T
race Oberholtzer, Human Resources Manager for Landis Communities, wakes up at 4 a.m. He takes care of his dogs, does his morning routine and by 5:50 a.m. is on his bicycle headed from his home in downtown
Lancaster to his office at Landis Homes. Tis may sound like a wonderful idea on the occasional summer day, but for Trace, this has been his routine every season, every day, for the past twenty years. “Tis is part of my identity – I am a bicycle commuter.”
Rarely has Trace missed a day of riding to work. If you do the math, his 16 miles a day has added up to over 76,000 miles – or more than three times around the earth!
Te health benefits of this routine are obvious but Trace also points to the psychological aspect. “Riding home after a day of work is stunning therapy,” he says. “Te intimacy with nature is magical. Feeling the temperature fluctuate as I ride through hills and valleys – that is something you cannot experience in a car. I once kept pace with a deer, that was incredible, and I often try to ride alongside the birds.”
Trace admits he was afraid to ride when he was a kid. He still has the scars from crashing his first bike – a banana seat beauty he inherited from his older sisters at age seven. Trace has gone on to own 37 bikes thus far in his life. He currently owns six bikes that are suited for various road and weather conditions – one even has studded tires for the snow.
Trace and his wife, Kristin, made the decision early in their marriage they would be a one-car family. “It does limit our scheduling and requires us to communicate, but we structure our lives in a way to facilitate the decision.” Trough the years, his passion for riding has remained, but Trace has also embraced the environmental impact of their choice. “It’s good to know we have helped keep one car that is emitting greenhouse gases off the road.”
On the Landis Homes campus, you will often see Trace’s dad, Jim Oberholtzer, a 25-year Landis Homes employee and current resident, riding around on HIS bike. Like father, like son? “I actually think I rubbed off on him,” Trace says. According to Jim, “I have been riding for many years. In fact, when Trace was little, he rode with me on a flip-down seat on the back of my bike! I believe I have ridden more since it became an interest for Trace, and I never rode to work until I moved to Landis Homes.”
Trace’s passion also rubbed off on the Landis Homes campus culture about fifteen years ago when Trace was part of the maintenance team. “I suggested we build a fleet of bikes to use to get around on the 114-acre campus.” Today there are six bikes, including one “cargo bike,” that are used by team members from maintenance, laundry, IT and other departments.
“I feel very lucky,” Trace says. “I would not trade it for anything, and I hope I can continue riding to work until I retire.”
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Landis.org | FLOURISH | Spring 2020
CULTIVATING WELLNESS
TWO WHEELS On The Road
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