Glad to be part of the community
Hello from Chicago. I have been lurking for awhile doing some research on buying a new bicycle and trouble-shooting mechanical issues. So now I'm officially here and it feels great. I just started commuting to work daily from Logan Square to Skokie. I bought a Novara Fusion commuter bike from REI in March and had issues with it recently which I managed to fix on my own after visiting several of the dreaded "clicking noise" threads at the site here. Turns out it was the right pedal causing the problem and everything's running smooth now. I'm excited about the next Critical Mass ride here in Chicago. My ultimate goal as far as cycling is to only use my car for trips out of the city or out of state.