Susana Galilea relied on public transportation her entire life - first in her native Barcelona, then in New York City, where she lived and worked for 20 years. But, soon after moving to Chicago, she decided to try biking instead.

The problem was, she had never ridden a bike in traffic. In fact, she had done very little bicycling as an adult. Luckily for her, the Chicagoland Bicycle Federation had partnered this summer with Bicycling magazine to find 50 people in the Chicago area who were contemplating the life-changing possibilities of owning a bike. With a program called BikeTown USA, Bicycling offered free bikes to applicants in five U.S. cities who wrote a short essay explaining how a bike would change their life. The bicycles, new Giant Sedona comfort bikes, came with disc brakes and suspension, but with none of the know-how that makes urban riding safer, easier, and more fun.

The Chicagoland Bicycle Federation helped spread the word about the giveaway, and when the 50 winners were chosen to receive new bikes, the federation's education director, (a.k.a. Mr. Bike), arranged a two-hour cycling safety seminar to get the riders up and rolling. Galilea and the other participants received expert advice on how to use their bikes to transport themselves and their carry-on items, plus a copy of Mr. Bike's Urban Bikers Tricks and Tips.

"This kind of crowd is the type that Mr. Bike looks for because they are people who want bicycling information and they can't find it easily," Glowacz said. "Bike shops intimidate them, and even if they don't sometimes, they don't help them either."

In preparation for the seminar, Glowacz said he surveyed recipients to determine what prevents them from cycling more and what topics would they wish to cover. "Mr. Bike wants to make it easy for people to get the simple information they need to bicycle more. And these people had already selected themselves to make some kind of commitment to learn," he said.

In her essay, Galilea wrote that she had grown tired of the long, lonely waiting at the bus stop. "This is basically the first time in my life that I needed wheels; and I don't like cars," Galilea said. "I'm an old-fashioned European. I never learned to drive."

Each participant in BikeTown USA is asked to keep a log of their riding experiences to track the impact a bike makes on their daily lives.

For Galilea, it has been a surprising process.

She said she is still learning the rules of the road, tapping her car-driving partner for information, and learning by observation. "Much of it is by instinct. I get off my bike if I need to--if I feel unsafe. I will walk and try to figure out what is going on at an intersection," she said. "Mostly I'm being very cautious."

"It has very much changed my experience of living in Chicago," she said. "I hadn't been on a bike in many, many years. You never forget how to ride a bike. It came right back to me. What I didn't expect was the joy to return immediately, this sense of elation.

"I hope to integrate the bicycle more and more into my daily life," Galilea concluded. "I thought about learning to drive a car, and I may still have to, but now that I have been on a bike and been in traffic ... it's nice to know I have an option."

Penguins have much to teach the urban cyclist. Unlike more fickle birds that flee to warmer climes or bears who lazily doze away the winter, penguins embrace their Antarctic habitat with style and ingenuity.

Similarly, with winter approaching, Chicago cyclists need not migrate nor hibernate.

With the proper gear and a little determination, it's simple to stay in the saddle year round. To help you follow the path of the penguin, Chicago Bike Winter is once again assembling an exciting series of events to promote all-season cycling, including classes, lots of fun rides and activist events.

Just as penguins are highly social animals that rely on one another for food and protection from predators, new all-season cyclists can take advantage of the vibrant Bike Winter social network. At Bike Winter events, veteran winter cyclists generously share advice and even give away winter gear, such as homemade balaclavas.

"The biggest challenge I faced in becoming an all-season cyclist was just deciding that it was OK," said David Sperling. "I went to a Bike Winter class and met lots of winter bikers. I learned how to dress for success in the cold by just adding a few items, such as gloves, a balaclava and a good jacket. I've been hooked ever since."

While pedaling through inclement weather requires some special precautions, Chicago seldom experiences Antarctic conditions. "Last winter, there were only 8 days in Chicago when one inch of snow or more fell," said Bob Matter, Bike Winter meteorologist. "Winter daytime temperatures are typically in the 30s or even higher. Most winter days are very pleasant for cycling."

One look at a happy penguin frolicking on the tundra or flopping into the frigid sea may make Chicago cyclists long for more snowy days. But don't worry--winter cycling inevitably provides some penguinesque moments.

"Every time I get caught in a major snowstorm I get positively gleeful," said veteran winter cyclist Gin Kilgore. "No one is going anywhere fast, but at least I am having fun slithering around on my bike. The streets are quiet, and almost clean looking. I've always admired penguins."

For more information on Chicago Bike Winter and all-season cycling, go to www.bikewinter.org.

Volunteer at Chicagoland Bicycle Federation - win a silver medal at the cycling World Championships! That was 18-year-old Rebecca Much's experience when she took second place in the Jr. Women's time trial in Verona, Italy on September 27.

The Chicago resident and recent St. Ignatius graduate began volunteering with us during her sophomore year at the Bike Town Bash and with the Safe Routes to School and Bicycle Commuter Challenge programs. Some high school students volunteer with the Federation to fulfill their school's "citizenship" requirement; Rebecca put in hours elsewhere for that. Stuffing envelopes, making phone calls, or entering data here was simply her effort to foster a better environment for her growing love, bicycling.

During her time with us, Rebecca began racing bicycles with the XXX Racing-AthletiCo team. Not many teens take up bike racing: it's a hard sport that lacks cheering crowds and school support. Whether racing on the road, off-the road, or on a mix of both in cyclocross races, teenage Rebecca consistently finished at or near the front of packs often made up of experienced women racers.

For three years, Rebecca continued to put hours in at the Federation and each year even more hours into bicycling. In 2004, two wins in July against America's professional women boosted her confidence and confirmed her talent. At August's junior national championships in Utah, dominant performances won her gold medals in the road race and the time trail and the sole spot for an American junior woman in both events at September's world championships in Verona, Italy.

