Bicycling provides us with so much fun that folks can easily get into a regular exercise routine because it doesn't ever feel like work.

In short, people might claim bicycling offers great exercise, but make no mistake. One of the real appeals begins and ends with it being just plain fun, so its popularity has skyrocketed in Maine in the last 15 years.

The benefits of bicycling for outdoors sports strike me as obvious, too. If we're in better condition with strong legs and good wind, we can enjoy hunting and fishing so much more.

As most folks know, bicycling gives us a superb aerobic workout, but in this hilly state, it also provides bikers with anaerobic benefits, too. Not everyone would agree with me about aerobic vs. anaerobic, but last winter, Nate Mullens, a professional physical trainer in Augusta, did just that when we discussed the anaerobic benefits of biking.

The League of American Bicyclists (LAB) recently ranked Maine as the third most bike-friendly state in the nation, basing the evaluation on a 75-item survey that included legislation, education, policies and programs, infrastructure, evaluation and planning, aimed at making the Pine Tree State a special place to pedal.

Maine fell behind Washington and Wisconsin, and four through 10 went to Oregon, Minnesota, Iowa, Arizona, New Hampshire, Delaware and New Jersey. Five of those last seven states have something in common with Maine -- lots of transplants. Folks moving to other states are often looking for the good life, so they take up life-recreation skills in a big way.

Well more than half of Maine's residents have moved here from elsewhere, and part of the appeal for the move was becoming more exercise conscious and living closer to nature. Sports such as biking, hiking, jogging, kayaking and rock climbing fit right into that regimen.

The Bicycle Coalition of Maine, an extremely politically active group, has a lot to do with Maine's third place in the LAB ranking, too. BCM illustrates what a dynamic group can do when it puts its mind to the task. (I wish Maine had a fishing organization a tenth as effective.)

And make no mistake. An organization with political clout makes a huge difference as two of the LAB ratings illustrate. Wyoming and Montana share a boundary -- two extremely similar states. Wyoming ranks 11th and Montana a dismal 49th.

The difference? Wyoming has a dynamite state-agency-run program for bikers. Montana doesn't.

If you disagree that bicycling has become popular in central Maine, then check out Routes 27, 3 or 17, particularly on weekends. Busy roads such as these three have breakdown lanes -- a safety feature that allows bicyclists to get out of the way of vehicles in the main travel lanes -- a huge appeal. Bicyclists dot these highways.

In rural central Maine, side roads without breakdown lanes also attract bicyclists because traffic can run so light, particularly in midweek. Bicyclists might not see a vehicle for 15 minutes at a time -- or longer periods. In short, bicyclists on these country lanes know the meaning of "paradise now."

As a comparison between the two appeals, my intrepid companion, Jolie, prefers backcountry roads with light traffic, but I opt for busier highways with breakdown lanes. She feels her choice offers more safety, and my option suits me.

However, I must admit that constant traffic noise on busy highways can get nerve-wracking, but at midweek, Routes 27, 3 and 17 can have light traffic and paved shoulders away from vehicles -- the best of both worlds.

One of the signs of the times in this state involves the obvious money spent on bicycling. A bicycle shop can be a fine business to be in these days.

I know biking products well, and folks are buying bicycles in the $400 to $1,500 range left and right, and three years ago, I biked with a guy who had a $3,000 machine.

That's not to say newcomers can't buy a $15 3-speed at a lawn sale. In August 1989, I started my adult biking phase on a Huffy 3-speed before buying an L.L.Bean 18-speed for $400 two years later.

Folks are also putting money into bicycling clothing, too, and as one quick example, I have noticed bicyclists everywhere this spring, wearing those highly visible chartreuse shirts. This example of in-clothing runs $70 at Mathieu's Cycle & Sport in Oakland or L.L.Bean in Freeport.

Two features on bicycling clothing stick out -- gaudy and tight:

Color offers visibility to approaching motorists, an obvious plus. Drivers can see shades such as chartreuse, hunter orange, cerise, red and yellow from long distances. (I like chartreuse for pure visibility.)

Besides being more aerodynamic, tight clothing provides a safety factor that surprises non-bikers. Bicyclists might hit loose gravel or have a vehicle pull in front of them, forcing them to jump off the bike to avoid a tumble. Loose shorts can fetch up on the seat, causing a fall. Tight pants (or snug shirts) seldom catch on protruding edges.

These days, observant folks driving around central Maine might notice that by far, we have more bicycle shops than businesses selling hunting-and-fishing gear. The discrepancy has surely caught my eye.

That's not saying that Maine has more bicyclists than hunters and anglers. I suspect myriad bike shops in central Maine indicate bicyclists are less apt to buy through catalogs or the Internet, and surely, outdoors catalog sales kill little sport shops that cannot compete with jobber prices and huge inventories that the big boys such as Bass Pro Shop give to their customers.

Whenever I write about bicycling in this column, well-meaning readers often complain that the topic deserves no space in an outdoors column. I respectfully disagree.

When we count the small number of participants in separate sports such as waterfowl, squirrel, bear and surely moose hunting, bicycling has long since eclipsed these pastimes and edged into the big time.

In fact, right now, bicyclists generate $66.8 million into the Maine economy. That ain't peanuts.

Not to belabor the point of the joys of bicycling, but the sport reminds me of the Rice Krispies commercial with the phrase "childhood is calling." The sport offers the same freedom that we felt as children when we hopped on a bike and took off for the morning. That's difficult to beat.

Ken Allen, of Belgrade Lakes, is a writer, editor and photographer.