The Cyclist?
I just moved to Buffalo in the spring after graduating from SUNY College of Environmental Science and Forestry (ESF) in Syracuse with a degree in Conservation Biology. ESF awoke a sense of urgency in me that we need to drastically change our behaviors and increase our positive impact on the Earth. I feel as though addressing matters of transportation and how people get around is an important aspect to that change! While in Buffalo I have been working for GO Buffalo to encourage Buffalonians to skip the drive and hop on their bike, walk, or take public transit! I think bicycling is an incredible way for people to reduce their negative impact on the Earth as well as enrich their own lives.
The Bicycle?
I ride a Schwinn Crisscross hybrid that was my mom’s when I was young but she barely used it because of the rural location of my house growing up. Prior to owning it I actually borrowed a friend’s old Trek hybrid for about a year because my mountain bike got stolen in Syracuse. I eventually got fed up with not having my own bicycle whenever I needed it, and so my mom offered her Crisscross to me. I love that it is a hybrid- sometimes I long for the speed of a road bike but when I start barreling down beat up streets with unavoidable pot holes and bumps I am thankful my wheels have a little bit more heft. The gears are also pretty funky, but its what gives the bike character.
Commute?
I use my bike mainly as transportation, although it is my number one choice for exercise as well. I biked a bit in college, but since moving to Buffalo I have been biking so much more. I commute to work, do errands, get to events, and go almost everywhere else I have to go on my bicycle.
My Other Bike is?
Making recycled “art”! I love collecting things that would otherwise sit in a landfill or litter the ground and making “art” out of them. Just today I picked up part of a Texas Instruments home computer from 1981 on Michigan Ave. Once you start seeing these seemingly irrelevant objects as useful, it’s difficult to stop acquiring them.
Bicycling in Buffalo?
Bicycling in Buffalo is great! I think the ever-expanding bicycle culture in this city is really welcoming and I am thrilled to be a part of it.