Photo: ©Peter Beers, used with permission.

Real Life is Real Yoga

A guy who rides his bike a lot and, though unconventional, gets a lot of things done.

BY MAGAZINE COLUMNIST SUSAN BLOOD

If you are in Washington DC and see an over-six-foot man who resembles a cherry blossom riding a bike, it’s my friend Pete Beers. These days he says he likes to match the cherry blossoms, but anyone who knows him sees right through this charade. If gloves/glasses/cables/helmets/jerseys/etc. come in pink, that’s what he gets. Pete is hard to miss.

I’ve admired Pete’s practice for years and thought I’d ask him a few questions about why he does what he does – and what exactly it is that he does. I ended up learning not only what he does, but who he is – which is what he does. It’s like that with Pete. Everything goes around.

Susan Blood Am I right in thinking you commute by bike every day – rain, sleet or shine?

Pete Beers I ride every day. Saturdays are usually a rest day, but I always end up getting on the bike for one reason or another… It may only be a short trip to the store. With vacations and all, that usually comes out to riding between 300 and 330 days per year. As of mid-March, I haven’t missed a day of riding this year.

Susan B I’ve seen you racking up carbon savings, is that why you ride?

Pete I post my carbon savings on Facebook and Twitter, but that is only part of the reason I ride. I’ve always kept track of mileage over the years… especially since I stopped driving 3 or 4 years ago.

Last year I took part in a program done by Clif Bar (2-Mile Challenge) to get people to ride their bikes instead of driving cars. I didn’t need the motivation, but I thought perhaps my participation could show others how easy it was to leave the car at home.



One of the things that the 2-Mile Challenge calculated was the carbon saved by riding instead of driving. I was shocked to find out that every gallon of gasoline burned emits 19.4 pounds of CO2. I had no idea it was that much. The last 3 years I’ve had a goal of riding my bike 10,000 miles and driving my car less than 1000. I have succeeded easily at that.

This year, with my new-found knowledge about CO2 emissions, my goal became to NOT emit 10,000 pounds of CO2. When I think of it in those terms, it makes it even less likely that I’d take the car to work one day. I always want to ride.

Susan B (weeps quietly at thought of own CO2 emission)

Pete (oblivious to weeping) The benefits of riding for me are many. I work in a city with some of the worst traffic in the country. Driving in the Washington, DC area is miserable.

That means a few things… I don’t get stressed or annoyed by driving to work in horrible traffic. I also arrive at the office awake, invigorated and ready to work. In the afternoon, when so many people are exhausted and stressed with their commute home, I have a great opportunity to leave my worries and stress about work at the office and arrive at home relaxed and ready to enjoy my evening.



I’ve lost 40+ pounds since I stopped driving. I’ve purchased no more than one tank of gas for my car each year for the last 3.5 years. My wife says I’m much happier. She’s right. I don’t really save much money though. I have the bad habit of collecting cool and historic bicycles. I certainly could save a lot of money every year by commuting by bike.

Susan B Any down-sides?

Pete On the not so good side, I’ve been hit by inattentive drivers a dozen times in the last 4 years. It mostly happens when people are making right turns on red lights, running stop signs or talking on their mobile phones.

Susan B Let’s go back to the up-sides.

Pete This winter we had an ice storm that set in around lunch time. I’d known it was coming and had good tires on my bike for riding in ice and snow. The last 5 miles of my commute is rather hilly. On an evening when friends were stuck in traffic for hours… some taking 4 or 5 hours to travel 15 miles, I made it home only 10 minutes slower than my usual 1-hour ride. I passed 3 snow plows that were stuck in the ice and unable to move.

Susan B What is the strangest or most wonderful thing that’s happened to you on your commute? 

Pete The most wonderful thing that I experience is something that I see every day… Happy people being active. I meet a lot of other cyclists, walkers and runners. Some are drivers too, though they’re usually so insulated from what is going on around them that a smile or wave rarely penetrates their domain.

Susan B Circuitously related: Do you remember our college Political Science professor telling you that wearing salmon nail polish would make your path more difficult?

Pete Ahhhh… Good old [name removed to protect no one in particular]. What an interesting guy. I mean that sincerely. I seem to remember that conversation happening in or around the time that [different name removed] shaved my head. You must admit that my nails looked fabulous in salmon. Much better than the eggplant color that I had been wearing.

Susan B (jury is out on salmon vs. eggplant)

Pete I didn’t appreciate Dr. C as much as I should have at the time. I think that’s true for all who are young and foolish. I say that not because of his preoccupation with letting me know that visually “fitting in” helps my pathway in life, but because I discounted a lot of what he said because of that preoccupation.

To put it briefly: Respect is earned. It cannot be granted or commanded. I had trouble earning his respect because of how I looked. He had trouble earning mine because he didn’t easily look past how I looked.



My appearance has changed, over the years, as has my taste in nail polish colors (pink is the new salmon), but the same sense of individuality remains. I “fit in” about as well now as I ever did then. I’m a little less awkward in social situations, but no less shy when I’m out of my element. I’m much, much happier doing things my own way… and that way is quite informal. Someone who is completely focused on appearances and formality must still earn my respect in the same way that my complete rejection of formality forces me to earn his or hers.



That’s a nice transition back to cycling. I’m the guy that walks into the office with all my cycling clothes hanging over my arm. I’m obviously freshly showered and “wasn’t able to do a thing with my hair.” My cube always has cycling clothes neatly arranged on clothes hangers so that they dry out before the afternoon ride home. There are cycling photos from my journeys stuck to the cube walls that act as picture windows looking out on a view so that I don’t feel like I’m trapped in some kind of Dilbert hell.



Contrary to Dr. C’s predictions, I’ve found my rejection of formality helps my way in life. My work in the computer industry requires that I function in close-knit, highly-cooperative teams with others. 



Over the years in this job, I’ve found that the best way to work with groups is to have that sense of informality be a way of getting to know someone as a person first, and a co-worker second. When I know someone and they know me at a personal level, even if it is just one small bit of personal knowledge, I’m able to humanize that relationship.

We’re not faceless, nameless people on a different continent that are easily blown-off or set aside in favor of other activities. I am Pete, a guy who rides his bike a lot and, though unconventional, gets a lot of things done that make things happen quickly in the company. I have that same respect and care for the relationship with all of the people I work with.



It sometimes takes a while for people to figure out why that works for me. They don’t always understand why the dynamic is working so well. Once they figure it out I’ve not only got someone I can work very well with and be EXTREMELY efficient with in the work environment, I’ve also got a friend.

My wife loves it when I get to that point with someone new. The recounting of my daily activities starts with the proclamation “I made a new friend today!!!”. I know that makes me sound like a 2nd grader. In fact I AM a second grader, and an 8th grader, and a Junior in high school… and a lot of other things.

[Including a Twit. You can find him here: http://twitter.com/#!/I_am_Dirt ]

The iconic Susan Blood also writes Trout Towers and operabetty.com.

© 2011, The Magazine of Yoga, LLC.