“It’s nice to not be in a box.  To feel like we’re people and not machines.” 

T.D. Fisher, Oakland resident and Alameda County Bicycle Commuter of the Year for 2010, bubbles over with enthusiasm for cycling. “I feel happier.  I feel like more is possible.  I feel physically stronger.”

It wasn’t always this way.  For 10 years, T.D. Fisher spent a lot of time in her car in the course of her work as an orthotist.  She drove from one site to another, fitting children and adults with disabilities with braces to increase mobility and comfort.

“I used to go all over the place in my car.  I practically lived in it.  It was filled to the brim with all this gear,” she recalls.  “I hated being in the car and I thought there’s no way I’m ever going to do this job without a car.”

That changed a year and a half ago, when a friend offered to loan her an old bike trailer.  She started hauling her equipment around Oakland by bicycle, using the trailer.  Then she got creative.  She bought front and rear panniers.  She combined cycling with BART to reach sites in Contra Costa County.  She now carries everything from metal joints to wet plaster molds to her work tools. 

She rearranged her schedule to reduce the number of stops she would need to make and stored some of the larger equipment at the sites she visits.

“I didn’t think it could work.  I was creating my own wall, my own limitations,” Fisher says. “You talk about something enough and someone comes up with an idea that’s helpful.”

She hasn’t looked back.

“It’s harder and harder for me to get in the car.  I want to meet people on my bike rather than go somewhere in the car with them,” she says. “Once somebody gets on their bike, they smile.”

Fisher encourages reluctant friends to “toodle” with her.

“It’s okay to be slow.  You go at your own pace and you have a good time doing it.  It doesn’t have to be a bike ride; it’s just a toodle.  It’s more like a stroll, as opposed to a hike.”

T.D. Fisher knows from experience that life is better when you travel by bicycle.

“I’m so happy that I’ve been able to switch my life around.  Year round – even in the pouring rain, I’m just as happy.” 

Riding the streets of Oakland is part of the fun. 

“There are so many new little locally owned shops that you don’t notice if you’re in a car.  You can be more spontaneous and stop here and there.  You get to know Oakland more when you’re on a bike.” 

She adds,  “It’s refreshing to be out near the water and feel the fresh air.  It’s flat unless you go up in the hills.  You can go anywhere on a bike.  It’s easier.  It’s faster.  You don’t have to deal with parking.”  She has even raced friends in cars and gotten to the destination first.

Fisher tells a story of a man who looked at her as she was getting on BART in Orinda, loaded up with all her work gear, and said, “Okay, I’m going to ride my bike to work.”

Encouraging others to get on a bicycle is a no-brainer. “It’s especially fun when there’s a lot of bikes.  There are a lot of people who commute by bike.  It feels like a community.”

Inspired?  Join the whole crew on May 13th for Bike to Work Day.  Click here for more details.  Then come by the "Bike Away from Work Party," 5:30 to 8:30 p.m. on Telegraph between 16th and 18th streets, and watch T.D. Fisher accept her award.  More details here.