Teryl's Cycle-olgy

Editors note: “Teryl’s Cycle-ology” is a new thread in the Elgin Bike Hub story. Teryl is an EBH Board Member and gets around Elgin (and beyond) on her bicycle. Teryl’s musings along her cycling path are not organizational positions of Elgin Bike Hub, but they are most certainly an invitation to conversation with EBH, your neighbors, and your neighborhoods. Happy pedaling and happy reading!

“You can’t always get what you want” is the song lyric that repeats in my head as I cycle pass the David Cook building at 850 N. Grove Ave. in Elgin. The lyric transforms me and I find myself imagining my ‘want’ for this building. A building that I’ve never entered, yet it speaks to me, SINGS to me. It communicates the desire to not be forgotten; that it still has life to share.

I look at “Mr. Cook” and I picture a Bed and Breakfast with a Shared Harvest pop-up for nutritional snacks, plus providing the breakfast options for overnighters. The Elgin Bike Hub will be positioned in the back for maintenance, rentals, educational assistance and group rides. Mr. Cook resides along the Fox River Trail; a trail that leads to various river towns in either direction. A welcoming trail that puts Mr. Cook on the map as a desired destination. Mr. Cook’s guests will over flow into town to frequent many other Elgin businesses. Social Media will explode on finding such a treasure.

Driving past Mr. Cook, in a car, would not provoke this abstract mind set. An intimate speed is a must while passing this block long building. My love of Elgin has grown stronger with each bike ride. So I may not get what I want, but I get what I need, the essence of Mr. Cook.

-Teryl