Ummm... like where? Michigan Ave. is all kinds of longness. Not really long, but is she looking for something close to home, or something that's convenient to get to? What is her primary purpose for the bike?

I think beauty is in the eye of the beholder, and so is ugly. I think Village Cycles should be avoided at all costs. Kozy's over on Erie, between Wells and Franklin has an awesome staff. If you want a small LBS with quality stuff, I recommend Yojimbo's- but he's a one man show, so my caveat is be prepared to wait on things for repairs from time to time when he gets backed up with work (well worth the wait). You can also go to Mission Bay Multisport. The guy who owns the shop is uber cool, and they have some really great bikes- high end to mid level road bikes. Rapid Transit Cycle on West North Avenue has some super cool guys that work there. Jen works there (I think that's her name), and I really thought she was a cool chick. There is a woman mechanic that can tear a bike apart and put it back together in no time, and you can take a project to her when you don't know how to get an accessory on your bike, and she'll conceptualize what you want and bang it out for you. Rapid Transit also has the folding bikes, so if you want to go that route, then that's a good shop for you to start.

Hmmmm... public transportation- Red line to North and Clybourn for Yojimbo's, then walk south on Clybourn to his crib. #56 bus northbound to Milwaukee/North/Damen for Rapid Transit, then walk half a block on North Ave to Rapid Transit. Kozy's she can walk to- just walk down Erie to the store- right after Wells is Kozy's. For Mission Bay, take the 20 West bus from the loop heading down Madison (or the bus that's going to the United Center). It should drop you within a block- like to Halsted and Madison, then you just walk a block south on Halsted to Randolph, turn left and walk about half a block (maybe less) to Mission Bay.

I think the addresses are: 738 W. Randolph for Mission Bay Multisport, 1348 N. Clyborn for Yojimbo's, 1900 W. North Ave. for Rapid Transit. I absolutely have no idea about Kozy's, but she has a phone book. Let her fingers do the walkin'.

Koffee