Alexandra is our September 2016 winner from Newark, NJ. You can get to know her a little better through the Q+A below. Thank you Alexandra!
Each month we will be choosing our favorite Po Campo fan photo to display on the blog. We see all of your beautiful pictures on Instagram/Twitter/Facebook, but if there are photos you’ve taken with your Po Campo bag that you haven’t posted online, feel free to send them our way! You can email your fan photos to photos@pocampo.com or tag your photos with #pocampo for a chance to win a FREE PO CAMPO BAG.
@alexandra_aiello with a Logan Bike Trunk Bag
1. Tell us a bit about your hometown. Where do you insist on taking out of town guests?
I live in Newark, New Jersey, which is perfect when I have visitors in town because we are only a 25 minute train ride from New York City. I love taking guests to our Ironbound district, which is home to our famous Portuguese cuisine. My guests always end the night saying they had the best meals of their lifetimes. After dinner, I like to bring them to Military Park, which is an oasis in the middle of downtown and makes you forget you’re in New Jersey’s largest city.
2. Where is your favorite place to take your Po Campo?
My favorite place to bring my Po Campo is to work because I love how it inspires the conversation that you can bike to work and have a bike bag that is not only functional- I love the new Velcro straps on my Uptown Trunk Bag which secure to my bike rack- but also fashionable. Whenever I’m out, people first compliment my bag and then I say, “surprise, it’s also a bike bag!” I truly feel the bag encourages them into thinking that a cycle commute can fit within their lifestyle.
3. A suggestion for women who are interested in biking but have safety concerns?
I think that it really helps to go out with another person when you first start biking in the city. I adopted a cycle commute when I was living in Albany, NY’s Lark Street neighborhood where there aren’t any bike lanes, only sharrows, and was concerned about car traffic. My friend was also concerned but we decided to have a go at it together. Soon, while we were still vigilant with riding in traffic, we found this was a fun way to get around and wanted to do it as often as we could. It really helped knowing that there were any issues, we’d be there for each other.
I am a member of Brick City Bike Collective, which is Newark’s advocacy group for people on bicycles, and I always like to remind people that change starts with you. If you want safer conditions, join your local advocacy group and get involved in their campaigns. Not only will you get to meet people who share your passion but you can truly change your community and make the streets safer for all.
4. Secrets for managing helmet hair?
I have curly hair which is prone to frizz, especially in the humidity. What helps me is getting my hair cut regularly to get rid of my dead ends. Also, I love Living Proof’s Perfect Hair Day Dry Shampoo because it will turn your sweaty helmet hair into looking like it was just blow dried. Also, it comes in travel sizes too, which is perfect for storing in my Po Campo!
5. Favorite biking memory?
My friend and I went to Montreal for a concert and decided to explore the city by bicycle. Montreal’s bike lane network is so vast and it was such a wonderful way to see the city, especially getting down to Old Montreal, which has an old European vibe, and its gorgeous waterfront. It was when I started getting into a bike commute and thought if it could happen in Montreal, it can happen anywhere, which is what inspired me to work in transportation policy.
