Located a few blocks from what was once the notorious Cabrini Green housing development lies Yojimbo's Garage. The bike shop has been there for 19 years and has witnessed the transformation of the neighborhood with upscale housing, trendy shops and restaurants nearby. Step inside the shop however and you immediately feel that you have walked into the past. Perhaps it's the hardwood floors, or posters of bicycle history in Chicago, but mainly it's the calm and serene presence of founder and owner Marcus Moore. 

This week's story comes to us from guest author Annie F. Adams. A dedicated commuter, Annie shares her recent experience riding under a full prairie moon to get ice cream. 

Destination: Sidney Dairy Barn
​As a person interested in "all things bike” as well as place-making, planning and design my ears perked up when I heard local cyclists discuss the Full Moon bike ride. It seemed like some kind of dream to think of cyclists gathering under the full moon and riding en masse on rural roads to obtain ice cream. “Why not?” “It’s fun!” cyclists would say to me with a gleam in their eyes. ​The round-trip would easily be 30 miles. But this was not something I told my husband who reluctantly agreed to the adventure

Cynthia Hoyle has over 30 years of transportation planning experience at the local, state, and national levels.  An active bike commuter, she helps to raise awareness for creating bike and pedestrian friendly infrastructure both in her adopted home of Urbana, IL and across the nation. During our interview, she shared her perspective on bike commuting, transportation planning, and lessons for the future.   

Cynthia works with Alta Planning and Design, which started as a design firm to help municipalities create walking and bicycling-friendly communities. One way this is accomplished is through the design of Complete Streets, which provide safe, comfortable, and convenient travel for everyone including motorists, pedestrians, bicyclists, and public transportation riders. For example, a Complete Street may include separated biking and driving lanes to support multiple modes of transportation. 

Cynthia explains that people want to bike more however they are scared of cars. She cites survey after survey showing that Americans want to spend less time driving and Millennials look for places to live that do not require driving. ​For communities that want to position themselves well for the future, one the best things to implement are Complete Streets that accommodate everybody. 

In a recent engagement in Wichita, KS, Cynthia and the Alta team created education materials to support new biking infrastructure. She points out that drivers don't automatically know what to do when riders are present and need training. The same holds true for bike riders. Through education and modeling the correct behavior a culture of what's expected from others is created. A similar social change for instance occurred through education to build awareness on the benefits of wearing seat belts.