At first glance, Al Lim’s commute might not seem unusual. Each day, he leaves his Brentwood home and makes his way to Bay Point, traveling the notoriously congested Highway 4 corridor like tens of thousands of others.

But while everyone else drifts along in a slow-moving river of steel, Al is whizzing along the Delta De Anza Trail, the whoosh of wind, rather than traffic alerts, in his ear.

Lim is the General Manager of Criterion Catalysts & Technologies, and his secret is simple: Instead of four wheels and an internal combustion engine, he travels on two wheels powered by muscle.

“Our man Al commutes on his bikes, including fixed gears, in all weather conditions and against many challenges, including darkness, strong headwinds and several difficult intersections,” said Michael Thomas, Al’s cycling companion and the person who nominated Al for the Contra Costa Bike Commuter of the Year award he recently won.

Bicycle commuting is not only allowed at the Criterion plant; it’s encouraged. “When our staff saw that their boss bicycled to work, it showed them that it was OK to do,” said Lim. “When I started work at Criterion, I was the only one who biked. Now, several of our staff have regularly bicycled to work from homes in Oakley, San Ramon and Oakland.”

Al takes pride in the fact that East County is more bikeable every year. When friends from out of state visit, Al always seems to fit in a bike ride, and enjoys their pleasant surprise at the area’s recreation-oriented climate and many bike lanes and trails.

Al rides to work dressed in normal attire, because “that’s what bicyclists do.” But he’s also inspired by how colleagues at Criterion’s European affiliates view and utilize bicycles. They think of their bikes quite differently.

“Here, bicycling is a pastime and a bike is a possession you take special care of. In Europe, everyone rides a bike, and it would be a joke to wash your bike. It would be like washing your hammer – a bike is tool.”

Al is looking forward to the re-connection of the Mokelumne Trail at the State Route 4 Bypass. “Before the Bypass, it was much better and safer to bicycle down Lone Tree Way,” Al recalls. “Now, Lone Tree is a dangerous street. The re-connected bike trail would open up the shopping centers to the residential neighborhoods for short trips to places like Trader Joe’s, and get more people biking to work.”

Al and wife Mai’s three kids are bicycle aficionados. His teenage sons, Zack and Max, run track and field and sometimes cross-train on their bikes, while his 12-year-old daughter Sydney rides the most. “My cycling sets a good example to my kids for their good health,” said Al.

Al also runs an orphaned bike garage, accepting all bikes his friends have abandoned over the years. He fixes up many and has given several away to friends. Al is also a regular guitar entertainer at the Delta Pedalers annual holiday party.

His commitment to bicycling and his inspiration to co-workers, friends and family has earned Al Lim the title of Bike Commuter of the Year in Contra Costa County.

To learn more about the coalition, visit www.ebbc.org.

To learn more about the coalition, visit www.ebbc.org.

– Contributed by Dave Campbell, East Bay Bicycle Coalition