Twenty-seven year old Christian Beuschel is a husband, father, and medical student.  And, this month we’re happy to bestow upon him the honor of SUPERCOMMUTER!

A native of the Sunshine State, Christian and his family have called Indianapolis home long enough for them to have experienced the capricious cycles of Midwestern weather.  Through the Heartland’s summer heat, winter’s chill and everything in between, Christian is committed to commuting by bike.

Christian’s typical commute clocks in at eight miles roundtrip but that can easily turn into forty miles on days when he is assigned to more distant hospitals. The distance, however, has never been an issue. Instead, Christian quickly found that the hardest part of his commute was just getting out the door in the morning for his frequent early morning rotations. Christian recalls, “Last winter was not that bad as we dodged most of the snow. However, it was still wet. On one of my most ‘enjoyable’ rides, I pedaled straight into a 25 mph wind, through swirling snow at 4am on my way to my 24 hour shift.” What an exhilarating commute!

Christian’s appreciation for the velocipede was cemented during his neighborhood rides as a youngster in Fort Lauderdale but it wasn’t until a few years ago that he made a conscious commitment to become a bicycle commuter.  Living in suburban Indianapolis, Christian began to “detest the idea of driving his gas-guzzling muscle car” on his daily commute. As an alternative, he started taking the city bus.  Soon, he began taking his bike along on the bus.  Not long after, he moved downtown, sold his 2007 Ford Mustang GT, and became a car-less wonder who now bikes every day.

While Christian’s hectic schedule doesn’t allow him to participate in many advocacy efforts, he does support IndyCog, his local advocacy group. He adds, “I think the biggest way anyone can advocate for cycling is to stop at red lights and stop signs.” Christian encourages unseasoned commuters to focus on developing the confidence to ride on the road and to persevere through tough weather conditions. Christian’s other prescriptions for commuting success include setting a comfortable pace, obeying the rules of the road and refraining from bike snobbery. We’d like to add one more bit of healthful advice — “A bicycle commute a day keeps the doctor away.”