For Tom Jacobson, riding a bicycle is as much a form of transportation as a hobby.

Twice a week, the electrical engineer leaves his Sedro-Woolley home at 4:30 a.m. and rides his bicycle to Mt. Baker Crossfit in Mount Vernon to exercise before cycling back home and heading on to work at Rothenbuhler Engineering in Sedro-Woolley.

On the mornings that Jacobson doesn’t go to the gym, he rides his bicycle to work. The route is only a mile — not long enough for him — so he sometimes takes an 18-mile detour before heading into the office.

“If I ride a mile it’s hardly worth doing,” he said. “So I go down around to the (Skagit) river and to Fruitdale Road and make it more worthwhile to get a workout in.”

Jacobson is one of some Skagit County residents who use their bicycles instead of automobiles to get around. Some Skagitonians ride more than 20 miles round trip while others ride about 6 to 10.

For many, the benefits are obvious: better health, lower gas bills and a chance to experience their surroundings more intimately than from behind the windshield.

It’s not just a mode of transportation. For them, bicycling is a lifestyle.

Jacobson might be considered one of the “hard-core” bicycle commuters. Even with his long treks to and from work, he still tries to sneak in rides during his lunch breaks.

Dressed in a long-sleeve, button-up shirt tucked into his slacks, Jacobson slips into a storage room at work where he keeps his bicycle, about 10 pairs of work clothes and extra bicycle equipment.

He returns wearing a yellow, fitted rain jacket, pants, socks and gloves. His head is kept warm with a black helmet liner. A large head lamp sits atop his gray bicycle helmet, and on the back is another light to make himself visible to drivers.

The closet has been dubbed “the bat cave.”

“People see me go into it with my work clothes on and come out wearing my bike clothes,” Jacobson said with a laugh.

For avid bicyclists, the ride isn’t a chore. Bicycling, they say, is enjoyable on many levels.

“It physically feels good to ride the bicycle,” said Ken Rasmussen, a Bow resident who often cycles 50 miles round trip to his workplace, Stanwood Velo Sports, a bike shop in Stanwood.

Rasmussen traded in his car for a bicycle 40 years ago when he moved to Bellingham to attend Western Washington University.

“I actually like (bicycles). Of all the things that move, of all the creatures there are and all the machines there are, nothing else is as efficient as a bicycle,” Rasmussen said, referring to an article in Scientific American. “… It’s the most efficient form of motion that there is.”

Commuting by bicycle is a great way to enjoy Skagit County’s “first-rate” scenery, Rasmussen said. Hawks, eagles, owls and herons are some common wildlife he sees along the way.

Steve Oakley, Anacortes History Museum director, said bicycling to work provides him a better opportunity to interact with people.

But initially, the big attraction of bicycling for Oakley was saving money on gas.

Oakley, who moved to Anacortes from Georgia, began bicycling the 6-mile round trip route to work last spring when gas prices approached $4 a gallon.

Oakley estimates that if he cycles to work one day a week, he saves 20 percent in gas consumption; two days a week, 40 percent.

He began to track the days he rode in a log to encourage himself to ride more.

“Pretty soon I was riding more often than not through the spring, summer and fall,” Oakley said. “… It’s a good thing to do healthwise for me and the planet.”

Cindy McGuiness of Mount Vernon also rides her bicycle as a way of reducing gas costs. From May through September, McGuiness, who is retired, tries to fill her gas tank just once a month and use her bicycle to run errands.

Twice a week she pedals the 12-mile round trip to Clear Lake. She also commutes to the farmers market, library or the grocery stores.

“It is just a lot of fun and gives you a wonderful sense of freedom, exercise and is very efficient,” McGuiness said.

While bicyclists say cycling can be a joy, it also comes with challenges and potential danger, including getting hit by cars or chased by dogs.

Jacobson was hit and injured by a car one day while trying to turn onto a side road from Highway 9 near Sedro-Woolley.

He rolled up onto the hood of the car and was thrown to the pavement. He was rushed by ambulance to the hospital, where he received stitches in his hand, but suffered no serious injuries.

Bicyclists say that motorists and bicyclists need to respect one another on the road.

“You sort of create your own environment to ride your bike in,” Rasmussen said. “The competency that you display seems to help create competency in motorists.”

Jacobson said he’s also been bitten by dogs on three occasions. As a result, he now carries “dog repellent” — a small can of pepper spray — in his bicycle emergency kit.

And then there’s bad weather and typical mishaps, including a flat tire, to contend with.

It takes more than rain to keep Greg Platt of Sedro-Woolley from bicycling to work. Rain or shine, Platt can be seen cruising east along Highway 20 on his way to work in the morning at Oliver Hammer in Sedro-Woolley.

Platt has relied on a bike to get to work since a day in 1983 when his truck broke down.

“I parked that thing and started riding my bike ever since,” he said.

Bicyclists often like to keep track of how many miles they rack up.

To encourage himself to commute more, Jacobson often sets an annual mileage goal for himself. This year he hopes to reach the 10,000-mile mark. In 2005 he cycled 16,000 miles.

In the parking lot of Rothenbuhler Engineering, Jacobson swings his leg over his silver custom road bike and clips his feet into the pedals. He moves swiftly to the side of the road and begins his eight mile ride for the afternoon, slowly working toward his 10,000-mile goal.