Bicycle commuter Jim Wildeman wants folks to notice bikes when they are driving around Albert Lea.

The 42-year-old lives at 1709 Sheridan St. and rides his bike to work across town to St. John’s Lutheran Home, where he works as a custodian usually from 3:30 to 11 p.m.

Wildeman has a driver’s license, but because he has night blindness he cannot drive a car during the night. He knows other people who commute to work on bikes, too, and he said it seems people fail to notice bikes.

“They need to watch out for us riding back and forth to work nowadays,” he said.

He said he notices campaigns to remind people to watch for motorcycles or campaigns to watch for children after classes dismiss. He said there needs to be a public-awareness campaign for bikes.

He rides a 24-speed Trek 7200 hybrid he bought at Martin’s Cycling & Fitness on May 1. It replaced an older Trek he had been riding, he said. He has lived in Albert Lea for all of his life except for seven years in Bakersfield, Calif.

There, he rode his bike, too. He said he appreciated bike trails and bike lanes to encourage riding and to make riders feel safer when crowded by cars.

“I love bike riding, but it seems people lately just aren’t watching for us,” Wildeman said.

He has a headlight, a taillight and said he wears bright clothing at night. Yet, he said automobile drivers don’t notice bike riders, probably because they aren’t expecting them. He said bike lanes or bike-route signs alone would raise awareness.

He said it isn’t all motorists’ fault, either. He said some bike riders wear dark clothing at night. And he said operators of bikes and cars make traffic mistakes; fortunately, bikes are great for braking.

He told a story of coasting down Clark and Bridge streets when returning from work one evening. A car going in the same direction turned at Katherine Street, but the car behind it hesitated on whether to turn, too. Because his bike can slow quickly, he swerved just in time.

“Otherwise, I would have gone right over the trunk,” Wildeman said.

His commute usually takes him on Sheridan, Edgewood, Johnson, Ulstad, Ramsey, Marshall, Bridge, Fountain, Lakeview, Blackmer and Elmira streets. He said the trouble spots are any high-traffic spots, such as Bridge, Fountain and Marshall. He said he also faces speeding motorists as he tries to turn left from Lakeview Boulevard to Blackmer Street.

He told a story of a cycling coworker who was pushed off the road by a car.

He said he does his best to ride predictably because car drivers like that trait in bikers.

“I love the exercise. I love the freedom. You have more freedom on a bike. It’s like riding a motorcycle, only you’re doing it yourself,” he said.

Wildeman also likes saving gas and money. But he wishes there was a way to slow down the automobiles. He said there are more cars in Albert Lea than when he was younger.