NAME: Kristian Hansen
LOCATION: San Francisco, CA
OCCUPATION: Trackstand.com founder

Where do you live and what’s it like riding in your city?
I live in the City By the Bay. The riding is awesome. Steep hills, dangerous MUNI train tracks, the Wiggle and Marin County riding just north. The terrain changes every city block, which makes it all the more important for you to explore and learn about different routes. Drivers are pretty responsive to cyclists; I attribute much of this to the SF Bicycle Coalition. You can start at Ocean Beach, wind your way up Highway 1 to the Legion of Honor and end up in the Mission. There is so much variety that you can never get bored.

What was your favorite city for riding and why?
Copenhagen really has their stuff together for biking. Very few people drive cars, instead most people opt for two-wheeled transportation solutions. Even my 65-70 year old relatives bike everywhere (work, grocery store, etc.). They have separate lanes for pedestrians, cyclists and cars side-by-side. As Americans we should strive to learn from countries like much of Northern Europe who have pioneered sustainable and safe transportation solutions. Gasoline is not the solution.

For the pure adrenaline rush of cycling I would have to say riding in Manhattan during rush hour is hard to beat. You have a beautiful mix of careless drivers, wandering souls and broken asphalt all rolled into one eclectic rolling canvas.

Why do you love riding in the city?
It must be the traffic, the speed and the simple utility of a bicycle that make city biking awesome. In a city you can park wherever you want, cruise through traffic and be healthy at the same time. Riding fixed keeps you in the moment. Cabs, doors swinging open, asshole drivers and people keep you on your toes. There are no dull moments on a fixed gear riding around the city.

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