Healthy Ride is creating a series of rider profiles to feature some of our riders and showcase how they use the system. If you would like to be featured, please fill out our survey.

How long have you lived in Pittsburgh?

6 years. I moved here to live with someone I dated at RPI who went to CMU for grad school.

How long have you used the bike share program, and how do you use the bikes? (i.e. you bike to work, school, church)

Since August 2015. I bike share as an enhancer to the bus network. I mostly use it to go to and from the busway in Shadyside and downtown. I also use it on Sundays when buses are infrequent and stop running early at night. I really like to use the bikeshare to give friends a taste of biking in this city. They ride a bike share bike on my account as a trial while I ride my own bike. Another bike share pleasure is using the rack to transport groceries or anything else.

What year did you start biking?

I started biking for transportation in NYC in 2009 because I couldn’t’ afford to take the subway. This was before the massive bike lane network that exists there now. It felt like the wild west as a cyclist. Riding with the bulls. I credit NYC riding to my comfort with riding on fifth avenue.

What are your favorite places to bike in Pittsburgh, and why?

I like riding in the protected bike lanes on Penn Avenue downtown. There’s so much going on and it’s fun to people watch while riding.

Complete the following sentence. I love Healthy Ride’s bike share program, because…

I don’t need a smart phone to use it!

Is there anything else you would like to add?

I’m a member of Shadyside Complete Streets, a moderator of /r/bicycling412 reddit, and the chair of the local Green Party. I also spend much of my life playing ultimate frisbee (on a mixed gender travel team called Crucible).

You can follow Jay online on Twitter and Instagram at:

@jaytingwalker