AAA reported the average price for regular gas hit a record $3.70 per gallon Tuesday, but you won't catch Tom Podlesny fuming about it.

Podlesny, owner of Cycle Circle, 131 N. Plum St., which sells and repairs bicycles, said his business is booming thanks to fed-up gas consumers.

April sales blew away his projections, he said Tuesday, due to a new trend caused by customers looking to leave the car at home and bike to work.

"Sales are definitely up because of the price of gas," Podlesny said. "At least 25 percent of the bikes I sold in April went to customers specifically for commuting to work. Which I don't mind at all."

Ron Irvine, a bike mechanic who pedals 40 miles each day, round trip, to work at Bike Line, 117 Rohrerstown Road, said the repair business has flourished because of high gas costs.

"People are starting to realize they have that dusty vehicle — namely a bike," Irvine said. "So, instead of firing up the car, they can take that 4- or 5-mile commute by bike."

Bill Nesper, spokesman for the Washington. D.C.-based League of American Bicyclists, said calls to the organization have escalated because people are looking for tips on bicycle commuting.

"People are riding bicycles a lot more often, and it's due to a mixture of things," Nesper said. "But escalating gas prices is one of them."

Podlesny said most of his commuting customers say they ride less than 10 miles, "with the average commute about 6 miles."

The League of American Bicyclists is promoting Bike-to-Work Week this week and Bike-to-Work Day on Friday. Nesper said he expects a record number of people will be pedaling this year.

For those unsure about a round-trip commute, Red Rose Transit Authority this week is offering free bus rides for bicyclists and their bikes.

In honor of Bike-to-Work Week, bicyclists wishing to travel "multimodal" may put their bikes on a front rack of an RRTA bus and ride for free until Friday — normally, passengers who board Lancaster County's public buses with a bike must pay the regular adult fare.

According to League of American Bicyclists, there's almost no direction the number of cyclists can go but up: The group says less than one-half of 1 percent of Americans ride a bike to work.

Still, some bike retailers are reluctant to say high gas prices are fueling a biking boom.

Sam Weaver of Weaver Bike Shop in Ephrata said sales at the 50-year-old store have not increased.

"If people have a dollar in their pocket, they're spending it on gas," he said.

Russ Colton, manager of the Ephrata Wal-Mart, said bike sales typically rise this time of year.

"It's too early to say whether sales are up because of the economy or gas prices," he said.

Ed Weaver, owner of the Bicycle Barn, 839 Reading Road, East Earl, said revenue from bike repairs and accessories is up. He said sales of bike lights have increased, maybe an indication that people are becoming more serious about biking.

"We haven't seen a huge increase, but it is making a difference," Weaver said. "People are getting their old bikes tuned up."

Local bike shop owners that have seen improved sales say the increased revenues have come from older, adult consumers.

Irvine said a customer last week commandeered his son's unused bike for commuting. At Bike Line, Irvine added fenders for biking in the rain and a rack for carrying the man's brief case to work.

"I think it's the adults who experienced the gas crunch in (President) Carter's day," Irvine said. "They remember that shortage."

Beginning last month, bike traffic picked up at Franklin & Marshall College, where students and faculty began biking around the area on blue-and-white mountain bikes.

F&M alumnus Michael Zane, who developed the Kryptonite U-shaped bicycle lock, last month donated 96 bikes to the school. Students can sign the bikes out for a semester or for occasional use. F&M charges a small fee to cover maintenance and equipment replacement.

Valerie Kinney, an Auntie Anne's spokeswoman, said about 10 employees have commuted to the company's new headquarters, which opened May 5 in the renovated former city post office building at Prince and Chestnut streets.

Kim Furry, Auntie Anne's national director of store support, said she plans to ride at least one or two days a week from the Grandview Heights area.

"It was my favorite commute of all time," Furry said. "I plan to continue as weather and my schedule permit."

Lancaster Township residents Jerry Keys and his son Ryan, home on break from Bucknell University, rode their bikes to work Tuesday at the family's Cross Keys Coffee & Tea on North Queen Street.

Jerry Keys rides mostly for exercise but said the savings in riding a bike even only a few miles a day are significant.

"I'm saving $60 per week in parking," Keys said, "so I don't need higher gas prices to be frugal."

The Associated Press contributed to this story.

E-mail: pburns@lnpnews.com