VV Profile: Emily Oestreicher

Occupation: Sales Manager for Joie de Vivre's Carriage Inn, Americania Hotel, and Good Hotel

Hometown: Merced, CA

SF neighborhood: Lower Haight

Helmet or no helmet: Helmet

Describe what you like best about your bike: I like that my bicycle is a blue Peugeot from the late seventies. It used to be my Mom's bike and she used to have a seat on the back where I would ride. So, I guess it was my first ever bike and that is why I like it so much.

Describe your cycling experience in SF: I love, love, love not riding my bike on hills. Because of this I thoroughly enjoy studying my bike map always trying to find different, out of the way routes to my destinations. I also like riding down alleys in my neighborhood where there are lots of trees overhead and that makes shadows on the cement. I like that a lot.

Favorite color: I would say grey and bright yellow at the moment

Artist most frequently played on iPod at the moment: Blind Pilot and Antonio Carlos Jobim

Describe your personal style: My personal style must be a mix of pretty girly with a little messy aspect or pretty messy with a girly aspect.

Vélo Vogue tip of the day: I like to twist my hair up in a bunch of pins and then put on my helmet. That way when I arrive to work there has been no hair-wind damage and it's even a little curly. Also, try to have cooler bicycle outfits than your boss (if they also ride their bike to work).

And a special note from Emily about her bike-friendly hotel:

At the Good Hotel we have started our bicycle borrowing program. We purchased two bicycles (to start with) from the non-profit Pedal Revolution. We just have guests sign a waiver, supply them with all the locks, lights, and maps to get around and they are able to use the bicycles free of charge as long as they are available. The bikes are very popular and I hope to see this type of program take off in all 16 of our properties in San Francisco.

We also have a bike rack for guests as well as the bicycle map framed on the wall.

Thanks for your hand in promoting bike-friendly tourism in SF, Emily! Here's a pic of my pal Marisol recently riding one of the Good Hotel's gorgeous black rent-a-bikes.