By: dmc-admin//September 8, 2008//
Compared to most of their decisions — guilt, liability, child placement — this choice is an easy one: Whether to bike or drive to work.
They could opt to fight traffic and pay for parking, not to mention paying for $4-per-gallon gas; or, they could bike to work, enjoy fresh air and endorphins, and do their part to reduce carbon emissions.
For the past four to five years, Milwaukee County Circuit Court Judge Richard J. Sankovitz has biked to work. He says that once he sustained a knee injury, his former exercise of choice, running, became impossible, so the bike became the next best option. Every day, he rides the eight-mile round trip, year round, unless the road conditions are too icy or the cold too extreme. On the latter note, he means colder than 3 degrees — that’s his record for the coldest morning he braved on the bike.
Inspired by Sankovitz, his colleague, Judge Michael J. Dwyer, took to his bike as his primary mode of transportation to work, March through November, about two years ago.
His commute is 10 miles, round trip, and takes about 25 minutes by bike, compared to 20 by car.
Dwyer says that annually during the summer months, he’s five pounds lighter, which he attributes to the biking and other exercise. As for Sankovitz, he says he’s always been somewhat of a fitness addict, and was very unhappy when the doctor told him his running days were done. The biking has been a worthy substitute for maintaining his fitness level — “or at least, I haven’t backslid too much,” he says.
Beyond the physical benefits, both laud the mental health benefits. “It’s just way fun,” says Dwyer. ‘It’s a wonderful way to start the day, and a wonderful way to end the day.
Now, I really hate it on the days that I have to drive.”
As for Sankovitz, he says that judges don’t get a lot of time for reflection during their days, between listening to counsel’s arguments or reading them in their briefs. His rides to and from work give him the opportunity for some solitary thought. “I’ve come up with some of my best ideas — and a few hare-brained ones, too — during my rides.”
They’ve been joined, on and off, by other Milwaukee jurists as time has passed. Judges Charles F. Kahn Jr., John Franke, Mary M. Kuhnmuench and Francis T. Wasielewski also cycle to work from time to time.
While their efforts are laudable, they don’t match those of Waupaca County Circuit Court Judge John P. Hoffmann, who rides 30 miles round trip to work, three days per week, May through September, in addition to weekend rides, weather permitting.
Hoffmann, who is 63 and has had both hips replaced, has been keeping track of his mileage for the past 20 years. About a month ago, he surpassed the 75,000-mile mark, riding anywhere from 4,000 to 5,200 miles annually. He has done numerous century rides over the years and the SAGBRAW (six days of biking across the state, 60 miles per day), in addition to biking across Ireland (600 miles over two weeks in the Emerald Isle).
“When I started, it was mostly for the physical and mental health benefits. Now, it sure seems to be the popular thing to do to save money — although any money I may have saved I’ve probably spent on bikes and biking gear,” he says.
Wasielewski, too, has ridden numerous cross-country bike trips, including rides to Door County from Milwaukee with his son in past years, and most recently, a two-week trip in Washington state in the Cascade Mountains, again with his son.
Like Sankovitz, Wasielewski took to the bike after his running career wound down due to injury; Wasielewski also has 15 marathons under his belt. At age 66, he has no plans to cut back on the biking. “I really feel blessed and fortunate that I can still get out and do it,” he says.
As for the benefits of the bike ride to work, he says, “Being a judge is a very sedentary job, as is the job for most attorneys. We go to one place and stay there for eight hours or more. So, I find the exercise very refreshing and stimulating. It makes me more alert on the job. And, it gives me a sense of well-being that helps me to keep a positive outlook on everything, my job included.”