Who Rides A Platypus

Name: Junice Uy

Job: Landscape Associate

Years Riding: As an adult, on and off for 12 years now

How you got started (riding): It was definitely at my best friend's house when I was 7, there were a lot of us kids trying to learn on one bike. It also involved a big fall on my face right before my first communion but the feeling of finally getting how to ride a bike still leaves me with a grin.   

Typical Ride:  Usually Commuting

Dream Ride:  I definitely interpret this question as having different layers. So first layer is that a dream ride is when bikes are more used in the U.S. for within-range trips rather than using cars. On a personal level, I dream of traveling through a continent like Africa or the Americas solely on a bike. 

Why this bike:  I bought my first bike before starting grad school at Waterside Workshops in Berkeley for $200. It's a bike from the 80's and I only found out later what the name of the frame was that I loved right away, that it's called a mixte. The bike was not designed well for my dimensions but I rode it to work when I gave up my car after graduation and just loved the shape of the frame so much. When it was time to buy a new bike, which was a process that took years, I kept going back to the mixte frame and bought the Platypus without much hesitation.

Fav. Book: Braiding Sweetgrass is always a favorite, weaving these threads that are so generative for me: indigenous wisdom, plants, and ecology - all told by a masterful storyteller!