What is your name, age, occupation and what neighborhood do you live in? I’m 46 years old and the personal-finance editor at MarketWatch, a financial news website. My husband and I live in San Francisco’s Bayview neighborhood, and both of us bike to work daily – he commutes to the Mission and I work downtown.

How have the Illinois Street bike lanes improved biking for you? My commute entails biking down Third Street, and then cutting over to Illinois St. at Islais Creek. That turn onto the Islais Creek Bridge bike path is a highlight of my commute.  As I cross the bridge I stop to watch the birds – great blue herons, grebes, swallows, cormorants and, occasionally, buffleheads – and then continue along Illinois Street, where the new bike lane offers a luxurious sense of space between the cars and me.

What’s your favorite thing about getting around San Francisco by bike? I’ve been biking in San Francisco for more than 25 years, and find it difficult to express how amazing it is to bike in the City now compared to back in the 1980s. The fact that so many more bikers are on the road is a huge benefit, AS IS the now-extensive network of bike lanes, “sharrows” and other improvements.  I still remember when I was biking around town with my baby daughter in her bike seat in the early ‘90s. These days, I’m thrilled to see kids and babies on bikes everywhere around town, and to see drivers be much more aware of making room for them.

What’s your favorite destination to bike to in San Francisco? Biking makes me happy, no matter where I’m headed. Partly, of course, that’s because it’s easily the fastest, least frustrating and most refreshing way to get anywhere. I do own a car, so I drive at times and I also take public transportation, but I think the happiness biking inspires allows me to enjoy the City more.It’s hard to pick a favorite ride. I love taking the Wiggle to visit friends in the Haight. But even just doing errands on my bike makes the chores feel fun. One of my favorite adventures — the route varies — is biking from work to meet my husband for dinner somewhere and then heading to the opera. The best part is biking home afterwards, the chill of the night air slowly giving way to my body’s warmth as my husband and I bike past the traffic on South Van Ness, meander through the Mission and then the stillness that is the industrial side of the Bayview at night. Along the way, we discuss the costumes, the staging, the singing, life. Before long, we’ve reached our home in the far southeastern corner of the city and I’ll have biked more than 20 miles in a day without even realizing it.