Have you ever had that dream that you're flying...on your bicycle around the Memorial Union fountain? OK, maybe not. For 21-year-old undeclared junior Kyra Steinbach this dream is a reality. Steinbach spends her time gracefully balancing on her bicycle through campus. She just might blend in with the rest of the horde except for her technique; roll along, roll along and then out of nowhere she gracefully spreads out her arms and flaps them languidly up and down as her long brown hair blows in the wind. She appears to be flying on her blue cruiser bicycle.
Everyone stops to stare: frat boys, professors, activists, elementary kids on field trips, but Kyra doesn't even notice. It seems the black riding gloves she wears serve not only as protection in the event of a fall, but also as a guard against stares and quizzical looks. She is in a dreamland of flying bicycles, and she couldn't be happier.
SPM: Don't I know you?
Steinbach: You can call me Bicycle.
SPM: What made you want to fly?
Steinbach: One day I decided to do something different, and I tried balancing. It worked, and I kept doing it.
SPM: Do you have a background in dance? You're pretty graceful on those two wheels.
Steinbach: Well, I've been a baton twirler since I was in second grade, and I was in poms when I was in high school. I'm hoping to join ASU's flag team next semester.
SPM: Does anyone else in your family fly?
Steinbach: Nope, I'm the only one. But I sent my mom a picture of me flying across the bridge on Mill Avenue. My boyfriend took the picture, and it looks like my arms are about to touch both sides of the bridge.
SPM: Does your boyfriend have a bike?
Steinbach: Yeah, but he has a Univega (a more durable mountain bike) so he's always jumping over curbs while I pretty much stick to the sidewalk.
SPM: Tell me about your equipment.
Steinbach: I've got my two baskets on the back, and the gloves are for if I fall my arms are protected.
SPM: Where are you from, and why did you decide to move to the asphalt city of Phoenix?
Steinbach: I'm from Illinois, and I moved here to get away from things. Plus, I liked the school.
SPM: Do you have a name for your bike?
Steinbach: I don't usually give that out because it's pretty special to it. But I usually call it "Blue Bike" or "The Tempe Flyer."
SPM: Where did you get it?
Steinbach: It's a very special bike to me. I got it for free. A friend of mine back in Illinois found it and fixed it up. He was kind of chunky, so he gave it to me, and I've been riding it ever since.
SPM: How often do you ride?
Steinbach: I don't have a car, so I ride my bike everywhere. If it's too far, I can usually find a ride. It's the way to do it; it's a free ride.
SPM: Where do you work? Do you ride your bike there?
Steinbach: I work at AMF bowling on Rural and the I-60.
SPM: That's a pretty far ride
Steinbach: Not really. It's only about 20 minutes or so.
SPM: Do people ever recognize you around campus?
Steinbach: Yeah, I get a lot of smiles.
SPM: So, you seem to be pretty content. Are you enjoying your life on two wheels?
Steinbach: I've got my Boss 1985 classic, and I live in Tempe, Ariz., where everything is close. What more could you want?
SPM: All I can say is: Ride on Bicycle, ride on!
Reach the reporter at joy.hepp@asu.edu.
