Meet Our Summer Super Commuter: Ben Stites

Since he can remember, Ben Stites has been on a bicycle. His earliest memories trace back to rolling along Madison’s Lakeshore Path in a “baby launcher” child seat on the back of his dad’s road bike. Today, he rides every single day, from quick trips across town to journeys that stretch for thousands of miles. In the past ten years, according to his “napkin math,” he has pedaled 28,000 miles, a couple thousand clicks farther than the circumference of Planet Earth! Ben’s Super Commuter story shows what drives him to live by bicycle and inspiring others to think what every day riding can make possible.

Ben was born in Madison, Wisconsin, and his connection to bicycles began before he could pedal. He remembers the feeling of being pulled along behind his dad. As he puts it, “We’d ride along the Lakeshore Path to the Union Terrace where we’d eat pretzels and watch the sailboats.” Those early rides were the beginning of a lifelong relationship with two wheels.

When his family moved to Stevens Point, riding became their everyday transportation. “My family lived within easy biking distance of most of the places we ever needed to go,” he says. School, the library, grocery stores, parks, and both of his parents’ workplaces were all accessible by bike. Riding shaped Ben’s sense of independence, community, and possibility.

Things sharpened for Ben in high school when he befriended a student who lived ten miles outside of town and rode to school every day. One afternoon, that friend invited Ben to ride home with him. Once they arrived, he showed Ben how to true wheels and tackle other serious bicycle maintenance. Ben remembers that moment clearly. “I was impressed by the fundamental simplicity of bicycle components. Taking my bike apart made me nervous but seeing how everything worked made me realize that bicycles are incredibly accessible and democratic.”

That same friend later spent a year riding from Prudhoe Bay to Tierra del Fuego, expanding Ben’s understanding of what bicycles could do. Inspired, Ben began taking his own long trips, first around the Midwest, then to Pennsylvania with his dad, and eventually on a month-long solo tour that covered nearly two thousand miles.

After graduating from high school, Ben returned to Madison for college and has lived there for nearly twenty years. He worked as a mechanic, delivered sandwiches by bike, and eventually became a courier. Each job deepened his connection to cycling and strengthened his belief in bicycles as practical transportation. His passion for cycling eventually landed him a job at Pacific Cycle where he still works today as the Facilities Coordinator. As he puts it, “I work in the cycling industry because I love it, and I struggle to imagine having to work in a field that doesn’t inspire me.” He has never owned a car, and he has never needed one.

Ben considers himself fortunate to live in a city where he can travel almost anywhere with minimal interaction with cars. His typical commute is eight miles each way, but because he lives in a platinum-level bicycle friendly neighborhood, he often extends his ride home by ten or fifteen miles. Most of his commute is on bike paths or dedicated on-street bike routes, and “much of it is beautiful.” He rides along lakeshores, through parks, neighborhoods, marshes, prairies, and woodlands. He often spots deer, turkeys, sandhill cranes, herons, and snapping turtles. His commute is a daily ritual that supports his well-being. “My morning commute wakes me up, clears my head, and gets my blood moving.” Over the past ten years, he has wracked enough commuter miles effectively circling the planet, and then some.

Ben owns ten bikes, most of which serve commuting duty at least occasionally. His main commuter is a Cannondale gravel bike equipped with Planet Bike aluminum fenders and clearance for studded tires. For grocery runs, he uses a Cannondale cargo e-bike. When snow piles up, he turns to a Mongoose fat bike that transforms winter riding into a fun adventure.

Ben’s advice to new riders is simply to “Take it easy at first, give yourself plenty of time, be safe, and enjoy yourself!” He believes bicycling should feel rewarding, not rushed, a way to move through the world with intention and curiosity.

Ben rides every day, but what keeps him pedaling is not habit. It is the small wonders that greet him along the way: spring turning the world green, summer light warming his shoulders, birds calling out the rhythm of his commute, and winter offering its quiet promise of renewal. Planet Bike proudly recognizes Ben Stites as a Super Commuter, because his story shows how bicycles enrich our lives with freedom, connection, and joy.