With "National Bike to Work" week around the corner (May 16-20), I want to encourage people to consider bicycle commuting for a day or two, and perhaps you will consider doing it year-round.

Having worked on Main Street in Nashua for the last six years, I commute to work on bike about 40 percent of the time (even when it is below freezing outside). I live in the downtown neighborhood of Crown Hill and commute about a mile each way. I am what you would call a "fair weather commuter," generally riding my bicycle to work when the weather is nice and when I do not have any travel planned for the day.

When I first decided to bicycle commute, I had to figure out several logistics such as how I would bicycle commute to work and get my daughter to school in the morning. I ended up investing in a "trail-a-bike," which mounts to the seat post of my bicycle in about 30 seconds. In the morning, we attach the trailer bicycle and head down to Dr. Crisp School, where I drop her off. She loves bicycling to school and feels like the envy of all her classmates.

Once my daughter is at school, I pedal back home, unmount her trailer-cycle, and head to work. Even though my 15-minute commute is probably less than half the average commuting time for the typical person, it still feels like I get to cheat the typical commuting grind. I love the way I feel in the morning when I bicycle to work – refreshed and awake.

Another fun bicycle ride is grocery shopping with my family. My wife, Liz, and I both have panniers on our bicycles so we can actually get a whole week’s worth of groceries with our two bicycles. Our family mounts up the trailer, and the three of us head to Hannaford on Coliseum Drive, which is a 4-mile bicycle ride. We go through Mine Falls Park to get there, and it really blends physical exercise with pleasure and chores. It really is a wonderful lifestyle option.

While I wholeheartedly recommend bicycle commuting, it does come with some challenges. Sometimes, especially during traffic hour, cars can be quite aggressive and take risks that make me nervous that I will get hit. I try to ride defensively, but there are still stressful situations and specific intersections that are hard to navigate.

I have an especially hard time trying to ride my bicycle from Dearborn Street on to Medical Center Drive out to East Hollis Street. Cars are usually moving quickly on Medical Center Drive, and it feels as if they are coming head-on at you while trying to merge with traffic. I typically stick to the shoulders when I ride my bicycle, but at this point in the commute, I take a travel lane, which can be quite intimidating.

Of course, Nashua is not quite fully bikeable yet, and as such, both Liz and I own cars. However, there are several efforts underway, such as Plan for Health Nashua, to make the city more bicycle- and pedestrian-friendly. There is also a series of nine regional Complete Streets information sessions to learn more about creating more bikable and walkable communities, including one here in Nashua on May 13 at the Nashua Regional Planning Commission.

I could easily see us being a one-car household in the future, which will not only save us money, but will encourage even more bicycle commuting and fun family time.

James Vayo is the downtown specialist for the city of Nashua’s Office of Economic Development.