It occurs to me that while we clearly know who Dave and Fritz are, and we have recently had the opportunity to “Meet Alex”, the fine readers of the Dutch Bike blog really don’t have any idea who Vince is. And I think that’s crazy. I mean, here we are bringing Dutch Bike to all the fine citizens of the greater Chicagoland Metropolitan area and we don’t even have a picture on our blog. Madness, I tell you. Madness.
So let me begin with a little introduction. Six years ago, I squeezed into my first set of Pearl Izumi bibs and cycling jersey and set out for a long bike ride. That, more or less, took me to cycling adventures around the world, and a nomadic life of bikes, spandex, clipless pedals and highly offensive yet scientifically proven foods. A year ago I woke up and after looking through a communal kitchen for a clean mug and eating another Cliff Bar breakfast, I decided it was back to Chicago for me. So I packed my suitcase, shipped my bike back to my parent’s house and headed to the uncertainty of a life in one place.
I used to dress like this every day.
Back in Chicago I discovered something funny. My life no longer revolved around going really fast on a bike. I needed to carry stuff, wear normal clothes and get around town in a less sweat inducing manner. So my road bike became useless. I had a mountain bike. But something about Chicago, perhaps the paved roads, perhaps the bike lanes, or perhaps the fact that the only topography is formed by steel and glass structures told me a bike built for rugged terrain might be a bit pointless.
Somewhat serendipitously, as I meandered through the streets of Lincoln Park, I found Dutch Bike. And as I ogled the fine bikes in the Chicago showroom I got to talking with Stephan and discovered that not only did I love the bikes, but I also loved the idea. Everything sort of just made sense. So I bought a Transport, started borrowing the Bakfiets and eventually landed a pretty sweet gig in the shop. Now I look more like this. Actually I look just like this. Come on in to the shop and say hello.
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