If he had a job "that didn't require nice clothing or involve middle-of-the-night calls," said Rabbi Mark Kaiserman, he would bike to work every day.

But he insists he's not "hard core" about bike riding, calling his interest strictly recreational. "I'm not one of those guys you see whipping by you in those outfits or zooming up hills," said Kaiserman, rabbi of Temple Emanu-El of West Essex in Livingston.

Nevertheless, on June 24, Kaiserman will set out on a ride slightly more challenging than his usual jaunts in the Watchung Reservation and the Great Swamp.

He will combine his passions for biking and eco-friendly Judaism as he cochairs the second annual Hazon "Bike to the Beach." Cyclists will gather at points around Manhattan, Brooklyn, and New Jersey to ride to Coney Island, where they'll come together for camaraderie and to spread the message of Jewish environmental awareness.

Hazon — literally "vision" — is a Jewish environmental education organization best known for its bike rides in the United States and Israel and for its community-supported agriculture projects. This summer it will launch JBike, an on-line Jewish cycling network.

Although Kaiserman originally planned to create a route to Coney Island beginning in Essex County, he soon found that the roads would not cooperate. So he will take his bicycle by car to the starting point in Fort Lee, joined, he hopes, by members of his congregation ("I'm still working on them").

The cyclists will head for the shores of Brooklyn, where they will converge at about 1 p.m. at Asser Levy Park at the corner of Surf and Ocean avenues. Other starting points include Riverdale in the Bronx and Manhattan's Upper East Side, Upper West Side, and Lower East Side as well as spots in Queens, Westchester County, Brooklyn, and on Long Island. Last year 200 bikers took part.

Kaiserman called the route from Fort Lee "an obstacle course" because it weaves through Manhattan. "Biking in New York City is always a challenge," he said. "Other bikers are going much faster, the cars don't like you, and the pedestrians aren't so fond of you either."

Although he was unable to bike to the beach in 2006, he participated in Hazon's 2005 New York Jewish Environmental Bike Ride from Connecticut to New York. That ride typically takes place over Labor Day Weekend and covers 120 miles in two days.

"It's a real accomplishment and a thrill," he said. "I also love that it's such a diverse group, with everyone from teens to senior citizens. It really made for a fun, Jewish adventure." He plans to participate in that ride again this year.

While that event requires advance registration and that participants raise a minimum of $1,200 for adults, the Bike to the Beach is free and open to all. It serves as a kind of warm-up for the Labor Day ride.

Kaiserman is cochairing the June 24 ride with Barbara Newman of Queens.

"I'm not much of an athlete," he acknowledged. "If you exclude things like bowling, ping-pong, and mini-golf, biking is the only thing I do with any success."