Co-Founder of World Bicycle Relief Leah Missbach Day

City: Chicago, IL

Occupation: Co-founder and photographer for World Bicycle Relief (WBR).

What is your BikeStyle?

I really have four styles, each for a different location: commuting, off-road trail riding, on rural African dirt roads, and with my boys along Chicago’s lakefront.

What are your favorite clothes to bike in?

Jeans! This is why I love a female-speci­fic saddle. Plus a sports coat. Out in the rural areas where WBR provides bicycles in Africa, I always wear a chitenge. This is required wear for any respectable female. I’ve customized mine by adding a pocket for a small notebook and pen.

Where are we most likely to spot your bike?

In Chicago, SRAM’s headquarters (where our WBR offices are) have an indoor parking area.

What do you like most about riding?

Cutting through traffic, taking a short cut that only a bicycle can manage, and reaching Lincoln’s school faster by bike than by car as we are always running late.

What is your dream bike for everyday cycling?

From WBR’s perspective: one in the hands of a mother trying to feed her children, or one in the hands of a girl student ­fighting for her education. This year I’m trying out the Buddy Bike, a tandem con­figuration that gets Lincoln pedaling to school without the wind chill of sitting as a passenger on a cargo bike nor the stress of him pedaling behind me in rush hour.

What did you eat for breakfast?

I always start with green tea and Oki juice. Then granola sprinkled with walnuts and fruit in yogurt and/or an egg sandwich with tomatoes and extra mayo.

What song is most played on your iPod?

TLC’s “Waterfalls,” Otis Redding’s “Try a Little Tenderness,” Tupac’s “Dear Mama,” and anything Michael Jackson.

Basket or panniers?

To carry my laptop I use a shoulder bag by Anastasia, a widow from Chikumbuso Women and Orphans Project, chikumbuso.com.