Chicago riding

[saab2000]

I will likely be moving to the Chicago area in about 4-6 weeks. There are some places where urban riding is good. Minneapolis/St. Paul comes to mind.

How is it in Chicago? Or how is it getting to decent riding in the Chicago area?

Any tips?

Thanks

[AHava]

Saab,

Where's home going to be? I live in Evanston, and I'm pretty familiar with the riding and club scene on the North Side and North Shore suburbs.

Alex

[dirtdigger88]

Saab- you get into town let me know- I will make a road trip up to ride with you- or we can meet at my parents house- they live 2.5 hours south of Chi- town- I live 2.5 hours south of them!!!!

Jason

[christian]

Oh, I feel like I shouldn't even reply, but...

I lived on the South Side (57th/Harper) for 3 years, and I found the riding there to be pretty desparate.

In the spring and fall, we would typically ride up the pathway to Loyola and then continue on streets to the Bahai temple in Wilmette and turn back around. In the winter, this was usually iced over, and in the summer, the hordes of "beach" goers made it maddening. Other times, when we wanted a longer ride, we'd head out toward Homewood Flosmoor or down toward Calumet City, and continue south. Once you're past there, it's nice and rural, but it was a very long slog to get out of the city southbound.

That said, the NW 'burbs can provide very nice riding. I think your best living options if you want good riding are going to be Evanston and Wilmette, or maybe out toward Prospect Heights/Arlington Heights.

But the Loop, southside, or near northside will not be ideal.

I liked Chicago, but the riding wasn't great, I'm afraid. I find NYC to be much easier in this regard, as improbable as that sounds.

- Christian

[Don]

can be found by checking with the Chicagoland Bicycle Federation (CBF) <cbf@chibikefed.org>. They've issued an updated map of major routes in the greater area. CBF is one of the largest and most worthwhile bicycle advocate organizations in the country.

You can also check with members of the Evanston Bicycle Club (<evanstonbikeclub.org>) for information. Many of their members are strong riders.

A good source of information is Brendan George (DNOVO's friend) in Highland Park, owner of Alberto's Cycles. The shop is one of the larger Serotta dealers in the country and they sponsor a strong racing team. I think their number is (847)446-2042.

Finally, Ed Barsotti, Executive Director of the League of Illinois Bicyclists (<ed@bikelib.org>) is an invaluable source of cycling information in the state.

Much cycling is done for a good nine to ten months a year in the area. The people are great and can be most helpful if yopu contact them. And, if you do, please say "hello" for me.

Don Braverman

[saab2000]

Thanks for the answers.

I don't yet know where I will be living. In fact, that is partly why I ask. Obviously I will be working at O'Hare. (well, obvious for some....) I would like to live within a 30 minute drive of the airport. Or better yet, 30-45 minutes via the rail (El I guess). I would like to live in an area where either the riding is decent or I can ride to decent riding.

I am leaning towards the northern or northwestern burbs, but I have nothing against living in the city. On the other hand, I would have nothing against living as far as an hour away, on the Wisconsin side of the line (I am after all a native cheesehead.... :beer: ) if that would put me in better riding.

[TBLS]

I just moved to Chi...live West in the Schaumburg/Barrington/Hoffman Estates area and am desperate for riding partners...HELP!!!

[Louis]

I will likely be moving to the Chicago area in about 4-6 weeks.

Man, you are a rolling stone. In how many different places have you lived in the last few years? Are you on the run from the cops, or worse yet, from the mob? :cool:

Louis

[saab2000]

Louis,

I am not on the run from the cops. Worse. I work in the airline business....... :D

Actually, I don't have to move. But I am doing it by choice. And it might not be done yet.

I am currently based in Washington DC and have found the riding to be miserable. The traffic is the worst I have ever seen anywhere. And most roads do not work well for cycling.

Additionally, and more importantly, I cannot really afford to live in the Washington area. I am at the end of my salary every month. Finally, the midwest is closer to home, at least my US home.

