How do you move? Do you walk, bike, or use public transit? Join the Office of Sustainability and participate in the College’s first official event celebrating the different modes of transportation that the College community uses to commute to campus. On April 9th, during Sustainability Week, let us know how you move by using #CofCMoves and why you move the way you do!

We interviewed IT Senior Application Analyst Richard Moss about why he bikes.

Office of Sustainability: What is your role at the College and how long have you worked here?

Richard Moss: I’m a Senior Application Analyst with the Student Programming group in IT.  I’ve been at the College since 1997, having helped in bringing up the old CougarTrail system, the web application we used prior to Banner.

OOS: Why do you bike rather than drive?

RM: A combination of saving some income on parking, and building into my schedule an activity that provides regular exercise.

OOS: How long have you been doing so?

RM: Since they opened the new bridge in 2005 (I live in Mount Pleasant)

OOS: How far do you commute daily?

RM: My commute is 6 miles, door to door.

OOS: What are the benefits to commuting by Bus/Carpool/Bike versus driving alone?

RM: I look forward to the commute now.  With about half of the route on the bridge pedestrian/bike path, there’s very little time spent in traffic.

OOS: What do you value most about the way you commute?

RM: Getting out in the world and feeling the weather, and getting some exercise. I’ve also made numerous friends along the commute, over the years.

OOS: What is the biggest challenge you face as a commuter?

RM: Staying alert, and developing habits that are safe.

OOS: What are some improvements you’d like to see?

RM: There are bike lanes on most of Coleman Boulevard, but they are incomplete.  It would be nice to have those completed.

OOS: Are there any myths about your method of transportation that you’d like to address?

RM: It’s not totally cost-free.  My bike needs regular maintenance and a collection of cold weather apparel is a must.

OOS: Would you recommend this method to others?

RM: Absolutely.

OOS: Do you have any fun commuting stories?

RM: I engage in my own adopt-a-highway activity on the bridge and in front of the port facility on East Bay.  Sometimes, I come by useful items.  There have been a number of occasions where there’s been an eerie correlation between my thinking I need something, and finding it on my commute – an 8-foot step ladder; a brown t-shirt; an old raincoat (for working in our churchyard, that very morning!?); work gloves; boating cushions; a waterproof boating bag.  And the list goes on. Otherwise, I’ve taken to collecting miscellaneous metal items I clear from the roadway (mostly stuff you wouldn’t want to run over, when in a car).  I recently took the home-side portion of that collection to the scrap metal yard.  It returned to me a very small amount of cash, and the very great feeling of satisfaction similar to what Reid Wiseman must get when he turns in his aluminum cans!