders or adding bike lanes on roads.

“I can’t ride on Muegge or Jungs Station because I can’t use the sidewalks,” said Grone, 18. “They redo roads all the time, so I don’t understand why they can’t just add a four-foot lane for bikes. It would get more people on the road, and they need to make exercise as accessible as possible.”

The 2009 St. Louis Bicycle Friendly Application said that 30 percent of streets in St. Louis have bike lanes, with a total of 13 miles of bike lanes.

Jim Dreyer, 34, who works for the city of St. Charles, rides his bike to work, which isn't too far from his house. 

“I like the urban city feel of being able to ride my bike to places close,” Dreyer said. “It’s nice that not only am I getting from point A to point B, but also it’s good exercise. I just can’t justify driving somewhere on a nice day when I know my legs can get me there. There are a lot of benefits. The positives definitely outweigh the negatives.”

James Kenny, 38, lives near Main Street and bikes to his job at everyday. He said he has been riding his bike since childhood and while he lived in Southern California, Colorado and Oregon. He said he likes the fact that riding a bike causes him to slow down and appreciate his surroundings.

“In a car, you pass a lot up, but in a cruiser you can really take your time. I take a lot in. I notice a lot more,” Kenny said.

Riding Bikes Can Save Money
High gas prices are undoubtedly a cause of concern for St. Charles drivers. With gas currently at or around $4 a gallon, Momentum Cycles service manager Casey Oliver said a person could purchase an average bicycle for the cost of four tanks of gas.

Oliver said that bicycle awareness and an increase of cyclists in St. Charles could only benefit the community.

“I think we would have a healthier mentality as a city if more people biked,” Oliver said. “Being more active on a daily basis gives people more energy, so that would mean healthier people. There would be reduced congestion on roads and less pollution.”

Bicycles also cut costs in other areas. Kulma said that because he puts less than 9,000 miles on his car per year, his insurance dropped. Kulma also said bicycle maintenance is significantly less than car maintenance, and he saves money on parking, permits and tickets.

“There’s a lot of things you can do cheaply,” Kulma said. “People [complain] that everything costs so much money, but they’re not looking for the alternatives. The number one alternative is you could start riding a bike.”

Businesses Could Improve their Bicycle Friendliness 
Some businesses around St. Charles are putting forth the effort to make their business more bicycle-friendly. Jodi Devonshire and Tony Caruso, the owners of2nd Street Bike Stop Cafe, put bike racks outside their full-service bike shop and cafe. Caruso said businesses could do more to promote bike commuting to their employees, such as providing secure bike parking and a shower to wash up if possible.

“Even little things,” Devonshire said. “We give them time to change clothes. I keep hair ties, deodorant--everything that you would need, I have it here besides a shower.”

Devonshire said that even though almost everyone has ridden a bike at least once in their life and some even own bicycles already, joining the bicycle community can be intimidating. People also often cannot find the motivation to start relying on a bicycle to commute to work. Devonshire feels, however, that if more people were informed of the convenience of biking, more people would join the movement.

“Cycling can come off as elitist,” Devonshire said. “Anyone can do it. You just have to find a bike shop that you trust and feel comfortable in, and they can lead you toward getting a bike that you can afford, or even fix up the one you already have. You just have to get out there and do it.”