ChiWhoBike #85
Chicago is where I was born and raised. And honestly, biking just makes me feel at peace. I’m usually not the most calm person - when I’m biking though, my mind is centered. I can pay attention to my surroundings. It’s kind of like a meditation for me.
This is Experimental Station. I’m with a specific branch of it called Blackstone Bicycle Works, and they do youth programs during the summer, and I believe during the fall too. And everyone that joins it gets a free bike.
This is my brand new bike. With my old bike, I got into a bit of a car accident. I got hit by a car, and I didn’t sustain any horrible injuries, but my bike got totaled. So this is my new bike, shout out to Alex, he loaned it to me. So right now I’ fixing this one up, because it was a little bit messed up in the brakes and the pedals. I’ve been doing that for the past like two, three days, making sure it’s set to ride. It’s gonna be a lot faster than my old one though, so I’m happy about that.”
I volunteer here every single Wednesday and Saturday. What happened to my old bike was I was riding on the sidewalk and some hooligan, for lack of better words, bumped me coming through an alleyway. So my back wheel got bent out of shape completely, an I couldn’t even ride the bike anymore. It took me around two weeks to get this one.”
I’ve been biking around since this summer. I got into it because it’s fun, first off, and second because it is really good exercise. I highly suggest biking. It’s great for your legs, great for seeing the city, all that stuff. It’s amazing. It gives m a bit of independence and sightseeing, because there’s a lot of stuff I can see with a bike. And you don’t have to rely on trains or transportation from a car. And biking down Lake Shore Drive, it is incredible to smell the lake, especially early in the morning. There’s not much traffic, you smell the lake, and you can see a nice sunset, all of that.”