America's professional women cyclists consistently prove to be among the strongest cyclists in the world, and on September 27 Rebecca showed her potential to extend their reputation. Over a challenging 15.75 km time trial course in Verona, Rebecca crossed the finish line in 22:19 (more than 26 mph!), capturing the silver medal and America's only podium placing, men or women, in any age category.

It's not likely Rebecca will be back here stuffing envelopes any time soon. She's attending Fort Lewis College in Durango, CO on a cycling scholarship, and will decide soon on a major professional contract. We, of course, will bring up her name every chance we get. It's not every day you get to say "I knew that famous athlete back when...." But we're also proud to know Rebecca the volunteer, a gracious and committed young woman who shares our vision of a Chicagoland that's better for bikes.

is Program Director at the Federation, personal coach of Rebecca and team coach of XXX Racing/AthletiCo.

Anita rode her bike to the Taste of Chicago from her home in Hammond, IN. A young, tiny African-American woman in sleek, yellow racing garb, she pulled up to the tent housing the Chicagoland Bicycle Federation's Road Show on her matching-yellow aluminum road bike to ask if either I or my partner volunteer for the day could adjust a derailleur.

She left our table ten minutes later, her derailleur still refusing to shift but with a jersey pocket full of our literature and a smile on her face in anticipation of volunteering with the Road Show at July's Bud Billiken Parade on the near-South Side.

The Road Show has that kind of affect on people.

The Road Show sent eager volunteers to work our display table at 11 Chicagoland events including Taste of Chicago, the Bud Billiken and Pride Parades, the Blue Island Fourth of July Parade, North Halsted Market Days and to the Apple Cider Century in Three Oaks, Michigan to share with people what's important and good about bicycling. Plus we wanted to sign-up new members, find more volunteers and sell cool t-shirts and informative maps along the way.

The Road Show's numbers are good: more than 30 volunteers signed-up 75 new members, sold 300 t-shirts and dozens of bike maps, and found more volunteers to go out with the "Road Show" next year. But Anita's experience and the experiences of countless others underscore the Road Show's two lessons.

Lesson One: No matter your neighborhood, your politics, your affiliations, your size, your community, the color of your skin, the joy of riding a bicycle can be shared by all. The Chicago area's disparate communities won't fit peacefully under many tents, but they'll all go for a bike ride.

Lesson Two: Chicagoland really, really wants to take their bikes on Metra.

"It makes no sense; why CAN'T I take my bike on Metra to Chicago's lakefront?"

"Why make me drive a car in order to go for a bike ride on suburban bike trails?"

"It's just stupid; we should do something about it."

The Road Show emphatically demonstrated the energy behind this issue, and encourages us that Metra's opposition can be turned.

The Road Show owes its first-year success to the dozens of volunteers, bike shop partners like Yojimbo's Garage and Working Bikes Cooperative who donated bikes and prizes for raffles, and cycling clubs like the Windy City Cycle Club and the Blue Island Cycle Club who joined us for different events.

Sincere thanks to all who contributed, I hope everyone enjoyed it and got as much out of it as I did.

Ethan Spotts is a member of the Chicagoland Bicycle Federation's Membership and Marketing Committee.

So We're Giving Village Bike Rides

The "Village Ride" idea (see "It Takes a Village Bike Ride," above) is catching on: Chicagoland Bicycle Federation suburban coordinators have helped organize bike rides for their village officials in north-suburban Skokie, west-suburban River Forest and Forest Park, and most recently south-suburban Tinley Park.

Federation members took Tinley Park Trustee Brian Maher for a 10-mile spin on October 2. Two big revelations: 1) Maher rides a LOT, and lets his daughter ride bike to school; 2) Tinley's new library on scary-busy 80th Ave. is TOTALLY bike accessible from downtown Tinley via Timber Dr., which sidles behind the Tinley Park Mental Health Facility. Says Trustee Maher: "I'm bringing my kids to the library this way on THEIR bikes."

Invite YOUR local officials for a tour of your town: download a model invitation letter and contact your suburban coordinator at biketraffic.org under "suburbs."

The Cook County Forest Preserve District has installed new signs for trails throughout the district. Using recycled materials, the district added new maps, posts and color-coded markers to all trails throughout its 60,000 acres. Unpaved trails are marked about every quarter-mile. Paved trails that measure one mile or more are marked at every mile. The district also added new rules: By Jan. 1, all trail users 14 years old and younger must wear bicycle helmets while riding bikes; and trail users are to ride and walk on the right side of the trail. For more information on trail maps, visit the district's Web site at www.fpdcc.com.

The Elgin Community Network held their last public hearing at the end of September. The hearing focused on ECN's plans to improve biking conditions of the NW Quadrant of the city. This is a very important area for interconnectivity to Hoffman Estates and the Poplar Creek forest preserve. ECN's plans for all 4 quadrants of the city have been approved by the public. These plans include off-street paths and on-street bike lanes. They will draw up a final map for presentation to the city council, possibly in November.

A regional bike path along the Cal-Sag? Get used to the idea: The Metropolitan Water Reclamation District, Trinity Christian College, and six Cal-Sag communities on September 22 kicked off a process that will result in community bike plans that leverage a Cal-Sag Bikeway which will connect the Burnham Greenway and the Major Taylor Trail with the Tinley Creek Trail system and eventually the I&M. For updates, contact south suburban coordinator .

The Ferry Road Bridge along the Illinois Prairie Path-Aurora Branch opened in late August. The DuPage County Division of Transportation funded and built the $1,000,000 bridge as part of the expansion of Ferry Road. The remainder of the roadway project, which includes a sidepath, should be open soon.