I will be based in Chicago soon, I hope. Chicago O'Hare is a FAR better airport than the national embarrasment called Washington Dulles, which has the worst ATC, the worst infrastructure and the worst traffic I have ever seen anywhere.

Anyway, getting off my soapbox, I am hoping to find nice places to ride which are not too far from Chicago. The odd part is that I want to live in Minneapolis and commute to Chicago. The odder part is that there are rumors of my airline opening up crew bases in Pittsburgh and/or Charlotte.

Who knows where I will be in 12 months. Hopefully somewhere I can settle into for more than a few months.

BTW, this lifestyle is why many airline families are not happy families.

[Hard Fit]

I can't imagine that Chicago's traffic would be any better than in D.C. I live in the northside of Chicago. Don's tips were very good. The Wheeling Wheelmen also seems to be a good group with strong riders. The Chicago Cycling Club has mainly short social rides, but you would see the city and be introduced to the different cycling areas of the city.

Personally, I find it easy to ride in the city. Bike lanes exist all over the city. The options are practically limitless. A strong rider can ride up into Wisconsin or into Indiana. The cycling in southern Wisconsin is pretty nice. It is about a 2 hour drive from the city. Great weekend trips can be had by driving into southwest Wisconsin.

If you decide to live in the city proper, the Blue CTA train line is an ideal way to get to work. Some of the up and coming neighborhoods are developing near the train stops. Check out the Wicker Park area. You really don't need a car in the city. If you prefer suburban living, the suburbs around the airport are all fairly nice.

Don't expect O'Hare to be a flying paradise. Expect delays and traffic jams both in the air and on the ground. However, if you take the Blue line, the land-based traffic jams will be eliminated.

I suggest you visit the city with your bike before moving. The areas to check are the suburbs near the airport. In the city, check out the Wicker Park, Lakeview, and Lincoln Park neighborhoods. I live in the Lakeview neighborhood and I see stewardesses every once in a while.

[saab2000]

Hard Fit,

O'Hare IS a paradise compared with the East Coast flying I am currently doing. The other day we had a 2-hour delay from Dulles to La Guardia. Delays of this sort are not uncommon. In the Midwest O'Hare is the only bottlenck. Out here they are all bottlenecks, from Boston to Washington and on down to Atlanta. New York has 5 airports competing for attention - La Guardia, JFK, Newark, White Plains and Teterboro. Then Philadelphia is not far away either. Then here in Washington we have National and Dulles not far apart. And Baltimore is close too. It is just congested here and not fun at all, at least not for me.

In Chicago you really just have O'Hare. Midway traffic departs and arrives below O'Hare traffic. Milwaukee to the north is not an issue.

O'Hare is fun. At least for us!! :D

I fly into O'Hare a lot and they have, by far, the best Air Traffic Controllers in the country. It is a much nicer airport than any of the East Coast airports, except possibly JFK. Hard to believe, but true. Kennedy is not bad at all.

Of course, I only speak from a pilot's point of view and the world of the passenger is something else.

Anyway, I will find some good urban riding in Chicago I think. I will surely check out the references already given. I will look around in time. But I bet it will be better than where I currently am.

[CNote]

My vote would be for the Twin Cities, but I guess we're not voting. It's only, what, about an hour commute for you (by plane)? The riding is great...for a few weeks of the year.

[saab2000]

My vote is the Twin Cities too. And it may well happen. But I will still have to have some sort of place in Chicago. I have lived in the Twin Cities and have found it to be a pretty good place to ride - when the weather cooperates.

