Two wheels, one goal for Kadena NCO Published July 24, 2008 By Tech. Sgt. Ray Ramon 18th Wing Public Affairs KADENA AB, Japan -- The morning alarm goes off and it's time for Tech. Sgt. Mark McLean to trek another 13 miles to work on his mountain bike from Camp Kinser to Kadena Air Base. The sergeant's daily commute represents both the Air Force's philosophy of "Fit to Fight" and a personal fitness goal he set for himself. "When I arrived here I was building a list of things I wanted to accomplish while at Kadena, said Sergeant McLean, a hydraulics technician with the 718th Aircraft Maintenance Squadron. "I said to myself, 'I'd like to leave the island with at least 1,000 miles on my bike. It's a far stretch, but a goal I think I can get to.'" Sergeant McLean arrived here with 200 miles on his bike which he reached while stationed at Royal Air Force Mildenhall, England. He began riding here in the fall of 2004 to become acclimated with the weather, but when the summer rolled around, the heat and humidity kept him from riding as often as he liked. "Once I adjusted to this climate, I would ride up to Sunset Beach, which is about 6.5 miles up and down the coast," he said. The more he rode, the more he challenged himself until it was time to try riding 13 miles to and from work. At first, he had no problem getting to work in the mornings, but the afternoons proved to be more of a challenge, especially when he got caught in heavy downpours during the rainy season. "I got back to the house after riding up to Sunset Beach one day and I noticed I only had 600 miles on my bike," Sergeant McLean said. "It's June and I'm 400 miles shy from accomplishing my goal." Sergeant McLean calculated that if he rides four days a week, at 26 miles per day, he could reach his goal in no time. Sergeant McLean doesn't see the Air Force's physical fitness requirements as a burden, but as something he enjoys doing and he considers himself lucky to get the benefits from the physical exercise of riding his bike. "It's a personal goal, and I enjoy it. I also benefit from the physical fitness aspect of it," he added. First Lieutenant Lauren Calhoun, 718th Maintenance Squadron assistant officer in charge said people have taken notice of Sergeant McLean's activity. "When you have a guy making a 13-mile commute on a bike everyday for an hour, you can't really make excuses about not finding the time and energy to go to the gym in your free time," the Lieutenant said. "As a supervisor, I'm proud of what he's doing to improve his fitness and the influence his decision to bike to work has had on the unit." "People ask me how long it takes to get to work or to Gate 1 because they are seriously thinking about riding their bikes to work," Sergeant McLean added. "So in that aspect, I guess I'm a pioneer paving another way to be physically fit.