PEDAL PUSHERS PRAISED; DAY CELEBRATES BENEFITS OF BIKING.

Byline: Yvette Cabrera Daily News Staff Writer

Almost every day, Geoff Stocker rises in the pre-dawn hours, climbs on his bike, pedals five miles to El Monte and jumps aboard the Metrolink train, destination Chatsworth.

By 7:30 a.m. he arrives in Chatsworth, gets back on his bike and pedals to California State University, Northridge, where he is recreational sports director. By 8 a.m. he's showering and dressing for work, refreshed and ready for the day.

Fifteen years ago Stocker, 40, was one of the few, the brave, the committed who commuted to work by bicycle. The City of Industry resident is one of a slowly but steadily growing number of bikers who will be honored today for their efforts to create a cleaner environment as part of National Bike To Work Day.

``It's definitely a plus. You can tell the difference,'' said Stocker after emerging from the Metrolink on Wednesday morning with his bike. ``When I drive home, by the time I get there, it's road rage. Now, I listen to the radio; I relax and enjoy the weather.''

Over the last year, 3,000 people, most of whom are bike commuters, have used the Chatsworth Depot Bike Stop at the Metrolink station, which this month celebrated its one-year anniversary as the city's only bicycle parking and service facility.

Before the depot opened, the Metrolink station had about 15 regular commuters, compared to about 25 who now regularly commute, said Aaron Hanson, executive director of the 12th Council District Transportation Management Association, which manages the depot.

He said getting the word out is a slow process.

``It's not like the `Field of Dreams,' where if you build it they will come,'' said Hanson. ``It's always an uphill battle trying to encourage people to do anything except drive, but it is working.''

In addition to the national bike day, there is also a California Bike Commute Week that runs through Friday. The project is organized by city and state departments and the California Bicycle Coalition, a nonprofit organization that advocates increased bicycle use.

Today's events include a group commute ride from Simi Valley to the Chatsworth Metrolink Station's Bike Stop, which will also treat bicycle commuters to a free breakfast from 6 to 9 a.m. During this week, all Metrolink passengers can use bikes at no charge from the Chatsworth Bike Stop.

It used to be that Stocker would be almost the only bicyclist on the Metrolink, but in the last two months the numbers are going up. He's seen as many as seven bikers riding the rails.

``It's fun because you're seeing a lot more bikers,'' said Stocker. ``More and more people are taking advantage of it.''

Allen Cox of Canoga Park, who started biking to work a year ago, is one of the more recent converts.

``Over the long run, it has helped a lot. I've lost weight; I have more stamina and it's less stress,'' he said.

An environmental studies major, Stocker recognizes how biking to work benefits the atmosphere but said there are personal benefits as well.

Stocker can keep in shape without paying expensive health club fees; he reads three newspapers on the Metrolink ride, listens to ballgames on his headphones and has a Jeep sitting in his garage with only 10,000 miles on it.

BIKE TO WORK PIT STOP LOCATIONS

The University of California, Los Angeles will sponsor a bike fair at the corner of Wilshire Boulevard and Veteran Avenue in Westwood from 6:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. Contact Jeff Pace at [phone].

Teradyne, an automatic test equipment company, will sponsor a bike fair and offer refreshments from 6:30 to 10 a.m. at 30801 Agoura Road, Agoura Hills. Contact Julie Webb [phone].

The California Institute of Technology will sponsor a noon rally, free bike tune-ups, and a raffle near the Winnet Center in Pasadena. Contact Michael Stutson [phone].

For information on Southern California's Bike to Work Day, call (800) COMMUTE.

CAPTION(S):

photo, box

PHOTO Computer technician Allen Cox, 26, loads his bicycle onto a train at the Metrolink Station in Chatsworth on Wednesday morning.

Hans Gutknecht/Daily News

Box: Bike to work pit stop locations (see text)