The Blog

Green Options Buffalo is profiling an area cyclists each month who make green transportation options a big part of their life.  If you have someone you'd like to suggest as a cyclist-of-the-month, please click here to contact Green Options Buffalo.

December 2011: Angela Lopez

December 2011 Cyclist-of-the-Month: Angela Lopez

The Cyclist

I'm Angela.  I live on the West Side near the burgeoning Grant and Lafayette intersection.  I am an Americorps ABLE service member working with Science Firsthand, teaching after school science to K-6 by day.  I also work at the Elmwood and Bidwell Farmers Market slingin' sausage with Avenue Boys Smokehouse, and am a dancer and performer with the local dance and performance community found in the City.

The Cycle

My current bike is a Raleigh Marathon circa 1984.  I bought it at Rick's Cycle Shop in Allentown.  It isn't too swanky, but it's a monster and gets the job done.  It weighs a ton, probably because my panniers are almost always packed with sciencey things I show my after school kids during lessons.  It's my first road bike, and has been my only bike for three years now.

The Ride

I ride to work as often as I can.  Because I don't own or even know how to drive a car, it's my only mode of transport other than a good friend or the good ole NFTA.  My regular commute is from the West Side to South Buffalo.  If anyone knows the condition of the roads leading into South Buffalo, you would probably know that it is a long bumpy ride with large bridges that make your quads scream.  It's not a long commute, usually topping out at 45 minutes, but it is a tough one especially when I'm hauling around worms and bugs in my panniers and trying to end up with live specimens by the end of the ride into SOBO.

My Other Bike is a...

I have amazing friends who have cars.  When I'm not feeling the commute, if its too cold, or I have rescued a snapping turtle that I want to show to my after school kids, I ask a friend to give me a lift.  But I just finished the 'Winterize your Bike' workshop at Blue Bike.  So now I have another beast of a bike that just may allow me to get to work even when it snows!  I can't wait until the snow sticks so I can ride in it!

Cycling in Buffalo

As a self-appointed ambassador of Buffalo biking, I ask whoever has the authority and ability to pave roads . . . please for the love of Buffalo . . . PAVE SOUTH PARK AVENUE BETWEEN THE FIRST NIAGARA CENTER AND TOPS!  And  . . . PLEASE PAVE SWAN STREET INTO SENECA STREET ESPECIALLY UNDERNEATH THE BRIDGE!  My butt and wheels seriously hurt from slamming into all of those potholes.