Dedicated post: Andrea Lepore, "I Live Here"

Beginning today, and every Friday hereafter, SacCycleChic will feature a different individual from our community that has made the choice to make the bicycle their primary form of transportation.

I hope you will enjoy this new feature of SacCycleChic.  I call it:  "I Live Here"

Andrea Lepore is the Founder and Creative Director for HOT ITALIAN, a popular restaurant and bar in the midtown area of Sacramento.  Miss Lepore's fashion, style sense and unwillingness to compromise on details is what makes this restaurant such a success.

HOT ITALIAN is the bed of everything cycling in our city.  In many ways, they have become a strong advocate for cycling, it's culture and most of all Sacramento.

SacCycleChic:  Tell me about your bikes?  Which one is your favorite?  and why?

Andrea Lepore:  I currently have five bikes, all Italian and all very different, including a '87 pink steel Bianchi, a 1960-ish cherry-red Bianchi folding bike, an aluminum Bianchi Milano city bike in the classic Celeste color, a 2010 Cinelli Vigorelli track bike, and my favorite, a Colnago E-1R, pink edition, carbon bike, a posthumous gift from my father.  I rode it almost every day while working on creating HOT ITALIAN.  It really helped me focus and visualize the restaurant design and think through various elements and ideas.

SCC:  Do you remember your first bike?

AL:  The first bike I can remember was a Schwinn with a banana seat.  Had to have a banana seat!

SCC:  What is cycling to you?

AL:  Cycling is freedom.

SCC:  What would you tell others to encourage them to cycle?

AL:  Every time you get into your car, think about how you could do the same errand or go to your destination on a bike.

SCC:  What do you think of Sacramento's bicycle culture?

AL:  The Sacramento region is one of the best places to ride in the entire world because there is something for everyone here and for any style of bike and Midtown is the heart of it all.  At our corner (HOT ITALIAN) on 16th and Q, one of the beautiful things I've witnessed is how many different styles of bikes and people riding of all ages, shapes, and sizes: road, mountain, cruiser, commuter, single-speed, tandem, etc...And our bike culture is getting even bigger and better, with more community rides, races, festivals and events.