In 2004 I was a Mercator Gastprofessor at Universität Münster, Institut für mathematische Logik und Grundlagenforschung, where I was involved with interesting mathematics, particularly with Ralf Schindler and Gunter Fuchs, who is now at CUNY.
At that time, I had bought a bicycle, and celebrated Münster’s incredible bicycle culture, a city where the number of registered bicycles significantly exceeds the number of inhabitants. I have long thought that Münster gets something fundamentally right about how to live in a city with bicycles, and the rest of the world should take note. I am pleased to say that in recent years, New York City is becoming far more bicycle-friendly, although we don’t hold a candle to Münster.
At the end of my position, I donated the bicycle to the Logic Institute, where it has now become known as the Logic Bike, and where I have recently learned that over the years it has now been ridden by a large number of prominent set theorists; it must be one of the few bicycles in the world to have its own web page!
Fantastic story. Thank you for sharing it.
When we were at the MPI, Kathy and I bought two bikes. We couldn’t resist the quick cash and sold ’em to another visitor at the end of the summer. How much better is it to have a permanent fixture?! Makes me want to visit Münster even more.