Paul Steely White, the executive director of the pro-bicycling, walking and public transit organization Transportation Alternatives, does not hesitate when asked to name a favorite bicycle trip. “It would be the Brooklyn waterfront,” he said, “coming across the Brooklyn or Manhattan Bridge and then dropping down to Dumbo, and then riding through the new Brooklyn Bridge Park, all the way to Red Hook, along beautiful on-street protected bike lanes.” Least favorite would be Manhattan’s East Side (too much congestion, too few bicycle lanes). Mr. White, 44, lives with his wife, Zoe Ryder White, a book editor, and their daughter, Anna, 5, on one floor of an 1840 townhouse in Cobble Hill, Brooklyn.

BATTER UP I usually wake up at 6:30, 7. Generally I’ll make some coffee. I’ll get some pancake batter going. That’s our ritual even on weekdays, to make pancakes. I have a constant sourdough culture that I always keep out on the counter, and I feed it pretty much every day. You can make bread; you can make pancakes. I make pizza with it.

COFFEE AND CARTOONS Anna and Zoe will sleep until 7:30 or 8. I’ll pour Zoe her coffee. Anna and I will mope around. She might watch a cartoon or two. I generally try to keep it limited to a couple of “Scooby-Doo” episodes. I will then duck out and go to Prospect Park or Nyack for my ride.