Jody Schoger watches her husband, Steve, work on his bicycle at their home in The Woodlands. Both are members of The Woodlands Cycling Club. Steve is into racing, Jody is more focused on recreational riding. They and other club members are hoping to get The Woodlands designated as a Bicycle Friendly Community. Photo by David HopperHe had problems with his knees, she had problems with her feet.

So Cochran's Crossing couple Steve and Jody Schoger decided to switch sneakers for wheels and become avid cyclers instead of joggers.

"He's really fast," said Jody about Steve. "And that's fun because I'm pushing it to keep up."

But when Steve is in full-on racing mode, and she's in recreation mode, they go their separate ways.

Steve and Jody, married 34 years, are members of The Woodlands Cycling Club.

"There are so many opportunities within the club," said Steve, who rode more than 8,000 miles last year. "There is a ride for everybody. No matter your ability, you can generally find somebody to ride with."

The cycling club, founded in 1989, is more than 300 members strong.

Steve, who is club treasurer, said there are approximately 60 licensed USA Cycling riders in the club who are into competitive racing. Another 20 or so participate in training rides simply for the challenge of it, but don't compete. The rest of the club, he said, is filled with recreational or social riders, much like his wife.

As a breast cancer survivor, exercise is very important to Jody.

"Fitness is a really critical element of healthy survivorship," Jody said. "So I got on a bike one time, and it was harder than it looked, so I knew it had to be good for me."

A good fit is essential for comfortable and safe bicycling, Jody said, as is finding a seat that works for you.

If you've ever ridden a bike for more than a couple of blocks, you know your butt gets sore.

"It's like when you get a new pair of shoes," Jody said. "It hurts the first couple of times you wear them."

The Woodlands Cycling Club social rides are Saturday mornings, Jody said, and a lot of them get together and ride during the week as well. That's when Jody sports her hot pink "Biker Chick" riding shirt.

In addition to promoting bicycling safety for riders of all ages, the club encourages cycling for health, recreation, sport and transportation.

David Hitchcock, a 65-year-old urban transportation planner, uses his bike as a tool to get from Point A to Point B.

"I make almost all of my trips by bicycle," said Hitchcock, who commutes from his Panther Creek home to his work at the Houston Advanced Research Center on Research Forest five days a week, less than a two mile ride one way. "If I leave early enough in the morning, it's cool enough, it's a short ride, it's a flat area – so I don't get overheated."

Hitchcock enjoys his morning rides so much, he sometimes detours over to Market Street, or anywhere, really, racking up 10 miles before he even gets to work.

Hitchcock said he's ridden through incredible weather, including, at times, ankle-deep water, and of course searing Texas heat.

"If you spend all your time in air-conditioned buildings, it seems even hotter outside," Hitchcock said. "I do get hot and sweaty by the time I'm home, but one thing I'm not is irritated from sitting in traffic."

Hitchcock would like to see The Woodlands designated a bicycle-friendly community by the League of American Bicyclists.

To get there, certain criteria must be met, some of which The Woodlands has, some of which it does not.

For one thing, The Woodlands does have a comprehensive bike trail system, with some 185 miles of pathways.

"Besides that, many roads in the community have ample shoulders for safe bike riding," he said. "We also have lots of bike racks and bike infrastructure around the community, and updated bicycle maps are available to residents."

Hitchcock said The Woodlands has pieces of a safety and education program on safe bicycling, but those programs need to be expanded. Also, there isn't an official bike-to-work program in place.

Ron Keichline an environmental scientist at Huntsman, is working with Hitchcock on the designation.

"There might already be other people working towards this that I don't know about," Keichline said. "We're kind of in the beginning stages of reaching out to find who's all involved, or who wants to be involved."

Keichline moved to Alden Bridge in The Woodlands from Arlington, Virginia, a city that is designated bicycle-friendly.

Keichline has extensive bicycling experience, including cross-country and mountain biking.

"It's good for my health, it's good for the environment, it's a good way to get exercise," Keichline said. "It's a good way to slow down the pace of life a little bit."

As a father of two young boys ages 2 and 4, Keichline hasn't been cycling as much as he would like lately, but plans to get the boys involved when they're a little older.

"It's a great family activity," Keichline said. "You can see and experience your surroundings on a bicycle a lot differently than in a car."

Graham Elliott of Cochran's Crossing agrees, which is why he and his kids are members of The Woodlands Cycling Club.

Liam, 8, rides tandem with Graham.

Gracie, 6, does too.

"We need a triple (bicycle)," Graham said. "I want one but I can't justify the expense. It would cost about $7,000."

Meanwhile, the kids take turnings riding tandem with dad.

"It's fun," Graham said. "We do group rides and things. Hopefully they'll continue on their own when they're older."

Learn more:
www.thewoodlandsgreen.org
www.bikeleague.org
www.woodlandscycling.org

To learn more about designating The Woodlands a Bicycle-Friendly community, email Ron Keichline at keichline@gmail.com