[H.Frank Beshear]

Saab look at the Quad cities area. Moline, Rock Island in Illinois and Davenport, Bettendorf in Ia. We have many miles of paved country roads, last sunday I road for14 miles before I was passed by a car. Quad Cities international aiport Daily flights to O'Hare. By car 2 1/2 hours southwest of Chicago, 6 1/2 hours southeast of the Twin Cities, with a better weather pattern. We have a strong bike club, qcbc.org. Check out TOMRV and our Memorial Day race weekend. I can play tour guide for a weekend and if you let me know what size you ride I can probably arrange a bike. Good luck with the search. Frank

[saab2000]

I have also thought of Madison, WI. There are lots of flights to ORD and it is only about a 2 hour drive if I cannot get the plane. Mad town has the best riding in Wisconsin.

I have also heard the riding in the Quad Cities would be alright. I'll keep it in mind.

[djg]

unhappy riding in the DC area--where some good MUTS facilitate access to nice country roads and varied topo in both Virginia and Maryland--then you're going to be in tears in Chicagoland, which is still a big city (bigger, as a matter of fact), and one with vastly less interesting terrain and vastly worse weather. There are serious (and casual) cyclists in Chicago and there are places to ride. If you want to ride for fun or train and race you certainly can do it. But cycling-wise, this move is, in my opinion, a step down from northern Virginia.

I love the city--culturally, and socially, I think it is my favorite--and the cost of living is probably a bit lower than it is in Washington, but cycling paradise it is not. With summer on the way, you'll want to hunt out some bargains on wind-block tights, booties, and the like.

[AHava]

Saab,

Chicago rail, both El and Metra, follows the hub and spoke system, the hub being the loop. There is no rim. If you want to ride the rail to O'Hare you have to live somewhere on that spoke. Draw a line from the loop, through O'Hare, and into the distant NW'ern suburbs. Pick a town on that line. Google "Chicago Metra" and you'll get the idea.

On that particular NW aligned spoke, I'd toss my hat in the ring for Barrington or thereabouts. It's still a little bit country, and has always been a little bit wealthy, so density is low and will probably remain that way. It's close to the very handsome Fox River, and it's probably the hilliest (relative) part of Cook or Dupage counties.

I'd be happy to answer any other question you have about routes or clubs or whatever.

Alex

[saab2000]

I am not leaving Northern VA only in search of better cycling. I am also leaving because I am tired of Dulles.

I am not from here, I hate Dulles airport and I find the cycling to be mediocre. Why stay?

The fact is that where I live now (Loudon county) is filling up fast. I just went for a ride this morning on roads which should be awesome. But there was a constant stream of cars passing. The amount of construction is unreal our here and the infrastructure is not being increased. Thus the roads which would be good cycling roads are now being used for commuting. It is just simply filling up out here too much.

I don't know Chicago all that well, but I am from that general area of the country. I certainly feel more at home there. I also know that there are some pretty good racers from around there, so there has to be some pretty good cycling. Somewhere.

Anyway, my transfer to O'Hare has been postponed at least until May 1st. I will be leaving Leesburg in April and commuting out here. If I am here later I will stay at my brother's house in Arlington and ride the Hayne's Point noontime training rides. That works too. For now.

[Steve-O]

Hey Saab2000,

Lurker coming out in the open here...

I just moved out of Chicago last year but spent the prior ten years living there and commuting to work by bike. My last job was in Niles, but I've worked in Arlington Heights, Lombard, LaGrange, and downtown.

Are you comfortable living in an urban area? I'm good friends with a United flight attendent and she takes the blue line from downtown to O-Hare for work. It's very convienent and often much faster then driving. If you can deal with traffic the riding in the city is great. If you're an early riser the the lakefront path offers approximately 30 miles of riding. South of the downtown the joggers clear out and you have the trail pretty much to yourself. Wait until mid-day though and you'll be competing with roller bladers, walkers, and other cyclists on the path. You can also head north and catch club rides along Sheridan road and northern 'burbs.

City living has some nice benefits. Lots of restaurants, shopping, and easy public transportation. Lincoln Park is a spendy area popular with the younger crowd. If you are looking for something a little more sedate then look north to Ravenswood and Lincoln Square.

