Mike Flanigan runs Alternative Needs Transportation (ANT), a bike shop that makes marvelous machines to transport you from point A to point B without nasty emissions. And some of the bikes even have sweet baskets. And one of the bikes is gonna be raffled off at Redbones next Monday. Good deal! To help promote Bay State Bike Week, Bostonist talked to Flanigan about his long biking history and feelings about biking in Boston.

How did you get started biking?

Like most other people... as a child... finding freedom with your own little transportation machine. Well at least when I was a kid, you had the freedom to roam the world on your bicycle. ;) When I was in high school I became very enamored with bicycles for transportation and for touring. I rode my bicycle to school, when most others were driving.

What inspired you to take the leap from bike rider to bike maker?

I always had an interest in being a craftsman or designer of efficient homes, so it was not much of a stretch to find interest in becoming a bicycle builder. Getting to that point of being a bicycle builder has been a long road. I had to find a job in that trade to learn the business... and that is what led me to the Boston area, which I have called home for 19 years now.

Do you have a favorite bike of all those you've made?

I do have some favorites here and there, but no longer own them. I have always been a revolving door of bicycles, so maybe my favorite one...is the next one? I like to create so creating the next one is my favorite. :) If had to pick one of my past builds I would say my first "Light Roadster fixed gear with a D-Rack."

What's the worst crash you've had?

I have had some bad crashes, but have been very lucky with being injured. Maybe my worst one was while riding at a good clip of about 30mph I hit an oil slick and immediately went down hard. I think someone had blown their transmission on the road...but was never cleaned up!

Do you have a favorite biking city, or favorite bike tour you've taken?

It may sound crazy... but I really like Boston! The roads are so small that the auto traffic is slow or gridlocked. Boston is pretty much flat and is a big city, but small in distance. You can have a nice life in a 5 mile radius [if not a 2 miles]. Most other cities are more spread out and make for long rides just to get across town. I also like that fact then even though the Boston driver is noted to be "Crazy," they know how to deal with a bicycles speed and also they know how to give it the gas and get out of my way.

Other cities come to mind like Portland OR, Boulder CO and Minneapolis MN, but I like Boston!

How about a favorite place to ride in Boston?

I now live outside the city. However when my girlfriend and I can fit it in we like to ride our tandem from Bedford to the North End for dinner. We can ride almost the whole way on a protected trail or bike lane! About a 30 mile round trip...not many cities can boast that!

Biggest biking pet peeve (drivers, roads, other bikers, pedestrians, whatever...)?

I am kind of a minority there. While I do get really upset with angry and aggressive car/truck drivers I also have a big problem with cyclists that do not obey the rules of the road. How can we get any road respect, if cyclists are running lights? However that reminds me of a pet peeve I have with motorists... when I am at a stop sign or red light and the car behind me honks for me to get out of the way... but there is a "no right on red" sign! [they want to take a right that is], but if I were to run the light... they would flip out!

What Bike Week event are you most excited about?

The "Redbones bike to work week kick off party." This is my favorite event of the year...and of course riding in the rain on bike week. ;)

What is the biggest legislative or other change needed to make it easier for more people to bike, in Boston or elsewhere?

This is another area where I am in a minority... if not the only one in the world. I think the best thing we could do for legislation as a cyclist...is to PAY A ROAD TAX! I know, I know ... if there was one thing I hear from angry drivers is that they own the road... they pay for it and I think that they are right about that. Now the tax would not pay for much, probably a waste to just pay the administration of it... but we could say "I pay my road tax, so why don't you just shut the @#%* up."

I really liked your story [scroll way way down] about the fake truck "parking" tickets you came up with. Have you been up to any other antics like this lately?

Thanks. That was fun, but no more antics from me. I just want to make stylish, fun useful bicycles for commuting and through that influence the world.

Hear more from Mike on his blog, or check out Flickr photos of some rad ANT bikes. And let him know if you want to buy one of the awesome ANT posters pictured at the top... only a limited amount are still available!

Disclaimer: Bostonist is not advertising or endorsing ANT in any way. We're just spreading the bike love!