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A Junior Ambassador Looks Back
Students who are hired as Mayor Daley’s Junior Ambassadors
after completing the Build & Ride program gain a different perspective
on bicycling.
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| Alberto Bustamente helps a day camper with
Bike Hazards quiz at Commercial Club Park (photo: Emily Willobee) |
Alberto Bustamente, 16, took Build & Ride at Ames Middle School
in Logan Square. He works as a Junior Ambassador with Greg Renda,
one of Mayor Daley’s Bicycling Ambassadors. Greg interviewed
Alberto about how his bicycling habits have changed since he first
applied for the course.
GR: Why did you apply for Build & Ride?
AB: I decided to join (Build & Ride) because I thought it was
the most interesting of all the different After School Matters programs.
GR: What kind of bike did you ride before?
AB: I used to ride a Mongoose mountain bike. It was a good bike.
Someone stole it from my back yard. My older brother had a couple
of low-rider bikes and gave them to me three years ago. I don’t
ride them. They are locked up in my garage.
GR: Is anything different about your bike now than your
bike from before?
AB: I ride a Schwinn mountain bike. They gave me the frame
in After School Matters. We had to put on the wheels, chain, cranks,
pedals, brakes and all the cables.
GR: How often did you ride it and where did you usually
ride? Did you wear your helmet?
AB: I didn’t ride too much, just in the summer and around
my neighborhood. I also rode the North Shore Channel Trail one time
with a friend. I did not have a helmet. I ride way more than before,
almost every day of the week. The Junior Ambassador job has me riding
five days a week. Each day I spend usually about five hours riding.
I wear a helmet (now), even when just riding around my neighborhood.
GR: What do you like or dislike about your bike from After
School Matters?
AB: I like that I had to do all the work and put all that stuff
on the bike. It was something I never did before and it was cool
to build the bike.
GR: What’s your favorite thing about riding your
bike?
AB: It is easier transportation and I don’t have to waste
money on gas.
GR: What’s the hardest thing – least favorite
– about riding your bike?
AB: I don’t like to ride in the morning. I don’t usually
feel like riding after I just wake up. After riding for four or
five blocks, the riding and the wind usually get me awake.
GR: What is the most memorable ride you’ve had this
summer?
AB: I rode the North Shore Channel Trail one day for work. I got
to see my old neighborhood, River Park. I had not been there in
almost eight years. It brought back a lot of memories.
GR: Do you think you’ll keep riding your bike after
the Ambassadors season is over?
AB: Yeah, because I am more into cycling than before. I enjoy riding
a lot. I plan to ride the city trails with friends.
GR: What advice would you give a friend who wanted to start
riding their bike to work?
AB: Just try it out. It is a good way to save money. Make sure to
wear a helmet.
GR: Would you recommend the Build & Ride class to someone
else?
AB: I would because it was a good experience for me. It
is a fun program and more interesting than doing your homework after
school. What other programs pays you for learning something and
gives you a free bike?
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