Every morning, Angela Hammerli leads her dark purple Trek 800 bicycle outdoors from her downtown Thibodaux home, hops on it enthusiastically and begins her 1.25-mile journey to school. She slows to a halt to scoop up an aluminum can glistening with dew in the morning sunlight and places the recyclable into her backpack, strapped across her waist. She then positions both feet on the pedals to continue forward, admiring the Cajun scenery-uncut, green grass growing wildly on the side of the road, gleaming school children bouncing onto yellow buses and moss-covered trees hanging freely in the hot, musty breeze.
After pausing to chat with crossing guards directing traffic at St. Joseph Elementary school, she pedals on for the remainder of her voyage-one she has made most school mornings for 34 years.
Since 1975, Hammerli has traveled her 9-minute trip to Nicholls State University, rain or shine. When possible, she chooses two wheels over four, leaving only about 40,000 miles on her 2003 Toyota Rav 4.
“I bicycle to pay my bills to save 44 cents; I have bicycled down to Highway 1 to pay my Charter bill; I bicycle to the post office; I bicycle to the bank; I’ll bicycle to visit friends,” Hammerli, distinguished service professor of teacher education, said.
She considers herself “very ecological,” always concerned about protecting the environment. Bicycling is easier on the pocketbook but also gives her “peace of mind” and an early-morning boost of energy. It keeps her spirits up throughout the day and enables her to stay the same size she was in high school, despite her love for chocolate and carbohydrates.
“I’m just happy to be able to do it because it’s very cheap, and I don’t have to pay to work out at a center,” Hammerli said. “It is fun as I go to feel my legs moving from up to down, and I always think of the Wicked Witch of the West because a lot of people have told me I remind them of that.”
But a wicked witch would not stop on her rides to school to pick up recyclable debris lingering on the side of the roads-something Hammerli has done as long as she can remember. About two decades ago, her efforts earned about $1300, which the professor donated to the Thibodaux library.
“I hate to see things wasted. People would throw their newspaper and cans in my front yard, and I had an old suburban van, and I’d take it to Shriever to recycle it,” Hammerli said. “I’m upset they don’t recycle all over the parish, but Nicholls does have more recycling bins nowadays.”
To cart around her findings, Hammerli carries a small backpack strapped across her waist to keep it from falling. Sometimes, she has to drive her vehicle when lugging around heavy loads. Other times, the bike comes in handy.
“One year, my students brought some large cardboard boxes, and they were about 12 feet long. I didn’t want to throw away one box, so I stuck it on the back of my bike and rode back to my office with it.”
She also takes chances with her bicycle when it comes to weather. Unpredictable cloudy skies can make for an interesting ride home, Hammerli said, describing one memorable rainy day.
“One Friday, it was pouring when I was ready to leave school, and I was really lucky my custodian gave me a ride home,” Hammerli said. “I actually had to walk back to pick up the bike. I didn’t realize it took a lot of energy to walk instead of to bike. We’re lucky we have flat land.”
Hammerli said more students should consider digging into that old garage and whipping out that dilapidated, dusty bike: flat tires and all.
Then, once the cobwebs are swept away and the tires are inflated, they should take advantage of what a bike ride to school has to offer-a possible solution to the University’s parking problem.
“I know a lot of students that have to drive around campus to find a location to park,” Hammerli said. “It’s unfortunate a lot of them are commuting. I wish we at least had some kind of program that there would be bikes that would be around that students could use to go back and forth to class.”
Even instructors could benefit, Hammerli said, and some already do. James Barnidge, much like Hammerli, has been biking to school for decades. The pair was featured on their bicycles in the 1983 La Pirogue, and both have managed to continue the tradition after 25 years.
The only thing that has changed for Hammerli is her bike.
“I think the bike I had before was stolen,” Hammerli said. “I’ve had the one I have now for a good 20 years. My husband got it for me at a bicycle shop. We were going to buy a rack, and we got a discount if we bought a bike, too. So that’s what we did.”
After 34 years, Hammerli continues to drag her bike from her downtown Thibodaux home, lead it to the concrete road and pedal toward her familiar intellectual abode. It is a short, yet satisfying, journey, she said, and she does not intend on retiring her bike to her damp garage anytime soon.
“Day by day, week by week, month by month, year by year, I hope I can still do it,” Hammerli said. “I hope my legs can still work and my hips can still work and my heart can still work. I don’t plan to stop.
