Science teacher Dr. Chris Hogue bikes to navigate the Choate campus.
By Ada Tieanworn ’26
Amidst the morning frenzy of people making their way to classes, some get around more easily than others: faculty cyclists. With buildings spread out around campus, it makes sense for some to choose a fast yet eco-friendly mode of transportation. Adults with bicycles navigate the campus with speed and joy as they whizz past roads and walkways, and some such cyclists include Science teacher Dr. Chris Hogue, Science teacher Mr. Will Morris, and English teacher Mr. Joe Lampe.
Dr. Chris Hogue
Dr. Hogue first discovered the value of biking in graduate school. “I was working late at night, and I wanted to get home quickly,” he said. “It was all downhill on the way home, which was sort of a nice way to decompress and breathe in night air.”
Living on top of the hill in Hill House makes biking at Choate a particular advantage for Dr. Hogue. “If I’m going to the Science Center, I can get there literally in 40 seconds. If I need to get to the gym for soccer or ultimate frisbee practice, I can get there in 90 seconds,” he said. “It really does tremendously increase the speed with getting around campus, particularly if you’re going downhill.”
Mr. Will Morris
Mr. Morris has been a biker his whole life. From getting around town as a kid to navigating campus as a college student, he has always appreciated the convenience that comes with biking. “When I came to Choate, it was just sort of a continuation of something that had really always been part of my life,” he said.
However, Mr. Morris also acknowledged some of the challenges that come with biking on campus. “You have to be careful about pedestrians, and you have to be careful about traffic and crossing streets,” he said. “You would want to be pretty comfortable on a bike to be able to do that.”
Beyond commuting between classes, Mr. Morris also likes to bike around campus and in nearby parks as a leisure activity, sometimes with his friends or his son.
Whether for convenience or for fun, safety is always a priority. “I always wear a helmet when I’m riding my bike around campus,” he said. “I take my time. It’s not a race.”
Mr. Joe Lampe
Living in Cheshire, Connecticut, Mr. Lampe tends to bike longer distances rather than quick commutes between classes. While he has always been, as he described, “an endurance athlete kind of person,” his appreciation of cycling began after he moved to New York City and wanted a way to avoid subway delays and traffic.
“You could just strap on the helmet and go — [it] was really liberating and really made the city a lot more fun,” Mr. Lampe said.
In 2021, Mr. Lampe joined Mr. Morris and Science teacher Mr. Pat Guelakis to bike to Deerfield Academy on Deerfield Day. Having now completed the five-hour, 80-mile trip twice, Mr. Lampe finds the trip arduous but enjoyable.
Mr. Morris, who began this biannual tradition in 2001, noted the community-building aspect of the trip. “More recently, I’ve been doing it with Mr. Guelakis, which has been fun, because it’s nice to have a buddy along the way for it,” he said.
When Mr. Lampe has found the time to bike from Cheshire to Wallingford before school, he has made many serendipitous discoveries around campus. “Biking is a really fun way to get to know the neighborhood in a way that I wouldn’t if I was just driving all the time,” he said. “There are some cool things to see from the back of a bike that you might not otherwise know about this part of the state.”
“I would definitely recommend it, if not as a mode of transportation, certainly as a fun way to get a workout,” he said.
Dr. Hogue encouraged all faculty to pick up biking as a de-stressing activity, especially because of their demanding schedules. “I’m surprised that more don’t [bike] because it really is a super, super convenient thing to do,” he said.
