ChiWhoBike #80
I hear a lot of people who want to bike, but they think it will be expensive. And once you have the bike, it is so low cost. I’ll sometimes get a flat and go get it changed, and it’s 45 to 60 bucks depending on where you go. And compared to having a car, or taking Lyfts and Ubers, I save so much money biking and taking public transportation. And I carry a backpack around, it is heavy, and I live on the third floor and carry my bike up to go to my apartment every time I ride. And it is a lot of work to do that, but it feels good to do those types of things, versus feeling like it’s an inconvenience. I always feel like it’s good to find ways to impress yourself, and like hauling my bike up three, three flights of stairs, I’m always like, okay, I did that. And when I moved into that apartment, I was worried about doing it, but I’ve done it. The little things that seem like an inconvenience very quickly fade away.
I moved here in 2010, so I was biking here when it was like the wild west. And I remember Belmont used to be so crazy to bike on, but seeing the progress in bike lanes, I feel very grateful to live in the city that we do. I would like to see more of that, because it really makes a difference - in safety, in how you feel when you’re biking, and confidence. So I’d like more protected lanes, which it seems like they’re working on. And I know that they’re available, but I would love for there to be more classes on bikes and how to fix up your bike, because I definitely rely on my bike shop maybe a little too much.
I worked in Merchandise Mart for a while and they had a small repair area in the bike room, which was huge, and I saw people use it. So I’d want more access to things like that. Every place I’ve worked in the Loop luckily has had a bike room, and I would love for that to always be the norm, that there will be bike commuters. As much as I say that, in the office I’ve worked in, I’m also usually the only person who’s biking to work and so they’re like, ‘whoa, Courtney biked today.’ And if more people were into doing it, I feel like some of that would be, you know, old hat.
