“Fresh out of bed, Tom Berg plunges his Cannondale T7000 touring bike into the last throes of morning darkness, barreling toward the first bleary-eyed boat to Seattle.At approximately 5:07 a.m., he puts a foot down halfway up the first hill on Highway 305 and waits, glancing back at his heavily huffing partner-in-commute. In Berg’s 13 years of biking to work, only a few flat tires have caused him to miss the ferry’s 5:30 a.m. sailing. And setting out from his home on Hidden Cover Road, he says, sometimes he doesn’t even embark early.Some mornings, I’ll be leaving kind of late, he says topping the hill, but that just guarantees a better workout.Yet this morning, despite a prompt departure, he’s falling behind schedule, as another yellow-florescent commuter turns in front of him from Manitou Beach Road and pedals out of sight.Fortunately, that rider hadn’t approached from behind, because as Berg will later say, If I get passed by somebody, I usually start racing them.The winners of such early-dawn dashes usually don’t get a prize. But as Berg winds his way, just in time, through an above-capacity backup of automobiles and into the ferry terminal, it seems like anyone who makes it this far, this early, without spewing carbon monoxide into the air should receive something.And that’s the idea behind Bike to Work Day, an annual appreciation event for bicycle commuters, to be observed nationwide, in Seattle and on Bainbridge Island Friday. From 6 to 9 a.m. May 19, Bainbridge-to-Seattle bikers can visit support stations throughout downtown, with one booth – at Second Avenue and Cherry Street – located near the ferry terminal. The stations will offer refreshments, souvenirs, technical support, and bus passes – all free.Commuters can also join a cycle parade leaving Seattle Center’s International Fountain at 7:30 a.m. and ending up at the Fifth Avenue Plaza for festivities and refreshments.On Bainbridge Island, bikers can pedal by the Winslow Mall between noon and 1 p.m. for complementary power bars, bike tubes, and two-for-one lunch coupons valid at many island restaurants. The events should be more than Berg has ever seen in his thirteen years of bike commuting, although 5:30 a.m. is admittedly a bit early for mirthful volunteers.But one year, he says, As I came around that corner from where the police station is, somebody was cheering me on, standing there clapping his hands.Not that Berg needs encouragement. Some days are better than others, he says, but it’s always a good day to go riding.Berg started cycling to help reduce traffic and air pollution, but since he began, he discovered that the routine provides a great way to fit some exercise into his 11-hour days spent working as a CPA for the federal government.It’s the most efficient way to get your workout because a lot of people hop in their car and drive to the gym, he says. I wouldn’t have time for a workout if I didn’t incorporate it into my commute.Yet even if you couldn’t pay many bicyclists to drive a car, that doesn’t mean that some might not need some moral support.I got hit by a bus, a metro bus, says Michael Denney, who also slipped on the ferry deck and dislocated two fingers last week. And I got pushed up the sidewalk once by some lady who wasn’t looking.But such danger isn’t a deterrent. (Cycling) is the highlight of my day, he said. Otherwise my job’s kind of dreary.It was a similar penchant for recreational diversion that inspired Seattle resident Tony Wiegering to start biking from the ferry terminal to his job at Integrated Data Communications on Ericksen Avenue. After buying a Trek mountain bike recently, he was gearing up for his second bicycle commute Monday.I used to bike a lot when I was young, said Wiegering, who rode the Skagit Classic bike tour over the weekend.Cycling evokes childhood for many commuters, who equate the two-wheeled travel with the whimsy of youth.It’s like playtime, said Bainbridge Bike to Work Day organizer Dana Berg. I feel like I’m being a kid again.But if bicycling is one of the joys of the young and strapping, Bainbridge youth are missing out, Dana said.These kids can’t drive, so they get their parents to drive them to school, she said, which is weird because they want to be independent of their parents.To liberate local children from the shackles of the school bus and save streets from parental sport utility vehicles, Dana has organized a corollary to Friday’s events, Bike to School Day.Rain or shine, organizers hope that students and businesspeople alike will elect to leave the cars at home and with them, road rage, greenhouse gasses, and a confined existence.Less than perfect weather has long been a biking impediment to the faint of heart, but Tom Berg says, I just put on my full rain outfit. I hardly notice.Even Seattle-Bainbridge bike commuter Hank Hinnant-who doesn’t trouble himself with accoutrements such as rain pants or shoe covers – concedes, The rainy days are not all that bad. It’s kind of miserable going to work, he says, but, coming back, you get soaked, sometimes it’s just kind of a novel experience.”