WESTBROOK – Terrance Cushman burst out of his front door on Brown Street Wednesday afternoon into a hip-deep snowbank.
He was ready to set out on his five-and-half-mile commute to South Portland in a blinding snowstorm.
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But instead of shoveling out his car, Cushman hoisted his mountain bike onto the road.
“I am looking forward to this,” he said, before pedaling off at a brisk clip.
Cushman is among a group of diehard area commuters who get to work on two tires instead of four, even on the harshest days of winter. For them, the daily drive is an adrenaline rush, instead of a grind.
They bicycle in the dark and in all weather conditions, braving pot holes, whipping winds and inconsiderate motorists. They bundle in layers during cold weather, and adorn the bikes with lights for safety. Studded tires help them get traction on snow and ice, fenders protect clothes from mud and water.
They say the satisfaction of battling the elements is part of the fun. They also save money and stay in shape. Some own cars, which they occasionally use. But many have gone completely carless.
“There really isn’t enough adventure left in the world, so this is my way to make my every day adventurous,” said John Baldwin, who commutes three miles from his Deering neighborhood in Portland to his job at Allagash Brewing Co. on Industrial Way.
Many of these extreme commuters are part of the Portland Maine Bike Meetup, on the meetup.com social networking website. The group was started in 2006 by John Brooking of Westbrook, who had been commuting by bike for several years by then.
Brooking, 44, said he has saved a lot of money commuting to South Portland by bike. In 2010, Brooking, who keeps records, saved $470 in gas costs — based on a price of $2.80 per gallon — by pedaling 4,300 miles to his job and errands, not to mention the savings of cutting back to one family car rather than two, as he and his wife and two sons did in 2005.
“I wanted an alternative to just driving my car, for environmental and political reasons,” said Brooking.
Today, the bike commuting group numbers more than 300, among them the hardcore members who are devoted to winter travel. They say they won’t give up their winter commutes, even though motorists frequently stop and offer them a ride.
Troy Moon, 44, could have made his two-and-a-half-mile commute in Portland through Wednesday’s blinding snowstorm in the comfort of a four-wheel-drive Toyota 4Runner. Instead, he did it by bike.
“It is a great way to stay in shape, and you get to think a little bit,” said Moon.
For many of these hardy riders, finding the right equipment and developing their riding technique is part of the fun. Baldwin, 28, who at one time was making a 16-mile round trip by bike between Yarmouth and Portland, has lost track of how many bikes in his collection were customized to suit the weather.
He has two snow-riding bikes, one of which he calls the bruiser, designed for blizzard conditions.
While many of the winter commuters are men, there are some women, including Baldwin’s fiancee, Erin Kusch. The couple, who have gone carless, pedal year-round on dates to the movies, restaurants and other nighttime destinations.
“People keep saying, ‘When you have kids …’ I don’t know, we will see,” said Baldwin.
Winter bike commuting is not just for the young. Paul Jones, 57, is spending his second winter making a three-mile bike trek from his home in South Portland over the Casco Bay Bridge to his job as a computer trainer at Maine Medical Center in Portland.
At this time of year, Jones outfits his bike in blinking Christmas lights so he sticks out for the few motorists he may meet on his 6 a.m. commute.
“The goal is to be noticed,” said Jones.
Conditions are more dangerous in the hot summer months, when there’s more traffic on the roads and tempers are more likely to flare, according to winter bikers.
“Sometimes, very, very rarely, someone might throw something at you,” said Cushman.
For the most part, they say, motorists are courteous about sharing the road.
Winter bikers also report a sense of satisfaction in passing rows of cars stuck in icy conditions, said Lincoln Paine, 51, who bikes through Portland to work at the Osher Map Library at the University of Southern Maine.
He said during the first snowstorm of the season last month, when Portland became a traffic-jammed skating rink, he biked home in 15 minutes.
“Then I had to go across town in my car with my family and it took an hour to go two miles, ” he said.
Staff Writer Beth Quimby can be contacted at 791-6363 or at:
bquimby@pressherald.com
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