Columbus Bike Fancy: Michelle Clements

Michelle’s classic yellow frame is locked faithfully to a downtown meter every day as I ride on by home from work.

The utilitarianism of its baskets and fenders and the anthropomorphic reliability of it waiting patiently every day in the same spot for its owner to arrive appealed to me.
I have these special bike fancy tags I make with a simple hole-punch, a Columbusridesbikes.com business card, and plain old string. One of these days I’ll post a picture of my MacGyver-ed calling cards. Anyway, I left a tag on Michelle’s bike.

So we met. We photographed. And we interviewed.
Here’s the outcome:

What kind of bike are you riding?

Where did you get it? Not sure—will double check! Picked it up at a flea market.

 (old school Schwinn Collegiate)

Does he or she have a name?

Nope!*

Bike accessory you can’t live without?

After many years carting groceries on the handle bars, I fell in love with having a bike basket! I don’t know why I waited so long; I can carry a record number of 6 packs in it, too! Also my glitter helmet. My dad lost his sense of smell in a crash when he raced, so I never leave without it.

Where do you ride?

What’s your favorite route? I ride mainly on the weekends to hang out with friends and do errands. If I’m biking for the joy of biking, I’ll head to the Olentangy river path or to Schiller park to check out all the awesome dogs.

What’s the most exotic/interesting/strange ride you’ve experienced?

My dad and I rented mountain bikes in Idaho one vacation and rode up rocky mountain trails and down around the river rapids. Gorgeous!

What does Columbus NEED in reference to bikes, in your opinion?

Bike lanes and respect for bikers! Maybe a social happening, like the Late Night Pretzel Ride in Philly.**

 * Suggestions of bike names for Michelle?

**The editor has since been sending Michelle invites galore to bike events, as she recently moved to Cbus from Philly. Michelle amended her original answer to What Columbus needs:

Since now I know about all the awesome rides- I'd rather say that Columbus could use some more bike lanes- I think they'd bring awareness to drivers and bring out excitement in cyclists. I'm excited to get involved in the rides!