We are LCL: Interview with Johanna Kaipainen
Johanna Kaipainen’s work as a pediatric diabetes educator integrates naturally with her commitment to active transportation.
Johanna has been cycle commuting to work for about a decade and a half, and is a strong proponent of London Cycle Link and Squeaky Wheel Bike Co-op. She currently volunteers as chair of London Cycle Link’s events committee.
LCL: What does your bike help you to do the most, and how?
JK: Move around. Honestly, I use it primarily for transportation. It's just how I get around, and I love it. Why would we create greenhouse gases when we don't need to? And it's so fun to actually just ride.
LCL: What's the best thing that's ever happened to you on a bike?
JK: We did a 116 km ride to visit friends—so it was a six-and-a-half-hour bike ride to get there. And it was just really, really beautiful, and just riding through different-sized spaces and the countryside… A stretch of it was all through Amish country. You could see everyone outside eating lunch, and then they have their fresh eggs and things that you could purchase, on the side of the road. You never get that feeling when you're driving. So that for me was really, really incredible. It was a long ride, but all of it was enjoyable.
LCL: I support London Cycle Link and Squeaky Wheel Bike Co-op because....
JK: Community. It involves a community. It gets people together. We get to share ideas. We also get to talk about what's important to us and things that we've noticed, so that now we're like a cycling hive-mind instead of just, "So this is my experience..." It's nice to have a platform to gain from other people's experience. The Squeaky Wheel is great. That's where my partner got his bike, and he bought our son's bike there, and then if he needed to ask a question… They were the ones that helped them adjust [his bike] initially, so now he can do more on his own. And we've donated four of our old bikes to Squeaky Wheel, just to kind of keep the circle going. And the people are awesome. Like, how do you meet like-minded people and develop good friendships? It's through organizations like London Cycle Link.