We were in Puglia (the heel of the boot of Italy) last month, doing what you do there: eating, roaming around, and checking out the local culture. As with all of Italy you come across contrasts to what you see at home: stone streets, tile floors, ancient towns, small cars, baroque churches, arches, and unique local architecture. But, the standout contrast was the abundance of elderly people (mostly guys) riding bikes and hanging out in public places. They were there in masses in almost every town center.

Civic connections are encouraged by the safety, comfort, and proximity of public spaces in these towns. You cannot drive through the town squares because they are pedestrian only zones. We surmise that most of the senior citizens cannot afford cars, so it’s a blessing really. So simple – bikes serve to help create a strong sense of community and health. The city centers take on a relaxing, convivial, and alive feeling with all the people watching and café hopping. The older folks easily remain connected to the everyday happenings in their town – much more so than relaxing at home or on a stationary bike at the gym.

Puglia is a pretty cool place for travel and biking for anyone. The flat terrain provides great biking roads and there is a cultural respect for cyclists. If you can put together a group of friends for a trip, the Villa Pizzorusso is the place to stay.  Friends of ours run this special place, so it comes highly recommended.

The quality of our steel frame bikes and their lifetime guarantee are of great importance to us. But we are always tweaking the design of our bikes and products to make them more pleasing, visual, and functional. Our latest bikes, the new PUBLIC C7s and PUBLIC V7s (both $550), have slightly modified frame geometry to accommodate a greater range of body sizes and improved chain guards to make them even less likely to grab trousers – details you might not notice. The biggest visual change we’ve made is to include some stripes and reflective panels on the fenders. Why did we do this? Stripes make us smile and safety counts.

We’re big fans of stripes. We like spotting them anywhere we travel, as seen above, and we include them on our products whenever possible. Our signature Nutcase helmet has stripes running over it. Stripes help us look at the world a little more playfully, as with fabrics, and a little more carefully, as with signposts. They can serve a purpose and make anything appear longer or wider. They are often used on race bikes to suggest speed. But with PUBLIC bikes the stripes are for fun and safety.

We also have some new accessories to go with our bikes. The new racks, panniers, and crates have been big hits with our PUBLIC customers and they work on almost any bike. These products are designed in house and you will not find them anywhere else.

“Oftentimes people will ask if it is hard to ride a bike in heels. It’s not,” Lauren Gerrie says. “In fact, it makes wearing heels that much easier because your feet hurt less from not having to walk around. I put together my outfits based around the assumption that I will be riding my bike. This opens my world of options up tenfold. I tell you what, a girl cannot stand/walk around this city in 4″ stilettos for that long, but she sure as hell can ride in them for hours on end.”

Until the recent resurgence of the everyday bicycle, bicycling in the United States has primarily focused on performance and recreation. It’s more diversely utilized in other parts of the world.

At PUBLIC, we focus on bicycling as transportation – as a simple and elegant vehicle for joy and getting around our communities. Our vision is a world where more of our public spaces are reclaimed for walking and bicycling.

We welcome everyone, regardless of his or her footwear, to ride a bicycle daily. You can dress in casual or business attire, and wear heels, tennis shoes, flip flops, or just about anything while riding our PUBLIC bikes. We appreciate a combination of practicality, style, health, and fashion.

That’s why we love the Spanish company Camper. Camper is devoted to making shoes easy on your eyes and feet. We now sell the Camper Rachel Wedge, a shoe designed for women who love to wear heels but want and need comfort as well, whether walking or riding. The graceful straps are crafted from soft, smooth leather. But the standout feature is the unique and lightweight wooden wedge with a rubber heel that is both beautiful and silent. The Camper Rachel Wedge quickly became a favorite with the women of PUBLIC.