| Sharon lives in Lansing and works as the Watershed Steward
for the Cayuga Lake Watershed Network in Interlaken. Her round
trip commute by road would be about 70 miles, through Ithaca
and around the south end of the lake. When seeking alternatives,
she found that Dave Wiemann often commutes across the lake
by boat. Dave lives in King Ferry and also works near Interlaken,
as the vineyard manager at the Sheldrake Point Winery. They
now share a boat commute.
Sharon rides her bike north to a marina near the county border
where Dave keeps his boat. She tries to get there a few minutes
early and takes her breakfast and a thermos. She sits on the
dock and enjoys the early morning sights and sounds at the
lake shore as she has her breakfast. When Dave, also an avid
cyclist, arrives, they boat across the lake to Sheldrake Point.
The owner of the Sheldrake Point Winery & Café
supports Sharon’s alternative commute by allowing her
to store a second bicycle in a barn. She rides this other
bike up to her office on Main Street in Interlaken and back
at the end of the day. When time, weather and inclination
allow, Dave and Sharon take turns waterskiing during the boat
ride back in the afternoon. In fact, Dave took his first run
of the year on water-skis on April 30!
Sharon’s work often requires her to attend meetings
all over the watershed, from Ithaca to Seneca Falls and everywhere
between. Sometimes she gets creative in hitching rides to
meetings with colleagues, and when the schedule is really
wild, she just has to use a car. But when possible, she does
the boat thing. Instead of 1.5 hours per day in a car, it
takes Sharon up to 3 hours by bike/boat/bike, but the impact
on "quality of life" is immeasurably better.
During the winter period (or really windy days) when boat
commuting doesn't work, Dave and Sharon share a carpool whenever
their schedules allow.
by: Sue Powell
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