As for the 'burbs most of the area around O-Hare is fairly industrial. Des Plaines, Mount Prospect, and Elk Grove Village are older collar suburbs so expect '50's era ranch homes and a slightly older population. Farther out there are suburbs like Arlington Heights, Barrington, and Schaumburg. These suburbs are newer and are based along Metra commuter lines. They offer quaint (but pricy) downtowns. Note that the commute to O-Hare from these suburbs will be just as bad as from the city. As far a riding most of the collar suburbs don't have much to offer. Bike lanes are rare and you really need to get farther out into Lake/DuPage county to be more at ease.

Finally there are some very nice established suburbs that border the city. Evanston, Oak Park, Park Ridge, and Wilmette are very pretty with a mix of brick bungalows, spendy victorians, and some two/three flats. These suburbs offer a little more of the urban feel of the city but will put you a little closer to O-Hare.

Hope that helps... Feel free to PM me if you have more questions...

[PBWrench]

Saab -- I vote for Mpls./St.Paul. Easy jump to Chicago, and as you know, great cycling 12 months of the year. Five of them indoors. Best news is that my son is going to school in Mad Town next year so I'll have an excuse to ride with the cows.

[Andy GTI]

I grew up in the northern suburbs and most recently lived in Gurnee. The northern burbs have the best riding. Easy access to WI. and as you know, some of the best roads in the country are there. I commuted from Gurnee to Park Ridge (close to O'Hare) and it was 20+ miles each way. Depending on the time of day this could be torture or easy. I would suggest giving the Libertyville, Mundelein, Gurnee, and Lindenhurst area a good look. I now live in Central IL and miss the scene up there. I also recommend checking out Alberto's and talking to Brendan. I used to work at the shop and raced for them back in the day. He can help point you in the right direction for finding some riding partners.

Good Luck,
Andy

[dnovo]

Andy GTI is 100% correct on this, North is the way to go, and Brendan at Albertos is the place for gear, work, etc. The riding between the Northside 'burbs and the Wisconsin border offers the best of the area while offering you the chance to live a reasonable distance from O'Hare (or, "O'Hara" as late Mare would say, having been brought up like all the real natives of Cha-koguh who were born in Bridgeport just west of 'da Lup.')

The Northshore bike path -- a combination of asphalt, hardpack, some streets, etc -- runs from Evanston hard on the northern border of Chicago and ends up not far from here on the far side of the 'Cheddar Curtain' (aka, extreme SE Wisconsin.) While you are here, stop off at the Kenosha Velodrome, a rare treat on open to the public.

Dave N.

[saab2000]

Thanks guys! I am glad to hear that North is the way to go. After all, I grew up behind the Cheddar Curtain! When I find out for sure about my transfer to ORD I will be on this.

[djg]

Back when I lived in Chicago (and raced for their B team), Turin had some very strong riders and a good scene generally. I don't see anybody mentioning them here, but they were a good locus back, well ..., I guess it's a while ago now. Still around?

[dnovo]

Yeah, Turin is still around but not the force it used to be. Dave N.

[Don]

How about Higher Gear? Have they made any progress during the past several years?

Don

[Steve-O]

Millennium Park Bike Station Offers Viable Commuting Option
Bicyclists are keen to pedal up

by Heather Livingston

Tucked away in the northeast quadrant of Chicago’s Millennium Park, a 12,000-square-foot bicycle station is fast becoming the jewel of the park for many Chicagoans. Designed by Chicago-based Müller & Muller Architects for the Chicago Department of Transportation, this 300-bike parking/changing station quietly opened last summer amid the flourish of big-spectacle projects such as Frank Gehry’s band shell. However, since that time, the “Little Station that Could” has been operating at or near capacity and now has a lengthy waiting list for locker space.

