laurenz1Wednesday is becoming the new Saturday at the Bike Exchange.

Last week I arrived at 11 am and almost every station was occupied. Old friends and new faces and everybody swaying to jazz on the sound system.  Looking around for a victim, I realized that I had never interviewed Lauren Z, so let’s meet her.

Lauren was born in Chicago. Her Engineer father and legal Secretary mother had the good sense to move to Denver soon afterward.  Lauren loved everything about Denver (except the snow) and thrived.  An athlete, she played volleyball and soccer and was good enough to get a volleyball scholarship to prestigious Rice University. Once there she soon realized that her academic studies in Chemical Engineering had to take precedence.

After college, she migrated west and settled in Los Angeles.  During a trip north to Muir woods she fell in love with the Redwoods of Northern California and decided that was where she needed to be.  Settling in Silicon Valley, she worked at many top companies but her favorite was Sun Microsystems.

Now retired, she spends her time hiking, biking, and traveling when not volunteering at the Bike Exchange, where she has been one of the core group for the last 5 years.  

In May she took her first-ever bike tour in Austria, biking down the Danube for 8 days.

Way to go Lauren!

Learn more about the superstars who keep SVBE rolling through our previous featured volunteer spotlights!