I Love Riding in the City

NAME: Amanda Sundvor

LOCATION: Chicago, IL

OCCUPATION: Bicycle Mechanic

Where do you live and what’s it like riding in your city?

Chicago. You know... I can’t really say riding here is like this or that, because it is so different everyday. One day I could be the one of the handful of cyclists on the lakefront path and the next day it’s just me and thousands of rollerbladers all listening to John Cougar Mellencamp on their Walkmans. Much love John Cougar. Monday I am weaving through backed up traffic. Tuesday I’m sprinting on a wide open street. Some things will always stay the same here. The winter will be so cold you think it might kill you, but it probably won’t. The wind will shred you. Bus drivers and taxis hate you.

What was your favorite city to ride in, and why?

When I lived in Denver I had many o’ nights where it felt like my friends and I were the only ones on the roads. We would ride laps at wash park and mess around in parking garages. The streets were wide. The traffic sparse. I could ponder the next move I was going to make in my chess game with my pen pal while I traveled from A to B. There is none of that in Chicago. There is no thinking. Just acting. Reacting. Even if it’s just to the store. Bam! You are in it and you have to be two step ahead of every Tom, Dick and Harry who are oblivious to the fact that you are barreling down the bike lane that they just blindly stepped into. Bless their hearts. To answer the question...it’s hard to pick. Sometimes I’m a little country and others, rock n’ roll.

Why do you love riding in the city?

For me, riding in the city is a pure form of living in the moment. I am not thinking of work (big ups Kozy’s Cyclery!), bills, or the economy. I am just going as fast as my legs allow. When I hit 88mph, I travel back in time (or into the future, depends), have zaney adventures that always work themselves out in the end and then return to present time.

Check out www.kozy.com

To participate, answer the following:

NAME:
LOCATION:
OCCUPATION:

Where do you live and what’s it like riding in your city?

What was your favorite city to ride in, and why?

Why do you love riding in the city?

Or just say whatever you want about riding in the city… Poetry anyone?

Email your responses (along with a high-resolution photo) to jeff@urbanvelo.org