FOR the bike commuter, the morning rush hour does not exist. As we open our eyes to a new day, the question comes before the smile: ?What route will I take today??

It?s not the unpleasant, exasperated version of the motorist?s daily drive, ruled mostly by the latest roadwork project or a traffic-clogging accident. We are unaffected by the morning jam of cars, trucks, and buses. What we seek to avoid are the toxic fumes emitted by these metal monsters. The narrow side streets, the shortcuts through quiet subdivisions (if the guards allow us to pass through), and the occasional city park, are our preferred pathways.

Biking to and from work provides us a twice-daily opportunity to exercise and teaches us to live simply, to take along only the necessary stuff. Everything we need is in our backpacks. The only fuel we burn comes from deep within our lungs. Our bike costs no more than a basic cell phone and pays for itself in the long run, with all these savings in gas and bus fare.

True, we may not look and smell like GQ models when we get to our offices, but there?s always the bathroom sink to make us feel human again. And by the time our car-riding GQ model look-alike colleague gets to work 30 minutes later, we?re too busy with the day?s workload to hear him curse the day the U-turn slot was invented.

Ricky Pineda of the Firefly Brigade shares the three rewards of bike commuting that have kept him in the saddle every day: ?First, regular exercise that keeps my blood sugar in check and hypertension at bay. Two, the thrill of new discoveries about places I pass through and people I bike with and get to meet along the way ? from the construction worker to the taho vendor. And third, that?s how I met Mia [Bunao], my partner.?

Biking is kinder to our roads as well. Six bike commuters can fit into the space occupied by a single car. Should more car owners join us, imagine all that space that would open up on the streets, making traffic an obsolete nightmare. (Photographs by Pio Fortuno Jr.)

THE SUN and El Niño can be ruthless on the biker, sweat glistening on face, arms and legs as he pedals furiously. But wait, are those bike carriers and more bikes on top of those SUVs? You just know it?s summer when bikes hit the road.

Three reasons for this, which also explain why the country is ripe for cycling tourism: varied terrain, fantastic vistas, and warm people who, thanks to the legendary Tour of Luzon, often think that a group of cyclists is always in a race. (Well-meaning bystanders egg on cyclists with stern coach admonitions as: ?C?mon! The others are way ahead. Pump those pedals! Go, get ?em!?)

Ramoncito Garcia Jr. of Cycling Advocates and Adventures (CYCAD) sees the touring bike as an opportunity to enhance the travel experience of foreign and local tourists. Biking in the countryside takes travelers on a convenient pace that isn?t too fast that they?d miss the subtle and pleasant surprises of as yet undiscovered spots, and not too slow as to bore the senses.

Getting to tourist destinations on a bike certainly makes you feel like you?ve earned it. Try visiting Sagada, Mountain Province from Baguio on two wheels. You certainly won?t need an ?E.T.? to feel air-borne, as you feel the forested valleys whiz by. (Photographs by Ramoncito Garcia Jr.)