AUBURN – If he drove his pickup to work – rather than his bicycle – Stephan Myers figures he’d save little time, if any.

Folks who only drive seem to dismiss the moments they spend waiting for flagmen to wave them through a construction site or the minutes of stoplight sitting, as their engines rumble and their tailpipes smoke.

“When you’re waiting at a traffic light, you’re going just as slow as I am,” said Myers.

Once the light changes, a bicycle can typically keep up with slower downtown traffic.

And when the next red light appears, a bicycle never emits a black puff of smoke.

Friday is National Bike to Work Day, when commuters around the country are encouraged to pedal to their jobs.

A little more than a quarter of Americans ride bicycles. However, only about 5 percent use their bicycles to get to work or school, according to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration.

Groups are trying to change those numbers. They are “undeniably” growing, said, Jeffrey Miller, the executive director of the Bicycle Coalition of Maine.

The biggest hurdle is getting people to consider several options, from simply riding a bike to work to choosing park-and-ride options. People with a long commutes might park their cars a distance from work and bike the remainder.

They might also consider the time savings, said Miller. People could commute and get a work-out at the same time.

For most people, such as Myers, it’s no single reason. It’s a bunch.

A planner for Platz Associates in Auburn, Myers bikes about one mile to work an average of four days a week. It’s an easy ride, with a gentle downward slope on the way to work and a slight climb on the way home.

It takes 10 minutes or so, riding his Trek mountain bike across Union and Turner streets, and navigating through the sometimes busy traffic. If it rains or snows, he drives an 8-year-old pickup the short distance.

But he tries to avoid it. He wears a backpack to carry any groceries he might need. And when it’s dark, he tapes a flashlight to the handlebars.

It can work for lots more people, said coalition leader Miller. Most have a bicycle and are healthy enough to pedal short distances.

It’s one of the reminders Miller makes as his own group prepares for June 9, when it will celebrate “Commute Another Way Day.” Again, they’re trying to separate people from their cars, an argument made even more attractive as gas prices climb above the $2-per-gallon mark.

“We’re looking for ways to take people out of these two-ton steel boxes,” Miller said.

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