Any cyclists stranded by a flat tire while riding in Chicago can rest assured that help is now just a phone call away.

Max Hertz, Adam Glenn or Jon Timmins, the owners of the new “The Bike Lane” on 2130 Milwaukee Ave, will ride to where cyclists are stranded as part of their “Fix a Flat on the Fly” services.
View “Life in ‘The Bike Lane’” in a larger map

“Our ‘Fix a Flat on the Fly’ service is kind of like AAA for your bike, our version of roadside assistance,” said Hertz, 23.  “We have several unique services that aren’t offered anywhere else.”

Service such as the fixing flats helps set “The Bike Lane,” which opened May 22, apart from competitors. The store says it offers custom upgrades or conversions for customers, along with its friendly customer service.

“We’re just trying to make our store an open and friendly environment that people will want to come to,” Hertz said. “A lot of bike shops are very elitist, very off putting to people, there’s really no customer loyalty.”

“Come here because you want to not because you have to.”

Despite the tough economy, these three entrepreneurs are finding that the up-and-coming neighborhood of Logan Square has been very receptive of their business venture.

“The majority of people can’t buy cars that are fuel efficient so a bike is definitely the way to go for a majority of people,” said Hertz.

Customers will find it easy to visit the store, not just because of the service, but because it is located directly on Milwaukee Avenue. In fact, the store is the only bike store for four miles on one of the busiest streets for cyclists in the city.

A cyclist rides down the bike lane located in front of the new bicycle shop on Milwaukee Avenue. (Photo by Trish Donovan)

Milwaukee Avenue, which extends from downtown to the far north and northwest suburbs, is a main route of transportation for commuters. This is especially true for cyclists, because the street has a dedicated bike lane.

“For people who are commuting downtown via Milwaukee, it’s easier for them to stop at our shop rather than go out of their way when they’re trying to get somewhere and travel off the route that they’re already on,” Hertz said.

Added Glenn, 23, “As opposed to Clybourn or Halsted or those other diagonal streets that will get those same neighborhoods downtown but they do not have bike lanes … It’s a lot more dangerous to ride, the streets aren’t in as good of condition as Milwaukee Avenue.”

The store’s Milwaukee Avenue address might have been a key factor in its success the first week of business.

“We’ve been surprised everyday,” Hertz said. “Business has been growing every single day, we’ve had customers in here at all times of days, we’ve had some big rushes.”

Jon Timmins works in the service area of the shop. (Photo by Trish Donovan)

Said Glenn, “With the amount of advertising which we’ve done, which is minimal compared to most traditional businesses, we’ve got a ton of people coming.”

The store has been a long-time dream of the threesome, since they’re all avid bike riders.  Glenn says he puts about 40,000 miles on his bike every year.

“I sold my car many years ago when I moved to the city,” said Glenn.  “My bike is my one and only means of transportation.”

Max Hertz conducts business over the phone. A dollar bill from the first sale at "The Bike Lane" hangs behind him. (Photo by Courtney Sturgeon)

Promoting bike riding, as opposed to other modes of transportation, has been an ongoing effort of “The Bike Lane” as well as the City of Chicago.  “Bicycling Magazine” ranked Chicago 10^th on “America’s Best Cities for Bike Riding” list for 2010.

The City of Chicago boasts more than 160 miles of bike lanes and paths and more than 12,000 bike racks, according to the city’s site. More than 100 biking events will take place this spring and summer around the city, including; Bike the Drive, The L.A.T.E. Ride, the Boulevard Lakefront Tour, the Chicago Marathon and Critical Mass.

Critical Mass is a bike ride in Chicago that begins in Daley Plaza around 6 p.m. on the last Friday of every month. Although the route these cyclists take is different every time, the end point is usually an opportunity to meet with other riders.

This past Critical Mass on May 28 took off from Daley Plaza with well over 1,000 people in attendance. The cyclists rode all over the city, from U.S. Cellular Field to the intersection of North and Clybourn, and Clark Street into Lakeview.

Critical Mass cyclists congregate at the intersection of North Avenue and LaSalle Street. (Photo by Trish Donovan)

The route ended as cyclists rode on to Lake Shore Drive at Belmont, just one day before Bike the Drive took place, and exited at Fullerton.

Critical Mass cyclists ride down Lake Shore Drive from Belmont to Fullerton just one day before Bike the Drive took place. (Photo by Trish Donovan)

The attackers were said to have also been in their mid-20′s. Of these four attacks, the victims have said that at least four attackers have confronted them from behind and asked for their wallets and then proceeded to beat the victim in the face and head, leaving two of the men to be hospitalized.

As of March 21, 2010, no arrests have been made. The victim of the August 1 attack at 3 a.m. was able to identify a man in a physical lineup but the man was released due to lack of evidence.

The map below shows the exact location of each attack with their time. The four that are linked by police are displayed, as well as others that police are unsure of their connection with the Lincoln Park attacks.

View Lincoln Park Attacks in a larger map

Although these attacks have happened over eight months ago, it has become an issue due to the severity of the attacks and the location on and near the DePaul Lincoln Park Campus.

Andrew Huff talks to an Online Journalism class at DePaul University about how he got involved with blogging and Gapers Block in 2003. Photo by Mike Reilley

Huff started Gapers Block in 2003 back when blogs were not a universal phenomenon.

“There’s 100 million blogs now,” Huff said.

Huff got into blogging earlier than most, but was definitely not one of the first. Huff attended Ohio State University and found himself getting involved with Public Relations after graduating. Soon after, he realized Public Relations was not his chosen field.

Huff began blogging and was one of the first to take blogging and localize it to the city of Chicago. Before Huff, no one had utilized blogging to inform and get people together by their location, Huff told the class.

“There was no centralized place to get information,” Huff said. “You had to jump from blog to blog.”

Huff’s used his blog, me3dia, to connect with other local bloggers before and during the beginning days of Gapers Block. Gaper Block began with 12 volunteers and has expanded to 80 people today.

Gapers Block has become one of the most popular and well-known Chicago blogs, along with Windy Citizen and The Chicagoist, but Huff said it wasn’t always easy and told the class about the freelance work he has had to take up in order to pay the bills.

Some of Huff’s other endeavors include writing for a blog for American Express, as well as a Kenneth Cole blog. He also does personal blogging projects, including his most recent project NineteenFiftyFour.

This project includes excerpts from a date book from 1954 containing journal entries from 1993, when Huff was still in high school. The days and dates from 1954 and 1993 happen to match up, and 2010 is another year where all three years days also match up. Huff has taken this opportunity to reflect on a different part of his life.

“I’m looking back at the person I was back then,” Huff said of the new project.

Huff continues to take on new projects but has a passion for the success of Gapers Block and it’s volunteers.