When he answered the phone, he was in Arizona , and had just won another race. Corey Steinbrecher is a cyclist. It's what he does. He's raced just about every state in America as well as all over Europe . After graduating early from high school, he moved to Arizona when he was 17, and, by the time he was 18, he was racing professionally. Steinbrecher explained that it all started back in Glen Ellyn , where, as a ten-year-old, he would hang out at the bike shop. Soon local cyclists invited him on group rides, and encouraged him to develop his skills. Being so much younger than other cyclists – he's currently a member of the U.S. National Under-23 squad – has its share of both advantages and disadvantages. Unfortunately, his college credits are rolling in slowly and his social life is frequently put on hold. But, at 21, Steinbrecher has nurtured a passion for cycling and an addiction to hard work that will be a strong foundation as he approaches his peak cycling years, estimated to be 29-32 for most racers.

More info: http://www.jellybellycycling.com/Team_Members/steinbrecher04.htm

In a day when knock-off Louis Vuitton bags run rampant on the arms and shoulders of both women and men, Chicago has given us our very own DIY approach to bags, courtesy of thirty-year-old Jennifer Velarde. When discussing her previous career, Velarde spoke of time when she was “searching for other things, but nothing was connecting.” That same search lead her and her associates from the hobby of making handcrafted bags in Velarde's studio apartment to a full-time entrepreneurial business. Started just four years ago, Velarde has opened stores in Chicago and Boston to provide people with “a really good time while they shop.” Customers come into her stores and choose from a large selection of fabrics and designs to build their own bags, assisted by employees with PDAs that place the orders wirelessly. Velarde credits this technology with helping them expand and deliver the products quickly. “Being young helped me. It gave me the freedom to take bigger risks,” she says. “Everyone out there needs to keep searching. Do not be afraid to invest time for your passions.”

Steve Versaw, the 28 year-old drummer for the emerging Chicago band The M's, attributes much of his music career to community and environment. At the age of 15, though, Versaw was helped by building a music club with his friends. To him, rock and roll comes in built stages. “You sacrifice a lot, but the fun, the beauty is the road,” he says. “The Chicago environment is very supportive and shared.” But it can also be humbling, since “every time you think you've made it, you realize you're at the bottom of the ladder again.” Stages and stages. Versaw started playing music at the age of 12 and has been playing with The M's for the past two years. The M's consists of “four people, good friends, who work well together … a small community,” Versaw said. “We're making it up as we go.” In this way, Steve echoes much of the relevance of Chicago rock and roll, an intensely intertwined rhizome community, packed between amber cornstalks, mid-cities and persistent American voices.

More info: http://www.brilliante.tv/ms.htm

Name a restaurant where can you smoke apple-flavored tobacco, watch
belly-dancing goddesses shake their hips dangerously close to your couscous and
eat some of Chicago's best Middle Eastern food. Souk, located on Milwaukee, is
a good guess. Just a few years ago, the restaurant was only open a few nights a
week. But things have changed, and much of this can be attributed to chef
Daniel Wright. The 28-year-old has not only been reviewed in almost every major
Chicago publication for his amazing dishes, but also has cooking in his blood,
which goes back as far as he can remember. "My parents got divorced when I was
young," Wright explains. "My brother threatened to kick my ass if I didn't cook
for the family." Not only does his cooking set him apart, but he also makes a
habit of having his hands in everything. When he's not working, you can catch
him sitting in a back booth, chatting with Nasser Rastom, Souk's owner, and
coming up with fresh ideas for the restaurant: Marketing concepts, ways to keep
the crowd from getting rowdy or even a new preparation method for the lame
mashy are all fair game when discussing business. And business is good these
days.

More info: http://www.chicagourmet.com/event031604.html

Life's moving along at a pace that could only be described as breakneck for Sho Yano. He enrolled as a pre-med student at Loyola University Chicago when he was nine. By 12, he had graduated with an undergraduate degree and now, at 13 years old, is a Ph.D. and M.D. student at the University of Chicago 's Pritzker School of Medicine. His media exposure has reached a critical mass, with a front-page story in the Tribune , an interview with Anderson Cooper on CNN and a spot on 60 Minutes II . His numbers far outstrip the average student: a 1,500 SAT score. An IQ of approximately 200. A collegiate GPA of 3.9. But through all his experiences, he's remained amazingly calm. “People think I am made different or affected because of media exposure, but not at all,” Yano says. But there is, of course, the question of how he'll feel with multiple advanced degrees around his 20th birthday. “People have been joking with me, telling me to grow a beard and a mustache to look older,” he says.

More info: http://www.cnn.com/2003/EDUCATION/08/25/sprj.sch.wonder.kid.ap/

Thanks to contributing writers: Matt Bourjaily, Sarah Buishias, Stephanie McNiel, Christine Mladic, Missy Petty, Michael Tolva, Mike Zapata, and Michael Tolva.

Some art/photos courtesy of : http://www.margomitchell.com/thc/jb.htm , http://www.the-hypocrites.com/biokays.asp , http://www.zollaliebermangallery.com , Crain's Chicago Business, AP News, C. Taylor, Libor Vitu,Yuki Kokubo, Divya Srinivasen, and the 30 themselves amoung others. Thanks.