By bus, by car, or, in the case of sophomore Zachariah Benevento-Zahner and junior Aaron Gusler, by bike. Traveling on a busy Garbers Church Road and with inexperienced drivers, Gusler finds the journey to school a risky business.

“There are some pretty major risks for me, you know. Every day I get on my bike and I’m laying my life on the line just to save gas and love mother nature. 99 percent of the time people who drive to HHS [can’t drive], so you have to watch out for [them]. Bad drivers, you have to watch out for bad drivers,” Gusler said.

He sees biking as a something more than just a hobby for personal gain, but an action that benefits people and the world around him.

“Biking is more than an activity, it’s a lifestyle, so everytime I get on my bike I’m encouraging an act of lifestyle. When people see me, they want to be me, you know, they want to imitate me. And when more people imitate me that means that mother nature is better off, because more people are biking, so that’s good,” Gusler said.

He finds additional motivation in conserving gas, and ultimately money.

“I bike because it’s fun, it wakes me up, it saves gas. Look, [I] am poor, I’m so poor. I can’t afford gas, I have to bike, I’m on my grind. I also used to not be able to drive, so I had to bike,” Gusler said.

Depending on both the bike and the person, there may be a certain connection or value the rider has with their ride.

“My bike is an old fixer-upper eighties bike, and I put a lot of work into making it ride nice, so I feel like that’s a good connection [my bike and I have],” Gusler said.

Gusler finds the majority of drivers competent, but still has a few grievances.

“It’s not that bad, it probably sounds worse than it actually is, I mean most teenage drivers are pretty decent. They’re kind of nervous so they’ll give you a really wide berth, but sometimes it’s really annoying when they stay behind you and don’t pass. That’s the main issue I have,” Gusler said.

In addition to the risk of riding among other cars, Benevento-Zahner finds that biking requires physical effort, which can affect one’s energy level and appearance.

“You always have the risk of getting hit by a car, you know. I also think you have the risk of getting sweaty and not looking dapper at school, because I always look dapper at school. Also it takes me a long time and I get tired,” Benevento-Zahner said.

After biking, he sees his overall mood improve.

“I always feel better during the day, I feel focused, I feel like a baller, I get exercise,” Benevento-Zahner said.

Benevento-Zahner finds the “baller” feeling in being an outlier in terms of getting to school.

“When you’re going it’s just different, you see everyone in their cars and you’re like ‘ehh’ but when you bike to school you get exercise and when I bike home I can actually get home faster than my bus can,” Benevento-Zahner said.

Although Benevento-Zahner’s bike is fairly new and hasn’t had the opportunity to grow close to it yet, he is aware of other thriving bike-rider relationships.

“I don’t really have [a connection] with my bike, but my friend went to buy his, and on the way back he was brainstorming names for it, and was considering the name Jessica. Apparently after that he passed a road called like Jessica Lane or something, and saw it as sort of a sign from the universe that that was the right name,” Benevento-Zahner said.

Braving the unpredictable weather and inexperienced drivers, Benevento-Zahner and Gusler look to help the environment and better themselves, one morning at a time.