Brian Earls
As if teaching fourth grade didn’t keep him active enough, Fairview Elementary teacher Brian Earls adds a 10 mile round-trip bike commute to his daily schedule.
Earls started bike riding for transportation many years ago, but spent some time as a traveling teacher and couldn’t regularly commute by bike. “I recently moved into a classroom full time, in one place, which has made riding a lot easier,” he said. Earls had some inspiration from Fairview custodian Alvin Sweezer. “He rides over 30 miles round trip, rain, snow or shine, so I figured there was no excuse for me not to be able to do my ten-miler.”
Earls said the best thing about his commute is the time he gets to spend outdoors. “I do it for the exercise and to be outside. It is just nice to “get away” and have some quiet time on the bike. It is much less stressful than the drive in the car,” he stated. “Plus, I see a lot of wildlife, especially in the mornings along the trail. You really tend to notice more things on the bike if you pay attention to your surroundings. You can get much closer to things than you can in a car. I see a lot of deer, have seen eagles from time to time, and have seen a bobcat.”
This winter the snow and cinders put a damper on his riding but the arrival of spring has him back out there regularly again. “If it is not raining when I am ready to head out in the mornings I generally still ride. I have gotten wet on the way home several times.” Bad weather is not the worst for him though. Earls said it is a toss up between 5pm traffic on Forum and flat tires as to what he dreads the most.
Earls and his wife Nichole have two “kids”; Cacci, a yellow Lab, and Mac, a chocolate Lab, along with several other small critters. When not grading paper, Earls like to spend his free time out walking with his dogs, taking care of his other animals and watching sports.
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