More Top Picks Food Processor
player ready...Oak Parker Jackie Benson, 49, who owns the Cycle Bar location at 7513 W. Lake St. in River Forest with her husband, Mike, answered a few questions for the Oak Leaves on Dec. 15. The indoor cycling studio — which has locations nationwide — opened late last year.
Q: When did the studio open and how have things been going since?
A: We officially opened Nov. 28. Things have been going great. People leave smiling and sweaty, which is great. It’s what we want.
Q: What sets Cycle Bar apart from other indoor cycling studios?
A: It’s a party on the bike. There’s a cycle theater; that’s how we refer to it. And it is a theater: the audio, the visual, the seating is tiered like a theater. And it’s not just a specific, exclusive kind of thing. There’s nothing that’s exclusive about it. Plus, the Cycle Giving component, which is baked into the corporate identity and the mission.
Q: Why did this type of business opportunity interest you and your husband?
A: Cycling is really an activity almost anyone can do. Men, women, teens, boomers and all those different people are in the same room. It’s doing what their body allows but doing it communally.
Q: Has being business owners been what you expected?
A: It’s a time-consuming kind of effort, but it’s been worth it. It’s rewarding to sese people leave happier and healthier.
Q: You’re a mom of four. How old are your kids?
A: Fifteen, 13, 10 and 9.
Q: What’s the most rewarding aspect of parenting?
A: Seeing how each one of the children is their own unique person. As they get older, it’s really neat to see how they turn into their own person. The most challenging part is simply hormones. You just have to take it one day at a time.
Q: Hidden gem of Oak Park or River Forest?
A: A cookie I had from the new bakery, Spilt Milk. I really needed that cookie. It was a beefy chocolate chip cookie, and the chocolate just kept coming.
Shout Out is a weekly feature in which we get to know and introduce our readers to their fellow community members and local visitors throughout suburban Chicago. Check out more online at ChicagoTribune.com/ShoutOut.
Caitlin Mullen is a freelance reporter for Pioneer Press.