A tight schedule
Funded by the Congestion Mitigation and Air Quality program, jointly administered by the U.S. Department of Transportation’s Federal Highway Administration and the Federal Transit Administration under the TEA-21 Act, the station was designed to promote bicycle riding to improve health and air quality in Chicago. According to David Steele, AIA, Müller & Muller’s senior designer for the station, the turnaround on this project was very tight: Design began two summers ago, construction started last spring, and the station opened at the beginning of July 2004. “We had a very short design schedule and extremely short construction schedule, so everybody really had to work well together. Initially, the entire bike station was meant to be underground—it wouldn’t be visible from above—but we thought that would be a mistake. It needed a more attractive and official presence so the people would know about it. It actually has become somewhat of a landmark for bikers in Chicago.”

Built on top of a garage underneath the park, the above-ground portion of the bike station is the grand entrance of the facility. The glass curtain wall and interior atrium welcomes cyclists and pronounces a public presence for the site. The architect designed the atrium’s skin to maximize energy efficiency and natural ventilation. The vertical surface features “a series of stainless steel cables on which plantings will eventually grow and climb to create more shielding,” notes Steele. “In the summer, you’ll get a really leafy effect on the building. As some of the leaves go away in the fall, the effect will be more lacy and open, allowing a lot more sunlight in.”

Although one of the goals of the project was to promote sustainable architecture in the city, the project is not LEED™-certified. This is largely due to the tight timeline, but also because LEED is primarily geared toward office buildings, making translation to this project type difficult. However, Steele notes that, based on an informal survey, they do believe that it would meet LEED certification criteria. Among the green features are 120 photovoltaic panels atop the building that produce a portion of the facility’s electricity, an amount equivalent to provide “enough power for 100 average American homes,” the architect says.

The price is right
At the edge of Chicago’s famed “Loop,” the two-level station is a draw for bicyclists, runners, and in-line skaters because of its attractive design and setting and convenient downtown location near mass transit, Lake Shore Drive, and a multitude of office buildings. The first full-service bicycle station in Chicago, it offers free daily bicycle parking and clean, bright, modern locker room facilities for the minimal cost of $1 a day (monthly passes can be obtained for $15 and annual passes for $90). The Millennium Park Bicycle Station “not only gives bicyclists a place to park, but more importantly, a place to get cleaned up,” says Steele. “If you ride your bike to work, especially in the summer, you get sweaty and don’t want to go into the office like that, so there are showers and lockers to store your things so you can be presentable at the office.”

The bikes are deposited on double-stacking racks with a “pull-out lever that allows you to pull your bike up to the second level and push it back in,” says Steele. “It’s fairly easy to use even though they’re double-stacked.” The locker facilities provide 240 lockers for monthly or annual users and 100 pay lockers. The individual showers, four for both women and men, each has a personal dressing area attached, eliminating the corral feel common to many fitness center locker rooms. “An effort was made to give some personal feeling to the place so it’s not like you’re going into a big bullpen shower room.” Steele also notes that the facility operator, Bike Chicago, would like to add more showers eventually. Although the showers are accessible without a wait for most of the day, during rush hour they can get backed up because most commuters arrive within 1–2 hours of each other.

Steele notes that the popularity of the station has been somewhat surprising. There’s no real precedent for this project type in the U.S., so it was difficult to gauge how successful the project could be. “It’s more common in Europe. We really didn’t know how popular it would be, but there’s a strong contingent of bike riders in Chicago who even ride through the winter, and the city has put in bike lanes all over the place. The lakefront trail runs through the park and almost the entire length of the city, so there are some great opportunities for biking in Chicago.”

The Millennium Park Bike Station also provides a home to the Chicago Police Lakefront Bicycle Patrol Unit, offering excellent lakefront proximity for the police and additional security for bicyclists. Essential to commuters and recreational enthusiasts alike, the station supplies bicycle repair and rental and soon will offer a small café featuring healthy drinks and snacks. In addition, during special events in the park, the station offers free valet parking, making it a viable option throughout the seasons and at all hours of the day.