Baltimore is celebrating its once-a-year Bike to Work Day today, but plenty of people, among them Adrian Alday, travel by bike all year-long.

We asked Alday, a researcher at the Johns Hopkins Armstrong Institute for Patient Safety and Quality, to talk to us about his experiences as a bike-commuter.

The 23-year-old has been living in Baltimore for two years. After taking the Hopkins Shuttle for a little while, he made the switch to two-wheeled transportation.

In pretty much all weather, and even in winter, he uses his bike to make the two-mile-plus roundtrip from his home in Mount Vernon to his workplace at Harbor East.

It seems to be a no-sweat, no-Lycra deal for Alday, who was biking in his dress pants and shoes, button-down shirt and argyle socks the day we caught up with him.

Q: What made you decide to start biking to work?

A: The first year [at my job] I was taking a shuttle, and then I realized how easy it would be to just bike. . . I haven’t used the shuttle since, even over the winter! You realize it’s easy once you get started.

Q: What route do you take each day?

A: From Mount Vernon, I take Guilford then Pratt to Harbor East, and I take Lombard then Calvert to go home. I take Monument to get to the hospital and Chase to go home from there. Mostly no bike lanes.

Q: What do you like most about biking?

A: It’s a great way to start the day. You can take it easy; you don’t have to ride hard. . . it gets me going for the day.

Q: How often do you ride, for work or for pleasure?

A: Between working and for fun I ride almost every day, probably six days a week on average.

Q: Have you noticed a difference in your fitness level from commuting via bike?

A: Just by making it an everyday thing. . . It kind of becomes a regular bit of exercise. . . I do feel in better shape from it!

Q: How often does your ride need maintenance?

A: I don’t really do very much maintenance at all, sometimes you have to air up your tires, adjust your brakes very occasionally, but for the most part everyone can do it themselves.

Q: Ever have any close calls? Anything the city could do to make your daily ride more safe?

A: Anyone, pedestrian, cyclist, or motorist, is going to have a close call now and then. I’m wariest of Light between Pratt and Key Highway and of the mixed use path along Pratt. It’s definitely doable for anyone right now, but infrastructure needs to change there to avoid preventable harm.

Q: Any final pieces of advice for aspiring Baltimore bike commuters?
A: Air up your tires, keep your hands and legs relaxed, take your time, politely signal your turns to motorists and pedestrians, and most importantly ride bikes every day!