Vincent, W Lake St & N State St, Chicago, IL

Vincent rides a 12-year-old Trek hybrid from the Village Cycle Center

Tell me about your bike and where you got it?  My bike is a 12-year-old Trek hybrid, bought at Village Cycle Center on Wells Street in Chicago. 

What are you wearing?  Black 501 Levi's,brown tweed sport coat, denim button down shirt, olive green crew neck, and brown casual Allen Edmonds oxfords.

Why ride?  It's cheap, it's fun, and (in downtown Chicago, which is where I live) it gets me from here to there very quickly.

Favorite ride?  For an enjoyable (and very strenuous, if I choose to push the pace) ride, I like to head south to Chicago's Hyde Park and back, along the Lake Michigan shoreline's bike path.

While riding . . . I just let my mind float -- sort of like a meditative journey on two wheels.

How can Chicago improve bike infrastructure or make Chicago more bike friendly?  Use European cities such as Copenhagen, Amsterdam, and Stockholm as models, and physically separate bike lanes from motor vehicle traffic -- not just paint lines on street surfaces.

Any other ways we can promote biking?  I think all sizable US cities should host "criterium" bike races on their downtown streets every year.  These races -- some of whose competitors are world class professional bike racers -- are very exciting, and they add variety to a city's enjoyable downtown attractions.