Road warrior

SANDPOINT — Maybe you’ve seen him. In his bright riding gear, he’s hard to miss. But what really makes Woody Aunan stand out on the road is that he rides his bike to work throughout the school year. Eight miles, each way, in all kinds of weather.

It’s a ride he’s suited up for over the course of nearly 12 years.

Aunan lifted a calculator from his desk in the science classroom at Sandpoint High School and figured aloud as he tapped the keys. Mileage times work days times number of years, he mumbled as he moved toward a sum. And the answer?

“Thirty thousand, ninety six miles,” Aunan said, looking surprised. “Let me do that again.”

More tapping, more mumbling and an identical outcome.

“I get the same answer — 30,096 miles,” he repeated. “That sounds like a lot, doesn’t it?”

The rider’s two-wheeled commute could have gone awry early on had he not invested in all-weather clothing and the kind of bike and accessories that make inclement conditions bearable, if not altogether pleasant at times. Those first trips, however, included little or none of the above.

“When I compare the rides I take now to the ones I took back then, it was way less comfortable,” he said.

Aunan’s route down the Selle Road joins the frontage road near Coldwater Creek on its way to cross the Popsicle Bridge and ends up at the high school. Depending on headwinds and traffic, the one-way trip takes somewhere between 40-60 minutes. It’s a ritual he has come to relish, using the time to combine a physical workout with mental preparation for the workday.

“I’m not a martyr because I ride,” Aunan said. “It feels so good to be outside with no distractions.”

There have been a handful of mornings when he looked outside and bagged the ride, but the temperatures had to be below zero and the winds had to be strong enough to make riding nearly impossible. On those days, Aunan would climb, grudgingly, into his vehicle and drive to school.

“But I really hate getting into the truck,” he said. “It doesn’t feel right. There’s no time to get ready for your day.”

This is pure supposition, but the rider might also use his commute to come up with some of the aphorisms he regularly writes on the board in his classroom. Just as often, he has been known to spout his writings to underscore an idea or wrap up a conversation. By way of greeting, he offered this ditty:

“Enthusiasm is its own reward. Apathy is, well, whatever …”

Aunan prods his young charges to look past fad and fashion and entertain the idea that lurching headlong into life with unbridled passion — and without the aid of ubiquitous electronic devices — will set them upon the road less traveled.

Be prepared, he warns them in advance, for grief from the sidelines. Or as one of his board posts put it:

“Beware of those who are chronically bored for they have a strange desire for your sympathy. Your determination to amuse yourself without restraint will render them harmless.”

On the opposite wall, the classroom clock has been obscured by a large piece of art paper bearing this question:

“What could you possible find here?”

At the end of this school year, Aunan will retire and step away from this bully pulpit, where the study of science and personal awareness have been curricular counterparts for the past 27 years. For about 12 of those years, the teacher has rolled up to the back door of his science room, locked up his bike and walked inside to doff his riding gear — perhaps the most demanding part of his daily commute.

“I have to change clothes, like, four times a day,” he said. “I get up, get into my bike clothes, get to school, get out of my bike clothes — and then do it all over again at the end of the day.”

Aunan has had his share of spills on icy days, but said his biggest concern is drivers who might slide in his direction when roads are bad. Rain, snow and cold don’t slow him down at all, mostly because he wears the kind of lightweight, water-resistant clothing that makes all the difference when it comes to riding comfort.

“Most people overdress for winter biking,” Aunan said. “If your hands, head and feet are warm, you’re fine. It only takes about a quarter mile to get your heart pumping and get the rest of you warmed up. Going down the driveway, though, you’re sometimes thinking, ‘What am I doing?!’”

Sharing the road with other bikers is never an issue in the winter, the rider shared, since he tends to be the only one out there on icy mornings or rainy evenings.

“But the minute the sun comes out, people start popping up all over the place,” he said. “And then there’s Bike to Work Week — I find that amusing. Why just one week? It’s like Earth Day. Could we just do it two days?”

Those who spot Aunan on those days when their vehicle is slipping and sliding and their windshield wipers are icing up might well ask one pertinent question as they see him pedaling down the road: Why?

“I’m part Norwegian,” he said.

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Woody’s Top 5 Riding Tips

SANDPOINT — What does it take to leave the car behind and start biking to work? For SHS science teacher Woody Aunan, who rides 16 miles round-trip on his daily commute, it’s a combination of the right attitude and the right gear. He offered these tips for successful all-weather riding:

• Don’t overdress. Lightweight outerwear for the torso combined with warmer wear for head, hands and feet will do the trick.

• Make sure you can be seen. Bright colors for clothing and even brighter head and tail lamps will help keep you safe.

• Don’t dread the ride — it’s an opportunity to spend a little time alone with your thoughts and without telephones or computers.

• Don’t buy cheap gear — you’ll regret it. An investment on the front end will pay off later.

• Always wear a bicycle helmet.