RECREATION / BICYCLING : Wheel Incentives Get Workers to Take Up Bike Commuting

Few people would argue the merits of trying to clean up the environment--traffic is a mess, the air stinks--but no one seems to agree on what to do about it.

Do we outlaw outdoor barbecues? Double the price of gas to keep people out of their cars? Limit development?

Listen to the spirited debate over air quality and rarely, if ever, do you hear a word about bicycle commuting. Forget for a moment that for years other countries have embraced the bicycle as an alternative means of transportation, not to mention the physical benefits it brings to those who use it.

Naysayers will tell you that this is Southern California, home of long commutes and a love affair with the piston engine. They’ll say bicycling in this environment just won’t work.

But don’t believe them, and if you doubt it, take a look at what is going on at the Nabisco Biscuit Co. plant at 7301 E. Artesia Blvd. in Buena Park. They’ve discovered bicycle commuting there, and it has hit big time.

What Nabisco did was take a common-sense approach to tough new regulations imposed by the South Coast Air Quality Management District that require companies employing 100 or more workers to come up with ways to reduce the number of people coming to work by car or truck.

Most larger companies in Orange County have responded by encouraging employees to car-pool or participate in van pools.

Over at Nabisco, the chiefs got together, talked about it, surveyed their employees and found that many would try commuting by bicycle if only the company provided the right incentives. Which it did.

“We took a survey based on their location and those who were relatively close for bicycling and asked them if they would ride a bike to work,” said Byron Kemp, the company’s transportation coordinator. “A couple of people said, ‘If you buy me a bike I would ride it.’ ”

Acknowledging that biking isn’t cheap (you can easily spend $600 or more for an entry-level road or mountain bike, helmet and accessories), the company budgeted enough money to buy eight new Univega cross trainers, bikes that blend the best features of both the road and mountain bikes, and asked its employees who wanted them.

The catch: the employee would have to commit to commuting to work by bike at least three times a week for six months. If they did that, the bikes became their own property.

As an added incentive to those who were already commuting by bike, the company agreed to reimburse them $400 each if they met the same criteria over a six-month period.

The program, which included a mandatory bike safety course run by the Buena Park Police Department, started in January.

Cyclists generally view Southern California as a potentially ideal area to commute in, given the year-round temperate climate and lack of rain. But on the downside, they note that heavy traffic, smog and the absence of designated bike lanes in many areas also make it extremely dangerous.

More than two dozen of Nabisco’s 400-plus employees are now commuting by bike. In late July, the program will be re-examined to determine its success, but there is little doubt that it will be continued, and possibly expanded.

“We believe we came up with an ingenious way to combat the problem of air pollution and reducing traffic,” said Kemp. “We had to reduce something like 46 vehicles a day to comply with the ACMD. Larry Shearon, our plant manager, was really supportive of the idea, and I think it’s a big success.”

And then there is this: in addition to complying with the ACMD regulations, Nabisco is finding itself with happier, healthier employees who are discovering the wonders of the bike.

Consider the case of 58-year-old Ira Pate, who has spent the last 25 years working at Nabisco as a maintenance supervisor.

Pate lives nine miles from work in Brea, and before committing himself to the bicycle program, his exercise was limited to puttering around the mobile home he shares with his wife.

“I really didn’t know if I could cut it or not,” said Pate, “but I thought it would be good exercise and good for the environment. I’ve now been doing it since early February, and I am really starting to enjoy it. The real hard problem was in the beginning--my legs would get stiff and my buns hurt. The last time I rode a bike was maybe 10 years ago.”

Pate now gets up at 5 a.m. and is out the door 45 minutes later. It takes him about 45 minutes to get to work.

“I notice things a lot more than I did in a car,” Pate said. “I really feel a lot better. We’re not in a bike race. I just relax and take my time. You see and hear things (on a bike) that you don’t in a car. And you feel so much better.

“You’re out of the rat race. You make your own pace and you can slow down or speed up. You see these guys whizzing by you and cutting in and out and as far as they get is the next signal. Me, I just make my own time.”

Pate said his wife first thought he was crazy but eventually warmed to the idea and is now eager to start riding herself.

“I had never really thought about it,” Pate said. “The company set it up and had some meetings and discussed what they wanted to do. The more they talked about it the more I liked it. I was a little apprehensive at first, but now I’m committed to it.”

For Kay Leach, a 42-year-old Brea resident who works in Nabisco’s payroll department, the program was a dream come true. No stranger to biking, she has been commuting to work since last August and recently completed the Solvang Century 100-mile ride.

Her commute is about 17 miles both ways, and she does it on a company-purchased 10-speed.

“The best part is knowing that by the time I get home I don’t have to go out and exercise,” she said. “It is so nice, coming in the morning. The air is clear and you see wonderful sunrises.”

Like Pate and the other commuters, Leach uses company-provided showers and lockers to change after the morning commute--and always wears her Nabisco-bought safety helmet.

“The program is great,” Leach said. “We have inspired so many people. One person quit smoking when the program began. People feel better. We feel we’re doing something for the environment. This has really been an inspiration to a lot of employees.”

For Rey Venegas, the program has allowed him to keep riding while receiving a little extra money to keep his carbon fiber Nishiki road bike in tune.

Venegas, a longtime triathlete, has been commuting by bike from his Chino home since 1975. Each morning he rises at 3:30, is on the road an hour later and arrives at work at 5:30 a.m.

“I do believe I am doing something for the environment,” said Venegas, 42. “I commute 25 miles each way, through Carbon Canyon. When I started in 1975, there weren’t that many cars on Carbon Canyon Road. Now it is a line of cars going through there. If a quarter of the people who drive would just ride bikes through the canyon, we’d be a lot better off.”

Venegas considers all the ways that companies are trying to get people out of their cars, and salutes Nabisco for trying something so simple, yet so innovative for Southern California.

“Companies have to be willing to help you out a little bit like (Nabisco) has done. People can always come up with excuses why they can or can’t do this or that. Some people just need a little encouragement. Some people can’t afford to go out and buy a new bike, and this is what this program addresses. People will get out of their cars, but they need the motivation to do it.”

Items about bicycling events, races, charity rides and related announcements and queries can be sent to Richard Beene, The Times, Orange County Edition, 1375 Sunflower Ave., Costa Mesa, 92626, or faxed to (714) 966-7711.