Nico, LaSalle and Kinzie, Chicago, IL

Nico rides for All-City Cycles and loves his new Nature Boy single speed cyclocross bike for winter riding.

When I asked Nico what his favorite ride was he said "The best part about doing what I do is doing it in as many cities as I can. My bike has taken me from Chicago's flat-but-chaotic grid, to the green hills of Seattle, the deliciously timed lights of New York City, the blinking madness of Tokyo, the volcanoes of Guatemala, Boston, Minneapolis, Milwaukee, Philly, and pretty soon Berlin and Warsaw. Every place I go offers something so diverse that its hard to single out a favorite... Actually that's a huge lie, its not hard at all. Tokyo was like nothing I've ever seen. I would go back a million times if I could. The ride I'm on right now though is going to turn someone's Sushi order into money in my pocket, so I'm quite fond of that."

Where are you headed? "I'm on my way to pick up my first run of the day actually. In addition to regular messenger work I also deliver food by bike. I deliver food for Up Top Delivery. We are a courier company who focuses on restaurants as clients. In the downtown area we deliver for about a dozen different restaurants and maybe another dozen in Wicker Park. Food delivery is a lot different than the 9 to 5 type work because everything is on a Triple Rush. Nobody orders Chicken Vindaloo on two hour service. They want it ten minutes ago. There is a lot of sprinting and trying not to spill Miso, Matzo, or Masala in your bag."