Joe leaves his car parked and pedals instead
It’s National Bike to Work Week, and with the weather finally cooperating, a bike ride to work may actually seem possible for those who live within a reasonable distance to their workplace. Time, route, and weather permitting, we would probably see many more cyclists out every day. After all, it’s great exercise and traffic jams do not apply.
Joe Ortigara, physical therapist at ATI’s Tinley Park location, definitely enjoys the benefits of a daily bike ride. Five days a week, Joe arrives at the clinic via his 12-year-old Cannondale touring bike, adorned with his safety helmet and gloves after a 1.1 mile bike ride from his home. A physical therapist for thirty-one years, Joe has developed a deeper appreciation for physical fitness and the need to maintain an active lifestyle.
“Health is what we sell. If I don’t exercise daily, eat healthy food, avoid abusing myself and demonstrate good posture, who is going to listen to me as a physical therapist? Riding my bike to work is part of the whole package,” shares Joe. “I wish my bike ride to work was a little longer. On the weekends I will do a long distance bike ride, about 25 miles.”
For the last five years, since he began working for ATI, Joe has opted for the bike over a car regardless of the weather.
“I have a driver’s license, but biking is the only time of day I get to feel like a twelve-year-old again . . . plus, I am the only one at ATI who has indoor parking!”
Even in the rain and snow, Joe chooses to take on the challenges presented by Mother Nature. While most of us complain about walking to our car when it’s raining, Joe doesn’t flinch at wet weather. And, in the winter, he switches to a 26-year-old TREK 800 mountain bike.
Joe recalls one of the snow storms two winters ago. “On the way home, I had to push it through the drifts, but there were open spots where I could ride.”
Joe got his first bike at the age of 9 and attributes his love for bike riding to his childhood, growing up on the south side of Chicago. “Riding around on a 20-inch bike with no helmet . . . if we could make it through that, bike riding in the suburbs is a piece of cake!”
While riding a bike to work may not be possible for all of us, consider revisiting your childhood this weekend by dusting off that bike in your garage. Maybe it will make you feel like a kid again!
Check out our other GET THERE Blog posts for more celebration of National Bike to Work Week:
www.ATIpt.com/blog